Champions Together program returns to Seymour

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Nicolas Francisco held a torch while sitting in the passenger seat of a golf cart being driven by Seymour High School teacher Dave Boggs.

After driving along part of the track at Bulleit Stadium, Boggs stopped on the artificial turf in front of groups of students from the Seymour Community School Corp. schools.

Francisco, a fifth-grader at Margaret R. Brown Elementary School, handed the torch to School Resource Officer Chadd Rogers.

Lisa Ferguson then led everyone in reciting the Special Olympics athlete oath before Diane Altemeyer exclaimed on the public address system “Let the games begin!”

That signaled the start of the Champions Together track and field meet on May 13.

The collaborative partnership between the Indiana High School Athletic Association and Special Olympics Indiana promotes servant leadership among student-athletes while changing their lives as well as the lives of those with intellectual disabilities.

This marked the first time since 2019 that Seymour was able to host the special meet due to the COVID-19 pandemic sidelining it the past two years.

Between the meet for preschoolers on May 6 at Seymour-Jackson Elementary School and the event for kindergartners through eighth-graders a week later, there were 185 special education students and peers competing in a handful of track and field events. Those included softball throw, long jump, 50-meter dash and 100-meter dash.

The students had worked together during physical education class at their respective schools to practice the events to be ready for the big day.

Francisco focused on the softball throw and left Bulleit Stadium with a bronze medal around his neck. He had been nominated by adults at his school to be the event’s torchbearer.

“It was awesome,” he said, smiling. “This was fun.”

Sara Jones, a special education teacher at Brown, said she was proud of his efforts.

“I think he just looked so happy and full of life,” she said. “He has worked hard. He had surgery this year, and he has gotten through that. He’s doing really well.”

This is her first year working for Seymour schools, and she was excited to see the kids compete.

“There’s just something special in general because everyone supports everyone and it’s all about doing your personal best,” Jones said. “It’s just the spirit of that. It’s just so great to see these kids so happy.”

Rogers liked playing a role in the event, too. He’s also a member of the Special Olympics Indiana Jackson County county management team.

“It’s just a great opportunity to be here and interact with the kids and be a part of such a great organization that does that,” he said. “I love doing it. I’ve done this since my kid was in it. Some things, they may never get to do again. For some of these kids, this will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

Physical education teacher Sharon Wood organizes Seymour’s Champions Together program, and she said bringing it back this year was big.

“It’s absolutely amazing,” she said. “As we were starting to prepare our teams for practice, just seeing the smiles on their face and the pride that everybody was taking in practicing and knowing that this event was coming back, it just really has us all speechless. It’s just another day to give back to our kids and let them shine.”

A special time was created for the athletes and their peers at each school to go to the gymnasium to practice their events.

“Their coaches and PE teachers give them helpful hints on how to get better, but mostly, it’s just a time for them to spend together, for the peer athlete to get to know their special Olympian and work together and perform,” Wood said.

Seeing the schools embrace Champions Together means a lot to her.

“We always talk about the Seymour way — kindness, everybody working together — and this, for me, is just another way to use teamwork to make the dream work,” she said. “It didn’t make a difference if you were an athlete, you were a peer coach, you were a volunteer, everybody pitched in together to make it a fantastic event competing, athleticism, good sportsmanship, but mostly, just to have a lot of fun together.”

As participants received medals from Seymour High School students volunteering at the event, their face lit up.

“Brown school had a parade in the building to send them off, and the building is absolutely crazy when they come back because all they want to do is see their medals, show off their medals and they will clap for them at lunch when they see their medals,” Wood said. “Just how that feeds then back into the community, how that feeds back into each building, it’s just simply amazing to see how happy and proud everybody is of themselves.”

Mika Ahlbrand, the corporation’s director of special education, said it was great to have Champions Together once again. Seymour has been part of the program since 2016.

“Days like today, we’re just so thankful to have it back in person,” she said. “I think seeing the students and their smiles and the peer-partner relationship is just amazing. Nothing but positivity coming from today.”

Friday was extra special for her because her daughter was among the peer partners participating.

“I’ve had parents messaging me this morning already just how excited their child was to participate as an athlete or a peer, so it’s just excitement,” Ahlbrand said. “A morning like this and our event last week, this is why all of us on our special education team are here. We celebrate inclusion, we celebrate and honor our students with all abilities and this just is a place that you see it shine, and it’s an emotional day.”

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