It was a beautiful day, perfect to be outside for Track and Field Championships held at Shippensburg University on Saturday, May 26th. In their first appearance at the state championships, MLK Wins 2018 PIAA State Track & Field Championship in the Special Olympics Division. Martin Luther King’s Unified Team joined their varsity team on the journey to Shippensburg University – and even donned the same school shirt as the varsity team. To get here, Martin Luther King’s Unified Track & Field team competed in two local tournaments against other Philadelphia schools and then won the Philadelphia Track & Field Championship.
Sophomore India Grierson, Sophomore Precious Ford, Junior Maurice Griffin, Senior Ojay Harris, Sophomore Zhaire Harris-White, Junior Jasir Newsome, Senior Dante Young-Connor, Sophomore Isaiah Collins, Junior Shaheed Cooper, Sophomore Augustus Hill Jr, Sophomore Malik Jones, Sophomore Nagid Sawyer, and Junior Jalen Williams made up Martin Luther King’s Unified Team. Athletes and partners competed in the 100-Meter Dash, 400-Meter Race, 800-Meter Race, Shot-put, Mini-Javelin, and the 4×100-Meter Relay. MLK took an early lead after the 100-Meter Dash and held on to the lead throughout the championship.
Congratulations, Martin Luther King! We look forward to what your next season brings!
For all photos from the event, click here.
| Place | School | Final Score |
| 1st Place | Martin Luther King High School (Philadelphia) | 76 |
| 2nd Place | Red Lion High School | 63 |
| 3rd Place | McDowell High School | 60 |
| 4th Place | Souderton Area High School (Montgomery) | 56 |
| 5th Place | General McLane High School | 51 |
| 6th Place | Brashear High School | 44 |
| Year in School | First Name | Final Time | Place |
| Freshman | Denim Morris | ||
| Senior | Ojay Harris | 15.97 | 1 |
| Senior | Dandre Young-Connor | 17.93 | |
| Sophomore | Isaiah Collins | 13.82 | 2 |
| Sophomore | Nagid Sawyer | 12.78 | 1 |
| Sophomore | Augustus Hill Jr | 14.14 | |
| Sophomore | Malik Jones | ||
| Junior | Jalen Williams | 11.88 | 1 |
| Year in School | First Name | Final Time | Place |
| Sophomore | Precious Ford | 01:21.7 | 1 |
| Junior | Maurice Griffin | 1:29.94 | |
| Sophomore | India Grierson | 1:28.60 | |
| Sophomore | Zhaire Harris-White | 1:16.07 | |
| Junior | Jasir Newsome | 1:01.41 | 1 |
Junior, Shaheed Cooper, 2:24.89, 2nd Place
| Year in School | First Name | Best Put | Place |
| Senior | Dandre Young-Connor | 21 | 1 |
| Junior | Shaheed Cooper | 27.5 | 1 |
| Sophomore | Augustus Hill Jr | 32.4 | 1 |
| Senior | Ojay Harris | 46.6 | 1 |
| Year in School | First Name | Best Throw | Place |
| Sophomore | Zhaire Harris-White | 29.9 | 1 |
| Sophomore | India Grierson | 32.11 | 3 |
| Junior | Maurice Griffin | 40.6 | 2 |
| Sophomore | Precious Ford | 42.6 | 1 |
| Junior | Jasir Newsome | 29.1 | |
| Junior | Jalen Williams | 43.11 | |
| Sophomore | Isaiah Collins | 71.11 | 1 |
| Sophomore | Nagid Sawyer | 74.11 | 2 |
| Jasir Newsome (Junior), Maurice Griffin (Junior), Isaiah Collins (Sophomore), Nagid Sawyer (Sophomore) | 54.61 | 1st Place |
Special Olympics PA – Philadelphia’s 2018 Unified Track & Field Championship was held on Monday, May 7, 2018, at the South Philadelphia Supersite. It was the perfect day to celebrate our athletes, partners and coaches and all the hard work they put on during the 2018 IUS Track & Field season. Special Olympics PA – Philadelphia Director, Chase Trimmer, kicked things off by welcoming everyone to the event and announcing the winning school would get a chance to compete at the PIAA Track and Field Championship in Shippensburg, PA. After some welcoming remarks, the five schools entered through the parade of athletes. Schools participating in the second annual Philadelphia Unified Track & Field Championship included George Washington High School. Hill Freedman, Martin Luther King High School, Northeast High School and host South Philadelphia High School. Special Olympics PA Board Member, Tony Gillespie joined us for the day and offered luck to all athletes and partners competing. Margaret Lasseter and Tra Griffin from South Philadelphia then lead the athletes and partners in the Special Olympics athlete oath of “Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt. Following the athlete oath, Coach Regina Johnson from Martin Luther King High School lead the coaches in the Coaches Oath of “I promise that we shall, take part in these Special Olympics games, respecting and abiding by the rules which govern them. In the true spirit of sportsmanship. For the glory of sport and the honor of our teams.” After Margaret and Tra came back up to officially declare the Unified Track and Field Championship open, the crowd erupted in applause and athletes and partners got ready to compete.
