More than 2,000 athletes descended upon Special Olympics PA‘s 49th Annual Summer Games at Penn State University from Thursday, May 31st to Saturday, June 2nd to compete in aquatics, athletics, basketball, bowling, equestrian, golf, gymnastics, softball and tennis. Philadelphia sent a delegation of 64 athletes to compete in athletics, aquatics, basketball, basketball skills, bowling, and gymnastics after weeks of training.
To advance to Summer Games, athletes compete for at least 8 weeks and qualify from local competitions and sectional events. Our Philadelphia athletes qualified for Summer Games through the Eastern Bowling Sectional, Eastern Spring Sectional (athletics, aquatics, and basketball), or the Philadelphia Gymnastics tournament. Athletes are guided by their coaches, and assistant coaches and supported throughout the season by their family and friends.
When athletes arrived, some sports participated in preliminary competition to determine their weekend schedule. Athletes then grabbed some dinner and prepared for Opening Ceremonies. The Opening Ceremonies started with the Parade of Athletes where athlete Jackie Lutts carried in the Philadelphia banner along with Head of Delegation, Rosemary Duffy. Included in Opening Ceremonies were many welcoming remarks from various members of the Penn State community, spectacular performances and an celebratory introduction to Team PA who will represent Pennsylvania at the 2018 USA Games in Seattle, Washington.
After a remarkable Opening Ceremonies, our athletes got to rest before intense competition started. On Friday, our athletes headed to their respective venues to compete and show Penn State what they have been training for. Our athletes shone on the track, in the field, in the pool, on the court, in the lanes, and in the gym. After a day of long, intense competition, athletes enjoyed a sports festival and dance where they could kick back and enjoy time with friends.
Saturday we saw final competition for many of our athletes and got to see the joy on our athletes’ faces when they received their ribbons or awards they earned throughout the weekend. We loved watching our brave, inspiring Special Olympics athletes fall in love with sports all over again.
We would like to extend a huge thank you to all of our coaches who have prepared our athletes for this event with endless hours of training and support and our families who continue to offer support and guidance off the playing field.
| Athlete | Event | Time/Distance | Place |
| Raymond Anderson | 50M Walk | :17.10 | 2nd |
| 100M Walk | :32.30 | 2nd | |
| Shot Put (Men 4Kg) | 880 | 2nd | |
| Keith Collins | 50M Walk | :26.60 | 2nd |
| 100M Walk | :55.00 | 5th | |
| Softball Throw | 2158 | 1st | |
| Emmanuel Cook | 50M Walk | :21.70 | 2nd |
| 100M Walk | :46.80 | 2nd | |
| Softball Throw | – | – | |
| Michael Earland III | 100M Dash | :14.79 | 4th |
| 200M Dash | :30.25 | 2nd | |
| Long Jump | 408 | 1st | |
| Eddie Glover | 50M Walk | :31.10 | 1st |
| 100M Walk | 1:11.30 | 2nd | |
| Softball Throw | 1315 | 5th | |
| Tyrell Hargrave | 100M Dash | :15.58 | 1st |
| 200M Dash | :31.34 | 2nd | |
| Shot Put (Men 4Kg) | 270 | 1st | |
| Kendall Harris-Burton | 100M Dash | :15.30 | 3rd |
| 200M Dash | :30.01 | 2nd | |
| Shot Put (Men 4Kg) | 407 | 2nd | |
| Wesley Hicks | 50M Walk | :21.27 | 1st |
| 100M Walk | :43.73 | 5th | |
