Seckman High Student Council members made sure the school’s Special Olympics athletes had a chance to compete this spring.
The school held its first Special Olympics track meet April 14 at its stadium, where 44 Seckman High students competed in five events.
Typically, those students compete in the Jefferson County district competition, which this year is set for Wednesday, April 20, at De Soto High School. However, the Fox C-6 School District is on spring break this week, so Seckman High had its own competition.
“Our students were bummed that we were not going to be able to have a track and field event, and I was like, ‘Hold on, let’s see what we can do,’” said Andrea Patterson, Seckman High special education teacher and Special Olympics coach. “(The Student Council) made it happen.”
About 130 student volunteers helped with the event, which had a steady stream of students filtering in and out of the stadium to cheer on the competitors, Patterson said.
Madison Wheelock, the Student Council chair for Special Olympics of Missouri, said the event originally was supposed to be held April 13, but was postponed because of weather.
“It was stressful,” said Wheelock, a 16-year-old sophomore from Arnold. “I think we pulled it off very well, even with the changes.”
Wheelock said Leland Powell won the 100-meter walk or run in 12 seconds and the softball throw with a toss of 53 yards. Hayden Kirchner won the wheelchair race in 34 seconds. Breanna Brown won the 400-meter walk or run in 2.02 minutes, and Devon McDowell won the long jump with a leap of 8 feet.
Athletes and volunteers also participated in games, like relay races, between the competitive events.
Wheelock said it was the second time she had volunteered for a Special Olympics event, and she enjoyed the atmosphere at the Seckman High event.
“I enjoyed this one because there was more interaction with the students and getting our student body involved,” she said. “It also was a chance for the athletes to be recognized more around school.”
Kylie Haegele, an 18-year-old senior from Imperial, said she has been part of the Special Olympics events since she was a freshman, and she was the former Student Council chair for Special Olympics of Missouri.
She said she enjoyed the smaller meet at Seckman High for this year’s competition, but she believes the school’s Special Olympics athletes will return to the De Soto meet next year so they have a chance to advance to the Special Olympics Missouri regional and state competitions.
“They missed out on the opportunity to meet friends from other schools and branch out, but in this more intimate setting here, I feel they had fun being around all of the people they know,” Haegele said. “This is also their home field, so they were comfortable here.”
Jocelyn Diehl, regional program director for Special Olympics Missouri, said she enjoyed attending the Seckman High meet.
“It was really good,” she said. “I love when we have student-led events, and I know the Student Council worked really hard to get this together. It was the brainchild of one of our coaches. It is a big push to have unified and student-led events. This was an amazing example of that.”