The 100-meter dash kicked off the Championship. As athletes raced down the track, South Philadelphia’s cheerleading squad was there to cheer them onto strong finishes. The 100-meter dash was followed by the 400-meter race and the 800-meter race which showcased the long distance runners of each school. After these track events, athletes split up to participate in one of three field events – long jump, mini javelin, or shotput. Each field event saw some great jumps and throws by both athletes and partners alike, with some creating a new personal record for themselves.
GW – George Washington High School, HF – Hill Freedman, MLK – Martin Luther King High School, NE – Northeast High School, SP – South Philadelphia High School
| School | A/P | Name | Time | Place |
| SP | Partner | Tracesaan Griffin | 12.06 | 1 |
| HF | Partner | Darius Hunter-McLean | 14.28 | 3 |
| NE | Partner | Fransico Correia | 13.41 | 2 |
| HF | Partner | Kayla Marshall | 14.78 | 6 |
| HF | Athlete | Tahlik Moon | 12.12 | 1 |
| HF | Partner | Justice Saunders | 14 | 5 |
| NE | Partner | Pedro Alicea | 12.2 | 2 |
| HF | Keith Jones | 12.53 | 3 | |
| NE | Partner | Caio Desouza | 12.17 | 4 |
| SP | Partner | Vaten Pridgen | 13.8 | 3 |
| GW | Athlete | Ryan Caldwell | 14.91 | 4 |
| HF | Partner | Aniya Gentles | 13.79 | 2 |
| SP | Athlete | Nasir Martin | 13.63 | 1 |
| GW | Athlete | Joseph McGinley | 14.91 | 4 |
| GW | Athlete | Johnathan Aguliera | 15.46 | 3 |
| MLK | Athlete | Semaj Glover | 13.69 | 2 |
| SP | Athlete | Maragret Lassiter | 15.63 | 4 |
| NE | Partner | Andra Silva | 12.37 | 1 |
| NE | Athlete | Samirah Stevens | 15.5 | 1 |
| HF | Partner | Destiny Goldmas | 15.79 | 2 |
| MLK | Athlete | Ludiner Chery | 17.29 | 3 |
| GW | Athlete | Aaron Wilson | 16.16 | 1 |
| MLK | Athlete | Dandre Young-Conner | 19.66 | 5 |
| NE | Athlete | Maria Trinidad | 16.28 | 3 |
| GW | Athlete | Nicholas Delgado | 16.2 | 2 |
| NE | Athlete | Alysha Hawkins | 17.54 | 4 |
| GW | Athlete | Kassim Rollerson | 19.13 | 5 |
| GW | Athlete | Brandon Taylor | 17.07 | 2 |
| GW | Athlete | Jordan Scott | 17.85 | 4 |
| MLK | Athlete | Ojay Harris | 15.79 | 1 |
| GW | Athlete | Dominic Maffei | 17.72 | 3 |
| GW | Athlete | Anthony Le | 21.28 | 6 |
| GW | Athlete | Oluwasegen Sodeke | 21.28 | 3 |
| GW | Athlete | Zachary Zimri | 20.16 | 2 |
| HF | Partner | Jihara Richardson | 16.78 | 1 |
| NE | Athlete | Karen Luong | 25.9 | 5 |
| NE | Athlete | John Zhen | 22.34 | 4 |
| HF | Athlete | Khyree Scott | 29.72 | 3 |
| NE | Athlete | Chris Chandler | 21.91 | 1 |
| NE | Athlete | Savanah Ayala | 22.12 | 2 |
| NE | Athlete | Adam Loai | 30.63 | 4 |
| NE | Athlete | Falu Anthony | 32.37 | 5 |
