No sentence adequately captures the essence of a kid like John Paul Dalsaso.

Dalsaso’s vibrant personality could turn a frown into a smile and a stranger into what felt like a lifelong friend. Dalsaso was a beloved figure at Cheyenne Mountain and always aimed to inspire those he knew.

“He was such an icon in that school and in that zip code,” Dalsaso’s father, Thomas, said. “Everyone knew John Paul. I try to think of who didn’t know him and I can’t think of anyone. As a parent, I’m the luckiest man to have had him for 18 years. He had one foot in heaven and one foot on Earth his whole life.”

Dalsaso, this week’s Gazette Preps Peak Performer, died in his sleep Feb. 10 due to cardiac arrest. The Red-Tailed Hawks senior played for the school’s unified bowling and basketball teams and put on a show each time he stepped on the court. The final two shots of his career came from half-court in Cheyenne Mountain’s game against Mitchell on Feb. 3.

“He got the ball and gave us a look and put up three fingers like he was going to shoot it,” Dalsaso’s mom, Colleen, said. “He was at half-court and, pow! He hit the shot. The crowd went wild, the cheerleaders were there, the (Cheyenne Mountain boys) varsity team was there and it was amazing. Everyone was shocked that he did that. Then, one of the kids got the ball and John Paul asked him to pass him the ball. The kid gave John Paul the ball and he did it again. It was amazing.”

Dalsaso played sports most of his life despite having Prader-Willi syndrome. One of the effects is reduced strength and motor control. But Dalsaso never let it hinder him.

“Doctors didn’t know if he’d ever be able to walk,” Thomas said. “But we had those Fisher-Price hoops and one of his desires was to be able to stand up and put the ball through the hoop and that was what helped him to stand and learn how to walk.”

Dalsaso joined Colorado Special Olympics and the Pikes Peak Wolves in 2020 where he played basketball, bowling, tennis and swimming. During his freshman year at Cheyenne Mountain, Dalsaso joined the school’s unified bowling team where he earned multiple all-state honors from the Colorado High School Activities Association, including 2025. While Dalsaso thrived on the unified bowling team, his passion was basketball.

“He would look up stats, players’ names, different teams’ records,” Dalsaso’s twin, James, said. “He would see some of the stats and final scores and it would be 26 to something. He would see that and say, ‘I just had 26 in my last game.’ He was devoted.”

Throughout high school, Dalsaso was adamant that the school get a unified basketball team where he could shine in similar fashion to how James does on the Red-Tailed Hawks’ varsity. Dalsaso prodded faculty for years in hopes of convincing the school to put together a unified team so they could hopefully hang a basketball banner in the gym.

“He has been after me ever since I’ve known him,” Mimi Bassett, Dalsaso’s unified bowling and basketball coach said. “We met when he was a freshman and he knew my son played basketball for (Colorado State University.) It took a while, but we finally got a team and made it come true.”

Dalsaso, or “JP” as his teammates and friends called him, played four games for the Red-Tailed Hawks and entertained the crowd with each play. But for the Red-Tailed Hawks’ fifth contest, a matchup with Coronado, Dalsaso could only join in spirit.

Cheyenne Mountain faced Coronado on Feb. 12 and Dalsaso’s No. 33 jersey and flowers covered a chair on the bench. The Red-Tailed Hawks’ gym, whose colors are maroon and white, was flooded with eventgoers wearing orange, the awareness color for Prader-Willi syndrome. Even Cheyenne Mountain’s boys varsity opponent that night, Discovery Canyon, wore orange to commemorate the fallen Red-Tailed Hawk.  

The tributes to Dalsaso stretched beyond Cheyenne Mountain. The Red-Tailed Hawks’ wrestling team wore orange shoelaces at their regional tournament and the girls swimming and diving team, which traveled to Thornton for the 4A state meet, celebrated Dalsaso.

Members of the Red-Tailed Hawks’ relay teams held an orange towel with the words “In loving memory of JP” written on it as they stood on the podium at Veterans Memorial Center after their finals races Friday.

“I would have love to have been at the basketball game to celebrate JP,” swimmer Elyse Eilmes said. “But to bring his spirit up here and his energy and knowing we’re here for him and his family was great. We did this for JP and he’s still an integral part of our community and we knew that coming up here.”

James later learned of the various tributes and said he was grateful for everyone who thought of him and his family as they grieved. Also, James said he’s proud of what his brother meant to the community.

“He has the effect of bringing people together and bringing a lot of joy to people,” James said. “That was a time of grieving for me and my family, but that game helped a lot by seeing what John Paul did for others.”

James also had his career-best game that night. James wore Dalsaso’s No. 33 jersey, scored a career-high 24 points and helped Cheyenne Mountain beat Discovery Canyon 60-50.

The Red-Tailed Hawks are 17-4 as of Tuesday and hope to have a lengthy postseason run in the upcoming 5A playoffs. That’s important because James hopes to add to his brother’s dream of hanging a basketball banner at Cheyenne Mountain.

“I hope to see both banners on that wall,” James said. “We don’t have any basketball banners and we have one football banner. It would be nice to get some of those other sports on the wall. He was devoted and ready to win and I think they still will.”

The unified basketball team qualified for state and will play at Gold Crown Field House in Lakewood on March 6. Dalsaso may not be around to see Cheyenne Mountain put a basketball banner in its school. But he’ll get his wish.

“He was so determined to get a banner in the gym,” Bassett said. “Before anything happened, I went to our athletic director, Kris Roberts, and I asked him, ‘What are the chances of you giving us a banner?’ Kris said, ‘You got it.’ I told JP and his mom and they were so excited. Now, these kids are so excited to go up there and win for him.”