By SCOTT HARRISON

s.harrison@krdo.com

COLORADO SPRINGS - At Wasson High School Saturday, the first Wade Lehman Figure 4 Memorial Award was given to a local wrestler.  The trophy is in memory of Lehman, a Coronado High School graduate and CSU-Pueblo student who died in a traffic accident November 24 of last year.

Lehman's mother, Lori, says the trophy will be awarded annually to a junior high wrestler chosen by a panel of coaches.  The athlete's school will display the trophy, and the athlete will receive a separate trophy and a T-shirt.  The Figure 4 part of the trophy's name relates to a move Wade commonly used to pin an opponent. 

"It's bittersweet," Lori says.  "I'm very pleased that we've done this, and now he will be honored.  But the idea that I had to do it is still hard."

An 8th grade student at Russell Middle School, Aleah LaFrancis, earned the award.  She went on to win her championship match, and is believed to be the first female to win a city title.  Her younger sister, Alyssa, had a chance to match the accomplishment but lost in her final match.

The award is paid for with money collected from a memorial fund in Wade's honor.  Lori says Wade's friends and loved ones also will have a balloon release on Tuesday, the anniversary of his death.  The event begins at 5 p.m. at Coronado High School, 1590 West Fillmore Street.