D15 Special Olympians shine at State Summer Games

The Blue Jays, District 15's Special Olympics team, won three medals at the State Summer Games, held June 10-12 at Illinois State University in Normal.

The Blue Jays' soccer team brought home its second silver medal of the year — it also took silver when it qualified to compete in the State Summer Games at the Area 18 tournament. Members of the team are Ali Barr, Malik Bradley-Henderson, Nicholas Austin, Ashley Costigan, Drew Mau, Josh Kurrie, Giovanni Di Pietro, Jon Constantino, Haley Scott, and Nate Hollenbeck.

In track and field competition, Colby Mack, a second-grader at Winston Campus Elementary, won a silver medal in the softball throw, while Charles Hernandez, a fourth-grader at Kimball Hill School, won the bronze medal, and Jack McGinn, a third-grader at Thomas Jefferson School, finished in fifth place.

The trio of athletes qualified to compete in the State Summer Games by winning gold medals in the softball throw at the Area 18 track meet. Drew Mau, an eighth-grader at Carl Sandburg Junior High, won a gold medal in the softball throw at the Area 18 meet, as well, but did not compete at the State Summer Games.

Drew also won a gold medal in the 50-meter dash, as did teammates Nate Hollenbeck, a fifth-grader at Stuart R. Paddock School, Josh Kurrie, a fourth-grader at Winston Campus Elementary, and Nicholas Austin, a fourth-grader at Marion Jordan School. Additionally, the District 15 team comprised of Ali Barr, Drew Mau, Nate Hollenbeck, and Josh Kurrie won gold in the meet's 4 x 100-meter relay.

Also, in the Area 18 swimming meet held earlier this spring, Malik Bradley-Henderson, a fifth-grader at Marion Jordan School, won a gold medal in the 25-meter freestyle.

-Story Submitted by Community Consolidated School District 15