Lee was transferred to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, to help his body and mind recuperate. There, he connected with Operation Comfort, a nonprofit group that provided rehabilitative and therapeutic programs for wounded veterans at the medical center.

“I tried playing wheelchair basketball, volleyball, other adaptive sports,” Lee said. “When I heard about sled hockey, I was a little surprised because I didn’t even know you could play hockey as a disabled person. I immediately signed up for it and as soon as I went in for my first practice with other service members I definitely fell in love. It’s really the fastest sport there is compared to other therapy or adaptive sports.”

Lee began playing with the San Antonio Rampage sled hockey team in 2009 and worked his way onto the U.S. national program by 2010. He’s 41-1-0-2 (W-OTW-OTL-L) with a 0.65 goals-against average, .907 save percentage and 25 shutouts for the national team. In addition to three Paralympics gold medals, he has three world championship gold medals (2023, 2021, 2019 and 2012) and two silver medals (2024, 2013).

All the hardware and championships are meaningful, Lee said, but the Beijing Paralympic gold brought him to tears because he earned it as the team’s No. 1 goalie.

“It was the first time that I was able to help contribute or be able to be part of all that, to get on the ice,” he said. “I thought about my family, too. I came to the United States as an immigrant from Taiwan and, knowing their sacrifices and struggles from growing up, it wasn’t easy. And my dream of being an elite athlete, being G.I. Joe, a soldier.

“Just being able to accomplish all that, though the path was different, it was still a huge accomplishment,” he said. “I was just happy, and that’s the emotion that came out.”

It was a busy weekend for football in Happy Valley as Penn State hosted its first batch of 2026 official visitors while State College Area High School held the Elite 11 and All 22 camp at Memorial Field.

From a top two-way in-state target, to a tandem of future Penn State quarterbacks, there was tons of action.

Here’s everything that went down this weekend.

Official visits

The headliner on the official visit front was 4-star ATH Joey O’Brien. O’Brien is arguably the top player on Penn State’s board, being recruited to play both wide receiver and safety for James Franklin.

He’s the No. 65 player nationally and No. 2 player in Pennsylvania, playing for La Salle College High School, where former Penn State defensive end Abdul Carter played. O’Brien has finalists of Penn State, Oregon, Notre Dame, Clemson, Michigan and Tennessee.

Right behind O’Brien is one of the top players on cornerbacks coach Terry Smith’s board in 4-star cornerback Khary Adams. He’s the No. 76 player nationally, No. 10 cornerback and No. 4 player in Maryland.

Another top-100 prospect who made his way to campus was 4-star EDGE/linebacker Cincere Johnson. He’s the No. 73 player nationally and No. 2 player in Ohio, and has finalists of Penn State, Ohio State and Alabama.

4-star cornerback Dorian Barney made the trip from Georgia, though he has ties to Pennsylvania, being originally from Erie. He has finalists of Penn State, Michigan, Colorado, Texas A&M, North Carolina and Georgia Tech, and is the No. 150 player nationally, No. 20 player in Georgia and No. 15 cornerback. He was previously committed to Alabama.

Another cornerback target made the trek in 4-star Camren Hamiel, who has finalists of Penn State, Oregon, Texas A&M and Nebraska, and is ranked as the No. 225 player nationally, No. 22 cornerback and No. 1 overall player in Arizona. He goes to Desert Edge High School, but started at Fort Wayne Northrop in Indiana, where former 2026 Penn State wideout pledge Jerquaden Guilford plays.

Penn State has a trio of wideouts committed in 2026, but a near top-100 prospect nationally at the position went for an official visit in 4-star Messiah Hampton. He’s the No. 101 player nationally, No. 11 wide receiver and No. 1 player in New York.

Another target in the secondary that was up for an official visit was 4-star safety Jordan Deck. He’s the No. 387 player nationally, No. 52 in Texas and No. 36 safety.

A riser who was offered by Penn State just over a month ago in 3-star wide receiver Brian Williams Jr. rounds out the group. He’s the No. 746 player nationally, No. 117 wide receiver and No. 101 player in Florida.

Camp action

The Elite 11 and All 22 camp continued its national tour, stopping at State College for high school recruits to showcase their skills.

Tons of talented quarterbacks were in attendance like the No. 3 quarterback in the 2027 class in 4-star Nebraska pledge Trae Taylor and 4-star Washington commit Derek Zammit. Zammit went to the Elite 11 finals, but Penn State had a pair of its future gunslingers tossing the pigskin.

Both 4-star 2026 quarterback Penn State commits Peyton Falzone and Troy Huhn made the trip, marking the first time the duo has interacted with each other in person. Falzone made the drive from in-state Nazareth, while Huhn made the cross-country trek from California.

Falzone is the No. 247 player nationally, No. 17 quarterback and No. 6 player in Pennsylvania. He was formerly committed to Virginia Tech and plays for Nazareth High School, where former Penn State wide receiver Jahan Dotson played.

Huhn’s the No. 268 player nationally, No. 28 in California and No. 20 quarterback. Penn State hadn’t had a commitment from the Golden State since linebacker Koa Farmer in 2014 prior to Huhn’s pledge. Freshman linebacker LaVar Arrington II became the next shortly after.

In addition to the gunslingers, a pair of commits from Delaware made the trip, in 4-star 2027 offensive tackle Layton Von Brandt and 3-star defensive lineman Isaac Chukwurah. Both spent some time competing against each other in drills.

Von Brandt is the No. 74 player nationally, No. 7 offensive tackle and No. 1 player in Delaware. Chukwurah is ranked as the No. 711 player nationally, No. 79 defensive lineman and No. 2 player in Delaware.

Chukwurah brought home the defensive line MVP for the All 22 camp.

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HERNING, Denmark — After a goalless opening period, the United States proceeded to secure its place in the quarterfinals of the ice hockey world championship with a 6-1 rout of Kazakhstan on Sunday.

The Americans are tied with the Czech Republic on 14 points in Group B, trailing leader Switzerland on 16. The U.S. completes its group stage on Tuesday against the Czechs, who have two more games to play.

“I thought we were ready to play out of the gate,” U.S. head coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “We need to continue to build and get ready for what will be a big challenge on Tuesday against the Czechs.”

Despite an unproductive first period in Herning, the U.S. jumped to a commanding five-goal lead in the second.

Frank Nazar broke the deadlock 6:58 into the period with a shot from the left circle above the glove of Sergei Kudryavtsev. The forward added two assists later in the game.

Defenseman Jackson Lacombe wristed a shot from the blue line through heavy traffic to double the lead with 8:14 to go in the second period.

The next two goals came in the span of 58 seconds.

Forward Tage Thompson scored his fifth at the tournament — after receiving a pass from defenseman Zeev Buium — to make it 3-0 with 6:00 left. Matty Beniers increased the advantage to four from the left circle before Michael Kesselring scored with a high shot from a tight angle from the boards 56 seconds before the end of the period.

U.S. defensive star Zach Werenski skated toward the goal before beating backup goalie Maxim Pavlenko who came on at the beginning of the final period.

Goaltender Jeremy Swayman made 16 saves for the U.S.

Switzerland demolished Hungary 10-0 and will play its last Group B game against Kazakhstan on Tuesday.

In Stockholm, a 5-1 victory over Slovakia lifted Latvia to fourth place in Group A.

Also in Stockholm, Austria beat Slovenia 3-2 in a shootout to keep alive its hopes of reaching the quarterfinals for the first time. Austria is tied in fifth with Slovakia in Group A.

The top four teams from each group will advance.

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AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports