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Ballenas Special Olympians shine

Local athletes fare well at basketball event
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Thumbs up for the Ballenas Secondary Special Olympics team that did well at a tournament in Courtenay. — Submitted photo

Nine Ballenas Secondary athletes competed in the recent Special Olympics basketball tournament hosted by Mark Isfeld Secondary in Courtenay.

The Whalers team consisted of Luke McMillen, Simon King, Jessica Rose, Jordan Meeker, Seamus MacDonald, Ethan Mandin, Jamie Greenshields, Woo Cha and Quinn Clothier. They took on Alberni, Vanier, Dover Bay and Isfeld.

The team has been training for more than five weeks to prepare for this tournament. They are jointly coached by Jessica Kerr and Kevin McMillen, and also had tremendous support from peer tutors as well as student coach Libby Elliott.

“It’s an honour coaching such wonderful students and I am proud of how far they have come,” said Kerr. “We are all excited for more fun in upcoming future Special Olympic events. Both of our teams played exceptionally well today, resulting in first and second place in their pools.”

—NEWS Staff



Michael Briones

About the Author: Michael Briones

I rejoined the PQB News team in April 2017 from the Comox Valley Echo, having previously covered sports for The NEWS in 1997.
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