Lahnert: Spearman's Wolf overcomes serious burns to earn gold medal at state track meet

AUSTIN - Sitting in the upper section of Mike A. Myers Stadium near the finish line Friday evening were a group of fans all dressed in the same bright shirts.

All cheering like crazy for the same Spearman High junior running the 300-meter hurdles in the Class 2A boys race at theUIL State Track & Field Meet.

"I could actually hear them when I was running," said junior Cameron Wolf.

Running?

Cameron Wolf at the state meet?

Seriously?

Seriously, one of the most heart-warming, inspiring Texas high school performances in 2014 by any athlete in any sport was why those fans were going nuts.

Because they knew.

They knew 18 months ago Wolf wasn't worried about winning a medal at the state track meet.

He was worried about being alive.

Wolf was three football games into his sophomore season in 2013 and looking like a dominating running back against Booker, Wheeler and West Texas High.

On Sept. 20, the night before the big Sunray game, he attended the weekly Spearman bonfire and was asked to put the fire together.

He did so and that included pouring a bunch of gas on the wood.

"I said, yeah, I'll light it," Wolf said recalling the worst day of his life. "Right after I lit the lighter it was click and then everything went red. I turned and ran. You don't think stop, drop and roll. I was thinking I gotta get out of there. My throat was swelling and other things. I'm not sure all what happened. I was knocked out for a couple of days."

The fire consumed Wolf's torso, face and both arms, with third-degree burns covering 40 percent of his body.

As Wolf's friends drove him back to Spearman to see a doctor, his mind was on one thing - football. More specifically, the pain of not playing against Sunray.

"When my friends were driving me to the hospital I was mad because I wasn't going to get to play the next day against Sunray," Wolf said. "I was so mad I couldn't play. I thought I was going to be out for like a couple of weeks. I thought it was going to be like a bad sunburn and just peel."

Wolf is simply one of those people you are around and immediately see a bright shining light in this world. Quick to smile. Eyes that are alive. Polite to strangers.

"Everybody likes Cameron," said Steve Rodman, Spearman's athletic director and head football coach. "He's just a special kid. He does things you can't imagine. For instance, never once I have heard him complain about what happened to him and the pain I know he has gone through."

About 150 people immediately showed up at the Spearman hospital when word spread of the bonfire accident. They lined the hallways that September night as Wolf was wheeled out and flown to a Lubbock burn unit.

"What does Cameron do? Give a thumbs up as he leaves," Rodman said. "That's Cameron." Only Wolf knows the depth of physical and mental pain he experienced.

Things like spending six weeks in Lubbock going through skin graphs test the will. Excruciating skin peels to help the burns heal. Knowing deep down the question was there: Will I ever be an athlete for my Spearman Lynx again?

"I had these bandages on and they weren't supposed to stick," Wolf said. "And boy, they stuck. That was painful."

While Wolf was heeling physically over the winter, his heart had been opened to love. Lots of love like from people the kid his age in Abernathy who also suffered burns and now is a friend. His mom, Kandi, and dad, Travis. You kidding? They were there when it hurt to simply take a shower. The best parents a kid could ever want.

"There was tremendous, tremendous, support," Wolf said. Even from outside Spearman. It did touch my heart."

By the spring of 2013 Wolf was back on the track running for Spearman.

He had to wear long-sleeve gear because his skin graphs hadn't all heeled. Running the hurdles was out because if he fell and broke open the healing wounds that would be a major setback.

The biggest change was he was a different athlete.

"Honestly, when he came back he was slow," Rodman said. "He was running the same times he had ran in seventh grade when he first came back. But he never gave up. He has come back so far."

"I was struggling with flexibility," Wolf said. "I couldn't really do anything the same way. It changed my running style. You don't know how much you use your arms running. But I loved being back."

During the summer those in Spearman knew the hours and hours of physical work Wolf put in to get stronger. He knew things were improving. He also knew things will never be perfect.

"I'm over the nightmares now," Wolf said. "But I had them. With my right hand I still can't feel much, and I probably never will."

Football and basketball seasons were a theme of constant improvement for Wolf.

Then track season arrived and who qualifies for three regional events in the 110 hurdles, 300 hurdles and long jump? That would be Wolf.

Who goes beyond anybody's expectations but his own at regionals and qualifies for state in the 300 hurdles? That would be Wolf.

Seeded fourth in the 2A 300 hurdles Friday night, even Wolf knew making it to state was a dream come true for 2014. Winning a medal? Maybe next year.

However, being the competitor he is, and knowing how special simply being alive is to him each day, Wolf had a strategy.

"I had the fastest guy in lane five and he was one over so I could watch him," Wolf said. "I used that as a pacer. When I turned the corner I was like, 'Hey, where is my pacer?'"

Wolf turned the corner Friday night in the lead.

That roar heard throughout the stadium from the upper part of the stands was all for Wolf.

"I bet half the town is here cheering for Cameron," Rodman said.

Wolf actually stumbled down the stretch but gained his balance in winning in the best time of his life at 38.38. That beat out silver medalist Anastascio Munoz of Sonora by 16-tenths of a second.

"I came around that curve and I heard everybody yelling," Wolf said. "I stumbled a bit and said to myself, 'I have to get this done.

"I didn't imagine winning. The goal was to comeback and do what I could. I guess it was enough."

What happened is Spearman tied for 16th in the 2A team standings, with all 10 points from Wolf.

What happened is the town of Spearman made Wolf feel special on the biggest track stage Texas offers even before the start of his race by making the 10-hour drive to Austin.

Unless your heart doesn't beat, who can blame there not being a dry eye among the Spearman faithful as Wolf was huffing and puffing and smiling those 300 meters Friday night.

What happened is Wolf wore a gold medal around his neck he only dreamed was possible 18 months ago.

"I would never had thought this would happen," Wolf said. "I guess dreams do come true."

And who would ever think of owning a sense of humor after those 18 unforgettable months?

"The lesson I've learned?" Wolf repeated a question asked to him. "Don't play with gas."

Lance Lahnert can be reached at lance.lahnert@amarillo.com or at 806-345-3312.