Local competitors take part in Bemidji High School's Unified track and field meet

May 16—BEMIDJI — Will Duncan is enjoying the fruits of being a Bemidji High School Unified sports intern.

The BHS senior has been a staple member of the Lumberjacks' Unified program during his time in high school. Supporters have seen him read the Unified Pledge at the annual basketball games, along with hearing his vocals as the emcee of the 2023 Unified Gala.

On Thursday, Duncan strolled around the BHS campus with a cup of coffee in hand, taking in the lunch break at the Unified track meet.

"I always said way back when, in order for you to be an intern, you have to drink like an intern," Duncan quipped, raising his mug in the air.

Duncan and his teammates from BHS welcomed six other schools — Bemidji Middle School, Schoolcraft Learning Center, TrekNorth, Park Rapids, Bagley and Red Lake. Athletes and partners competed in the 25, 50 and 100-meter races, either running, walking or in a wheelchair.

Competitors also took to the field for the shot put, long jump and softball/tennis ball throws.

For

BHS Unified director Jackie Stoffel,

Thursday was about a return to the track with some local help.

"Special Olympics used to host (track meets) here, but they changed their model a little bit," Stoffel said. "We reached out to 218 Sports. Ryan Rude from 218 Sports has been absolutely amazing. We wouldn't have pulled this off without him and our senior interns."

Rude is a Bemidji native and spent six years working at Concordia College in Moorhead. He played four years of Division III basketball with the Cobbers before transitioning to a different role in sports.

Now, Rude is back in Bemidji as the sports tourism director at 218 Sports, jumping at local opportunities to get involved, such as Unified events.

"All of the little things that go into organizing this — contacting the schools, setting up the races — he handled all of that," Stoffel said. "It's been really helpful because I have like 60 kids out here, so having an organization come in and help out, help with the communication with the schools, it's just so important. We're so grateful."

Stoffel said Rude took a proactive approach toward working with the Unified interns.

"It's nice because they got to work in a leadership role," Stoffel continued. "It's important (for the interns) to have a collaboration with them to pull this thing off."

Reinvigorating a lane for Unified track to return to BHS was a meticulous process in terms of finding ways to make every event possible for the athletes and their varying abilities. BHS also hosted a bike race on Thursday on the track, as well as cornhole stations, face painting and other activities for participants.

"Back when Special Olympics would host it, they had some of those modifications," Stoffel said. "Ryan had some collaboration with the Special Olympics to build off of their standard layout. We also talked with some teachers about the modifications they need for their students to be successful. We incorporated those things into the events so everybody has a chance to do them to the best of their abilities."

Bemidji's Unified athletes took part in various events throughout the school year, including a bocce ball tournament and the annual basketball game. On Monday, the Lumberjacks will congregate for the year-end banquet, another first for Stoffel in her eight years with the Lumberjacks' Unified athletes.

"It's exciting to see it grow," she said. "I think the first couple of years was really about setting the groundwork to make this work. That home basketball game last year was really when the community started to feel the program and the excitement that comes with the program. They felt it at the Unified Gala last year, too."

Stoffel said the goal is to keep adding Unified events every year, but admitted she feels like BHS is reaching its capacity as for what it can do on campus.

"The goal is to add more things like the banquet," Stoffel said. "That's huge for us because you look at any other high school athletic program, they do this celebration and banquet that gives them time to get acknowledged for the things that they've done. Next year on April 26, we're going to have our second Unified Gala. People have been asking about the gala all year. We're going to do it every two years."

Regardless of what's in store for the future of Bemidji's Unified program, Stoffel never tires of seeing the smiles on event day. Whether it's Duncan toasting his cup of coffee to a fulfilling day of competition or an athlete crossing the finish line for the first time, the fun times keep people coming back.

"I'm having fun, pretty much," Duncan said. "It's a little better with the sun out. It's just the fact that we're having a lot of fun.