Salem Lions Unified Basketball Game

The annual Salem Lions Unified basketball game was a massive success on March 15! The Salem High School gymnasium, located at 700 N Harrison St, was packed Saturday night by friends, family, and community members alike in order to show support for Lions Unified and the Washington County Special Olympics.

This benefit game is a fan-favorite, but most importantly, it is also near and dear to the hearts of the athletes that participate. With lots of fun, laughs, and goofy halftime activities such as the "Chuck-a-Duck" contest and a dance party, it is truly something to look forward to every year.

This year, the Washington County community showed their support in abundance, and Lions Unified was able to raise about $1,200. $350 of that came from proceeds from the concession stand, and that will be donated to Washington County Special Olympics.

"The unified game is a favorite for the kids and Special Olympic athletes both. The athletes look forward to it each year, and we have students coming back to participate every year that they are at SHS. I have never had anyone regret their choice to be a part of it," said Angela Phipps, Lions Unified organizer. "It is also my favorite event too. I love the smiles and laughter. The Special Olympic athletes and the students at SHS are my two favorite groups; seeing them come together means the world to me."

Phipps went on to explain that this event helps Lions Unified to be able to go on various outings and work on community projects.

"Lions Unified tries to do field trips with the Special Education classes of Salem High School, Middle School, and Bradie Shrum Elementary School," Phipps said. "We also have holiday parties and a unified prom, although we did not get to do that this year. We have also done community projects such as taking goody bags to local nursing homes and classrooms, taking up collections for soldiers, and many other projects."

Keeping with the Salem Lions school colors, the two teams were aptly named the "Black" and "Gold" teams. Here was the lineup:

UNIFIED BLACK	UNIFIED GOLD
COACHES: Abby Maynard & Sydney Wilson	COACHES: Peyton Maynard & Lexi Walters
Alex Meadows	Abby Hardy
Alexis Maudlin	Adam Mull
Alonzo Kinzie	Brandon Bostock
Austin Thompson	Brandy Frazier
Becca Toles	Carson Albertson
Braxton Dean	Colten McCormick
Brayden Bontrager	Dave Chumblers
Cameron Sons	Elliott Daniels
Dylan Campbell	Ethan Campbell
Ethan Larrimore	Hunter Taylor
Evan Lloyd	Jon Combs
Jansen Keynon	Kaiden Romero-Hembree
Jonathan Boyd	Reanen Kinney
Landon Irwin	Ron Blackman
Mikeal Bontrager	Travis Spicer
Payton Shocke	Van Stephens
Samantha Holt	-

In addition to the players and coaches, many other students took part in making sure this event went off without a hitch. Kenadie Garloch and Noah Daulton served as referees, Collin Shocke and Ally Hardy suited up to be the mascots, Cole Roberts and Cynthia Elliott kept things running smoothly as the announcers, Payslea Chastain manned the scorer's table, and the SHS band was there as well to provide the all-important pep band music!

The Lions Unified game was quite a competitive one, but it was all in good fun. There may have been a scoreboard, but there were no losers... only winners.

Photos by Nathaniel Smith.