TIOGA, N.Y. (WENY) - On December 8th, Tioga Wrestling's Jared Lamb picked up his first win of the season. But it was no ordinary victory. 

Tioga Wrestling Head Coach Kris Harrington says, "I don't let kids sit mat-side. Ever. But everyone was sitting mat-side for his match. It was something really special." 

When discussing his first win, Jared says, "I feel proud."

His mother, Julie Lamb,  shares the same sentiment. She says, "I was recording it so you can probably hear me screaming in it, but I was very proud."

Jared is a part of the 1% of the world population living with Autism Spectrum Disorder, according to the Autism Society. Autism is a disorder that can present challenges with social skills, repetitive behavior, speech and nonverbal communication. Julie Lamb says, "When Jared was little, he was totally non-verbal and didn't understand a lot. I mean he had a lot of work to do to get to where he is now." 

With plenty of support and resources, Jared has made continued progress. One of those resources? Being a part of team sports, both on the wrestling mat and the football field. Julie says, "It's helped him with being independent, he's learned how to make new friends. He's learned how to win, how to lose, what he has to do to achieve that. He has been treated like everybody else, equally. He sees that he's not different."

Another part of Jared's success has been the willingness of the Tioga Central School District to accept him into their athletic programs, something Julie Lamb hopes other schools can look to as an example. She says, "When he wanted to be on the teams, I called and asked them and the superintendent and the athletic director and the coaches and they said, 'Sure.' They didn't even hesitate, so we were really excited, Jared especially. I wish that more schools would do this for kids with disabilities, because they need that. They need to be exposed to that. I feel that it's an opportunity for other kids to be exposed to kids with disabilities. That helps them to understand them more."

Jared has accomplished this amazing feat not because it was handed to him, but because he persevered each and every day despite the odds. Jared says, "I come to practice every day, I work very hard and I achieved my goal." 

His positive energy rubs off on those around him. Julie Lamb says, "He amazes everybody every day. He's really an inspiration to other people that are down on themselves or feel like they're having a bad day. They look at Jared and say 'Wow, I'm not having a bad day.'"

Jared's next stop once the season comes to an end? He'll be representing the United States at the Special Olympics World Games in Abu Dhabi in March.