Plano Unified track and field team wins first in state

The Plano School District 2A Unified track and field team won first in the state on May 27 at the IHSA meet held at the Eastern Illinois University O’Brien Field.

Congratulations to the following athletes: K.C. Polomchak, Matthew Martin, John Garcia, Jay Martinez, Christopher Schweitzer, Zachary Conforti, Petrit Beshiri, Jacob Soling, Stevie Johnson, Lizbeth Dudley, Sydney Klebenow, Logan Decamp and Amanda Corrie. Students that helped qualify for the state competition are the following: Anna Addis, Joshua Thomas, Sasha Helfgott-Watter and C.J. Rydzewski.

The coaches for the Unified track and field team are Leann Teckenbrock, Beth Lohrey and Mariah Watson. IHSA Unified track and field is one of 13 Special Olympics Illinois state sports competitions. It is the championship level competition for those participating in high school Unified Team track and field. Unified track and field is a team event where individuals compete and earn points towards a team total, individual awards are not given. A team is comprised of equal numbers of Special Olympics athletes and Unified Partners with a maximum roster size of 12. Individuals are able to compete in a maximum of two events consisting of 100-meter dash, 200, 400, 4x100 relay, shot put and running long jump.

Teams qualify for the IHSA Unified Track and Field State Tournament by winning regional tournaments held across the state. Unified Track is held in conjunction with the IHSA Boys State Track and Field Competition. Unified Track became an official Special Olympics sport in 2022.