| GW | Athlete | Mitchell Cafolla | 41.43 | 6 |
| School | A/P | Name | Time | Place |
| MLK | Athlete | Jasir Newsome | 1:02 | 2 |
| SP | Partner | Ibrahim Cisse-Karamoko | 1:00 | 1 |
| MLK | Partner | Thomas Bell | 1:05.22 | 1 |
| HF | Athlete | Russell Shelton | 1:08 | 3 |
| HF | Partner | Ariel Odom | 1:19.00 | 4 |
| SP | Athlete | Reggie Blanton | 1:06.78 | 2 |
| GW | Athlete | Peter Pulukchu | 1:17.28 | 2 |
| GW | Athlete | Ronald Pierre | 1:24.63 | 3 |
| GW | Athlete | Faheem Rucker | 1:16.15 | 1 |
| HF | Partner | Jasmine Addison | 1:28.72 | 4 |
| GW | Athlete | Kwesi Quainoo | 1:08.34 | 1 |
| MLK | Athlete | Zhaire Harris White | 1:16.00 | 4 |
| GW | Athlete | Juan Espinosa | 1:08.38 | 2 |
| MLK | Partner | Nagid Sawyer | 1:13.28 | 3 |
| MLK | Athlete | Maurice Griffin | 1:18.81 | 1 |
| HF | Partner | Christian Moreno | 1:22.97 | 3 |
| HF | Athlete | Laurance Warner | 1:20.34 | 2 |
| MLK | Athlete | India Grierson | 1:31.50 | 4 |
| HF | Athlete | Iyana Sipes | 1:31.84 | 2 |
| GW | Athlete | Leyla Kamilova | 1:43.06 | 3 |
| MLK | Partner | Taylor Calloway | 1:29.50 | 1 |
| GW | Athlete | Elizabeth Vicario | 1:43.66 | 1 |
| SP | Athlete | Joseph Polizzi | 2:28.43 | 4 |
| NE | Athlete | Uwase Mutoni | 1:45.32 | 2 |
| GW | Athlete | Daika Douze | 2:00.00 | 3 |
| MLK | Athlete | Trevor Thompson | 3:10.00 | 6 |
| NE | Athlete | Samuel Godoi | 3:08.85 | 5 |
| School | A/P | Name | Time | Place |
| SP | Partner | Arisode Intwali | 2:24.86 | 1 |
| NE | Athlete | Isais Aponte | 3:22.42 | 1 |
| MLK | Athlete | Precious Ford | 3:40.60 | 3 |
| SP | Athlete | Charles Galvani | 3:36.76 | 2 |
| Teams | Time | Place |
| GW 2 | 1:06.50 | 4 |
| GW 1 | 1:03.97 | 3 |
| SP 1 | :58.34 | 1 |
| HF 1 | 1:01.75 | 2 |
| MLK 1 (Boys) | 1:07.91 | 2 |
| HF 2 | 1:08.34 | 3 |
| NE 1 | 1:07.50 | 1 |
| Team | Times | Place |
| GW 1 | 4:38.41 | 1 |
| MLK 1 | 5:26.90 | 3 |
| SP 1 | 4:56.41 | 2 |
| NE 1 | 5:40.03 | 4 |
| School | A/P | Name | 1st Attempt | 2nd Attempt | 3rd Attempt | Place |
| GW | Athlete | Joseph McGinley | 6′ 4.5″ | 4′ 8″ | F | 2 |
| SP | Partner | Abudullah Ali | 7′ 11″ | 7′ | 7′ 4″ | 1 |
| GW | Athlete | Peter Pulukchu | F | 10′ 9.5″ | 9′ 2″ | 2 |
| GW | Athlete | Faheem Rucker | F | 10′ 10″ | 11′ 1.5″ | 1 |
| HF | Partner | Kayla Marshall | 9′ 9.5″ | 10′ 2″ | 9′ 4″ | 3 |
| GW | Athlete | Juan Espinosa | 9′ 9″ | 11′ 7″ | 12′ 4″ | 3 |
| MLK | Partner | Taylor Calloway | 7′ 11″ | 8′ | F | 4 |
| GW | Athlete | Kwesi Quainoo | 13′ 3″ | 14′ | 14′ 9″ | 2 |
| MLK | Partner | Thomas Bell | 14′ | 15′ 3″ | 14′ 7.5″ | 1 |
| School | A/P | Name | 1st Attempt | 2nd Attempt | 3rd Attempt | Place |
