Fifteen student-athletes from all three Cazenovia Central School District schools last week joined nearly 300 student-athletes from 11 schools in Madison and Oneida counties to compete in the annual Madison-Oneida BOCES Special Olympics Autumn Games at Canastota High School.
Participants from Camden, Canastota, Cazenovia, Chittenango, Hamilton, Madison, Morrisville-Eaton, Oneida, Stockbridge Valley, Vernon-Verona-Sherrill and Madison-Oneida BOCES competed in a variety of track and field events. These included: 50-meter, 100-meter, 200-meter and 400-meter runs, shot put, running and standing long jump and a softball throw. The event also includes Adaptive Games for athletes not able to compete in traditional events.
Cazenovia student athletes who participated were: Sage Byrnes, Kodi Callahan, Luke Clonan, Ian Decker, Harry Dydo, Anna Linck, Sam Louis, Sophia Lupinski, Ryan Lyrek, Ava Marshall, Alex Mussision, Zachary Streeter, Ryan Tallman, Connor Wilcox, and Connor Zampetti.
Each of the participants was paired up with a high school senior “athlete assistant” for the day. The seniors who helped coach some of our Burton St. Students at the Special Olympics included: Lizzy Bigsby, Nafissa Ibrahim, Rachel McLaughlin, Kate Sullivan, Peter Decew, Casey Fenton, Tim Hunt, Walker Nichols, Hayden Polhamus, Eli Mitchell, Jon Nannery, Brian Silfer, Hugh Slocum, Bredan Wells and Alex Devine.
“I don’t know if words can explain the feeling of being here,” said Sean Condon, Burton Street PE teacher and Cazenovia team coordinator. “Just to see the smiles on their faces is amazing. Everyone is happy and excited to be here.”
Cazenovia had not participated in the M-O BOCES Special Olympics in many years, but returned to the event in 2013 with seven student-athletes from Burton Street Elementary School. This year, participation was opened to student-athletes in the middle and high schools as well, Condon said.
The event began with all the teams — joined by more than 100 volunteers who helped run events and assisted athletes in getting to their events on time — marching into the Canastota track complex by school delegation in the traditional Parade of Athletes and Opening Ceremonies. The parade was led by the Canastota Marching Band, and the Canastota Select Choir sang the National Anthem.
Canastota Superintendent June Clarke and MOBOCES Special Programs Coordinator Laurie Ann Ross, a longtime Special Olympics organizer, offered welcome remarks.
“These games are about more than sports,” Clarke said. “This is a valuable event that brings together the athletes, families, friends and school personnel in a way that will be remembered for a lifetime. And it just shows how all these wonderful people support and encourage our student athletes on a daily basis.”
The athletes then all recited the Special Olympics oath — “Let me win, but if I cannot win let me be brave in the attempt” — and the games began.
It was one of the largest turnouts for the regional Autumn Games since it has been held in Canastota, Ross said. “Congratulations to you all for being here today,” she said.
Each of the participating athletes competed in two events.
Athletes Sophia Lapinski and Ava Marshall both said they were having fun; Lapinski said her favorite event was the softball throw.
“I am so glad they started doing this again,” said Jennifer Streeter, whose 10-year-old son Zach participated. “He really likes it.”
Another parent, Stacey Mussision, whose son Alex competed in the 200-meter race and the long jump, agreed. “This is awesome,” she said. “I didn’t realize how many schools are involved.”
“In an event like this, everybody wins,” said Cazenovia Superintendent Matt Reilly, who also attended the games, along with Cazenovia High School Principal Eric Knuth and Cazenovia CSD Special Education Director Terry Ward. “We are so proud of everyone here today. What a great turnout.”
Event volunteers included MOBOCES Career and Technical Education students from Engineering Science, Equine and Animal Science and the Allied Health Partnership. MOBOCES Early Childhood Education students set up and ran the Olympic Village, which had a variety of crafts and games for athletes and spectators to participate in between events.
For more information and photos, visit the Madison-Oneida BOCES website at moboces.org. Photos of the Cazenovia athletes and volunteers can also be found on the Cazenovia Republican Facebook page at Facebook.com/cazrepublican.
Jason Emerson is editor of the Cazenovia Republican. He can be reached at [email protected].
