DENVER — The Colorado State Wrestling Championships will see action from more than 1,000 athletes from all walks of life, in a jam-packed Ball Arena this weekend.
Competing in his first year for Littleton High School, wrestler James Horton advanced to the CHSAA state quarterfinals by pin.
"Once he stepped on the mat, and I first got my hands on him, and felt the natural strength that he had, I was extremely excited about what the future holds," said Littleton head wrestling coach Ronnie Kois.
What makes Horton different is that he's completely deaf, needing an interpreter to communicate.
"There are challenges, but you don't really have to worry about if you're deaf or hearing or anything. You can just focus on wrestling," Horton signed. "The movement, the techniques, the strategies, you just want to go into the matches ready."
Horton was more than ready, dominating his first round by 10 points until he would ultimately win by fall.
"I'm really motivated to just be successful, be a champion at state," Horton signed. "I've got my goals, I've got my motivations and I'm just really motivated, pull my sleeves back and focus and get to work."
Horton attends the Rocky Mountain School for the Deaf and plays both football and wrestling at Littleton High School. Horton said he hopes to inspire others like him.
"Other people don't realize, with wrestling because I'm deaf, like, you can still do it," Horton signed. "You can still inspire other people to do that. It doesn't matter what their challenges are. They can tap me to communicate with me, it doesn't matter if I'm deaf, you can still communicate with me and you can still wrestle. You can still do it all."
Horton will compete in the CHSAA state quarterfinals Friday at Ball Arena in Denver.
SUGGESTED VIDEOS: Sports
> Top stories curated daily just for you! Sign up for the 9NEWSLETTER to get can’t-miss stories, Next and Broncos content, weather and more delivered right to your inbox.
MORE WAYS TO GET 9NEWS
Subscribe to our daily 9NEWSLETTER
Download the 9NEWS APP
iTunes: http://on9news.tv/itunes
Google Play: http://on9news.tv/1lWnC5n
HOW TO ADD THE 9NEWS APP TO YOUR STREAMING DEVICE
ROKU: add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching for KUSA.
For both Apple TV and Fire TV, search for "9news" to find the free app to add to your account. Another option for Fire TV is to have the app delivered directly to your Fire TV through Amazon.