| GW | Partner | Mitchell Cafolla | F | 4′ 6″ | F | 5 |
| GW | Partner | Anthony Le | 6′ 6″ | F | 17′ 3″ | 2 |
| HF | Athlete | Khyree Scott | 9′ 8″ | 7′ 10″ | 5′ 8″ | 3 |
| GW | Partner | Oluwasegen Sodeke | F | 8′ 11″ | 8′ 5″ | 4 |
| NE | Partner | Matisse Barrett | 20′ 11″ | 24′ 8″ | 26′ 5″ | 1 |
| MLK | Athlete | Zhaire Harris White | 22′ 4″ | 20′ 4″ | 15′ 4″ | 3 |
| GW | Partner | Jordan Scott | F | 32′ 11″ | 21′ 4″ | 1 |
| MLK | Athlete | Trevor Thompson | F | 23′ 5″ | 23′ 7″ | 2 |
| NE | Athlete | John Zhen | 11′ 8″ | 15′ 3″ | F | 4 |
| MLK | Athlete | India Grerson | 23′ 9″ | F | 10′ 2″ | 2 |
| HF | Athlete | Laurance Warner | 22′ 7″ | 22′ 4″ | F | 3 |
| HF | Partner | Sammy Donnie | 26′ 7″ | 28′ 7″ | 21′ 2″ | 1 |
| HF | Athlete | Tahlik Moon | 54′ 3″ | 39′ 8″ | 44′ 10″ | 1 |
| SP | Athlete | Alvin | 34′ 7″ | 23′ 2″ | F | 2 |
| GW | Athlete | Ronald Pierre | 19′ 8″ | F | F | 4 |
| GW | Athlete | Kassim Rollerson | 22.7″ | 23′ 11″ | 24′ 11″ | 3 |
| MLK | Athlete | Maurice Griffin | F | F | F | P |
| GW | Athlete | Aaron Wilson | 28′ 7″ | 21′ 6″ | 23′ 6″ | 3 |
| GW | Partner | Tiffany Sourovelis | 19′ 9″ | 18′ 5″ | 21′ 4″ | 4 |
| MLK | Athlete | Precious Ford | 24′ 11″ | 34′ 11″ | 27′ 4″ | 1 |
| GW | Athlete | Leyla Kamilova | 32′ 8″ | 29′ 6″ | 27′ 4″ | 2 |
| SP | Athlete | Antonio Burnett | 22′ 4″ | 36′ 10″ | 39′ 11″ | 4 |
| GW | Partner | Yesenia Lebron | F | 44′ 5″ | 41′ 10″ | 3 |
| MLK | Athlete | Jasir Newsome | 25′ 9″ | 24′ 7″ | 36′ 9″ | 5 |
| HF | Partner | Christian Moreno | 58′ 7″ | 60′ 7″ | 63′ 5″ | 1 |
| HF | Partner | Justice Saunders | F | 50′ 3″ | 47′ 10″ | 2 |
| MLK | Athlete | Semaj Glover | 27′ 11″ | F | F | 4 |
| HF | Partner | Destiny Goldmas | 37′ 7″ | 46′ 10″ | 32′ 4″ | 3 |
| SP | Athlete | Andre Thach | 40′ 7″ | 34′ 1″ | 56′ 3″ | 1 |
| GW | Athlete | Johnathan Aguliera | 38′ 9″ | 53′ 11″ | 54′ 3″ | 2 |
| HF | Athlete | Mike Ellis | 58′ 7″ | F | 73′ 5″ | 1 |
| NE | Athlete | Jordan Ganges | 57′ 9″ | 29′ 6″ | 41′ | 3 |
| MLK | Partner | Isaiah Collins | 69′ 5″ | 57′ 5″ | 60′ 6″ | 2 |
| NE | Partner | Fransico Correia | 70′ 8″ | 74′ 9″ | 74′ 2″ | 2 |
| HF | Keith Jones | F | 57′ 6″ | 51′ 5″ | 4 | |
| NE | Partner | Andra Silva | 57′ | F | 70′ 3″ | 3 |
| MLK | Partner | Nagid Sawyer | 47′ 1″ | 78′ 2″ | 66′ 3″ | 1 |
| School | A/P | Name | 1st Attempt | 2nd Attempt | 3rd Attempt | Place |
| HF | Athlete | Mark Robbins | 5′ 11″ | 5′ 10″ | 5′ 3″ | 4 |
| NE | Athlete | Chris Chandler | 7′ 1″ | 8′ 1″ | 7′ | 3 |
| GW | Athlete | Brandon Taylor | 7′ 7″ | 9′ 11″ | 11′ 11″ | 2 |
| GW | Athlete | Elizabeth Vicario | 12′ 1″ | 14′ | 15′ 5″ | 1 |
| GW | Partner | Dominic Maffei | 13′ 9″ | 12′ 9″ | 12′ 5″ | 5 |
