Team Wisconsin gossip
Team Wisconsin athletes recently returned from putting on an impressive performance at the first ever 2006 Special Olympics USA National Games. All of their hard work prior to the competition paid off as, in total, Team Wisconsin brought home 88 medals and 35 ribbons.
Wisconsin athletes joined 3,500 others from across the United States for the
National Games. Team Wisconsin was made up of 62 athletes selected to
compete in one of 12 sports from July 2-7 in Ames, Iowa and surrounding areas. The
12 sports at the event included aquatics, athletics, basketball, bocce, bowling,
golf, gymnastics, powerlifting, soccer, softball, tennis, volleyball, and motor
activities program.
Comedian Tom Arnold emceed the opening ceremony, while country music singer
Jo Dee Messina performed at the closing ceremony.
Thank you to Kwik Trip, the year-round Mission Partner of Special Olympics Wisconsin. Also, thanks to Wisconsin National Games sponsors Knights of Columbus, Great Midwest Relay, Kohler Company and Charter Media.
July 7, 2006
All sports are completed (other than Bocce and Softball) with results posted here. Below is the updated gossip spreading through Friley Hall as the week of games nears its end.
Miscellaneous:
A carrier will be needed for the top of the
bus to haul Wisconsin’s
medals and ribbons home! The team did awesome!
The team has found their favorite shuttle bus as the bus driver does karaoke and sings for the riders.
The team is excited for closing ceremonies Friday night as country singer Jo Dee Mecina will be performing.
Basketball:
The coaches were caught using water bottles as players on the floor
of the dorm as they mapped out plays for their game on Thursday against Ohio.
Unfortunately they lost, but played a hard game as the girls showed awesome
aggressiveness! The team will be bringing home
bronze medals.
Track & Field:
Ike was nicknamed “Prime Time” at
the Athletics venue as he took the gold for all the pentathlon events. Jessica
took a gold for the shot put even with her sore arm after a fall earlier in
the week. The team celebrated with pizza and ice cream!
Bocce:
After two VERY LONG games, Wisconsin came back from behind at 7 to 1 and is
now playing in the gold medal round on Friday morning! Good luck!
Softball:
The team lost, but will play Missouri for the bronze medal on Friday
morning. Coach John Avery was photographed for a local newspaper on his better
side (shows his back! Ha ha) as he coaches the team.
Powerlifting:
Matt got three silvers and a gold, while Eric
and Scott had the day off, watching Matt, then hitting a local amusement park!
Scott found out he has a dorm named after him, as well as a street named after
him right down the road.
Bowling:
Daniel actually told his parents he would bring home dinner during his
bowling game, and sure enough he did, grabbing a turkey of three strikes in a
row in their finals game. The team took 6th place.
Golf:
Coach Ron took his two peer athletes, Clark and Jim, out on the golf course
to test their abilities outside of competition. Jim took the gold, Clark took
the silver and Ron took the bronze. PR girl, Kelly, attempted to swing the
club, but proved she has no ability yet. Coach Ron agreed to coach down the
road.
Swimming:
Ryan not only sports lots of medals around his neck, but is more worried at
this point about what movies we will be watching on the bus on the way home.
The swimming team ruled the pool on Thursday, so check out results! Pizza Pit
was raided by the four of them and their coach afterwards!
Gymnastics:
The three gymnasts did an unbelievable job performing
during an exhibition on Thursday that also featured gymnasts from around Iowa’s
colleges and other organizations. Eresi was able to perform her hoop routine
and received huge applause following the show!
Tennis:
Since Wisconsin played against Wisconsin on Thursday, Charles beat Tyler in
a tie breaker, while Charles and Joe beat Tyler and Jamie in doubles. Check
results for more info.
July 6, 2006
Not all results are listed below, so don’t forget to click here to check out a full list of results from Team Wisconsin competition.
Michelle Abel, former sports assistant for Wisconsin, now works for Special Olympics Southern California and is living in the same dorm as Team Wisconsin. Even more exciting, her boyfriend proposed to her right before fireworks on the 4th so congrats to Michelle!
Special Olympics Wisconsin PR girl Kelly Kloepping is overcoming 14 blisters on her feet, but remains focused on visiting all the venues to grab photos of the team’s athletes. Keep watching everyday for new photos and updated gossip!
Athlete Ike Walters received a standing ovation for singing “Who Let the Dogs Out?” at the karaoke dance on Wednesday night.
Healthy athletes update: Nearly 2,000 athletes have gone through the Healthy Athletes Program.
- Concerning hearing, 50% failed the hearing tests and 39% had blocked ear canals.
- Of those who had their bones checked, 35% need further exams.
- Fifty-seven percent are obese.
- Concerning dental, 19% had tooth decay. 32% had gum disease and 10% were directed to urgent care.
Softball:
Team Wisconsin is now the #2 seed going into the medal round on Thursday against
Minnesota at 8 am. They won on Wednesday 17-5 and then won 7-5 in extra innings!
Coach John has no voice left as the defense has been playing awesomely.
Basketball:
Unfortunately, the team followed softball’s superstition and kept would
only wear their red uniforms. It didn’t work, as they lost 28-18 against
Indiana. Chris Cherne had 11 points, with three 3-pointers in the game.
Golf:
Congrats to the Miller duo who brought Team USA the first gold medal for the
team. Also congrats to the Kleist duo who snabbed a 4th place ribbon. Coach
Knaus was the hit of the golf course with his fancy golf hat that had a golf
ball rolling around on his head!
