Unified Basketball Team From Moorestown Wins Gold Medal

MOORESTOWN, NJ — The Unified basketball team from Moorestown High School represented New Jersey as it captured the gold medal at the Special Olympic Games in Seattle in July, according to the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletics Association (NJSIAA).

Every team in the competition included students with and without intellectual disabilities. Moorestown capped a 5-0 record in the tournament with a win over a team from Ohio. Moorestown’s coaching staff included Moorestown High School Principal Andrew Seibel and teachers Brittany Shields and Mikal Lundy.

For the upcoming 2018-19 school year, a total of 40 different New Jersey high schools are slated to field at least one Unified Sports team. This represents a 471 percent increase beyond 2016, when seven schools fielded a Unified Sports team for the program’s first year, according to the NJSIAA.

“Students everywhere can benefit significantly from participation in Unified Sports,” NJSIAA Executive Director Larry White said. “These programs provide exceptional opportunities to learn from others and forge meaningful relationships.”

Special Olympics New Jersey and the NJSIAA are partners in the statewide, interscholastic Unified Sports initiative, which seeks to establish a positive, welcoming environment enabling students to enjoy spending time with each other.

As an example of Unified Sports’ growing reach, seven schools competed in the NJSIAA 2018 Unified Group Championship Meet for track, with 68 total Unified athletes and their partners. In addition, four schools took part in the NJSIAA Unified bowling sectionals and Moorestown competed against Union City in the first Unified State Championship at the basketball Tournament of Champions.

A total of 72 other teams are also Play Unified Interscholastic Sports teams, that compete against other schools, but are not yet ready to play for state titles. A total of 13 schools offer Unified bowling at this level, while 15 offer soccer, 16 offer basketball, and 28 have a track and field program.

The attached image was provided by the NJSIAA