By James Day
The Silverton High unified basketball teams are back from strong success at a regional tournament and are ready to show off their skills before the home fans on March 20.
Silverton’s competitive orange team took gold in its division with a 3-0 record in the Special Olympics South Regional Unified Basketball Tournament on Feb. 24 at Oregon State University. Silverton defeated Philomath 40-34 and Sutherlin 48-40 to advance to the championship game against South Albany, with Silverton taking a 45-28 win. The team also won the sportsmanship trophy.
On the orange squad for Silverton were players Logan “Lo-Gainer” Simar, Bella “Rainbow Fire” Daffern, Dayton “The Flash” Hall, Dakota “The DAM” Miller and Cody “Spaz” Cervantes. Partners are Claire “Captain C” Kuenzi and Brylie “B Diggidy” Parks. The team is coached by Travis McMillion and Daniel Briseno.
The recreational black team for Silverton took third in its division with a 1-1 record. The squad opened with a 58-53 win against Sweet Home but fell 53-42 to Lebanon.
Players for the black team were Ashlynne “Prince Ash” Henrichs, Tyler “Green Lantern” Wright, Braedon “Shadow Crusader” Reniere, Crystal “Baby Girl” Stratton Brown, Noah “Ocean Spray Boy” Roeder, Desi “Cat Noir” Ives and Clayton “Clay Thor 08” Carmichael. Partners were Aubrey “Drumstick” Leao, Addie “Baby Awesome” Krueger and Sophie “Supergirl” Sadaka. Coaches are Katie Wilson and Katie Stanley.
Coming up for the unified squads is a special Alumni Game performance on Wednesday, March 20 in the Silverton High gym. It also will be Senior Night for the unified squads. Senior Night festivities start at 6:15 p.m., with the game beginning at 7 p.m.
