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!
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.
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!
Patrick Kulick | 3rd |
Eddie Glover | 1st |
Huge thank you to Coach Jaclyn Bixby for preparing our athletes!
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!
On 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 |
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.
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, |