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Special Olympics athletes fare well at state contest
By JO ANNE KILLEEN | joanne.killeen@lee.net

There’s a lot of gold in the Coulee Region these days. Many of the 17 area athletes participating in the 2009 Wisconsin Summer Games for the Special Olympics in Stevens Point came home with a lot of hardware wrapped around their necks.

Michael Jacobson of Holmen has tried many times and finally made it to the top rung of athletes in track and field competitions, bringing home two gold medals from the state meet. On the Holmen schools team, Jacobson, 19, won an individual medal and one with his team.
Jacobson earned his first-ever medal in the 200-meter dash. This was his first year in track and field. He’d been competing in the bowling games in prior years but had never won any medals. Training with the team all year helped him lose 17 pounds

“I had some cocky person next to me saying he was going to beat me and he wound up in fourth or fifth place,” Jacobson said. “But there was a real short guy next to me and we were neck and neck on the stretch.” Jacobson pulled it out in a photo finish, according to his father, Jake Jacobson. Michael’s time was 32.31.

Michael said Friday was his favorite day of the weekend, although not so much because of his individual win. “It was the dance,” he said with a wide grin.

Whatever the cause, Michael said he was pumped up for Saturday’s 4 x 100 relay. He was to run the first leg of the relay with his teammates Brady Dockendorff, 15, Joe Neumann, 18, and Dennis Wurzel, 17, all of Holmen. Wurzel is always the anchor, according to Jacobson. “He’s our secret weapon.”

Running in that order proved to be a successful strategy at the regional competition, so they tried it again. The team pulled out the victory in 1:01:97.

Renee Cappetto of Bangor brought home four gold medals in power lifting. The 44-year-old, who went with the La Crosse Parks and Recreation team, won first in the bench press, the dead lift and the squat lift and won first overall in her weight and age class.

Cappetto has been power lifting for about five years. She likes competing and she keeps winning. “I like it a lot,” she said. “It keeps me energetic, it keeps me going. I love the coaches and the volunteers.”

When she’s not training for the games, Cappetto stays active in many sports. “I also like swimming, going bowling with my friends,” Cappetto said. “I can’t wait until winter for downhill skiing. Right now I’m in softball. I’m pitching. I like first or second but they need a pitcher this year.”

Area Special Olympics medalists

HOLMEN SCHOOLS TEAM

Brady Dockendorff, track and field, two firsts, one third, one fourth place

Michael Jacobson, track and field, two firsts, one fourth place

Joseph Neumann, track and field, one first, two fifth places

Dennis Wurzel, track and field, one first, one third, one fifth and one sixth place

LA CROSSE TEAM

Bangor

Renee Cappetto, powerlifting, three first places and first place overall

Onalaska

Sally Anderson, 25-meter freestyle, first place

Edward Blum, powerlifting, one first and three second places

Keith Drazner, softball throw, first place

Wendy Hart, wheelchair races, one first place, one eighth place

Shakyra Maltbia, powerlifting, one first, two second places

Andrew Specht, track and field, one first, one sixth place

Mike Stricker, track and field, fourth place

Thomas Weber, soccer, fourth place

Holmen

Jon Barillas, track and field, two fifth places, one sixth

Lisa Nutter, aquatics, two first, one second, one sixth place

Talena Shilling, powerlifting, one first, two second places

Taylor Solberg, track and field, two third places

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