| NE | Athlete | Adam Loai | 14′ 3″ | F | 15′ 10″ | 3 |
| NE | Athlete | Samirah Stevens | 15′ 11″ | 15′ 9″ | 15′ 8″ | 2 |
| MLK | Athlete | Ludiner Chery | 20′ | 18′ 11″ | 19′ 3″ | 1 |
| HF | Partner | Jihara Richardson | 14′ 7″ | 14′ 6″ | 14′ 11 ‘ | 4 |
| HF | Athlete | Sean Washington | 17′ | 17′ 1″ | 21′ 1″ | 3 |
| MLK | Athlete | Dandre Young-Conner | 16′ 5″ | 18′ 11″ | 18′ 5″ | 5 |
| HF | Partner | Aniya Gentles | 16′ | 17′ 5″ | 21′ 4″ | 2 |
| GW | Athlete | Zachary Zimri | 18′ 5″ | 19′ 2″ | 17′ 6″ | 4 |
| GW | Athlete | Nicholas Delgado | 23′ 4″ | 22′ 1″ | 21′ 3″ | 1 |
| HF | Partner | Eiyreana Alford | 19′ 9″ | 22′ | 21′ 4″ | 3 |
| NE | Athlete | Isais Aponte | 21′ | 22′ | 22′ 1″ | 4 |
| SP | Athlete | Matthew Webb | 22′ 2″ | 24′ | 20′ 3″ | 2 |
| MLK | Athlete | OJ Harris | 45′ 10″ | 43′ 9″ | 43′ 5″ | 1 |
| HF | Athlete | Mikhale Chisolm Brown | 33′ 1″ | 28′ 7″ | 33′ 11″ | 4 |
| SP | Partner | Arturo Jimenez | 36′ 7″ | 37′ 6″ | 36′ 8″ | 3 |
| NE | Partner | Caio Desouza | 37′ 5″ | 34′ 7″ | 37′ 9″ | 2 |
| HF | Partner | Darius Hunter-McLean | 43′ 4″ | 44′ 9″ | 45′ 8″ | 1 |
The 2018 Philadelphia Spring Games was held on Saturday, April 28, 2018, at William Penn Charter School. Athletes from Philadelphia and surrounding counties competed in athletics (track & field), basketball, and tennis. To kick off the day, athlete Raymond Anderson and John Boruk welcomed the crowd during the Opening Ceremonies. Frankford High School JROTC lead by Cadet Juvian Lopez and the West Powelton Drumline lead the Parade of Athletes which welcomed Montgomery County’s Track Team, Philadelphia Track Team, Delaware County Tennis Team, Philadelphia Tennis Team; and basketball teams: Chester Alex Avengers A, Chester Alex Avengers B, Chester Alex Avengers C, Philly All-Stars, Philly Bandits, Philly Dreamers, Philly Hoops, Philly Huskies, Philly Phlash, Philly Rebels, Philly Rebounders, Philly Warriors, Philly Wildcats I and Philly Wildcats II. After all the athletes took their seats, Frankford High School’s JROTC presented the colors and Denine Aversa, the mother of a South Philadelphia athlete, sang that National Anthem. New Special Olympics PA – Philalephia Director, Chase Trimmer, and Special Olympics PA President and CEO, Matthew Aaron, then gave welcoming remarks and wished athletes the best of luck as they competed later in the day. After welcoming remarks, Athlete Leadership Chair, Teddy Angerman welcomed everyone and introduced the rest of the Philadelphia Athlete Leadership Team. Victoria Amaradio, an athlete from South Philadelphia, lead all athletes in the Athlete Oath prior to the highlight of the Ceremonies – the lighting of the cauldron.
