Following South Tama junior Bryce Ellenbecker’s match against Marion wrestler Alex Gillaspie Ellenbecker bought a Gatorade for Gillaspie. Ellenbecker handed Gillaspie the Gatorade and told him “keep your head up.” Photo Provided by Chuck and Ann Gillaspie

For South Tama junior wrestler Bryce Ellenbecker Thursday, Dec. 18 would bring a match like none he had wrestled before. Ellenbecker wrestles for the South Tama JV team. The night began as a typical home wrestling meet against conference opponents Marion and Clear Creek-Amana. Then 10 minutes before his match he was told by a coach that his opponent from Marion, Alex Gillaspie, was blind.

Gillaspie was born with a genetic retinal condition called Leber’s congenital amaurosis. According to Gillaspie’s mother, Ann, the retina is intact; it just doesn’t function properly because it is missing a gene. Ann and her husband Chuck are both carriers of the gene but there are no traces of the condition in the family. “It basically was a timing of the genes that caused it to happen,” said Ann.

Alex, now a sophomore at Marion, has been wrestling since kindergarten. Ann says he has the best sense of humor and that it was really a blessing in disguise as Alex’s condition has allowed her to see things in a different way.

“I think it’s really inspiring for kids to get to wrestle Alex. I would love to see our coach offer a blindfold to all the kids and maybe they would see an ability they didn’t know they had. I think it could help them in their own ability to find a move or see what works,” said Ann.

Ellenbecker was nervous to wrestle Alex. It would be a different kind of match for Ellenbecker and he didn’t know quite what to do at first. So when Gillaspie took him down at the very beginning of the match Ellenbecker learned a very quick and valuable lesson. “I learned to never overlook anybody,” said Ellenbecker. “He was really strong.”

South Tama’s Bryce Ellenbecker keeps grasp on Marion’s Alex Gillaspie during their match on Thursday, Dec. 18. Photo provided by Darvin Graham

What transpired during and after the match made for an inspiring lesson in true sportsmanship, character, and integrity. During the match Ellenbecker never took a hand off of Gillaspie. When they moved out of bounds Ellenbecker carefully guided Gillaspie back to the center of the mat. In fact, that was the biggest difference in the match compared to any other. Ellenbecker and Gillaspie had to keep physical contact throughout the entire match.

Once the match was over, instead of heading back to be with his teammates Ellenbecker went to the concession stand and bought Gillaspie a Gatorade. He didn’t tell Gillaspie who he was; he just encouraged him by saying, “keep your head up”.

“It meant a lot to me,” said Gillaspie, “It showed me he had really good sportsmanship and respect for me.” Gillaspie has had wrestlers come up to him and shake his hand but Ellenbecker’s gesture was a first for him.

To say Bryce made his community proud is an understatement. Ellenbecker showed character and sportsmanship in a way that spectators of the match will not soon forget.

High school language arts teacher Nancy Dostal was in the crowd. “In his match against the young man from Marion, Bryce exemplified what it means to exhibit good sportsmanship, both on and off the mat. His efforts to honor his competitor as a fellow athlete were evident in his actions as he guided him back to the center of the mat, congratulated him on a good match, and when he bought him a bottle of Gatorade after a hard fought match. I could not be more proud of him,” said Dostal.

Ann called coach Nate Van Dyke the next day and was quite emotional. She expressed how pleased she was with Bryce and the way he treated her son. “I graduated from Marion and I don’t know if I have ever witnessed sportsmanship like that from our own school. There is not a lot of camaraderie there and I don’t know why. It meant a lot to Alex,” said Ann.

For Ellenbecker sportsmanship is simple. “I was raised to treat people the way you want to be treated,” he said. It’s a lesson that Ellenbecker has learned that makes him a great student and representative of the South Tama community.

“You’ve got a young man with a huge heart that is going to make him into a good man someday,” said STC Activities Director Ben Adams, “He is the exact type of person that is good for this community, that we want to keep around.”

Ellenbecker’s mom Jeri Ellenbecker, who works for South Tama, missed the match as she was in her usual spot behind the concession stand. But she heard all about it when it was over. Several people approached her to tell her what her son had done, some even in tears. “Wrestling is a tough sport and life can be tough. Wrestling teaches you life lessons like character and sportsmanship,” said Jeri.

It was a special moment for Gillaspie’s parents as well. According to Winter Sports Coordinator Jay Hoskey, Gillaspie’s father approached him after the meet and expressed appreciation for the kind act by Ellenbecker. “He told me that (they’ve) never had anybody show that kind of sportsmanship,” said Hoskey.

As for the final outcome Ellenbecker won the match 11-8 but arguably the real victory came in the extraordinary display of sportsmanship between the two wrestlers and what that meant for small communities like South Tama. For those watching from South Tama, they were given a sense of pride. Pride for a clearly flourishing student and pride in being a Trojan.