Teen Crushes Rival During Wrestling Match — But Dad’s Reaction Had Nothing to do With the Win

After 15-year-old Mitch McKee's father was diagnosed with an incurable form of cancer last year, the Minnesota teenager set out to do something incredible for him — make the disease disappear for just one moment.

"Kind of flush it all away and kind of have him forget about it for that moment, and have everybody forget about it for that moment -- just be happy," McKee told CBS News.

Mitch McKee hoped to wrestle away his dad's cancer for just one moment. (Image source: YouTube)

Knowing his father Steve, 50, was a huge sports fan, the 15-year-old wrestler set out to win a championship just for his dad.

"He might not be here next year, so I knew that this was the year to do it," McKee said.

[sharequote align="center"]"He might not be here next year, so I knew that this was the year to do it."[/sharequote]

Despite McKee only being a high school freshman, he was determined. The 15-year-old hit the weight room all sumer, waking at 6:00 a.m. to lift.

But, that wasn't all he did. McKee practiced — even when there wasn't practice, he practiced.

And it paid off.

Mitch McKee won so many wrestling matches he made it to the state finals. (Image source: YouTube)

McKee won so many matches he qualified for the state tournament. He kept winning and eventually found himself in the finals.

Now all he needed to do was win one final match. One more match for his father.

He did it.

Mitch McKee won the state tournament. (Image source: YouTube)

As TheBlaze previously reported, McKee's opponent even said a few kind words to his dad after the match.

But, for father and son, the two simply embraced. They celebrated without words.

"For him to do it, for me, it was very emotional," Steve told CBS News. "All the emotions you could ever have were right there."

Mitch McKee and his father simply embraced after he won the state tournament. (Image source: YouTube)

When asked if he was sick in that moment, Steve responded: "Was I?"

McKee said he wanted to freeze time right then.

"Yeah, life was definitely perfect at that moment, you know?" he said. "I just wanted to stay right there forever."

—

Follow Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) on Twitter

[related]