Local athletes take second in national Special Olympics

The North Whatcom Slammers unified basketball team represented Washington State at the Special Olympics USA Games in Seattle this month, earning a silver medal. Courtesy photo

By Oliver Lazenby

A north Whatcom County unified basketball team with three Blaine athletes took second place at the Special Olympics USA Games in Seattle on July 5.

The North Whatcom Slammers represented Washington state at the USA Games, which is the national Special Olympics championship.

The Slammers won five straight games on the way to the finals, which they lost to a Florida team 53–34.

The unified team is made up of five athletes: Gabe Trump, Tyler Luce and Cory Luce from Blaine; Taylor Walser from Sumas; and Grant Brickbealer from Lynden.

The Special Olympics athletes play with partners Ryan Baird, from Bellingham, Cody Barthlow from Blaine, and Matt Zapel and Corey Holert from Seattle. Unified teams are made up of Special Olympics athletes and individuals without intellectual disabilities, called partners, who play with the team.

The team stayed in dorms at the University of Washington and played games at the Alaska Airlines Arena on the Huskies’ home court.

“We walked in and a couple of the guys go, ‘coach, we get to play here?’” said Slammers coach Steve Barthlow, who also teaches and coaches at Blaine High School.

Barthlow said the USA Games was one of the most rewarding experiences he’s had in 25 years of coaching.

“They competed very hard but were also very friendly,” he said. “We built some great friendships and met some great people. It was just awesome.”

The team is used to success. In the five years the group has been together, they’ve won one silver medal and four gold medals at the state Special Olympics. Barthlow said they handled tough opponents at the USA Games with sportsmanship and class.

“They represented North Whatcom and the state of Washington to the best of their ability,” he said. “It’s probably a once in a lifetime opportunity and I’m just really proud of how they handled themselves and what they accomplished.”