Wisconsin School for the Deaf - The Wisconsin Times Vol. 133 No. 3 Spring 2012 | Page 18

Anthony Jacoby looks to pass to Senior Center, Shane Tisa. Senior Nick Johnson goes up for a shot! Special Olympics Basketball On Saturday, February 25th, WSD Special Olympics basketball team competed in the Regional Tournament at Wilmot High School. They competed in two games, winning one and losing one. WSD lost the first game against the Racine Hawks 20-30. The game was heated and aggressive. After losing this game, WSD took a break and regrouped to play the next game which they won against Janesville Swishers defeating them 30-20. WSD has not beaten the Janesville Swishers in the previous two matches. With a 1-1 record, WSD did not automatically advance to the Sectional Tournament. WSD’s name was put in a lottery for a chance to advance to the Sectional Tournament, but unfortunately their name was not chosen. On Tuesday, February 28th, WSD hosted a Unified Match between two teams consisting of a mix of Special Olympic athletes and Varsity basketball players of both genders. The rules were that the varsity players could only dribble and pass but not shoot. Special Olympians were the only players who were permitted to use all skills. They played a close match and had a great time with Rene Ambrose and Ron Corrigan coaching each unified team. Even the cheerleading teams combined efforts to fire up the crowd especially with their surprised halftime show. Referees, Tony Davis, Dylan Laux and Darrick DuBois enjoyed refereeing the game. Fans were amazed at the excitement, thrill and skill of the game. This was the second year the unified game occurred. Last year, the game was created at the spur of the moment when the Janesville team failed to show up for the match. The Special Olympians were disappointed and wanted to play. The varsity players decided to join in and play the game with the rules as outlined above. The Special Olympians loved this opportunity and tested out new skills and moves. Due to the excitement and inspiration of this style of play, the game was intentionally planned for this year. This will continue annually as it promotes skill development, enthusiasm, and interactions between the varsity and Special Olympic athletes. Five athletes competed in the Special Olympic Regional Skills Tournament on Saturday, March 10th at Badger High School in Lake Geneva. Each athlete was placed in a division according to their qualifying scores. WSD athletes represented our school well and gave their best effort at the tournament. Charly Fleege placed 3rd in Division 10 and both Chloe Goetsch and Jon Post placed 4th, in division 2 and 1, respectively. Moving on to the state meet were Wyatt Keller, Division 2 and Anthony Bole, Division 1 who each received first place ribbons. Coach Rene Ambrose states: “Parent support has been great” and that on Saturday, March 10th in Lake Geneva, “Wyatt Keller was HOT!” He had more baskets at the free-throw line at this one event than all season combined. State Indoor Games were held at the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh on Saturday, April 14th. Wyatt Keller earned 4th place and Anthony earned 3rd place. Congratulations to all the athletes! Special Olympics basketball senior standout, Shane Tisa, rips down the rebound while Varsity Forward, Arthur Hart attempts to deflect the ball. Deaf Referee, Richard Kujawa looks on. Spring 2012 - 18 Varsity Cheerleaders combine efforts with Special Olympic Cheerleader, Cindy Martinez to put some grooves to their move.