SOOR passion fills Mt. Hood

Photo by Nick Pelster.

MHCC’s Aquatic Center was packed with a lot of energy during the Special Olympics regionals on Sunday, Oct. 25.

Competition got off to a fast start after the national anthem ceremony at 10 a.m. and lasted a full six hours.

Swimmers occupied five lanes per round, and the athletes were awarded first-through-fifth place promptly after each performance.

There were tears of joy, tears of disappointment, and all-around excitement.

As a reporter, I had the wonderful chance to speak with a few athletes who competed.

For many of the athletes, the story is mostly one of not giving up.

Meagan Paxton, 36, has been involved with Special Olympics since she was 10, and has won her “fair share” of golds and silvers at the world games, she said, which she credited to her coaches.

“I’ve had so many great coaches for a long time,” said Paxton. “I had a really good coach, Cindy. I respect and admire her, she was a great coach, not only for her personality but more than that, it’s how she challenged me by putting me in longer distances when she felt I was ready.”

Paxton noted that her coaches, past and present, help cheer her and everyone else on.

For instance, she remembers the first time she competed and mixed up the order of her individual medley race. “I was a little embarrassed, but I learned from the mistake. I’ve always been good about learning from my mistakes.”  Her mother agreed, congratulating Megan by greeting her with a gold medal.  Paxton took first in the 200-meter individual medley and second in the 200m backstroke.

“The lesson to her was to memorize and repeat over and over again the order until it internalized,” said Cindy Paxton, her mother. “She never made that mistake again.”

Her coach, Ann Beringer said, “She’s one of the most positive people I know.”

Lauri Hyde is another great example of an athlete who has committed a lot of time to the Special Olympics. It was quite obvious that she provided excellent encouragement to her teammates. Her quiet demeanor showed a level of grace, yet she was equally enthusiastic.

Hyde, obviously a very sociable person, was encouraging many athletes she knew – not only her teammates.  As a reporter, I couldn’t help but tear up when seeing her grasp the hand of a friend of hers she went to school with, James Schmeer. Schmeer took second in the 200m freestyle and the100m freestyle.

Nearly every time I looked at Hyde, she congratulated and encouraged people in a soft and sincere way.

“I swam for Special Olympics for about 30 years,” she said, beginning at 8 years old. Sports had been a long tradition in her family, as her sister used to coach in Minnesota. As soon as Hyde plunged into the water from the diving board, with no fear, her family knew she was “made for the water,” she said.

Lauri agreed with them, saying, “It was a lot of fun and I made lots of friends”.   When she was 10 years old, her family moved to Gresham, where Lauri swam year-round with the Eastmont Aquanauts.

Lauri’s mother, Tracy Hyde, added that “Special Olympics provides the opportunity for her to compete and the possibility of winning.

“It also encourages the athletes to exercise and eat sensibly in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle,” Tracy Hyde said. Both the training and meets provide the athletes with the venues, coaches, and volunteers to allow them to learn how to participate in different sports, she said, “while developing good sportsmanship, and reconnecting regularly with their friends.”

Advocate Staff