Fulton will send three athletes to 2018 Special Olympics

Members of the Fulton Hornets Unified Basketball Team pose for a photo at Fulton High on July 11 (from left to right): Aiden Petterson, Ken Petterson, Joey Garrard. The Pettersons were selected to be apart of Team MO Magic for the 2018 Special Olympics.
Members of the Fulton Hornets Unified Basketball Team pose for a photo at Fulton High on July 11 (from left to right): Aiden Petterson, Ken Petterson, Joey Garrard. The Pettersons were selected to be apart of Team MO Magic for the 2018 Special Olympics.

The Fulton Hornets unified basketball team continues to make history.

Nearly a month after the program received its first invite ever to the Missouri Special Olympics Selection Camp in Mexico, MO the Hornets have followed that achievement with an even greater one - sending three athletes to represent the state of Missouri in the 2018 Special Olympics USA Games.

Haydon Windsor, Michael Hyde, and Aiden Petterson were all selected to be apart of Team MO Magic. The 2018 Special Olympics will take place in Seattle, Washington from July 1-6. Selections for Olympics were announced Friday night on various social media platforms like Facebook and special video releases.

The trio all currently attend Fulton High School and Aiden is a member of the Hornets varsity tennis team.

At the selection camp in Mexico last month the group was forced to compete with 12 other athletes for a total of 10 spots on the MO Magic basketball team. The trio responded positively to tough coaching, while also showcasing their skill and athleticism which eventually garnered them spots on the team.

Aiden's father, Ken Petterson was also selected to be one of the coaches for Team MO Magic and will work closely with his three players and other competitors to positively represent the state of Missouri on a national scale.

Coach Petterson and his son Aiden have participated in the Fulton special Olympics program for nearly a decade a piece and have watched the Hornets grow from the ground up. With two state championships already in the bag the Pettersons are no strangers to success, but accomplishing the task of sending multiple members to the Special Olympics will be hard to top.

"I'm proud of all of our Fulton athletes and Unified partners who attended the national games selection camp," said Coach Petterson. "The USA games will be a wonderful experience for me as a coach as well our team."

Under Petterson's tutelage the Hornets have become a premier special athletics program in the state, but now Petterson and his players will have an opportunity to send a message on a national scale about the quality of athletes in Missouri.

Across the state over 15,000 athletes compete year round in the hopes of winning gold medals and reaching the Special Olympics. The trio are apart of a 97 man roster in total for the state of Missouri. MO Magic will compete in athletics, aquatics, unified basketball, bocce, bowling, golf, powerlifting, softball and tennis.

Even though the announcements just came out its expected for Coach Petterson and his squad to begin training for the USA games almost immediately. 3,500 athletes from across the country are expected to be in Seattle next summer along with another 1,000 support staff and expected crowd of around 50,000 for each day of competition.

The stage may never again be this big for the Hornets, but the chance to showcase state pride as well as the positives the games have on local communities is an opportunity they all relish.

"It's an honor to represent Fulton at the USA games," said Coach Petterson.