After 11 Battle Ground Special Olympics athletes competed at state for bowling, nine of them earned a first-place medal with their performances on Sunday, Nov. 9 at All Star Lanes and Casino in Silverdale.
Battle Ground Special Olympics coach Jason Otto said that 11 athletes advancing to state was the most in school history, and then nine of them taking home a first-place medal added another most-ever moment.
“I just think that was a phenomenal number for us to take to represent the school,” Otto said. “And these athletes, just their performance, was unbelievable during state.”
Otto added that all the athletes had an incredible experience and a great time at the state bowling event.
“To start off with, all these athletes that performed, the first couple of frames they struggled a little bit,” Otto said. “But as these athletes kept going, all 11 of them, they just started performing very well. Their scores were just increasing and it was just amazing how comfortable each one of them started getting.”
Otto said a lot of pins were falling, and a lot of smiles could be seen on the faces of the Battle Ground athletes.
Henry Troxel was Battle Ground’s lone singles bowler out of the 11 that qualified for the state Special Olympics tournament, Otto said. Troxel rolled a new career high of 166 in his second game. Troxel earned a first-place medal, led by his second game 166.
The boys team of four, featuring Patrick Murphy, Jaydin Beachell, Josh Sieng and Hezekiah Hewes, also earned a first-place finish. Beachell bowled a 169 in his second game while Hewes also had a 148, Otto said.
The girls team also earned a first-place finish with Marlene Hernandez, Morrison Nixon, Brooklyn Arneson, and Lupita Martinez.
“They did a great job, too,” Otto said. “They really shined well for their performance. And so it was just impressive to see each and every one of them getting their medals.”
Otto also thanked the school and community for their loving support of the Futures program students.
Before the team traveled north, each of them set a goal to come home with gold, and with almost all of them hitting the goal, Otto said it was unbelievable to see their performance.
“This is a great thing for our school,” Otto said. “These kids have worked all season long, and it was a well-deserved time for them to earn these medals and to perform for the school. Every single one of them were well representative and I think that’s just great to see and our community was just so impressed by the amount of medals that we brought home.”
