WACO, Texas (KWTX) – The Midway Special Olympics Powerlifting Team brought home the hardware after participating in a statewide meet over the weekend.
The team of eleven athletes, mostly freshman through seniors, but a few in the 18 and older category, won 20 gold medals, six silver medals and a bronze medal at the Special Olympics Winter Games Powerlifting Meet at Bee Cave Middle School in Austin on Saturday.
“It was very obvious for everyone waiting for awards that we were up there a lot,” said proud powerlifting coach Jordan Baugh.
The athletes have been putting in hard hard work since January.
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Baugh, along with Coach Kristen KcKerall, have been working with the team since the beginning of the year for an hour-and-a-half twice a week after school.
This is the third year for the Special Olympics powerlifting team at Midway but the first time so many of them have competed on a big stage.
“This was not only our first meet of the season but, for many of our coaches and most of our athletes, this was the first meet ever to compete in,” Baugh said.
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Athlete Madi Potts, 16, a sophomore with Down syndrome, is the only female on the team. She came home with four gold medals winning squat, bench press and deadlift in her wight class which also earned her the overall gold medal.
“I love it! ” Madi excitedly said when asked about her huge day.
Athlete Mason Daniel won three gold medals, a silver and set a personal record in the deadlift by lifting more than 300 pounds.
Baugh said she was so proud of how her team took on the tasks at hand and overcame adversity.
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“The most rewarding part about it was to see how they were challenged and they rose to the occasion, and they got it done. I just could not be more proud of how this weekend went and how our athletes handled any situation that was thrown at them,” she said.
“We went in not knowing a whole lot of what to expect but, man, those athletes got out there and they competed like they’d been there 100 times before. They showed up and showed out.”
The team will continue training and hopes to host a local meet sometime later this spring.
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