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On days when Tani Taufa felt overwhelmed and on the verge of breakdown, he listened to Metallica's "Hero of the Day." On Halloween, when he didn't have a friend to hang out with, his mother, Jill, took him for a drive and played the song over and over.

At the 5A/4A Junior High State Wrestling Tournament in February, the song was blaring in the background as Taufa was introduced to the crowd. He went on to win the tournament in the 285-pound division, an improbable turnaround for a gentle giant who was bullied not long before.

"He felt accomplished and felt good for the first time in his life," Jill Taufa said. "His turnaround has been amazing."

Taufa was born with autism. He had trouble communicating in social situations, often sitting alone at lunch. The pranks pulled on him were cruel. His brother found him being suffocated by a group of boys in the bathroom. Girls would pretend they liked him just to make fun of him.

"I felt like I was dumb, like I didn't deserve to live or even exist," Taufa said.

It was more than he could take. When Taufa began cutting himself, his parents knew he needed a drastic change — something positive in his life. His father insisted he start wrestling.

Although Taufa resisted, he found out early that he was a natural. When the ninth-grader won his first match, a light turned on. He started devoting his time to wrestling, getting up as early as 4 a.m. to work out and spending his free time at Kingdom Klub after school.

He also found a mentor in Ben Kjar, a wrestling coach at Kingdom Klub in Woods Cross who has had to overcome his own challenges.

Kjar was born with Crouzon Syndrome, a disorder that causes pronounced facial features and required several surgeries. Kjar never gave in to the disorder, though wishes he had been more willing to share his experience growing up.

"Tani is far more mature than I was at his age," Kjar said. "I had trouble telling my story and only recently starting telling it over the last three years. It's changed my life. Tani, though, has been able to do it at a young age. He's going to impact thousands of lives."

In only a year, Taufa took first in Super State, second in Greco-Roman and fifth in Freestyle. In two weeks, he'll be traveling to Idaho to represent the state at regionals.

"The growth in him is incredible," Jill Taufa said. "In seventh and eighth grade he was miserable and unhappy. Now he's a completely different kid." —

Wrestling's positive impact

Since starting wrestling, Tani Taufa has improved his grades from 2.0 to above 3.4.

Taufa plans to wrestle for Bountiful High School next year

Taufa has made a goal to qualify for the 2016 Olympics alongside his mentor, Ben Kjar.