Since the dawn of high school sports rivalries, one of the most bitter and intense is most assuredly the Algonquin-Westborough rivalry. This fabled matchup has given generation after generation of fan sections incentive to collectively shout school pride chants at the top of their lungs and display evidence that our species is not yet entirely civilized with some of their behavior. Yet despite the long-lasting bitter relationship between the two warring factions of Ranger Nation and T-Hawk Nation, one program in particular defies the perceived hostility by having members from both schools take part, and that program is the Westborough/Algonquin Unified Track team.
Offered through Special Olympics and coached by Algonquin physics teacher Kevin Hausmann, the otherwise bitterly opposed student bodies agree to a temporary armistice so that members of both schools with Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities (IDDs) can be given a chance to enjoy the sweet taste of athletic achievement on Unified Track.
Since the 2012 spring season, Unified Track – once a band of fifteen kids, now a band of ninety – has brought together a heartwarming combination of “athletes” (students with IDDs) and “partners” (students without IDDs) and pushed all members to show signs of improvement both on the field and off the field. Unlike most other sports, Unified Track is an encouraging environment rather than a competitive environment, and the camaraderie is developed through mutual respect for fellow competitors rather than mutual hatred of opponents.
Like any other track and field team, Unified Track places an emphasis on personal athletic achievement, yet equally emphasized are the relationships formed between teammates, especially between partners and athletes. “I enjoyed seeing relationships form between the athletes and the partners,” says Mary-Kate Lehman, sophomore captain and incredibly enthusiastic teammate.
Mary-Kate, along with Audrey Lord and Sam Kanji of Westborough and Rachel Seymour, Clara Anderson, Shannon Youngberg, and Colleen Kasprzak of Algonquin, are the Unified Track captains. “People grow together. By the end of the season, there are people that didn’t even know each other at first hugging,” Mary-Kate adds.
This past season was all about improvement. Ninety strong and easily the largest Unified Track program in the league, the team had an quite an advantage at Leagues. Here, at the first scored match of the season, the team easily used their tools well and placed second, a solid improvement from 2015’s eighth place average. Javelin thrower Nathan Mott eventually placed third overall in the state rankings among all javelin throwers, granting him a solid performance at Leagues. Troy Kanji rocketed through the long jump along with his brother, Sam, considered by many on the team to be the best long jumper in the world. The two relay teams concentrated their talents into groups of four for an appearance at states, a feat that had once been the unachievable for the team. Nevertheless, a good-sized group left school early on May 16th to appear in the meet, a distinguished achievement for all who participated.
Athletic performance aside, the true mission of the team – to allow students with disabilities to experience the feeling of being a part of a team – was duly accomplished. From the very first practice in late March to the bus ride home from the league meet in mid-May, the coaching staff set out to develop the teammates’ connections with one another. “It was great see some of the partners step up with the athletes in situations that they [the athletes] may not be very familiar with,” remarks assistant coach Paul Quinn, a paraprofessional in Westborough’s STRIDE program by day, a Vince Lombardi-esque strategist by mid-afternoon during the spring sports season.
One fundamental key to the program is the almost universal dual membership in Unified Track and Best Buddies. Best Buddies, a nonprofit organization that reaches out to high schools across the globe to form chapters for students with IDDs to interact in social environments with students without IDDs, has sizeable chapters at both Algonquin and Westborough, and many of the teammates, particularly the athletes, look forward to Best Buddies events as one might look forward to a concert or a sporting event.
For teammates who aren’t in Best Buddies, the strong connections that already exist between the teammates who are in Best Buddies as well as the connections between teammates who may attend school and take classes together become intertwined, and by the end of the season most connections are all-inclusive. For Unified Track state meet contestant and Best Buddies member Troy Kanji, the message of Unified Track could not have been more apparent: “I love seeing kids of all different abilities having fun and trying their hardest.”
The 2017 season is a great deal away, yet preparation for the upcoming season is very much occuring constantly. As with any year, there are students who will leave and students who will stay. Sam and Troy Kanji, Michael and Bram Townsend, Nathan Mott, Becky Arena, Christopher LaPlante, Aidan Pederson, and Luis Tirado all either qualified or came close to qualifying for states this year and will most likely make a significant impact next year. Unified Track is a growing program, and next year, five years into its existence, it will continue to grow and develop not just as a sport, but also as a meaningful reminder that anyone can have success in a sport and be part of a team, regardless of cognitive level.
