MINERAL POINT — Following an intense SWAL wrestling match between longtime rivals Darlington/ Black Hawk and Mineral Point, a special exhibition match was held between two senior members of the teams.

Although the match didn’t officially count in the outcome of the dual, it will go down as a win for both wrestlers and both teams since it was glowing act of sportsmanship display for everyone in attendance.

Darlington/Black Hawk senior Owen Huschitt, who currently holds a 26-1 record on the season and is ranked fourth in the state in the Division 2 182-pound class, was asked by Mineral Point head coach Curt Fiedler to wrestle Pointer senior

AJ Rury, who has Down’s Syndrome, in an exhibition match following the WarBirds’ thrilling 48-36 dual meet victory over the Pointers.

The Black Hawk senior not only agreed to wrestle Rury, but also agreed to let Rury get the best of him for a heartwarming pin that brought the large crowd on hand to their feet to applaud both wrestlers. “It was a pleasure for me to do that for AJ and the Mineral Point team. I have known a lot of them for a long time and I’m friends with them. (AJ) is a great kid. He brings so much positivity everywhere he goes,” Huschitt said. “It was a great atmosphere. I was glad to do something like that for a high caliber team like Mineral Point.”

Huschitt said Fiedler, who is also a special education teacher at Mineral Point, had one other request for him, “he said don’t make it too easy. Make him work for it.”

That’s exactly what he did. With a little bit of instruction from Huschitt, Rury worked a takedown and then muscled the WarBird on to his back before

ultimately registering the pin to the delight of the crowd.

Following the ritual handshake between the wrestlers, Huschitt joined the referee to raise Rury’s hand in victory as the two competitors received.

“His reaction was priceless. The smile on his face after we raised his hand said it all. It was awesome with the whole crowd cheering for us both,” said Huschitt. “Even though it was a rugged dual between rivals, that was a great way to end the night.”

Huschitt recorded a pin of his own over MP’s Jarvie Nafzger in 1:09 in their 182pound varsity match to help the WarBirds earn just their second team victory over the Pointers in 31 years.