Since February, four Plant City High students have been pounding the pavement to prepare for competitions with the first-ever Special Olympics girls track team. The team competed Tuesday, April 19, and will compete again Tuesday, April 26.
The team formed once the FHSAA, which has lately been including more Special Olympics sports, sanctioned track and field competitions across the state of Florida.
While it’s not the first time Plant City’s Special Olympics program has put teams in track and field competitions, the move to the state’s prep sports-governing body means that it’s the first time the program is fielding an all-girls team.
“They started with basketball in the previous school year,” track coach Kim Levins says. “This is the first year they’ve done track. This is something new to us.”
These four girls, a mix of special-needs and regular education students, will run the 4×100 relay under the Raiders banner. Some have prior track experience, but others are passing the baton for their first time.
Should the team perform well, it will advance to the FHSAA state finals, which will be held the first weekend of May. Needless to say, the girls are excited.
MEET THE TEAM
Kiyana Levins, the coach’s daughter, is in her third year of running track with the school’s Special Olympics team.
“My first year doing it, I was kind of scared because I really wasn’t around kids with intellectual disabilities,” Kiyana Levins says. “Getting to work with them has been good, and it’s helped me understand who they are inside. They’re very happy all the time, and it just makes me happy.”
Tori Selph plays many sports for PCHS Special Olympics and is no stranger to track and field events. “I’m trying to beat these teams,” Selph says. “I want to get first place for the team.”
Selph’s favorite Special Olympics events include the long jump and bocce, but she’s also becoming a fan of the relay.
“I love doing the relays,” she says. “It helps my heart — it makes it stronger.”
Meghan Dineen has never run the 4×100 relay before and is looking forward to putting her newfound skills to the test in real competition. She’s also been enjoying her time with the team.
“It will be fun,” Dineen says.
Holly Eddins is getting back on a track for the first time since she was a student at Tomlin Middle School. Eddins, who also plays Unified soccer, enjoys helping her teammates.
“It’s fun to run with them and see them get better throughout training and stuff,” Eddins says. “Them having fun makes us have more fun.”
She’s so confident in the team’s ability to win that she doesn’t even like to field questions about it.
“Is that a question,” she said. “Because we’re going to win.”
Contact Justin Kline at jkline@plantcityobserver.com.