The Examiner U-46 News FeedU-46 Bluestars shine at Illinois Special Olympics By Seth Hancock
It was the first year for aquatic events at the Illinois Special Olympics summer games, and U-46 Bluestars athletes Gwen Cerami and Tina Hondros made a big splash back in June when they represented Bartlett’s Centennial Elementary School.
The games were hosted by Illinois State University and the aquatic events were held at Normal Community West High School. Cerami and Hondros trained at South Elgin High School.
Cerami, a seventh-grader at Streamwood’s Canton Middle School, and Hondros, a sixth-grader at Centennial, both brought home two gold medals in the same events, the 25-meter and 50-meter freestyles.
Cerami swam the 25 free in 19.8 seconds and the 50 free in 47.86 seconds to win the events in her division. In Hondros’ division, she won the 25 free with a time of 23.26 seconds and the 50 free with a time of 57.09 seconds.
“For both Gwen and Tina to get gold in both their events is amazing,” U-46 Bluestars coach Maureen Lue said via a district press release. “They worked extremely hard and it paid off.”
The Bluestars’ swimmers were honored by the U-46 Board of Education at its meeting on Monday, Aug. 15 as they received certificates of achievement.
Ian Fergus, who competed at the summer games in 2015, brought home a bronze medal as he finished third in his division’s 200-meter run (34.74). Hope Buechner, who earned one of the Bluestars’ two gold medals last year, and Matthew Kennedy both competed in the 200-meter runs at this year’s summer games.
Kennedy was fifth (46.59) in his division and Buechner sixth (40.03) in her division.
The U-46 Bluestars offer competition ranging from basketball and bowling to track and field, and competition starts in October with the summer games capping the season. To learn more, visit the special education page on the district website, u-46.org, or contact Lue at maureenlue@u-46.org.
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