Nothing slowing Butler down — Injured senior still pulls out a top year

Newcastle High School senior Aidan Butler, 18, was injured in a car accident on Feb. 2, 2025, putting a temporary halt on his otherwise incredible senior year — but thanks to the support of friends, family and the community as a whole, Aidan is ready to finish the year strong.

Throughout his four years at NHS, Butler has been involved in numerous activities, including many sports, such as varsity football and track. This year he even picked up wrestling for the first time in his athletic career.

“I kind of regretted not doing it sooner,” he said.

Aidan’s parents were hesitant about him getting into the sport due to fears of injury, but this year they let go of those worries and were rewarded by watching him excel.

In light of his parents’ grace, Aidan picked up the sport, and he advises others who hesitate to add a sport or other activity to an already busy schedule to do the same.

“You should try it, and if you get injured, it’s OK,” he said.

Head high school wrestling coach and former NHS graduate Teigen Marchant was impressed by Aidan’s ability and drive for the sport.

“To be completely and utterly honest, I have never seen a kid pick it up so quickly,” he said.

Marchant attributed Aidan’s success not just to his athletic ability but also to his attitude.

“It boils down to the fact that he wanted to be good,” Marchant said. “He was a really coachable kid who wants to be the best at whatever he does.”

Unfortunately, Aidan was not able to finish out the season with the team and most regrettably was not able to attend the state tournament. Marchant said that the absence of Aidan’s energy alone was enough to affect the team. Butler is looked up to as a steady, consistent, really positive teammate, according to Marchant.

The coach said that the first week after the crash was really tough on the whole team. “Until the kids started seeing hope, it was a really negative environment,” he reported.

Aidan and the team eventually connected on a FaceTime call that benefited all parties, and even though Aidan could not be physically present with the team at state, he kept up with the happenings on his phone. Whether it was through texting on the team group chat or by checking the state website for results, he was with them in spirit.

Aidan competes as a thrower for NHS varsity track, and although the first month or so will be very limited, he said that once he is cleared to throw “it is go time.” He is slowly being reintroduced to school activities, and he plans to stand back, manage and support the team with his positive attitude.

While the crash impacted Aidan’s wrestling and track season, he did have a full and accomplished football season, and was lucky enough to experience a home playoff game. He was pleased his last year playing defensive end for coach Conzelman and the Dogies had him going out on a good note.

“I can look back on it and think that I had a great senior year,” he said.

Football season was one of the most exciting aspects of Aidan’s senior year for his dad, Nathan Butler, who said that he looked forward to watching Aidan compete because he had been named captain the year before.

“He has always been very active and very outdoorsy, but he has always been mainly interested in football,” Nathan said. “As a parent, I looked forward to watching him go into his senior year and seeing what he could accomplish, whether there was a next step or not.”

Sports are a clear highlight of Aidan’s life, but he has also been an active member of Future Farmers of America and was named to the National Honors Society.

Butler got involved in FFA his sophomore year after his agriculture teacher told him to look into joining.

“It started off by just spending a lot of time in the ag shop,” he said.

Aidan has enjoyed competing in livestock judging, environmental and natural resources, ag mechanics and poultry judging. His favorite has been ag mechanics.

He will take his love for agriculture with him to Western Colorado University, where he has been accepted. He will attend WCU in the fall and plans to pursue a master’s degree in environmental management.

Nathan said that his son has always been a good student, and Aidan’s induction to the National Honor Society at the end of his junior year confirmed a bright future is ahead.

While the accident may have put everything on hold for a month, Aidan persevered and that fighter looks brighter than ever.

Nathan explained that the family has had good support from the community through this tough time, and when Aidan returned home from the hospital he was greeted with about fifty “get well soon” cards.

“There is not really much of an ask of the community (now),” Nathan said. “It is more of a thanks.”