FERGUS FALLS – The Perham Special Olympics basketball team laced up its shoes and hit the courts for a full day of competition at the Special Olympics Minnesota (SOMN) West Regional Basketball Tourney on April 20.
Perham took part in the individual skills portion and had competitors in three different divisions. What division and where the athletes placed are as followed:
- Division three: First- Jennifer Wessels; second- Jennifer Knoppsth; third- Aaron Brown; fourth- Nate Emery; fifth- Joel Barrick
- Division two: Third- Parker Glynn; fourth- Ryan Schattschneider; fifth- Isaac Henderickx
- Division one: First- Gannon Huwe; second- Duane Muckey
The half-court 3-on-3 team of Aaron Brown, Parker Glynn, Isaac Hendrickx, Gannon Huwe, Jennifer Knopps, Duane Muckey, and Ryan Schattschneider took down Fergus Falls and Moorhead by the 20-point rule. The team will look to stay red hot at the SOMN State Summer Games Basketball Tournament on June 23-25 in Stillwater, Minnesota.
The Golden Boys Unified Sports full-court team took first place after routing rivals the Fergus Otters 53-22 and the Fergus Falls Roosters 59-32. The Golden Boys' dominance isn’t a fluke. On April 15, the Golden Boys attended the North Metro SOMN Regional Tourney in St. Michael defeating Bethel and St. Michael- Albertville teams for another first-place finish.
Unified Sports is an inclusive sports program including Special Olympic athletes with partners (persons without intellectual disabilities) on teams for training and competition. Unified Sports inspires a path to friendships and understanding and breaks down stereotypes about persons with intellectual disabilities in a fun way says the Unified Sports page on the Special Olympics Minnesota website.
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For 50 years, Special Olympics Minnesota has offered children and adults with intellectual disabilities year-round sports training and competition. Through Special Olympics’ athletic, health, and leadership programs, people with intellectual disabilities transform themselves, their communities, and the world.
The Perham Special Olympics Team is a nonprofit organization that is funded through donations and volunteers' time as a member of Special Olympics Minnesota. Anyone interested in donating, volunteering, being a unified partner or joining Special Olympics, contact Corinne Schattschneider at gschatts@eot.com or call 218-758-3138.
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