May 22, 2025
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Illinois Valley Family Swim Team places in top 10 at Special Olympics State Games

By Caryn Brown
The Illinois Valley Family Co-Op Swim Team, made up of (left to right) Kelli Ewbank, Ann Schmitt, Ashly Weiland, Jessica Swietek and Allison Gens, scored a top-10 finish at the Special Olympic Illinois State Games.

The Illinois Valley Family Co-Op Swim Team, made up of (left to right) Kelli Ewbank, Ann Schmitt, Ashly Weiland, Jessica Swietek and Allison Gens, scored a top-10 finish at the Special Olympic Illinois State Games. (Shaw Local News Network)

The Illinois Valley Family Co-op Swim Team competed this month at the Illinois Special Olympics Summer Games in Bloomington, scoring a top-10 finish.

The team, consisting of Kelli Ewbank, Allison Gens, Ashly Weiland, Jessica Swietek and Ann Schmitt, brought home five individual gold medals, three individual silver medals, one team relay silver medal, a fifth and a seventh place.

Leading off the games, Ewbank earned a silver medal in the 50-meter backstroke as well as the 50-meter freestyle. Gens brought home gold in both the 100-meter freestyle and the 50-meter breast stroke. Weiland also grabbed gold medals in the 100-meter breast stroke as well as the 400-meter freestyle. Swietek placed seventh in the 25-meter freestyle and won a silver medal in the 50-meter freestyle. Schmitt swam into fifth place in the 25-meter freestyle as well as gold in the 50-meter freestyle.

Ewbank, Swietek, Weiland and Gens competed together on the 4x25-meter relay and captured a silver medal.