The students in the multiple disabilities district at the high school participated in a track and field event against the other Medina counties on May 6, 2025, in Cloverleaf.

Emily Osting is one of the teachers at the high school that teaches the students in our multiple disabilities unit.

“Special Olympics is a day where 9 different Medina County school districts come together to host a fun Special Olympics track and field day to celebrate inclusion, promote athleticism and foster friendships among student-athletes of all abilities,” Emily Osting said.

The summer Special Olympics track and field event is not competitive, and students from all districts will be able to make friends with each other.

Students Zachary Howell, Emily Smelser and Seth Howland all did an event. Howell did a racing event but he said that his favorite event was throwing. Smelser’s favorite event was racing. Howland got to do the kicking event.

Last year, Howell was nervous to do his events, but this year, he was confident and ready for all of his events.

“Before I ran in the racing event, I was nervous about someone tripping me. That was the main thing holding me back from being confident in the race,” Smelser said.

There is a 50-meter or 100-meter run, after that, there is a softball throwing event and a kickball event.

While students are waiting for their turn to do their next event, they can do other fun activities provided by Cloverleaf schools.

During the whole event, there was a strong wind and the temperature began to decrease, and at the very end, it started to rain but the students did not let that stop them from continuing to perform.

Throughout all of the districts in Wadsworth, there were about 70-80 students in the multiple disabilities units who were at this event. Along with these students, there were peer mentors to help the students and cheer them on.

All students who participated in the event received a participant ribbon, even though they did not place since this event was not competitive and just for fun.

According to Osting, this event was not much different from the ones that took place before this. Cloverleaf has hosted the past couple of events and has done a great job of making them fun for the students.

“This day is always an amazing experience, filled with joy, encouragement and community spirit. If you ever have the chance to come out to this once-a-year event, you will not be disappointed,” Osting said. “It is truly a heartwarming celebration of inclusion, determination and the power of community support!”