MAY 14, 2009 ISSUE
2009 SONC Spring Games Great Success
Twenty-Six Competitors Headed to Raleigh for Summer Games
Despite being postponed for a week due to weather, the Special Olympics North Carolina (SONC) Spring Games in Watauga County came off without a hitch on Thursday, May 7.
“We were so blessed,” said Keron Poteat of Watauga County Parks and Recreation. “We had great cooperation from the High School and amazing help from the volunteers. The games were very successful.”
The weather was also much better.
“People were getting sunburns,” said Poteat.
She especially wanted to thank the community and volunteers for their support. Seventy-five completely different volunteers than the ones initially scheduled showed up to help the 110 athletes competing in this year’s games.
With 22 separate events to compete in and awards being given to first, second and third place, nearly every athlete went home with a medal this year. Out of those who competed, 26 are headed to the 2009 SONC Summer Games in Raleigh on June 5 to 7. They are either competing on a team or individually in volleyball, aquatics, track and field or power lifting.
Two teams from Watauga County will compete in the volleyball tournament in Raleigh—The Watauga County Duck-n-Cover and The Watauga County Eight is Enough.
Team members for Eight is Enough include Linda Sheeler, Glenn Deiters, Mieszko Kwiatkowski, Ricky Corley, Robert Patteson, Forest Bolick, Clyde Parsons, Cassidy Turley.
The team members on the Duck-n-Cover are Dale Sherrill, Andrew Bryan, Sam Ritter, Justin Cordini, Catlin Bray, Greg McCann and Stacey Critcher. Team member Catlin Bray, 22, was one of four North Carolina athletes that competed this past February in the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games. Her sport was Alpine Skiing.
For SONC, all competition is broken down into 9 divisions of ability, 1 being the highest and most difficult and 9 being the lowest. The Duck-n-Cover will be competing in division 1 when they go to Raleigh.
Five swimmers from Watauga County will also be headed to Raleigh this summer. The swimmers include: Andrew Guy, who will swim the 50-yard backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle; Matthew Mast, who will swim the 50-yard backstroke and freestyle as well as the 100-yard backstroke; Keran DeHart, who will also be in the 50-yard back and free as well as the 100-yard free; Courtney Bell, who will swim the 50-yard back, free and breaststroke; and Rusty Writer, who will swim in the 25-yard free and back.
Swimmers Guy, Mast, DeHart and Bell have taken the competition one step further and formed a relay team known as the Watauga Otters. They will swim in the 4x25-yard freestyle and the 4x50-yard freestyle.
Five Wataugans are headed to Raleigh for the Track and Field portion of the Games. Sprinters Charlie Woodward and Maria Weaver will compete in the 25-meter dash, the 50m dash and the softball throw. Donna Miller, Ava Trivette and Sandy Steele will power their way through the 50m race walk and the softball throw.
Strongman Steve Norris will be the sole representative of Watauga County in the power lifting competition at the Summer Games. His starting weights for this past week’s competition were 135 pounds in Bench Press, 215 pounds in Dead lift and 155 pounds in the Squat. They may be higher for the Summer Games.
Watauga High School, the Watauga County Board of Commissioners, Watauga County Parks & Recreation, ASU Program Planning Class, Beef O’Brady’s, Domino’s, Wendy’s, Harris Teeter, Ingle’s, Backyard Burgers, M-Prints, ASU Cheerleaders & Yosef, Farmer’s Rent-alls, Bob Ellerbe with ASU Transportation, ASU Track Team, ASU ROTC & Pershing Rifles Team, Appalachian Party Rentals, Inc., Watauga Rescue Squad, local law enforcement agencies and local firefighters & agencies sponsored the event.
According to its website, www.sonc.net, “The mission of Special Olympics is to provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes and the community.”
For more information on SONC in Watauga County, call Watauga Parks and Recreation at 828-264-9511.
For more information on SONC, click to www.sonc.net.
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