Modified basketball practice at Lincoln Middle School looks like organized chaos, and Coach Gary Cook is the ring leader. His students admire him.

"He's a genuine guy,” said eighth-grader Jake Marji. “He's always there. He's kind of like a father figure here, for me at school at least. He's always like looking out for me."

Basketball is just one thing that keeps Cook busy. He's a physical education teacher and coaches many modified sports.

Last month, he took time off from teaching. Cook traveled to Tbilisi, Georgia, and competed at the Veteran Wrestling World Championships.

"I'm doing what every wrestler dreams of,” said Cook. “It's in USA Wrestling and it says top finisher for the USA team, and that's when it kind of gave me a little bit of chills."

At worlds, Cook placed fifth at the meet for wrestlers who are 35 and older.

“It was crazy,” said eighth-grader Zyaire Martinez. “Honestly, I didn’t expect it, sorry, but I’m happy he made it to the top."

The meet capped off Cook's comeback story. He began wrestling as a kid.

"I wrestled open tournaments with my teams and stuff up until 2010,” said Cook. “My father passed away and he was there. He saw the last match I thought I would ever wrestle and I thought that was kind of cool."

Cook says he's happy with the experience in Georgia, but he knows he could've done better. He says he plans to compete again and has eyes on winning a medal.