The Italy ISD special olympic athletes received a heroes sendoff from the entire Italy High School student body and faculty early Wednesday morning as Team Italy prepared for their basketball competition being held at Cedar Hill High School.

The cheerleaders and Gladiator Regiment Band members led the charge as everyone cheered, applauded and high-fived Mikey South, Frank South, Wyatt Ballard, Charlie Bolin and Damarcus Houston as their bright smiles made their way toward the bus. Before exiting the school, the athletes had their first obstacle to overcome…busting thru the banner!

With cheerleaders Taylor Turner and Jessica Garcia holding on tight, the athletes slid under, crawled under and then finally broke thru the banner with Mikey South exclaiming, “That was awesome!”

And with that, the athletes boarded the bus for the games and headed to Cedar Hill.
Upon arriving at the games, everyone checked in and then patiently waited for their chance to shine. Escorting the athletes were Italy High School’s CBI teacher Teresa Young, resource care professional Gwendolyn Williams and cheer sponsor Kim Watkins. Escorts from Stafford Elementary were CBI teacher Angela Chambers, care professional Lynn Rudd and care professional Kerri Rudd. Stafford principal Jonathan Nash also stopped by to support our young athletes.

Frank was the first Team Italy member to compete. If he was nervous he refused to show it and handled himself like a seasoned pro. He competed in the timed dribbling event, the jump shot event and the target shoot.

After the results were tallied, Frank made his way to the podium of champions were he was presented a 3rd place medal. It was just another day at the office for Frank who acted as an athlete who expects to reach the podium often before his career is done.

Next up for Team Italy was Charlie. The enthusiastic Charlie was a lightning bolt in the dribbling event where he recorded one of the fastest times of the day. He then displayed great form in the jump shot event and was accurate in the target shoot. For his efforts, Charlie made it to the podium of champions were he was presented with a 2nd place medal.

Charlie was in awe once the medal was draped around his neck and then posed for a picture with Turner and Garcia.

Then it was Wyatt Ballard’s turn to compete and he quickly set the tone with a perfect performance during the timed dribbling event by keeping constant control of the ball. Wyatt followed up with a brilliant showing in the jump shot event displaying the strength needed to make shots from the farthest mark. The target shoot required tremendous accuracy and Wyatt was true to the mark.

Upon meeting the challenges of his three events, Wyatt made his way to the podium of champions where he was presented a 2nd place medal. The humble Wyatt graciously displayed his medal for the cameras before rejoining with his teammates.

Though Damarcus Houston is not yet old enough to compete in the games, he was glad to be in attendance to support his teammates. And you could see it in his eyes that Damarcus is looking forward for his chance to participate in the coming years.

Mikey, the savvy veteran, was the last Team Italy member to compete. After a strong showing in the timed dribbling event where the competitors must dribble down and back while being timed for speed, Mikey hurried over to the jump shot event which is his favorite. Mikey swished in his final shot from the farthest distance and then was high-fived by Turner as the crowd roared. He then took aim in the target shoot event and made that look easy.

Mikey then made his way to the podium of champions where he was presented his 3rd place medal by Coppell’s Kelsey Conrad, Miss DFW 2014. Conrad was adorned with her crown as she honored Mikey for his success. The pair then posed for a picture marking a lovely ending to a great day of competition!

Team Italy still had one last challenge to take on, CiCi’s Pizza’s all you can eat buffet in Cedar Hill. Each athlete enjoyed their meal while wearing their medals around their necks, which they surely did until it was time to go to bed. The final score was Team Italy, 1, and CiCi’s Pizza, 0.

Congratulations to Frank, Charlie, Wyatt, Damarcus and Mikey for having the courage to represent Italy ISD honorably while wearing the old gold and white! Also, special thanks to the students and the faculty of Italy High School. I’m sure you can all imagine how meaningful the sendoff was on behalf the athletes and their families. Again, thank you all.

Go Team Italy!