Amante YoungJust three months after being crowned his school's first-ever state wrestling champ, Amante Young died Tuesday from injuries sustained in a car crash ten days earlier. He was 16.
Young won the 125-pound Division 3 title as a junior at the 2017 MHSAA (Michigan High School Athletics Association) wrestling championships on March 4, becoming Clare High School's first state mat champ.
Young had been hospitalized since Sunday, May 21, when the vehicle he was a passenger in ran off the road, struck an embankment and rolled over in Midland County, Michigan.
The three occupants were transported to a local hospital. Young sustained serious injuries to his lungs and spinal cord, and was transferred to Mott Children's Hospital in Ann Arbor where he underwent multiple surgeries. The other two were treated locally for non-life-threatening injuries.
"Early (Wednesday) morning Principal Ed Hubel and liaison officer Brian David met with the student body to let them know," Clare Superintendent Jim Walter told The Morning Sun. "Right now, we're trying to help our student body get through the day and the week. We have counselors and social workers here to assist the students if they need to talk to someone."
Young had come to Clare High School from his native Indiana after his freshman year to live with another wrestler, Kyle Schaaf, who he had befriended as he competed in wrestling events. Young's family could not afford to send their son to wrestling camps or national competitions.
"We were always together at national meets and different places," Young told MLive.com after winning the state championship. "We became friends. We knew each other. When he found out that I wouldn't be able to afford going to a lot of the different meets, his family offered to take me in and pay for my wrestling."
Young had placed third at 103 at last year's Michigan state championships.
Although having lived in Clare for only two years, Amante Young had become popular with his wrestling teammates, classmates, teachers and administrators. A GoFundMe.com page to help to help Young's family with medical expenses exceeded initial goals and has been closed.
Clare High School issued the following statement on its Facebook page Wednesday.
"Please keep the Young and Schaaf families in your thoughts and prayers, as well as the students, teachers and coaches touched by his life. There is nothing more difficult than death.
"It's a good policy to be honest with our kids, and it sends the message that together we can handle this. Our young people often take their cues from us, and thus allowing ourselves to cry, talk about our sadness, and do healthy things to move on with our lives raises the odds that they will do the same. Be a great listener today ... we can't take away the pain our kids feel, but listening and allowing our kids to share grief helps us all get through it more healthy and quickly."
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