HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Seventy Special Olympics athletes from Reno County will help kick off the 50th annual State Summer Games.
The first games in Kansas took place May 30, 1970, in Parsons, with 300 athletes. The 2019 games will host 1,292 athletes from teams located throughout the state.
The summer games, which are held annually, will run through Sunday, June 2.
The event will include competition, healthy screenings for vision, hearing and dental; an athlete village with games and activities; a Unified Sports Experience; and Athlete Performance Stations to ensure athletes are ready to compete.
Opening Ceremony will be at 7 p.m. at Maize South High School, 3701 N. Tyler Road. Special Olympics Kansas volunteer Rob Emery will emcee the opening ceremony for the 25th year.
During the opening ceremony, several award recipients will be recognized and five athletes will be inducted into the Special Olympics Kansas Athlete Hall of Fame.
Here is a list of the area athletes that will be a part of the Special Olympic Summer Games from Reno County:
Nickerson Cats
Bailey, Jonathon
Bartholomew, Kayla
Brinkley, Alexander
Chamberlain, Richard
Coffee, Chandler
Ekstrom, Carol Lynne
Flynn, Heather
Frank, Janna
Greenfield, Dylan
Heiddari, Kenyon
Herren, Vlema
Kilpatrick, Channdler
Kretchmar, Bryce
Martin, Cody
Miller, Jack
Myers, Michael
Padilla, Andre
Robertson, Marvin
Sack, Joe
Sack, Rick
Seeger, Lewis
Sheer, Cindy
Thomas, Emily
Vierya, Annalicia
Vincencio, John
White, Stacy
Williams, Joey
Buhler Special Olympics
Stephanie Burkett
Kylie Christenson
Aubrie Dixon
Trenton Lafayette
Cormac Pittman
Elizabeth Pittman
Coby Wiehl
All Stars of Hutchinson
Kelli Bringle
Joey Holmes
Ashley Ploutz
Justin Romesburg
Tina Romesburg
Ryan Sims
Cole Weiser
Britney Winkler
Lucas Wondra
Greg Yohn
Hutchinson Hawks
Michael Bottom
Tony Chase
Chad Considine
Tal Dondlinger
Elijah Gaines
Jesse Harris
Kevin Harris
Ailsa Harris
Sharyl Hamilton
Lori Hemphill
Kelly Jenkins
Alexis Kelly
Donovan Kelly
Corbin Klick
Daniel Medina
Daniel Mendoza
Jonas Leshore
Mariah Lytle
Amanda Lansdowne
Casey Mclain
Frank Saiz
Scott Schultz
Jerimiah Tolbert
Carla Trejo
Erik Wingert
Andy Wuthnow