Williams Special Olympians win 19 medals at state games
The Williams Special Olympics contingent brought home 19 medals from the recent state meet in Phoenix.
Eleven competitors were in the state games from Williams.
“As you can see from our standing, they all competed very well,” said Lynette Fennell, volunteer for Williams Special Olympics program and classroom aide for the resource program at Williams Elementary/-Middle School. “We are so proud of them.”
The team brought home five gold medals, nine silver medals and five bronze medals. Williams also had two fourth-place finishes and a sixth-place finish at the meet.
Team members included:
Staci Strange, Armondo Aguirre, Mark Konkel, Carisa Stilwell, Jose Valerio, Daniel Ruiz, Michael Ruiz, Bryant Wiese, Dana Blood, Carmen Torres and Peter Espinoza.
The athletes competed in events such as the standing long jump and 200-meter dash.
Blood took first place in the running long jump and second in the 200-meter dash.
Strange took second in the standing long jump and second in the 200-meter dash.
Aguirre took first in the running long jump and first in the 200-meter dash.
Konkel took second in the running long jump and the second in the 100-meter dash.
Espinoza took sixth in the 100-meter dash and received a third-place medal in the standing long jump.
Ruiz got fourth in the 100-meter dash and second in the running long jump.
Wiese received two second-place medals for the 100-meter dash and the standing long jump.
Stilwell took fourth in the standing long jump and received a second-place medal in the 100-meter dash.
Ruiz received a third-place medal for the 200-meter dash and a second-place medal in the running long jump.
Valerio took second for the running long jump and third in the 200-meter dash.
Torres received two first-place medals, winning the running long jump and the 200-meter dash.
While in Phoenix, the team took time to have some fun.
“We stayed in Phoenix three days — the kids loved the pool,” Fennell said. “We went to the Arizona Mills mall. I took them to the Rain Forest Cafe — they were really excited about that.”
And what would a trip to Phoenix be like without something to cool off?
“A tradition is to go to the Cold Stone Creamery for ice cream,” Fennell said.
With plans to build a pool in Williams and the bowling alley now closed, the Special Olympics program is looking to change slightly.
“We’re looking at possibly replacing our bowling tournament with a swim meet and also the possibility of putting together a golf tournament,” Fennell said.
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