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SAILING

St. Mary’s College hosted the annual Mid-Summer Classic for Special Olympics Maryland during July. The weekend’s events included sailing, kayaking, and volleyball. In the sailing program, athletes and their partners sailed on hobie cats or monohulls, in various divisions— whether tending to sails, steering part of the time, or steering the full time. They were challenged by the changing wind conditions and the current of the river. It was a glorious weekend on the St. Mary’s River,” commented Dan Flanigan, Sailing Competition Director. Special Olympics St. Mary’s County was represented by sailors Tom Bayne (1st), Russell Bucci (2nd), Wayne Carter (1st), and Joey Owens (3rd), accompanied by partners Roger Ding, Dan Combs, Al Nader, and head coach Brenda Clarke. Athletes and skippers worked their sails and tillers to capture medals of distinction. They have been training for eight weeks at the St. Mary’s College facilities. This partnership prepares our athletes for the various races and points scoring of the state competition. During the races, Joey and his partner Al Nader took a turn a little too fast and found out a little too much about seanettles. Joey was proud that his partner was able to quickly right the boat and get them back into the race. (2nd), Wayne Carter (1st), and Joey Owens (3rd), accompanied by partners Roger Ding, Dan Combs, Al Nader, and head coach Brenda Clarke. Athletes and skippers worked their sails and tillers to capture medals of distinction. They have been training for eight weeks at the St. Mary’s College facilities. This partnership prepares our athletes for the various races and points scoring of the state competition. During the races, Joey and his partner Al Nader took a turn a little too fast and found out a little too much about seanettles. Joey was proud that his partner was able to quickly right the boat and get them back into the race.

KAYAKING

The kayaking competition at the 2009 Mid-Summer Classic included a new race and lots of new faces this year. Brady Carrigan, who has been practicing with the team for several years, finally competed in the new Unified demonstration with his partner Shaun Carroll. April Mielcarek and Barry Burris also raced in the Unified Event, with partners Courtney Parkes and Wendy Headrick. All three teams competed in the 100 meter event in a tandem (two-seat) kayak. “This year it was a demonstration race,” explained Coach TJ Parkes, ”so our athletes did not receive medals. But thanks to these athletes and their partners, there will be Unified races next year!” St. Mary’s new members include Michael Scalsky, who came home with a gold medal and Stephen Maras who finished fourth in his division. April Newton started the season but did not compete.
New coaches included Liz and Jeff Davenport, Kevin Warren and Cheryl Carlson, who all worked hard to keep our athletes in top race form throughout the 10 weeks of training atGreenwell State Park. Returning kayakers include gold medalists Rebecca Elwell and Jason Wright. Silver medalists were Wanda Morgan, Karla Kless and Kyle Russell, who had the 4th fastest time in the 500 meter race. Coming home with bronze medals were Barry Burris and Michelle Johnson. Debbie Davis came home with a fourth place finish in the top female division – out paddling teammate Wanda Morgan by less than a 10th of a second Isaac Weiser practiced all season and will return next year to compete with the team. Returning coaches included Brenice Crissman, Jarrett Walters, and Jose Diaz-Gutierrez. This was the final season for coach “Diaz” and Coach Louis “Porkchop” Prochazka, who retired from the military in July and moved to Pennsylvania. A surprise visit from “Porkchop” during Sunday’s competition thrilled the athletes. Special thanks to Rob Wright and Jason Zimmerman for their leadership in getting the race course set up at the College along with the volunteers fromat the Patuxent High Schools National Honor Society and volunteers from Patuxent River NAS. Jim and Lori Russell did a great job with selling merchandise at the Mid- Summer Classic, including a special tshirt in memory of Michael Anthony, his rendering of a sailboat adn the new Rivert ouse picture on it that Michael had drawn and given to Mary Lu Bucci when he was first diagnosed with Leukemia in 2008.

VOLLEYBALL

Volleyball is alive in St. Mary’s and throughout the State. St. Mary’s put out the call in the Spring for athletes and unified partners to create one or more volleyball teams. And the athletes registered, and the partners volunteered. Coaches Jeff Hagen and Greg Fournier stepped up to the job to lead teams to play in the Mid-Summer Classic. The teams practiced weekly and worked hard to prepare them for this fast-paced sport. During the weekend, five teams played multiple games to decide the winner. The teams in the running were Cecil County, Lower Shore, and Washington County, along with two St. Mary’s Teams. Fournier’s Team consists of Jim Downs, Kegan Zimmerman, Terrel Kourtney Baker, Don Bewick, Mike Brown, Nicole Stone, and Renee VanEarp. They won a bronze medal after playing against Cecil and Washington Counties. Mike Brown commented, “I enjoyed seeing the athletes put their new-found skills to the test and I was so proud to be a part of it.” Hagen’s Team consists of Sam Huffman, Steven Summerfelt, Shaun Ridley, Larry Mills, Thomas Smith, Wil Ridley, Julie Coombs, Kara Sapp, and Kelly Graves. After several games over the two days of competition, this team was victorious and won the gold medal. They also won the chance to attend the US National Competition in Nebraska next July 2010. We will keep you informed as their continued training progresses in preparation for the national tournament.

For other photos visit the Sailing, Kayaking and Volleyball pages