Fredonia, Silver Creek-Forestville celebrate seasons | News, Sports, Jobs

The culminating event for Unified Bowling across Section VI was held Monday and Tuesday at Airport Lanes in Cheektowaga. The Silver Creek-Forestville Unified Bowling Team competed on Monday, while Fredonia competed on Tuesday. The event spanned two days in order to give every team participating in Unified Bowling an opportunity to compete.

Fredonia was coached this season by Alex Conti, with Kristin Tomaszewski overseeing the Unified Club.

“Coaching Unified, and being part of the entire Unified experience, might just be the most rewarding activity out there,” Conti said. “If you have a child who has any interest in having a tremendous experience in the high school setting, encourage them to find a Unified team to join. They will walk away with much more than a medal to measure their success against.”

Fredonia had several student athletes post strong finishes to their season on Tuesday. Charis Labarr surpassed her season average by 31 pins, while Henry Hegna, Mason Weinke and Elijah Schrantz all surpassed their averages by more than 20 pins. Charlie Domenico, Abigail Czekanski, Miriam LaBarr and Lydia LaBarr all surpassed their averages by double digits, while Jessica Sinclair, Carter McTernan, Raylee Flanders and Michaela Mead each beat their season averages, as well.

The Silver Creek-Forestville Unified Bowling Team is pictured at Airport Lanes in Cheektowaga on Monday during the culminating event of the Section VI Unified Bowling season.

Fredonia’s season came to a close while leaving an impact on many of its participants. Among them is Miriam LaBarr, who competed as a partner of Unified athletes with special needs. She spoke to the impact Unified Sports has had on her and the school as a whole.

“My favorite thing about Unified bowling is how we are all able to watch and cheer each other on,” LaBarr said. “Our school is definitely better because of Unified, it’s made us more inclusive and friendly and we value those in our school now.”

Other students were touched by the program, including Elijah Schrantz and Luke McKnatt.

“I like watching the scores and numbers. I like bowling with Charlie, Miriam, Carter, and Emily,” McKnatt said.

“I love being a part of Unified. I’ve made many new friends. I just love having fun,” added Schrantz.

Silver Creek-Forestville was coached this season by Janet Decker, Brenda Kerstetter, and Janine Shumaker. This was the first season that Silver Creek welcomed Forestville to form a merged program, like what the schools do for football, soccer, and baseball, among other sports. Silver Creek is in its fifth year of Unified Sports as a district.

“We were able to bring on new partners and new athletes and build that friendship across the two school districts. Because we combine for so many other sports, it was nice to build that relationship,” Decker said.

During the Opening Ceremony on Monday, Julie Decker and Mattie Larson of the Silver Creek-Forestville team read the Special Olympics Oath. Later in the event, Jonathan Pilski from Silver Creek and Noah Hodkin from Forestville earned the Cross Training Athletics Character Award. Also from Silver Creek/Forestville, Eric Arnold earned the Section VI Good Sport Award for his willingness to help his teammates, as well as members of the other teams, throughout the season.

Decker highlighted the amount of players who showed an interest in joining the program and credited how it is open to anyone to join. One of the members is Decker’s daughter, Julie, a senior at Silver Creek. Julie Decker has been along for the ride the entire time Unified Sports have been at Silver Creek.

“You just get to go and build those friendships, to be a part of everything. That’s what I like about Unified Sports. It’s not about the best bowler, it’s not about who actually gets the highest pin count, it’s about cheering other people on,” Janet Decker said. “… It’s just about learning to be a team, working together to have fun.”