Hazleton Red defeats Hazleton Silver for district bocce championship
KAYLEE LINDENMUTH / SHENANDOAH SENTINEL - Both Hazleton Area bocce squads and coaches pose for a group photo after facing each other for the district championship on March 1, 2023 at Schuylkill Haven Area.
SCHUYLKILL HAVEN – Four teams qualified for Wednesday’s district championship in Unified Indoor Bocce, and half of them were Hazleton Area squads.
Hazleton Red and Hazleton Silver joined North Schuylkill and Schuylkill Haven in Wednesday’s matches at the CACL Center at Schuylkill Haven Area High School.
Both Hazleton squads defeated their respective opponents to move on to the championship, guaranteeing a Hazleton team would move on to regionals next week at Penn State Schuylkill.
In a final-frame comeback trailing by three, Hazleton Red scored four points to advance, defeating Hazleton Silver 10-9.
“We are so proud of our teams,” Hazleton coach Angela Avillion said after the game. “They played the best games they’ve ever had. More than the win, we are so grateful that the kids took a chance and joined this amazing new sport.”
Avillion described the experience as among the best in the coaching staff’s teaching careers.
Unified Indoor Bocce is a PIAA-recognized sport open to all students in grades 9-12. According to the Special Olympics Pennsylvania website, teams consist “of a proportional number of students with and without intellectual disabilities.” Each team consists of between six and eight athletes, and local schools field two teams.
Several local schools began sponsoring the sport this year, including Hazleton, Mahanoy Area, North Schuylkill, and Schuylkill Haven, all of which compete in the North conference for Special Olympics of the Greater Lehigh Valley and Pocono Region. Mount Carmel, Southern Columbia and Shamokin also sponsor teams.
In Wednesday’s third-place game, North Schuylkill defeated Schuylkill Haven 8-7 in an overtime frame after the squads tied at 7-apiece in the final frame.
All teams were recognized after the game in the medal ceremony.
Hazleton Red will join nine other teams in regionals at Penn State Schuylkill on March 8 at 11am. The top two teams there advance to the state championships in Derry Township, Dauphin County, on March 22 and 23.
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