Special Olympics bowlers strike down competition at regional event
Bonner County Daily Bee | UPDATED 3 weeks, 3 days AGO
From left, Sandpoint Special Olympics team members John Painter, Renee Cunningham and Lukas Birdsell show off the first-place ribbons they received for winning their divisions at Northern Bowling Regionals held Saturday at Sunset Lanes in Coeur d'Alene.
(Courtesy Photo)
COEUR d'ALENE — The Sandpoint Special Olympics bowling team put together a great showing as they recorded a plethora of strikes and spares at Northern Bowling Regionals, held this past Saturday at Sunset Lanes.
This year's event saw athletes from Sandpoint, Bonners Ferry, Coeur d'Alene, the Silver Valley, Moscow, and Lewiston in attendance. It was believed to be the largest Special Olympics regional bowling tournament ever held in the area.
John Painter, Sahl Underwood, Lukas Birdsell, Renee Cunningham, and Caitlin Bayles placed first in their divisions for Sandpoint. Birdsell is considered to be the team's most improved bowler of the season, while Cunningham was one of the top women's bowlers in the region.
Adding second-place finishes were locals Roy Burrow, Chelsea Dennis, Bob Liectman, Katie Kludt and Eliyah Allen while Starr Firstenberg, Katie Greenenough, Michelle Couldry, Kevin Collins, Burton Radonich and Billy Freeman all earned third-place finishes. Race Barrett, Hayley Thompson, Beverly Hudson, Jorden Firstenberg and Jackson Barth all placed fourth in their respective divisions for Sandpoint, which demonstrated the Special Olympics traits of skill, courage, sharing, and joy while they competed this past weekend.
The team would like to extend a special thanks to Sunset Lanes for allowing them to bowl at their venue, to the Coeur d'Alene Eagles Special Olympics team for hosting, and to Sedona Hansen of Special Olympics Idaho for arranging the event.