If Mark Zupan were to compete in a contest of the most extreme drunken stories, he would undeniably take home first place.

His narrative involves being thrown from the bed of a truck into a canal, where he hung onto a tree branch for 14 hours, even though he suffered a broken neck that left him partially paralyzed in all four limbs.

But that was 12 years ago, and now he’s taking home top honors in an extreme sport- wheelchair rugby.

At Downing University Center’s theater Thursday night, Zupan spoke about living life as a quadriplegic to an audience of about 100 students, following a showing of the documentary “MurderBall.”

Zupan shared details about his accident, the emotional challenges he faced becoming one of the best quad rugby players in the world and his hopes for the future.

The attitude he displayed while speaking about his life-changing car wreck was not one of negativity or self-pity. It was the complete opposite.

“The accident was the best thing that’s ever happened to me, hands down,” he said. “I’ve done more in this wheelchair than I could’ve done regularly.”

Students like Louisville sophomore Ashley Hill seemed to find this aspect of Zupan’s personality inspirational.

“Anybody that can deal with something life-altering like that shows a lot of character,” she said. “Not many people could come to that point and really accept it.”

Competing in wheelchair rugby for Team USA in the Paralympics is among Zupan’s many accomplishments as a quadriplegic that have made him optimistic about his situation.

Zupan also stars in “MurderBall,” documenting his experiences on a quad rugby team from a 2002 competition in New Zealand through winning a bronze medal at the 2004 Paralympics in Athens, Greece.

With personal accounts from other players on the team, a bitter rival and a newly-quadriplegic, the movie mixes emotion with the competition that makes wheelchair rugby what it is.

“It’s like, here’s life, here’s the trials and tribulations,” Zupan said of the film. “It’s a very powerful thing to see.”

The documentary won an award at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival, which didn’t seem to surprise students after seeing it.

The passion the film portrayed and its debunking of misconceptions about quadriplegics appealed to many students, like Frankfort sophomore Shane Slattery.

“I enjoyed the movie all-around,” he said. “It answered questions about how to approach someone in a wheelchair or with a disability, and it really did throw every assumption out the window.”

Reach Ashley Maines at features@wkuherald.com.