Media Alert

Team Montana Back from National Games!

Special Olympics Montana Athletes achieve personal bests at
2010 USA National Games

(July 27, 2010) Team Montana returned from the 2010 Special Olympics USA National games on Saturday as champions! 30 athletes competed in four sports over 5 days. In addition to representing Montana by demonstrating outstanding character and poise under pressure, several athletes achieved personal bests in their respective sports.

Photo below: June 16, 2010, Team Montana gets on the bus to go to USA National Games competitions in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Team Montana's success is due in part to the generous support of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Montana as the premier sponsor of Team Montana for the 2010 National Games.

The competition began Monday with preliminary and divisioning rounds in all sports. Stacey Johnston of Chester Montana shot a 98 on the par 73 Highlands golf course to pace her Level 5 18-hole stroke play division and set her up for what would be a thrilling finish on Wednesday. Stacey earned the silver for her division by a narrow margin of 4 strokes over three days of play.

In the Level 4, 9-hole stroke play competition, a trio of Montana golfers competed in three separate divisions at Mahoney golf course. Jessie Gratz of Great Falls had a consistent showing during all three days of competition and finished with a bronze medal. Alan Gotcher of Eureka shot a personal best of 50 for the course on his third round to secure the silver in his division. John Espinoza, also from Eureka, improved every day, earning the gold medal for his division.

The Bocce team of Joe Gibson from Butte, Pat Chapman from Great falls, Carol Ollikain from Lewistown and Kim Palmers also from great Falls competed in 4-person team Bocce on Monday and Tuesday and in male and female doubles bocce on Wednesday and Thursday. Highly strategic play and ongoing improvement highlighted the week. After a heartbreaking 16-15 defeat in team bocce after coming back from a 11-4 deficit, the team lost their second match and earned fourth place in their division. In doubles bocce, the female team of Ollikain and Palmers secured the bronze medal in their division, and the male team of Gibson and Chapman earned silver.

Soccer began the week with divisioning rounds and pool play to determine the final brackets. Both our Unified soccer team from Great Falls and the Adult soccer team from Billings demonstrated excellent sportsmanship through their highly principled play at the Abbott Sports Complex. The game plans for both teams were adapted to their competition as the week progressed. Great Falls Unified soccer entered their bracket with the third seed overall. After a battle that ended in a tie Wednesday morning and a tough loss in stop time in the afternoon, the team was left with the prospect of battling through the consolation bracket. Undeterred however, the team went on to win twice on Friday in oppressive heat to become the consolation champions and secure the bronze medal for their division.

"This is the most powerful moment of my life," said JJ Peterson, Great falls Unified team forward at a team meeting on Thursday night. Great Falls Unified Coach Dennis Hogan reminded athletes that they are "part of an elite small group who has the opportunity to represent their state at a national championship event." Hogan continued, "go home and hold your head up high, because you’ve done what most people never will."

Photo below: Tim Knutson, No. 34, and John Peck of the Billings Adults team celebrate a goal during their gold medal victory over Utah. Photo by Marcus Scheer, University of Nebraska-Lincoln. See more of Scheer's photos here.

The Billings adults team entered their bracket with the number one seed after going undefeated in pool play. They continued their streak through the bracket, including a thrilling overtime win in penalty kicks, eventually securing the gold medal for their division with a 3-1 win over 2nd seeded Utah.

Team Montana’s track and field contingent demonstrated the joy of competition through their amazing achievements on the track and in field events the entire week. Carson Patten of Lewistown, Tom Dohrman of Great Falls, Jim Lowery of Great Falls, Becky West of Kalispell, Katie McNeil of Bozeman, and Tina Hunt of Missoula competed in preliminary events the first part of the week and finals the second half of the week. Patten overcame an early week illness to earn a silver medal in the 100m dash and 5th in the 200m dash. Dohrman earned 4th places finishes among a very competitive field in both the 400m and 800m runs. Lowery earned the bronze medal in the 100m run and 5th place in the shotput. West earned the bronze in the 50m walk, 4th place in the 100m walk and 5th place in the softball throw. McNeil earned the silver medal in the 50m run, 4th in the 50m walk and 4th in the standing long jump. Hunt earned gold in the 200m run, silver in the shotput and bronze in the 100m dash.

With sports at the core, Special Olympics is the world’s largest movement dedicated to promoting respect, acceptance, inclusion and human dignity for people with intellectual disabilities. With programming in the areas of health, youth and education, family support, research and policy change, Special Olympics provides year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, giving them continued opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes, Unified® Partners and coaches as well as representatives from Premier Sponsor, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Montana.

About the 2010 Special Olympics USA National Games
The 2010 Special Olympics USA National Games in Lincoln, Nebraska will showcase and celebrate the Special Olympics movement and athletes from across the United States, while illustrating the power of sports to educate and inform about the true abilities and achievements of people with intellectual disabilities. From July 18-23, 2010, nearly 3,000 athletes will compete in 13 Olympic-style sports, with the support of 1,000 coaches, 8,000 volunteers and an estimated 15,000 family and friends. In addition to sports, the USA National Games will offer various programs in health, wellness and education. To learn more or to volunteer, please visit www.2010specialolympics.org

About Special Olympics Montana
Special Olympics Montana is a 40-year-old movement that enables children and adults with intellectual disabilities to train for life through sports. As an athlete-centered, family-based and volunteer driven organization, Special Olympics Montana relies almost exclusively on the support of community volunteers, businesses and service organizations for leadership, planning and preparation, in-kind and financial gifts. To learn more about Special Olympics Montana or to receive information about volunteer or sponsorship opportunities please visit our website at: www.somt.org or call Special Olympics Montana at 1-800-242-6876.

For more information, visit www.somt.org or contact Pete Olsen, Special Olympics Montana’s  VP of Sports and Competition, at polsen@somt.org.

Team Roster and Results