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Special Olympics Pennsylvania hosted their annual FallFest at Villanova University November 4-6. The local team representing Bradford and Sullivan Counties competed Long Distance Running/Walking (LDR/W) events. Special Olympics divides athletes into divisions based upon previous performance and age.

Friday afternoon featured the 1500 meter (metric mile) run and walk. In Division 1 of the run, Izaak Hobday displayed a dominating performance winning first place overall and a gold medal. In Division 4, Damian Smith earned the silver medal. Calvin Briggs won the silver in Division 5. Division 7 feature two area runners, Christina Cybulak achieving gold and Elizabeth Porter silver. Jeff Bailey won the bronze for Division 8. Anne Roof took top honors in Division 9. In the 1500 meter walk Division 4, Robert Cummings took gold and Randy Fortune took silver. Sirena Covey walked to the bronze medal for Division 5. Danny Golder won the gold in Division 10 of the walk.

Saturday races included the 5000 meter (5K or 3.1 miles) run, 3000 meter (slightly less than two miles) walk, and 3000 meter run. In the 5000 meters, Hobday again won the contest overall and the gold medal for Division 1. Damian Smith ran to silver in Division 4, and Elizabeth Porter scored the fifth place ribbon for Division 5. Jeff Bailey won the gold medal for Division 6. In the 3000 meter walk, Division 3, Robert Cummings earned gold and Randy Fortune achieved silver in another 1-2 performance for the team. Daniel Golder walked to Bronze in Division 10 and Sirena Covey won gold for Division 12. For the 3000 meter run, Calvin Briggs ran for a silver medal in Division 5 and Christina Cybulak earned bronze in Division 6. Anne Roof won the silver in Division 10.

Sunday the races lengthened more with the 5000 meter walk and 10,000 meter (10K or 6.2 miles) run. Bradford County again had very strong showings from athletes with Cummings achieving another gold medal and Fortune earning the silver for the same division. The run featured Hobday cruising to the overall win and gold medal for his division while Porter ran to gold in her division as well.

In addition to these amazing athletic achievements, Izaak Hobday carried the torch for the final leg of the Torch Run Friday afternoon to bring the Olympic Flame onto the campus. Hobday also received recognition as one of two athletes from Pennsylvania representing the USA at the World Games in Berlin, June 17-25, 2023. Damian Smith, a Special Olympics Global Messenger, addressed the Special Olympics Pennsylvania Board of Directors and donors at a reception prior to the opening ceremony Friday evening. Anne Roof competed in a Unified relay with Villanova Volunteers as part of the Opening Ceremonies festivities. Elizabeth Porter received recognition for team spirit with the new FallFest Persistence Award.

For those interested in supporting or learning more about Special Olympics Pennsylvania Bradford/Sullivan Counties, please see the Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/2CountySO/) and the Special Olympics Pennsylvania website (https://specialolympicspa.org/).
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Caption: Left to Right, Robert Cummings, Jeff Bailey, Sirena Covey, Danny Golder, Anne Roof, Damian Smith, Izaak Hobday, Christina Cybulak, Randy Fortune, Elizabeth Porter, Calvin Briggs.