BOONE, N.C. — App State Wrestling officially welcomed 15-year-old Team IMPACT teammate Nate Brown to the program in a signing ceremony held in the Mark E. Ricks Athletics Complex on Thursday.
Joined by his family, App State coaches and wrestlers in the App State program, Brown made it official by signing his letter of intent and putting on an App State hat to applause from the crowd.
"I'm really excited to add Nate to our program," App State head coach
JohnMark Bentley said. "I expect him to make as much of an impact on our wrestlers' and coaching staffs' lives as we do his. We're thankful for this tremendous opportunity."
Brown, a native of nearby Todd, is currently a member of the wrestling program at Ashe County High School. He and the Mountaineers were brought together by Team IMPACT, a national nonprofit foundation that connects children with chronic illnesses to local college athletic teams. That connection helps form life-long bonds and life-changing outcomes with everyone involved.
Team IMPACT's mission is to improve the youth's quality of life by growing and cultivating lively team-based support networks. Brown is one of 30,000 patients in the United States living courageously with cystic fibrosis (CF), a disease predominantly diagnosed in children by the age of 2.
After Thursday's signing ceremony, Brown was able to mingle with fellow App State wrestlers and then join the Mountaineers for their weight-lifting workout.
"It was really cool just being here," he said.
For more information about Team IMPACT and how to support its work, click
HERE.
