KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Carter Montgomery enjoyed an unforgettable moment Tuesday night at Indian Trail Middle School in Olathe.
Carter, an eighth-grader with special needs at Santa Fe Trail Middle School, loves playing sports, especially basketball.
“Every day he wants to play,” Cyclones eighth-grade boys’ basketball coach Ryan Rundberg said in an email to 41 Action News.
Carter has competed in Special Olympics basketball in the past, but Rundberg and his team wanted to include him on the school team as well.
“After checking with his mother to make sure it was OK, I asked Carter if he wanted to play in our last regular-season game of the year,” Rundberg, an Olathe South and MidAmerica Nazarene University graduate, said. “He about lost his mind, he was so excited.”
Carter started Tuesday for Santa Fe Trail's eighth-grade team in a game at Indian Trail.
His teammates passed him the ball on the right block after winning the opening tip and Carter banked home the game’s first bucket.
“We practiced all week on his shot and it obviously paid off, since he made his shot on the first attempt,” Rundberg said.
After sinking the shot, Carter raced to the other end with his arms out to the side in celebration, slapping high-fives with his Cyclones teammates and coaches.
"Carter Montgomery has an infectious personality and is beloved by fellow students at Santa Fe Trail ...," an Olathe School District spokesman said in an email to 41 Action News. "It was a great display of sportsmanship!"
