Clinton-Massie High School graduate Chayse Wolf has been named to the 12-player 2017 United States U23 men’s team that is looking to qualify for the 2017 IWBF (International Wheelchair Basketball Federation) U23 Men’s World Championships, according to the National Wheelchair Basketball Association.

A former standout football player at CMHS, Wolf was involved in an all-terrain vehicle crash in July of 2015 in West Virginia. Wolf underwent two surgeries to repair his vertebrae and realign his spinal column with metal rods.

“I have watched my son go through something that I wouldn’t wish on anyone and, through it all, have watched my boy grow into the kind of man I only ever hoped and prayed he would be,” Wolf’s mother EmmaLee said in a Facebook post. “To say we are proud of him doesn’t even scratch the surface of what we are feeling. Hard work does pay off. We are completely overwhelmed by the love and support we have all received since his accident.”

Wolf is a currently a student-athlete at Edinboro University. He originally signed in high school to play football at Lindsey Wilson College in Kentucky.

The U.S. team will travel to Buenos Aires, Argentina for the IWBF Continental Qualifier, Jan. 22-29. The United States must place in the top two to qualify for the 2017 IWBF Men’s U23 World Championships, scheduled for Toronto, Canada, June 8-16.

The U23 men’s wheelchair basketball program is an international development team that serves as NWBA pipeline to the U.S. Men’s National Team. This program provides elite youth athletes the opportunity to compete at the international level. Team USA has reached the championship game in three of the last five U23 World Championships, having won in 2005 and 2009. The United States claimed a bronze medal in 2001, and did not participate in 2013.