On Saturday, October 27, 2018, volleyball teams from Philadelphia and Montgomery Counties competed against each other at the 2018 Invitational Volleyball Tournament held at Abraham Lincoln High School. Chase Trimmer, Director of Special Olympics Pennsylvania – Philadelphia, kicked off Opening Ceremonies with a warm welcome. Afterward, he introduced Global Messenger, Athlete Representative and member of SOPA Philly’s Athlete Leadership Committee, Raymond Anderson as the Master of Ceremonies. Raymond then took over and welcomed the different teams to the tournament. The teams who participated included Montgomery County “Hawks I”, Montgomery County “Hawks II”, Montgomery County “Key Lime”, Montgomery County “Teal Seals”, Montgomery County “Warriors”, Philadelphia “Pure Energy”, Philadelphia “Special Stars”, Philadelphia “Wildcats I” and Philadelphia “Wildcats II”.

Once the teams made their way in, Raymond was able to welcome Abraham Lincoln’s Air Force Junior ROTC to present the colors, with the color guard being led by Cadet Escavez. Next, Chase took over again to thank everyone for coming once again and  to wish luck to the athletes and coaches competing. Then, Tori Amaradio, a Special Olympics athlete from the Philadelphia “Wildcats I”, led the athletes in the Special Olympics Oath of “Let me win. If I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt”. The ceremony proceeded with Rosemary Duffy from Philadelphia County leading the coaches in reciting the Coach’s Oath. After both oaths were recited, Francis Bradshaw, an athlete from the Philadelphia “Special Stars” carried out the Flame of Hope. Following the entrance of the Flame of Hope was everyone’s favorite part – the declaration that the 2018 Philadelphia Invitational Volleyball Tournament open. Special Olympics PA – Philadelphia athlete, Sharon Quarles was able to officially open the games to a roaring crowd.

Despite the gloomy weather outside, it was all warmth and smiles inside.

The games began with every single athlete bringing extremely high energy to the court. As the division one, two, and three teams competed against each other, you could see everyone’s excitement to be playing and the sportsmanship throughout the matches. As the games continued, everyone had a blast cheering each other on! Congratulations to all of our teams and coaches everyone an amazing job!

Results:

Division 1
  1. Montgomery Warriors
  2. Philadelphia Pure Energy
Division 2
  1. Montgomery Teal Seals
  2. Philadelphia Wildcats I
  3. Montgomery Hawks I
Division 3
  1. Mongomery Key Lime
  2. Philadelphia Stars
  3. Philadelphia Wildcats II

Photos:

More photos can be found on our Facebook Page

 

Our Philadelphia athletes had a great start to the 2017 Fall Season while attending the Area M Invitational on Sunday, September 17th. This invitational is held every fall at Hershey High School and invites 20 local Special Olympics PA programs to come out and compete in five sports. This year, 750 athletes came together to compete at one of their first tournaments of the season. Athletes have the chance to compete in bocce, long distance running/walking, powerlifting, soccer, and volleyball. Philadelphia athletes who attended competed in bocce, soccer skills, 5v5 soccer, and 7v7 soccer. 

 

Results

Bocce
Team 1 Teddy Angerman & Raymond Anderson 1st
Team 2 John Kulpa & Sharon Quarles 3rd
Team 3 Tracy McGravey & Kirstyn Cantres 1st
Team 4 Bryan Ziegler & Kevin Karcher 1st

Huge thank you to Coach Carole Canady for preparing our athletes!

Soccer – Individual Skills
Patrick Kulick 3rd
Eddie Glover 1st

Huge thank you to Coach Jaclyn Bixby for preparing our athletes! 

Soccer – Team
Stars & Stripes (5v5) Ian Capacio, Allison Davidson, Danny Amrik, Jackie Lutts, Emmet Abdo, Lisa Barbour, Kristie Walls, Michael Weinberg, David Brent Williams 1st
Strykers (7v7) Matt Grabowski, Joseph Rynkiewicz, Ryan Bogan, Charles Zistte, Angel Rodriguez, Brian Stulz, Ronald Atkins Jr., Samuel Fioravanti Jr, Jason Bixby, Daniel Charlton, Jesse Rose, Matt Beckman, Carl Irvis 1st

Huge thank you to Coaches Charles Abdo (Stars & Stripes) and Ryan Milanaik (Strykers) for preparing our athletes! 

