Special Olympians get ready for state with Naperville meet
As 18-year-old Avery Connors pushed closer to the finish line at North Central College's Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium in Naperville, the voices from the stands urged her and the other athletes on the track to keep going.
One of them belonged to Gretchen Connors, Avery's mother, who looked on with gratitude for how far her daughter had come to be competing Sunday in the 35th annual Western DuPage Special Recreation Association Special Olympics track meet.
Avery, a junior at Naperville North High School who has Down syndrome, was one of about 225 athletes taking part in the meet. She has been running track with WDSRA for three years.
"She loves it," Gretchen Connors said. "I think it has helped her a lot because they have one-on-one peers, and so it just gives her confidence that I don't think she would normally have."
Only a few years ago, you wouldn't find Avery competing in a meet like Sunday's.
"She could always run, but she wouldn't participate in this and now she does because she likes everybody so much," her mother said.
Danny Henson, athletic supervisor for WDSRA, said the event is a warm-up for the Special Olympics state qualifying track meet coming up in two weeks at North Central.
"They just get the feel for what a track meet is like before they actually get into their qualifying events to go to state," he said.
Events included a 50-meter run, a 100-meter run, a relay, a softball throw, a tennis ball throw, long jump and shot put.
"(The athletes) are very competitive," Henson said. "They all want to win."
On the track, the athletes displayed a wide range of ability, some laboring down their lanes and others negotiating the course with ease. Nearly all shared the perseverance that is necessary for athletic success.
Kristina Hagenbaumer, who coaches students from Naperville North and Naperville Central high schools, as well as some older athletes, testified to the competitive spirit of the participants, as well as their athletic ability.
"I would say that some of my athletes would give a lot of our regular (education) athletes a run for their money. They are very talented," she said.
The athletes were assisted by peers who served as on-the-field coaches.
Hagenbaumer said the peer-athlete bond is close.
"I see relationships not only growing in practice but outside of practice," she said.
The closeness was apparent between peer Lexi Gianacakos, a sophomore at Naperville Central, and her partner Zach Wymer, a senior at Naperville North who has been diagnosed with autism. The two work together at track and bowling, Lexi said.
"I really enjoy it," she said. "I just like being with the kids and knowing I'm making a difference and helping out."
Brian McClure of Naperville, whose 17-year-old son Ian, a senior at Naperville Central, competed Sunday said the opportunities offered by such events go beyond just the athletic arena.
"My son has a hard time forming any kind of friendships at all because he's not really functional on that level. They all get together and hang out together, and I think it's really a good thing for him," he said.