Winning Attitudes : Athletes Share Prize Moments at Mater Dei Special Olympics

SANTA ANA —  Scarlett Sanguinetti’s teammate crashed into her in the relay race. When it came time to pass the baton, Scarlett was standing still instead of running down the lane for a backhand pass.

But once she claimed the baton from her teammate, she bounded around the red track, her face iron-set with determination.

Scarlett was an Olympic athlete Saturday. And while her running probably would not qualify her for the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, it would not be through lack of effort.

A 15-year-old with Down’s syndrome, Scarlett ran in the Special Olympics for the mentally and physically disabled at Mater Dei High School.

Their exertions lacked some finesse. But the nearly 200 “special athletes” in wheelchairs or with other disabilities made heroic use of the abilities they did have when running track, putting the shot with softballs, or long jumping into a sand pit.

“They’re not the most gifted kids athletically,” said Father John Weling, principal for Mater Dei. “But they are out here doing their best, and that’s what life is about. . . . We all have different talents given by God, and the key to life is to appreciate what we have.”

Gripping the rims of her wheelchair with gloved hands, Jenny Faunce, 17, pushed herself forward, weaving in and out between orange cones until she broke through a tape stretched across the sandy track to take first in a race.

“I did pretty good,” she declared. “I’m trying to get strong, to get exercise. The Special Olympics makes people happy.”

Smiles were plentiful among the athletes and the Mater Dei students who volunteered to help coordinate events and act as coaches for a day, ushering athletes from one event to the next and cheering them on.

Josephina Materia, 16, a junior, helped run the discus competition, in which a Frisbee was substituted. Materia expressed surprise at the distances some of the contestants flung it.

“Some of these people could throw farther than I can throw,” she said.

Volunteer Bryan Hurlbut, a freshman, said he learned something about people with disabilities.

“It shows how lucky we are to have what we have,” he said. “Even though they are not as lucky as us, they show they are equal to us and that they’re still people.”

Father Norbert Wood said the Olympics not only reminded the students to be grateful for their physical and mental health, but also showed that volunteer activity is rewarding.

“We live in a world with such material values,” said Wood, who teaches a freshman religion class. The Special Olympics “helps kids to discover some deeper values in life.”

But Maria Nicholl was inspired in other ways.

“It touches you,” the freshman said. “To see some of these kids trying is neat. I run track. If you think you’re going to give up in a race, you can remember their faces and it makes you keep going.”

Mickey and Minnie Mouse characters hugged the youngsters and posed for photos. One clown hefted a giant foam hammer with which he gently hit giggling kids. Rams linebacker Larry Kelm passed out 200 Rams wristbands.

“I just like to instill in them that just because they have a disability they can still participate in activities,” Kelm said.

The athletes, dressed in colors distinguishing their school, milled around the field between events, eating hot dogs, talking or having flowers painted on their faces inside a Marine Corps camouflage tent.

The Mater Dei students received 10 hours of community service credit toward the 80 hours that the private school requires of each student to graduate. But some, who had already fulfilled the requirement, volunteered anyhow.

Explaining why she volunteered, even though she already had 100 service hours to her name, junior Melinda Garcia said: “You fall in love with the kids. They’re always smiling.”