High School Wrestler Determined To Get Back On Mat After Car Crash
FRANKLIN (CBS) - At 106 pounds, Ritchie Elgar is a pint sized powerhouse. The junior at Tri-County Regional Vocational Technical School in Franklin had an incredible Sophomore year.
"I was second in the state, I was state voke champ. I was Cape Cod champ. I was Pentucket champ. Yes, I had a really good year," says Elgar with a bashful smile.
Coach Steve Laplante had a great team and a rising star. "First time I saw him on the mat I knew he was a natural," Laplante says.
But then life put Ritchie flat on his back. Ritchie remembers just a little. "The date was July 10th," he says. "I remember hitting the guardrail."
Ritchie's family was coming back from a road trip. Their car hit a patch of highway under repair in Tolland, Connecticut and flipped down an embankment. Since the accident he hasn't felt anything from the chest down. He had broken vertebrae, a collapsed lung and a partially cut spinal cord. He is now in a wheelchair.
His teammates rushed to his hospital bed. They even built a handicap ramp for his house in shop. Meanwhile, his coach built his confidence. "I told him this is where the comeback begins," Laplante says. "He held my hand squeezed hard and said 'I'm game coach.'"
Is he ever. Seven months later, Ritchie is training to wrestle again.
"There's no doubt I'll be on the mat next year," Ritchie says. "No doubt."
For Ritchie, the best way to stand tall is to get down on the mat with his friend: his coach. As his teammates wrap up practice, Ritchie and Coach Laplante get down on the mat and wrestle. He doesn't think he'll ever regain feeling in his legs, but he says he'll wrestle without them.
He doesn't know if he'll be a champ again, but when his senior year rolls around, he'll certainly try.
As for his teammates, Ritchie provides motivation. They have dedicated their season to him. Oh by the way, they're a perfect 14-0.
Friends have set up a fundraising page to help Ritchie: https://www.giveforward.com/fundraiser/7245
