The Examiner U-46 News Feed

Special Olympics athletes recognized by U-46 board

By Seth Hancock
  Three athletes from the School District U-46 Blue Stars took home gold at the Illinois Special Olympics’ summer games.
  The athletes were recognized by the Board of Education at its meeting on Monday, Aug. 22. The athletes competed in June at the games hosted in Bloomington-Normal, and 13 Blue Stars athletes earned a spot at the state competition from regionals.
  Brooke McGrath, the Blue Stars’ coach and an instructional special education teacher leader for the district, said for a press release: “Our U-46 Blue Stars are some of the hardest working athletes I have ever met. I couldn’t be more proud of our athletes this track and field season. They have overcome a few hurdles these past several years, but they sure did persevere and give it their all.”
  Kaylie Behrens, who recently completed her senior year at Bartlett High School and is now in U-46’s Secondary Work Experience Program (SWEP), won the 50-meter run with a time of 12.03 seconds.
  Evelyn Diem, a sophomore at Elgin High School, won the standing long jump with 1.13 meters and Charles Hall, an eighth grader at South Elgin’s Kenyon Woods Middle School, won the 50-meter assisted race with a time of 22.66 seconds.
  The other Blue Stars athletes to compete at the state games were Saul Castaneda (100-meter run), Braden Graves (athletics softball throw, 100-meter run), John Joseph (50-meter run, athletic softball throw), Vincent Leal (100-meter walk, athletics softball throw), Paul Mladonicky (athletics standing long jump), Syed Ahrar Raza (100-meter freestyle swim, 50-meter freestyle swim), Nathan Ruff (50-meter breaststroke swim), Michael Rzucidlo (100-meter run), Nathan Scholl (50-meter run) and Marshall Wilson (100-meter run, athletics softball throw).
  “We are the most fortunate coaches and have the best athletes,” McGrath said at the meeting. “I’m sure every coach feels that way, but we really have the best athletes and are very fortunate to have all our Blue Star athletes. They did incredibly at state and at regionals. We are very blessed and very proud of you.”