D202 Special Olympics Basketball Teams Headed To State Tournament

PLAINFIELD, IL — Two Plainfield middle school Special Olympics basketball teams are headed to the state championship this weekend at Illinois State University.

Students from Aux Sable, Drauden Point, Heritage Grove and Ira Jones middle schools comprise the two teams — the Black Cheetahs and the Blue Cheetahs — that will compete Friday through Sunday.

The teams took first place in 2025, the inaugural year for the Plainfield Community Consolidated School District 202 program.

"With another bid to the state tournament, they have definitely done something right," Haley Koziol, the Special Olympics athletic director for the middle schools, said in a statement.

This year's program focused on improving the athletes' skills, learning new plays and being good teammates, said Kozial, who is also the Federal Bureau of Investigation Select teacher at Drauden Point Middle School.

These are the teams' rosters:

Black Cheetahs

• Camden Annis, seventh grade, Aux Sable Middle School
• Ryen Lebsock, seventh grade, Aux Sable Middle School
• Payton Labellarte, eighth grade, Drauden Point Middle School
• Nicholas “Nick” Lammert, eighth grade, Drauden Point Middle School
• Bentley Liberatore, eighth grade, Drauden Point Middle School
• Will Rosario, eighth grade, Drauden Point Middle School
• Noah Trevino, seventh grade, Drauden Point Middle School
• Jonah Flores, eighth grade, Ira Jones Middle School
• Joseph “Joey” Schmid, eighth grade, Ira Jones Middle School
• Luke Lewandowski, sixth grade, Heritage Grove Middle School
• Coaches Brenda Rosenbaum and Haley Koziol
• Parent volunteer Jason Lammert

Blue Cheetahs

• Angelo Aguilar, sixth grade, Drauden Point Middle School
• Jahaziel Bandera, eighth grade, Drauden Point Middle School
• Isaiah Burgos, sixth grade, Drauden Point Middle School
• Parker Cuello, seventh grade, Drauden Point Middle School
• Gabriel Cicero, eighth grade, Drauden Point Middle School
• Vahin Choudhury, eighth grade, Heritage Grove Middle School
• Jake Garbis, seventh grade, Heritage Grove Middle School
• Jackson Marisco, sixth grade, Heritage Grove Middle School
• Caleb Brown, sixth grade, Ira Jones Middle School
• Lilianna “Lily” Diversey, eighth grade, Ira Jones Middle School
• Coaches Dani Harness and Isabella D’Andrea
• Parent volunteer Briana Litfka

To celebrate their road to the championship, the district is holding a send-off parade at 4:45 p.m. Thursday at the Bonnie McBeth Learning Center, 15730 Howard St. Police officers will escort the athletes through the school parking lot, from Howard Street to Renwick Road.