Sandpoint swimmers bring home plenty of ribbons from Special Olympics Regionals
Bonner County Daily Bee | UPDATED 2 hours, 20 minutes AGO
The Sandpoint Special Olympics swim team, along with unified athletes Trace and Owen Bennett and a friend from Kootenai, show off all of the ribbons they won at the Special Olympics Northern Summer Regionals held April 25 at the University of Idaho Swim Center in Moscow. Pictured, from left are Emily Colgrove (Kootenai), Owen Bennett, Jordan Bennett, Trace Bennett, Autumn Schindler, Campbell Wyman, Beverly Hudson, Elliott Ball and Tammy Hudson. In front is Bob Leichtman.
(Courtesy Photo)
MOSCOW — The Sandpoint Special Olympics swim team took eight athletes to compete at Northern Summer Regionals held April 25 at the University of Idaho Swim Center.
All eight athletes representing Sandpoint placed first in at least one event and almost every athlete achieved at least one lifetime best.
"As a coach, I am very proud of the hard work and commitment each athlete has made these past two months in training," coach Meggie Foust said. "I'm also very grateful to Sue Ball and Tammy Hudson for all of their volunteer efforts to make sure each athlete gets the help they need."
"It is always fun to see the athletes reach new goals and surprise themselves with their own strength," coach Foust continued. "This year was a very special team filled with dedicated athletes — it was awesome to see their hard work pay off."
Autumn Schindler achieved new personal bests in both of her events, placing first in the 15-meter kick (.15) and third in the 25-meter kick (.45) while Oliver Bond placed second in the 15-meter walk (13.00) and first in the 25-meter kick board (43.27). Also in the walk events, Elliott Ball won both the 15-meter walk (11.00) and the 25-meter walk (45.00) and grabbed fourth-place in the 15-meter kick board (35.00). Bob Leichtman took first in the 25-meter flotation (1:51.62) and was fourth in the 15-meter walk (25.00).
Among other milestones, Beverly Hudson broke the 1-minute mark for a first-place finish in the 50 free (59.33) and secured another first-place ribbon in the 25 free (24.30). Campbell Wyman added a trio of gold medals to his collection, winning the 100 breast (1:37.34), the 25 freestyle (15.79) and the 200 IM (3:20.44). Jordan Bennett added wins for Sandpoint in the 100 back (1:48.90) and 200 free (3:14.36), both of which were huge new personal bests.
To round out the day's efforts, unified athletes Trace and Owen Bennett teamed up with Sandpoint Special Olympics swimmers for a pair of unified relays. Hudson, Trace Bennett, Jordan Bennett and Owen Bennett posted a win in the 100 free relay (1:08.25) while Wyman joined the Bennett trio for a win in the 200 IM relay (2:26.78).
"This season has been phenomenal," coach Melissa Wyman added. "Last year, we had three competing athletes... this year we have grown to eight competing athletes, and they all came in eager to learn. It is an amazing moment to watch all of them find their success."
Next up, members of the Sandpoint Special Olympics will turn their focus to the State Summer Games, set to be held May 29-30 in the Greater Boise Area.