Valley Sports ReportSTATE COLLEGE — Summer Games is held yearly at Penn State University as the culmination of the spring season. Team Bradford-Sullivan attended with athletes competing in swimming, and track and field.
The event is a highlight for the athletes as there are additional benefits and fun beyond the competition. Athletes are able to have health screenings for ears, eyes, feet, and mental health free of charge. The athletes stay in the dorms for two nights, enjoy the campus life, and have entertainment such as an exciting Opening Ceremony, a fair-like event called Olympic Village and a Victory Dance & Celebration.
Team Bradford-Sullivan’s swim team was represented by Elizabeth Porter, Jacob Stiner, Evan Haggerty, Deb Mapes, and Mara Davis.
Athletes were divided into divisions based upon previous performance.
On the first day of competition, Porter swam the 800-yard freestyle final to win the silver medal. Other athletes competed in preliminaries that day.
The second day saw all swimmers in action. For individual events, Porter claimed the bronze medal in the 100-yard backstroke and Stiner won the gold medal in the 100-yard freestyle.
The 4-by-25-yard freestyle relay consisting of Stiner, Mapes, Davis, and Porter swam a very exciting race against tough competition to bring home the gold medal.
In addition, athletes swam additional preliminaries.
The third day brought the most finals, with ribbons and more medals. In the 25-yard freestyle, Mapes claimed bronze and Davis earned the sixth-place ribbon.
Porter returned to the water to claim a gold medal in the 200 freestyle.
In their respective divisions of the 50-yard backstroke, Stiner took the seventh-place ribbon and Davis took the fourth-place ribbon.
Haggerty won gold in the 25-yard kickboard race and followed with a silver medal in the 25-yard of swim.
In the 25-yard backstroke, Mapes earned the sixth-place ribbon and Davis won the gold medal.
Stiner concluded the day’s events by winning bronze in a highly-contested race of eight athletes.
Team Bradford-Sullivan’s track team was represented by their two training sites.
The Martha Lloyd training site consisted of Jody Zacher, Patty Briar, Sirena Covey, Jerrell Lyon, Amanda Kolb, Susan Beemer, Lauren Clark, Kenedie Kasson, and Roger Benson.
The Valley training site consisted of Damian Smith, Rob Mapes, Christina Cybulak, Annie Roof, Jeffrey Bailey, Izaak Hobday, Randy Fortune and Robert Cummings.
Many divisions were tough competition with up to eight athletes competing.
In the 50-meter run, Amanda Kolb grabbed gold. For the 50-meter walk Lauren Clark secured silver, while Kenedie Kasson placed fifth and Patty Briar was sixth.
The 100-meter run saw Damian Smith with a bronze medal and Jerrell Lyon win gold.
Randy Fortune and Robert Cummings took gold in their respective 100-meter walk divisions, while Roger Benson placed eighth. Lauren Clark won a Silver and Jody Zacher secured a bronze.
In the 200-meter run, Christina Cybulak and Damian Smith secured bronze in their divisions. Robert Mapes placed fourth , Jerrell Lyon was fifth and Jeff Bailey was sixth.
Jeff Bailey ran to a fourth-place in the 400-meter run.
The 400-meter walk left Sirena Covey and Sue Beemer with sixth place, Jody Zacher with seventh and Roger Benson with the Silver medal.
Christina Cybulak place fourth in the 800-meter run, and Jeff Bailey place sixth, while Sirena Covey took fifth in the 800-meter walk and Roger Benson earned a silver medal.
In the 1500-meter run, Izaak Hobday won a gold medal and Damian Smith and Christina Cybulak each grabbed bronze.
Hobday also won gold in his division of the 3,000-meter and 5,000-meter runs.
Bradford-Sullivan fielded two running relay teams and one walking relay.
The running team of Cybulak, Hobday, Mapes and Smith won silver and the running team of Bailey, Lyon, Kolb, and Roof placed fifth. The walking team of Benson, Covey, Fortune and Cummings earned bronze.
Annie Roof competed in the pentathlon (100 and 800-meter runs, long jump, high jump, and shot put) and earned a silver medal.
The results of the mini-javelin and shot put have not yet been posted. Randy Fortune, Robert Mapes, Robert Cummings, Amanda Kolb, Lauren Clark, Sue Beemer, Jody Zacher, Patty Briar, Jerrell Lyon, Kenedie Kasson competed in mini-javelin. Randy Fortune, Rob Mapes, and Robert Cummings competed in shot put.
All coaches for Special Olympics are volunteers who train the athletes and accompany them to this event. Thanks to swim coaches, Cynthia and Burdett Porter and to track coaches, Tracy Wright, Collin Wright, Sheridan Talada, Chrisy Spencer, and Gina Willow.
If you’d like to volunteer for Bradford Sullivan Special Olympics, contact sopabradford.sullivan@gmail.com.
