The phrase “I get knocked down but I get up again” may be cliche, but for Osceola High’s Gunner Holland, it’s his mantra.
The Osceola graduate has been knocked down plenty – broken bones, fractured ribs, chemical burns – you name it. However that never stopped Gunner from competing at a high level.
The broken hand and fractured ribs came mid- season his junior year as he led Osceola to the state semifinals at quarterback. The injuries were still painful as he competed during wrestling season, but his determination drove him to a third-place finish at state.
However, the summer before senior year Holland was attending a wrestling camp to prepare for a national tournament. During a training break, he was sitting on the field where, unbeknownst to him, undiluted cleaning solution had been spilled. He felt his backside burning but finished his three-hour training session anyway. It was after that he noticed he had burns all over his backside.
He was rushed to Orlando Regional Medical Center with second-degree burns and spent four days in the burn unit. After his release, he had to spend weeks enduring excruciating treatments to remove the damaged tissue to prevent infection, while being forced to sleep on his side or stomach.
Despite this painful setback, Holland finished his high school career with two state wrestling championships, finished as a state runner-up and had a third-place finish. He also graduated 13th in his class and received a wrestling scholarship to the University of Arkansas.
Gunner’s determination to overcome obstacles while pursuing excellence was why he was chosen by the Orlando Sentinel as this year’s recipient of the Bill Buchalter Spirit Award. Following the legendary sportswriter’s death, the Buchalter family established a scholarship to accompany the award named in his honor.
As Gunner told the Sentinel’s Mike Bianchi, “Sports is a good lesson for life. You might get knocked down and you might get hurt, but you absolutely must get back up.” Bill Buchalter would be so proud.
