2016-17 State Finals Recap

June 3, 2017 (revised on 6/9/17)

Merrillville Wins 4th Annual Unified Track® and Field Crown
As the level of participation for Unified Track® continues to increase around the state, so does the level of competition at the Unified State Finals event. In their first year of fielding a Unified Track® team, Merrillville narrowly edged out Harrison of West Lafayette to earn their first state title in the event.

The top six schools were only separated by 12 total points. While the Pirates came out on top with 98 points, the Raiders were close behind at 94. Noblesville and Fort Wayne North Side were right on their heels, with 89 and 87 points, respectively while Columbus North and Terre Haute South tied for fifth place with 86 points each.

Merrillville wasn’t the only school making its first appearance at the Unified event, however. Avon and Center Grove also earned appearances at the State Finals in their first year of fielding teams. Noblesville was the only school competing at the event who not only has fielded a Unified® Track and Field team for all 4 years, but has also made the finals in that time period as well.

Unified Sports® enables persons with and without intellectual disabilities to participate on the same team for sports training and competition. The “Champions Together” partnership between the Indiana High School Athletic Association and Special Olympics Indiana was launched in 2012. While the IHSAA provides the framework for competition, Special Olympics Indiana provides technical support and financial grants to a number of schools who start new Unified Track ® programs.