| Softball Throw | 1054 | 3rd | |
| John Kulpa | 100M Dash | :16.30 | 4th |
| 200M Dash | :34.23 | 5th | |
| Shot Put (Men 4Kg) | 729 | 5th | |
| Isabel Kurtz | 25M Dash | :11.40 | 1st |
| 50M Dash | :16.10 | 4th | |
| Softball Throw | 618 | 5th | |
| Sharon Quarles | 50M Walk | 17.30 | 3rd |
| 100M Walk | :40.40 | 1st | |
| Softball Throw | 1304 | 2nd | |
| Eugene Riley | 50M Walk | :17.00 | 1st |
| 100M Walk | :34.10 | 3rd | |
| Softball Throw | 2250 | 1st | |
| Sheila Stevens | 50M Walk | :22.20 | 2nd |
| Softball Throw | 849 | 1st | |
| Sadika Smith | 100M Dash | :17.15 | 2nd |
| 200M Dash | :34.57 | 6th | |
| Shot Put (Men 4Kg) | 378 | 3rd | |
| Michael Walker | 100M Walk | :27.40 | 1st |
| 400M Walk | 2:35.11 | 1st | |
| Shot Put (Men 4Kg) | 553 | 1st |
Coach: Miguel Diaz
| Athlete | Event | Time | Place |
| Joseph Barut | 25M Freestyle | :34.06 | 3rd Place |
| 50M Freestyle | 1:25.16 | 8th Place | |
| 50M Backstroke | 1:56.59 | 5th Place | |
| Edwin Ian Capacio | 200M Butterfly | 3:07.38 | 1st Place |
| 200M IM | 3:07.07 | 1st Place | |
| 800M Freestyle | 12:51.28 | 2nd Place | |
| Kelsey Greenewald | 200M Backstroke | 4:32.34 | 1st Place |
| 400M Freestyle | 8:07.65 | 1st Place | |
| 200M Freestyle | 3:43.16 | 1st Place | |
| Katelyn Joyce | 100M Backstroke | 2:26.55 | 4th Place |
| 50M Butterfly | 1:21.09 | 2nd Place | |
| 100M Freestyle | 2:29.09 | 2nd Place | |
| Jackie Lutts | 400M Freestyle | 9:08.16 | 2nd Place |
| 50M Freestyle | :49.78 | 6th Place | |
| 100M Backstroke | 2:23.57 | 1st Place | |
| David Norris | 50M Freestyle | :59.97 | 4th Place |
| 50M Backstroke | 1:21.22 | 1st Place | |
| 100M Freestyle | 2:16.53 | 2nd Place | |
| James Parfitt | 100M Freestyle | 1:27.62 | 2nd Place |
| 100M Backstroke | 2:07.97 | 2nd Place | |
| 400M Freestyle | 7:21.97 | 2nd Place | |
| Anthony Powell | 50M Breaststroke | 2:03.03 | 3rd Place |
| 50M Butterfly | 2:04.03 | 1st Place | |
| 50M Backstroke | 1:48.00 | 2nd Place | |
| Ramsey Robinson | 25M Freestyle | :24.03 | 2nd Place |
| 25M Backstroke | :37.90 | 2nd Place | |
| 50M Freestyle | :54.13 | 1st Place |
Coach: Karen Aviso
| Team | Athletes | Coach | Place |
| Philly Rebels (5v5) |
Nyger Smith, Lavar Gladden, Davon Clements, Abdul Muhammad, Anthony Flanigan, Nicole Stanley, Denzel McFadden, Chris Ray, Michael Henderson |
William Holman |
2nd Place |
| Philly Dragons (5v5) |
Matthew Everett, Brian Stulz, Charlie Zisette, Derrick Jackson, Mitchell Stahl, Corey Sweet, Benjamin Liken, Daniel Charlton, Carl Irvis, Jason Bixby |
Jaclyn Bixby | 2nd Place |
| All-Stars (5v5) |
Samuel Fioravanti, Dionte Davis, Joshua Harris, William Strauser, Ronald Atkins Jr., Matthew Beckman, Stephen Helverson, Jaryd Lee, Arthur Church |
Walter Beckman | 2nd Place |
| Rebounders (3v3) |
Zachary Hollinger, Francis Bradshaw, Lisa Barbour, Kelly Dluzniewski, Stanley Dluzniewski |
Rosemary Duffy |
4th Place |
Cyla Bradshaw – 1st Place
Shane Darrah – 1st Place
Patrick Kulick – 3rd Place
Coach: Monica Bradshaw
Porscha Blake – Score: 1282 – 5th Place
Coach: MaryEllen Zisette
| Athlete | Level | Score | Place |
| Luke Jones | Level 2A – All Around | 1st Place | |
| Megan Murphy | Level 3H – All Around | 139.7 | 1st Place |
| GeSana Accooe | Level 1A – All Around | 100.4 | 3rd Place |
Coach: Ariel Mankin
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