 

DSC05127On February 28th, 100 Special Olympics Philadelphia athletes came to Erie Lanes for the 27th Annual Bowling Tournament. The tournament started with the parade of athletes followed by the Frankford JROTC presenting the colors. Athletes Kirstyn Cantres and Teddy Angerman emceed Opening Ceremonies which included Director of Special Olympics PA – Philadelphia Britt Kleine saying a few words and “the man of a thousand voices”, Joe Conklin. During Opening Ceremonies,  Fran Moore was recognized as she just became part of the newest class to the Special Olympics North America Coach of the Year. This award is given annually to a Special Olympics coach who has made a significant and demonstrable impact on local Special Olympics Programs and their communities. After a few more words, Kirstyn Cantres officially opened the games. Athletes bowled their way through three rounds as family and fans clapped and cheered. There were many spares and strikes and even some hard splits. 

 

The following athletes received a gold medal:

John Abbot      Kayla Atkins      Christine Benoit      Kaitlin Berkavzer
Jose Borrero Barbara Borrero Ian Capacio Lafayette Charleston
Vincent Filograna Meghan Garlick Mitchell Gaskin Matthew Grabowski
Kelsey Grinrod Christina Guyton Wesley Hicks Marlen Johnson
Kevin Karcher John Kulpa Kevin Marshall John Mitchell
Shawn Moton Michael O’Donnell      Charles Rueter Kyle Sheaff
Jeremiah Spruill William Strausser Richard Walston Kayla Walter
Miachel Weinberg      Jennifer Wetzel Elijah Williams Joseph Yerkes
Edmund Zakrocki Charles Zisette    

 

The following athletes received a silver medal:

Raymond Anderson Teddy Angerman Ronald Atkins Lisa Barbour
Ryan Bogan Michael Castillo Keith Collins Christina Comerford
Stephen Dacyna Genine DeNofa William Devlin Christina DiVergilis
Stanley Dluzniewski      Kelly Dluzniewski Robert Duffy Michael Esposito
Kim Ewing Paul Fischer Armand Garcia Jason Green
Matthew Kossman Demetrius LeFlore      Robert Lehr Joseph Lestochi
Thomas Miller Jenna Morse Michael Mullen      Lamont Royals
Allison Ruitizer James Shelton Angie Smith James Trotman
Bryan Zieglar      

 

The following athletes received a bronze medal:

James Barbour Russell Barndt Kirstyn Cantres Manny Cook
James Costello James Curry Jeffrey Dornblaster      Irwin Fox
Pam Galone Lavar Gladden Bob Kane Brenndin LaGomarsino
Michael Marshall      Marcus Montgomery      Katie Moore Stephen Price-Wright
Sharon Quarles Sheila Stevens Brian Stulz David Brent Williams

 

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On April Fools, our Philadelphia athletes weren’t fooling anyone as they rolled spares and strikes at the 2012 Eastern Bowling Sectional, a one-day competition featuring more than 300 athletes. Opening Ceremonies were held at Trexler Middle School and the competition venues were Mountainville Bowling Alley, Rose Bowl and Playdrome- all in Allentown. Athletes compete in various bowling events: singles, doubles, teams and unified. 31 of our Philadelphia athletes took to the lanes and gave it their all in hopes of advancing to the 2012 Summer Games at Penn State University in State College, PA.

 

2012 Eastern Bowling Sectional Results:

1st Place
Stephanie Cooper, William Devlin, Vincent Filograna, Pamela Galone, Raymond Jackson, Michael O’Donnell
2nd Place
Raymond Anderson, Theodore Angerman, Alberto Borrero, Kirstyn Cantres, Stephan Dacyna, Kevin Karcher, Salim Thomas
3rd Place
Mitchell Gaskins, John Kulpa, Richard Walston, Michael Weinberg
4th Place
Daniel Charlton, Keith Collins, William Strauser Jr, Edmund Zakrocki
5th Place
Matthew Kosman, Michael Mullen, Rachel Santiago, Angela Smith, 
6th Place
William Borrero, Michael Esposito, Rosemary Furlong, Sheila Stevens, 
7th Place
Russell Barndt, David Borrero,