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HS Wrestler Takes On His Headmaster For Charity...And Shows No Mercy

Watch a teacher battle a student for a good cause.

 Penn Collins
12.13.16

As the year draws to a close, if we’re looking to dole out an award for “Most Charitable School Official of 2016” let me toss Gary Twitchell’s name in the ring. The Westlake principal in Saratoga Springs, Utah put himself directly in harm’s way for a charitable cause, and as you’ll see in the pics below, his fate was perhaps worse than anyone would expect.

As part of a fundraiser for the school, Principal Twitchell volunteered to step into the wrestling ring with a student to help raise a little money. To his (presumed) dismay and to the students’ (presumed) delight, he’d be squaring off against one of the school’s best wrestlers, a fellow who’s only referenced by the name Kawika.

We don’t get to watch the whole match play out in this video, but I’m guessing this is nine-second clip represents at least half the match. Here it is. Twitchell vs. Kawika. Who ya got?

Yup. That’s pretty much how one would expect this thing to play out. Forgive me for trying to put on an air of suspense in a physical contest between a middle-aged man (named Twitchell, no less!) and a teenage star wrestler.

It’s an exciting moment for anyone who’s dreamed of body slamming a school official, but the fallout is a little sobering:

Yup. There’s Twitchell, looking a little worse for the wear and Kawika, looking, well, almost like he’s not quite done menacing the old man. The vicious body slam dislocated the principal’s shoulder, but (luckily?) medical professionals were on-site to pop it back into place.

There are so many lessons to be learned here, I’m not sure where to begin, but let’s just leave it at this: The next time an older principal is going to take on a student-athlete for a good cause, let’s make it a free-throw contest or something.

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