OLYMPIA — Jefferson County Warriors members came home with medals after competing at the Southwest Regional Special Olympics of Washington Bocce Tournament held at Olympia’s LBA Park on July 29.
The Warriors sent two pairs of two-person teams and a single competitor to the event —and came up big after a sunny day spent on the grass courts while competing with 107 athletes representing Jefferson, Clark, Clallam, Kitsap and Cowlitz counties.
Blaine Wheeler and Gillian McCraken took gold in the Mixed Pairs Division II, while Reid Zimmer and Caitlin Whitish won silver in the Mixed Pairs Division I.
Lindsey Star held her own amid stiff competition in singles and came home with a fourth-place ribbon.
This was the first time the team had competed in the competition and they were at a bit of a disadvantage having played their whole season on the professional-grade gravel courts at Fort Worden State Park, but the players made the necessary adjustments and stayed steady despite the different surface.
The Warriors hope to take more team members to the tournament next year..
Bowling is the fall season sport for the Warriors and will be starting in mid-September.
To find out more about Warriors Special Olympics, contact Tori at warriorsspecialolympics@gmail.com.