A rising star: Three-year-old fearless on snowboard

DUBUQUE (AP) - Wesley Muresan is fearless on a snowboard.

The Dubuque boy, who has been snowboarding for about two months, loves to perform countless tricks on the ramps at Sundown Mountain Resort.

However, he still needs help from his mom to put on his gear and SpongeBob SquarePants helmet. The rising star is just 3 years old.

Wesley has received national media attention for his snowboarding abilities. Some have even questioned if he will become the next Olympic champion like snowboarder Shaun White.

“We're just like ‘calm down everyone, he's 3,'” said Danelle, Wesley's mother.

Danelle Muresan, who home-schools Wesley and his 8-year-old brother, Devin, decided to bring them to Sundown as part of their physical-education class.

Muresan and her husband, Alin, have gone skiing a few times in the past but decided to purchase their sons snowboards because the sport seemed more popular than skiing.

After about the fourth time on the beginner's hill, Wesley was amped to try something harder.

He raced his big brother down the big hills and quickly caught on to tricks.

“He is not going to let his brother do better than him,” Muresan said.

The 3-year-old dynamo shocked his fellow snowboarders as they watched him tackle rails, jump jumps and grab his snowboard in the air.

“I like doing them,” Wesley said about the rails.

His mother is in awe of her younger son's natural ability.

“It's funny because we didn't expect him to get out of the bunny hill,” she said.

His brother, and partner in crime at Sundown, thinks Wesley is amazing.

“I love to watch my brother go psycho sometimes,” Devin said. “It's cool.”

Sometimes Wesley gets a little too adventurous. His mother, who started snowboarding a few weeks ago, remembered following Wesley when he suddenly decided he was going to try a new trick right in front of her.

“I was having a heart attack behind him,” Muresan said. “He's been watching too many You Tube videos.”

The family goes to Sundown about four times per week for six to eight hours per day with an hour break for lunch.

“He never wants to come in,” Muresan said with a smile. “Sometimes I'm tired and I want to go home, but he doesn't.”

She said Wesley throws a little tantrum, just like any child his age, whenever it's time to leave the slopes for the night.

“It's always ‘one more,'” Muresan said. “We're usually the last people to leave.”

The family typically heads out to Sundown during the weekdays when there aren't a ton of people around.

“He is so small, sometimes it's hard for people to see him,” Muresan said.