GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The men's college basketball Final Four takes place this weekend as San Diego State, Florida Atlantic, Miami and UConn all look to win a national championship in Houston.
One Grand Rapids teenager will get to experience March Madness at its peak.
West Catholic High School senior basketball player Gabe Augdahl has battled a desmoid tumor since the summer of 2021.
His one dream was to attend the Final Four.
The Make-A-Wish foundation granted that wish to Augdahl.
He found out the news at the Big Ten Championship game in Chicago between Purdue and Penn State. He says he did not initially hear the announcement on the PA system at the United Center so the referees he was standing next to had to relay the news.
Augdahl's first college basketball he ever attended was the Big Ten Championship. Now, he's extremely grateful to attend both games at the Final Four and the National Championship at NRG Stadium in Houston.
"The whole Make-A-Wish organization I am really shocked and thankful for them," Augdahl said. "For kids like me and for kids who are involved in the organization, it's really uplifting to the kids who get these wishes. It's crazy people just think you are going on a little trip or a shopping spree but throughout all the stuff we go through, it's really uplifting. It's really cool that they do this."
While Augdahl is a Michigan Wolverines fan, he'll be cheering on UConn to win the national championship, and that's only because he picked the Huskies to make the Final Four in his initial bracket.
Augdahl also says he is feeling better every day.
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