Seven high school wrestlers ran circles around the perimeter of the Selma High School gym while Gregory Johnson completed his warm-up routine in the middle of the gym on the wrestling mat, a surface that has recently given him comfort and a greater sense of purpose.

Johnson hoists himself up on his crutches and uses his upper body to move himself from one end of the mat to the other as he gets ready to take down his teammates during a Wednesday afternoon practice. Diagnosed with spina bifida as an infant, Johnson recently fell in love with wrestling, a sport that gives him an opportunity to turn his physical disability into an advantage.

“I don’t know where I would be [without it]. I really love it,” Johnson said.

Johnson practiced with the Selma High wrestling team last year, but hasn’t faced competition from other schools yet. His coach and teammates can already tell that Johnson will be a great wrestler, mainly because they’re usually helpless when they face him in practice.

First-year head coach Robert Warren said he’ll often match up with Johnson in practice to give him a challenge, but it’s not something even Warren looks forward to.

“He hurts me,” Warren said. “He’s so strong.”

Spina bifida, which is a birth defect that occurs when vertebrae don’t form properly around part of the spinal cord, makes it so that Johnson’s upper body is the primary weapon he can use during a wrestling match.

While being physically disabled severely limits Johnson from competing in other sports at an equal level of his peers, he is able to use his upper body strength in wrestling to put himself on an equal playing field with his opponents.

Gregory Johnson was diagnosed with spina bifida as an infant, but he’s still one of the strongest wrestlers on the Selma High School wrestling team.

Johnson was inspired to wrestle when he pulled up YouTube videos of Anthony Robles, a one-legged wrestler who won the 2010-11 NCAA individual championship in the 125-pound weight class.

“I just learned from him, and I see he has one leg, so I said if he can do it, I can do it,” Johnson said.

Like Johnson, Robles had incredible upper body strength and grip strength in part because of his need to use crutches to walk.

Warren said his opponents may be hesitant to face Johnson at first, but after Johnson shows them how strong he is, they’re motivated to step up their game.

“Kids are almost intimidated by him because they’re not sure how to approach it, almost like I was as a coach, but he can use that to his advantage,” Warren said.

Teammate Maurice Wade said he wants to be the best wrestler on the team, so when he sees Johnson taking down others in practice with ease, he feels pressure to improve. Wade doesn’t see Johnson as someone with a disability, but rather a talented wrestler who he just wants to beat.

“It just makes me work hard,” Wade said. “Seeing somebody that’s doing better than me makes me want to grind harder just so I can be at their level and pass them.”

Teammate Kerry Ford said he never has to look past Johnson if he needs motivation to become a better wrestler.

“He’s actually dedicated and he actually wants to put in the work and it helps me because if I was in his predicament, I don’t know what I would do,” Ford said. “I like that he’s trying to take a step towards doing something positive.”

Johnson said he receives words of encouragement from his teammates and from family, hearing the words “don’t give up” over and over. As a result, Johnson tries to return the favor.

While Johnson’s actions alone motivate his teammates, he doesn’t miss a moment to remind them to keep working hard.

“I’m a big motivator to them,” Johnson said. “I try to push them every day.”

Johnson wants to achieve greatness at wrestling, but he doesn’t have a specific goal in mind yet because he’s still relatively new to the sport. His teammates believe not even Johnson is aware of how good he can be.

Right now, Johnson isn’t looking too far ahead. He has his eyes set on the beating his next opponent. If that opponent is smart, he won’t look past Johnson either.

“I’m trying to come out, every match and give it my all,” Johnson said. “That’s all I can do and try to inspire people who have spina bifida or any kind of disease that anything is possible if you have God in your life.”