Bowling:
It’s a striking outcome for bowling as Julie Wildenberg and Jamie Mier
took a 4th in singles and Dan Schlender and Ellen Pronley took a bronze medal!
Even more exciting, no bowler has thrown up in 18 hours, as a virus seems to
be passing through various parts of the dorm. The air conditioning was fixed
in the bowling alley Wednesday! Dan and Ellen took the gold in doubles and
Julie and Ellen took the silver. Julie found out from her competitor that there
are no snow days in Texas.
Tennis:
Coach Thurman said Wisconsin was a whole different team today, playing much
more impressive as Charles won a 3-set tie breaker. Ironically, Wisconsin
will for sure win all matches tomorrow as our athletes are playing against
each other—Tyler versus Charles in singles, then later, Tyler and Jamie
versus Charles and Joe in doubles! Ironic, but guaranteeing a Wisconsin win!
Tyler is making extra money for team Wisconsin by selling key chains (check
out photos online). The tennis team was also spotted raiding Dairy Queen.
Track & Field:
Nine medals and five ribbons were hauled back to the dorms today, and Coach
Deb was interviewed by the local paper! Check the results page for details!
Several athletes beat their personal best, in fact, walker Kristin Martin
was unfortunately disqualified for beating her qualifying time by such a
large margin in keeping with the Honest Effort Rule.
Bocce:
Congrats to Sarah and Janan who got a silver medal even after losing their
neck and neck doubles game 12-11. Richard Schilling and Adam Palmer nabbed
a bronze medal in their division finals!
Gymnastics:
Natalie Gugg took two gold medals and three silvers while Cindy Redlich took
a gold medal, three silvers and a bronze. Check web site photos to see her
proudly sport them all. Today’s 4:45 exhibition will feature athlete
Eresi Yarney.
Swimming:
Swimmers had the day off so they grabbed free comic books, played pinball,
arm-wrestled in the dorm hallway and cheered on their fellow Wisconsin athletes
in powerlifting and basketball.
Powerlifting:
Today, Eric Yerges and Scott Stanton (AKA Mad Dog) competed in the bench press,
squat and dead-lift competition. Scott took three silvers and a gold medal
and Eric took two silvers and a bronze medal. They are anxiously waiting
to see how the third Wisconsin powerlifter, Matt Manderfield, will do on
Thursday. The entire powerlifting team and Coach Joe will now be taking part
in the Punt Pass and kick competition with Kurt Warner
July 5, 2006
GENERAL GOSSIP
Team Wisconsin is holding out great as weather is in the mid eighties to low
nineties every day and thunderstorms with lightning occur every night.
After a virus spread through the dorm, other states have many athletes down
but Team Wisconsin is tough with only 3 athletes down for the count.
Team Wisconsin is living in the second largest dorm in the world and is one of the lucky states to have air conditioned rooms.
Hats off to the 22 Unon Grove spectators who raised money from aluminum can income to come watch team Wisconsin compete.
The Monday night Wisconsin reception was attended by over 200 Wisconsinites!
AQUATICS
After divisioning, the relay team has a strong chance to take the gold medal.
Ryan Phillips beat the second closest swimmer by 40 seconds.
Eunice Kennedy Shriver appeared at the aquatics venue unannounced to support
our swimmers.
BASKETBALL
The basketball team is following the softball team’s lead and wearing
unlaundered red uniforms for the remainder of the week as well.
BOCCE
Both doubles teams are contending for a medal after yesterday’s divisioning.
Team Wisconsin’s spectators got a bit too excited in the stands and were
asked to settle down or team Wisconsin would be disqualified.
BOWLING
Divisioning is completed, and apparently, all of the strikes caused the air
conditioning to break in the bowling center.
Daniel Schlender barely stepped foot in the alley and the Des Moines Register
wrote an immediate feature story about him.
GOLF
Peer athlete, Clark Kleist is hoping for a medal after purchasing his King
Cobra Club, a club that the competition is admiring.
Clark’s daughter Ivy became frustrated with her dorm room door and kicked
it bruising all of her toes, turning them blue. Nevertheless she still walked
the golf course with ease for a great ending score.
GYMNASTICS
Cindy Redlich was flying high on the vault table scoring a nine (which is tough
to get).
Eresi Yarney was caught clubbing! She participated in the first ever
club clinic learning a new floor exercise technique for 2007.
Natalie Gugg is known for her pointed toes by gymnasts from all over the country.
All three gymnasts will perform in an exhibition Thursday with gymnasts from
a variety of Iowa’s Colleges and professional organizations.
POWERLIFTING
Matt Manderfield and Coach Pratz will be taking part in a Punt, Pass and Kick
event with Arizona Cardinals Quarterback Kurt Warner.
Eric Yerges was seen on the Channel 27 Saturday Evening News bench pressing
anchorwoman Elizabeth Hopkins.
SOFTBALL
Doug McClure was hit in the head by a softball and just laughed
In Tuesday’s divisioning, Wisconsin’s team lost their first game
wearing white uniforms, but won their second game in red. The team has vowed
to wear their red uniforms without washing them for the rest of the week
TENNIS
All four athletes competed at the same time during divisioning on Tuesday.
Spectators enjoy the tennis competition as it’s one of the most shaded
venues at the National Games.
TRACK & FIELD
After divisioning, the relay team has a promising chance to take the gold.
Zachariah Higgs’s divisioning races are leading him to three hopeful
silver medals.