All five Westmoreland County Special Olympics basketball teams brought home either gold, silver or bronze medals this past weekend in the state’s Special Olympics competition at Penn State University.
“Every one of our teams — three five-on-five (teams) and two three-on-three — won medals,” said Anthony Monstrola of Greensburg, coordinator for the Westmoreland Special Olympics basketball teams.
All the hard work and practices since November paid off for the Westmoreland Wolverines’ co-ed teams. Two of the five-on-five teams won gold medals, and one took silver. In the three-on-three competition, one team won the gold medal, and the other took home silver.
“This is the first time that we have won multiple gold medals in the same year,” Monstrola said.
The players from Westmoreland County were among about 1,100 Special Olympics athletes from across the state competing in basketball, swimming and track. The events were held Thursday through Saturday in State College.
In addition to the basketball medals that were won, Westmoreland athletes brought home medals in swimming and track.
The teams qualified for the state tournament by winning medals in the Western Regional Special Olympics held in April at Carnegie Mellon University.
They also competed at regional events at the University of Pittsburgh and Westminster College, Monstrola said, and scrimmaged at Penn State before the competition started.