Deputy Commissioner Dennis Wilson of the Philadelphia Police Department, Cheif Dave Duffy of the Upper Gwynedd Police Department and men, women, and Police Explorers from Philadelphia and surrounding law enforcement agencies along with PECO employees, started their day at the Philadelphia Museum of Art where the Flame of Hope started its journey for the day. The Law Enforcement Torch Run ran 6 miles from the Philadelphia Museum of Art to William Penn Charter to bring the Flame of Hope to Opening Ceremonies to light the cauldron. As the Law Enforcement Torch Run got to William Penn Charter, they joined special guest Bernard Hopkins and Philadelphia athletes for the final leg. As the Flame of Hope came down the track and light the cauldron, everyone cheered and the 41st annual Philadelphia Spring Games officially came to a start!
Athlete then headed to their respective venues on campus to compete. Throughout the day, spectators and coaches saw great competition and sportsmanship between the athletes. After competition, athlete were awarded medals and ribbons based on their order of finish.
After Opening Ceremonies, Special Olympics PA – Philadelphia hosted their first every Unified Shot-put Experience where athletes got together with VIP guests to compete in the sport of shot-put. Athletes from Philadelphia who took part in this experience included Raymond Anderson, Eddie Glover, Jackie Lutts, Teddy Angerman, Sadika Smith. Athletes from Montgomery County included Robert Decker, Chip Tamagni, and Lauren Otterbein. Partners included Philadelphia Charity Ball Board members Jay Devine, Peter Cooke, and Colleen Holt-McCauley; Executive Advisory Board members Ernie Holtzheimer, Robert Croft, and Brian Monihan; Alex McConathey, and Fire Commissioner Adam Thiel. Every participant threw the shot-put twice, with their best score counting. Scores were calculated by adding each pair’s (an athlete and a partner) top throw together. In the end, Ernie Holtzheimer and Michael won with the overall high score.
Wildcats I – 1st Place
Wildcats II – 3rd Place
To view all photos, click here.
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THE GISH ROCKFORD FAMILY |
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HEALTH PARTNERS PLANS |
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The 2018 IUS Track & Field Season marked our second season of Special Olympics PA – Philadelphia doing athletics in our Interscholastic Unified Sports (IUS) Program. Participating high schools include George Washington High School, Hill-Freedman, Martin Luther King High School, Northeast High School, and South Philadelphia High School. After a Time-Trial Meet (Meet 1) and a second meet, all schools will meet on Monday, May 7th to see which school comes out on top!
On Tuesday, April 10th, Northeast High School and South Philadelphia High School met at the South Philadelphia Super Site to set times for their athletes and partners for the rest of the season. On the opposite side of town, George Washington High School, Hill Freedman High School, and Martin Luther King High School met at Germantown Super Site to record their times. The second meet had schools competing with each other and preparing for the Championship!
Hill-Freedman and Martin Luther King High School met on Tuesday, April 24th at the Germantown Super Site to compete head to head in both track and field events.
The last meet of the season prior to the championship was held on Thursday, April 26th at Northeast High School. George Washington joined Northeast on the track and on the field. At the end of the meet, both schools were excited to move on to the Championship!
Teddy Angerman, Megan Garlick and Eddie Glover represented Special Olympics Philadelphia at the 2010 National Games between July 18th – July 23rd, 2010 in Lincoln, Nebraska! Teddy and Megan represented us in aquatics in 3 individual events and partnered with athletes from Erie City and Northumberland/Snyder County for a medley relay. Eddie represented Philadelphia in two track events and two field events. Congratulations to our three athletes and check out their 2010 National Games results below!
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