Andrew Richardson enjoyed learning how to compete in a quiz bowl event, while Ty Simpson said, “It was fun to cheer for our teams and encourage our teammates to do better.”  Despite both being from Haskins Elementary School, the two friends didn’t get to be on the same team as the Youth Olympics, hosted by the Wood County Prosecutor’s Office, is designed for students to be on teams with students from other schools.

Nickole Dlugoleski, a fourth grader from Pemberville Elementary, liked making new friends and learning “if you work together you can get a lot of stuff done.”
Makaylay Light, a fifth grader at Powell Elementary in North Baltimore, said the team concept encouraged each of the students to “always try to do your best.”

Two of the Youth Olympians were honored as recipients of a special award – the Wesley Starkey award – for demonstrating the courage to compete in all the events.  Jedidiah Mortemore, a fourth grader at Ridge Elementary School in Bowling Green, received the award for the morning events, while Samuel Bradfield, a fifth grader from Lake Elementary, was honored after the afternoon events.

Both the morning and afternoon sessions featured an inspiring presentation by Perrysburg High School wrestler Nick Hyndman and his coach, Matt Boggs. Hyndman, who has cerebral palsy, stayed throughout the entire day of competition to encourage the youngsters to do their best.  Boggs called Nick a superhero for his commitment to “not giving up and overcoming things very difficult,” such as competing in wrestling. Nick, who plans to coach sports after graduating from college, continues to prove wrong the doctors who told his parents early in his life all the things he supposedly would never be able to do.  Boggs encouraged the youngsters to “reach out to everyone on your team because the people you least suspect could be the very brave, dedicated person who, just like Nick, is ready to take on the impossible.”

Very loud and enthusiastic team spirit was a constant throughout all the events. Two of the adult volunteer leaders were selected at the end of the day as the best at raising the spirits to a fever pitch: Ron Hartman of Cygnet for the afternoon session and Valerie Linkey of Bradner in the morning.

Wood County Prosecuting Attorney Paul Dobson said the team-building events offer children of all physical abilities a great opportunity to “show their strengths.”  In a pep talk to the Youth Olympians before the start of the activities, Dobson told them the events “will challenge you physically and mentally as you compete with kids you’ve never met and encourage them to do their best” in a conflict-free environment.  At the closing ceremony, Dobson recognized two of his staff, Brandy Hartman and Christy Snyder, for coordinating the Youth Olympics this year. Snyder said approximately 250 volunteers helped stage this year’s event.