Congratulations to Jean Gebhardt for advancing to the Special Olympics State Bowling Tournament. Jean represented River Valley SRA on December 3 at the tournament, which was held in Peoria. She earned 3rd place in her division and received a bronze medal. Great job, Jean!
Summer Games
River Valley SRA took 23 athletes to Bloomington, Il the weekend of June 10 to compete in the Special Olympics state tournament. The events they competed in were swimming, powerlifting & bocce ball. There was some tough competition and everyone did well.
Powerlifters: Craig Brown, Paul Hansen, Jemome James, Diane Laws & Brad Miller Swimmers: Jay Brault, Doug Gagnon, Matt Hawkins, Rebecca Karsten, Lisa Billings, Breanna Bosley, Angelina Collins, Dan Graham, Allie Olsen, & Robert Vadeboncouer Bocce: Ryan Beasley, Kathy Carlin, Jean Gebhardt, Dan Graham, Kara Lazaruis, Chris Harris, Robert O'Connor, Gary Cockburn, & Cassie Perkins
Congratulations to all of the athletes who competed. Unfortunately, the weather washed out opening cermonies but we went to the mall and had a pizza party at the dorms. A big thank you goes to Neal Grimes who coached our swim team and to Jeff Frazier and Zac Clark for training our powerlifters. Also thanks to Nancy Price and Pam Bright for coaching our bocce players.
Outdoor Sports Festival
Coach Dieter watches as Steve Weith prepares for his shot while competing in the 5 hole golf competition
Dan Graham makes a routine play as Sion Levy looks on during the Rockers Championship game
River Valley SRA had 17 athletes compete on September 10 & 11 in Decatur for the state competition. In golf skills, Brad Miller earned a silver medal and Tim Brown took home 4th place. In the 5 hole golf competition, Steve Wieth received the gold medal. Our T-ball team, the River Valley Rockers, received a gold trophy by placing first in their division. They only allowed 14 runs as they defeated both opponents by scores of 27-10 and 22-4. Team members include Shannon Archer, David Brattin, Dan Golden, Dan Graham, Jemome James, Nicole Wallace, Alesha Czaplicki, Cassie Perkins, Jean Gebhardt, Andrew Kaplar, Sion Levy, Kaitlyn Smith, Danielle Timm and Eli Rorem.
Thanks so much to Dieter Jaehn, Jarrod Huggins and Tom Breitenbucher for coaching our golfers. Also thanks to our T-ball coaches Pam Bright, Jeff Frazier and Nancy Price for all of their help with the team.
Fall Games
The weekend of October 29 & 30, River Valley took three volleyball teams to the Special Olympics state volleyball tournament in Rockford. All three teams played some competive games which were very exciting to watch. Storm received a bronze medal and team members include Jenny Miller, Kara Schultz, Robbie Gill, Jean Gebhardt, Danielle Timm, Lisa Billings & Cindy Smith. Receiving a silver medal and playing for Twisters are Shannon Archer, Nicole Wallace, Dennis Hertz, Jeff Conrad, Amy Webster, Ashley Tanner & Rebecca Karsten. Thunder brought home the gold trophy and medals for each athlete. Members of their team include Jemome James, Dan Graham, Paul Hansen, Brad Miller, Eli Rorem, Ed Barbieri & Jay Brault. Special thanks to coaches Jeff Frazier, Dorene Mohler, Lisa Rinehart, Pam Bright & Melody Benoit. We appreciate your dedication and commitment to our athletes.
