Clark County Special Olympics basketball teams reach state

Four teams from Clark County Special Olympics won gold medals during the Washington Special Olympics Southwest Region Basketball Tournament, qualifying for the state tournament.

A total of 13 teams represented Clark County Special Olympics at the regional tournament, held Feb. 3 in Bremerton.

In addition to the Wizards, Bulldogs, Trailblazers and Wildthings, the Clark County Falcons were invited to the state tournament after taking second in the Skills 3 competition in Bremerton. The state basketball tournament will take place March 1-3.

To learn more about Special Olympics, and its programs in Clark County, visit http://www.specialolympics.org, or contact Clark County Special Olympics sports coordinator Rick Cook by e-mail at CCSOWA@live.com

Here are the rosters for the regional gold medal teams from Clark County:

• Wizards Masters 1 coached by Audrey Stekhuizen and Christopher Stekhuizen — Michael Bronson, Michael Cook, Nathan Ellis, Santos Lopez, Levi Neil, Luke Smith, Ivan Soltero and Andrew Stekhuizen.

• Bulldogs Masters 4 coached by Jon Wimber and Brian Zylstra — Adam Barr, Jason Downey, Russ Jones, Peter Li, Sam McIntyre, David Meliza, Scott Shivvers, Eric Stage, Michael Vanoni and Ally Warner.

• Trailblazers Masters 6 coached by Scott Milam and Tayloy Guzman — Westley Altig, Karen Carrico, Joesph Dawson, Casey Ellison, Conner Finerty, Craig Francis, Mark Hart, Alyssa Kwak, Lauren Miliam, Michael Suire, John Veals and Richard Wilen.

• Wild Things Juniors 1-2 coached by JR Vela, Braeden Manor and Morgan Jensen — Meridian Bonser, Justin Dalton, Mariah Davis, Cole Gaddis, McKenna Gaddis, Carter Giles, Josiah Malik-Byers, Taylor Malik-Byers, Preston Manor, Kat Sanders and Schuyler Zychowicz.

Here are the rosters for the Clark County silver medal winners:

• Bobcats Seniors 3 coached by Brandi Zychowicz, Jim Shultz and Shayla McIntyre — Matt Baker, Johnathon Chidester, Thomas Chidwick, Lizzy McIntyre, Doug McPherson, Everett Smith, Jason Sorenson, Alex Trimble, Fiona Wimber, Bryanna Zychowicz and Corbyn Zychowicz.

• Pirates Skills Team 2 coached by Gary Haliski — David Balas, Carl Crosiar, Greg Martino, Grant Richard, Mark Samples, Michael Torres and Ana Marie Von Kaenel.

• Falcons Skills 3 Team coached by Emily Hamilton and Melinda Malik — Jazmine Bussard, Evan Cole, Jordan Fallon, Kristopher Gatlin, Mallory Hamilton, Amirs Koutsles, Michael Koutsles, Charlie Malik-Byers, Elijah Malik-Byers, Alexis McCorvey and Sarah Trimble.

Here are the rosters for the Clark County bronze medal winners:

• Flying Eagles Masters 5 coached by Dennis Huck and Mary Huck — Dennis Dole Jr., Becky Johnson, Lawrence Joslin, Michael Krecklow, Heidi Moss, Anthony Nugget, Tim Rogers, Deanna Sanders, Samantha Spencer, Sean Starr and Aundrew Virelles.

• Bearcats Skills Team 2 coached by Jackie Trimble and Bailey Hamilton — JB Becker, Jim Byers, David Cralley, Rebekah Galliher, Mary Hendricks, Tori Lyster and Bill Shedel.

The Clark County fourth-place teams rosters:

• Blue Sonics Masters 6 coached by Elizabeth Francis, Nick Barclay and David Johnson — Rachel Akins, Jason Baumgartner, Jordon Brown, Tim Cook, Jerrod Crowson, James Davis, Estavan Rosales, Lauren Swartsell, Leslie Swartsell and Jackie Winters.

• Rollin Cats Skills Team 1 coached by Teresa Haliski and Richard Santanna — Jeremy Haliski, Glenda Huhtala, Dusty Lang, Charles Rymer, Tiffany Torres, Mark Trenda and Hannah Wampach.

The Clark County fifth-place teams rosters:

• Cougars Masters 7 coached by Jason Scott and Christina Lanham — Diana Bartusek, Jacob Blunt, Jolene Brown, Sam Dost, Shawn Hassig, Anjuli Heath, Paul Kotz, Thomas Kukkola, Jacob Lattanzi, Marissa McCollum, Katie Murray and Rachael Quattlebaum,

• Rebels Skills Team 1 coached by Sylvia Downey and Chrissy Hilby — Krista Downey, Kenda Eaton, Karen Hilby, Anthony Hopkins, Lea Mulligan, Susan Kunkel and Lori Steed.