BERTHOUD - Mark Scott walked into the Berthoud High School gym Tuesday afternoon, where Tyler Carron and Nikko Landeros waited.

More important, he walked out a few hours later.

And that was as compelling as anything Scott had to say to the Berthoud wrestlers who lost their legs after a January traffic accident on a snowy rural road.

In summer 1976, Scott - then a 16-year-old wrestler - ended up a double amputee after a highway accident near Laramie.

Today, Scott works for USA Wrestling in Colorado Springs, a busy job that requires frequent travel.

The smooth way in which he moved about the gym on artificial limbs was an inspiring eye-opener for Carron and Landeros, who soon will begin the first phase of prosthetics training.

"I've never seen anyone walk with both prosthetics," said Landeros, seated in a wheelchair, his Los Angeles Dodgers cap pointed sideways. "It's wild how he can do it - and not have legs. (He's) living proof that we can do whatever we want. He's the same as us."

Scott was part of an Olympic Training Center entourage that included U.S. paralympians and Olympic wrestlers.

They offered a mix of pragmatic and inspirational advice, some delivered in a jocular manner that clearly amused Carron and Landeros, now in the thick of intensive physical therapy at the Berthoud Athletic Club.

"You have this power to really inspire others," said John Register, a two-time American paralympian in swimming and track and field. "We don't put our pants on one leg at a time."

Carron knew what he meant: He found solace in the grateful eyes of middle-school students during a recent fundraiser.

"All the kids came up and shook our hand," he said.

Nothing, though, inspires Carron quite like wresting, a sport he started years ago at a local club.

"I've almost got a cauliflower ear," he told the USOC group, with noticeable pride.

Carron's hopes for a state title ended Jan. 15, when he and Landeros were trying to change a flat tire. A car driven by a classmate slammed into the rear of their car, pinning them.

Carron hopes to wrestle again eventually. Equally ambitious, Landeros hung around to talk to Scott about sled hockey, a fan favorite ever since it was introduced as a medal sport in the 1994 Paralympic Winter Games.

"I want to do whatever I can," said Landeros, a star nose guard on Berthoud's football team that went 10-0 in the regular season. "I love sports."

latimerc@RockyMountainNews.com