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NORTON, Mass. — An undefeated high school wrestler from Massachusetts gave up his perfect record to make a dream come true for an opponent with special needs.
Devin Schuko is a senior from the Boston area boasting a 27-0 record on the year. Just days after making his 100th career win, Schuko was matched against Andy Howland, a young man with Down syndrome. Howland told WBZ-TV he was more excited than nervous to go up against the No. 1 wrestler in their weight class.
The big match was captured on video by local resident Anthony Pucino. Howland pretty quickly pins Schuko down for the win and proudly walks off the mat to celebrate. Pucino shared the moment on Facebook, thanking Schuko for taking the time "to make a dream come true for a young wrestler with special needs."
This is a video of what a team captain and leader looks like. Devin Schuko, a senior with a 27-0 record this year, a young man who earned his 100th career win a few days ago to join the century club at NHS, took the time to make a dream come true for young wrestler with special needs from Dighton Rehoboth's team. So proud to have witnessed this. Truly a special young man.. Thank you Schuko!
Posted by Anthony Pucino on Sunday, January 24, 2016
"So proud to have witnessed this," Pucino wrote. "Truly a special young man."
The heartwarming video is exploding across the Internet, garnering over 490,000 views, 6,000 shares and getting picked up by national sites like Fox Sports and Bleacher Report.
Schuko's coach Pat Coleman told WCVB-TV he's a "class act."
"Deven has a natural respect for any wrestler, such as Andy, and I think Deven just proved there that it's never wrong to do the right thing," Coleman said.
For his part, Schuko told WBZ-TV the best opponent won.
"He was a tough kid and he bulldogged me over to my back," Schuko said. "I couldn't stop the power."
