SuperHawks hold super fun dance

Melissa Oyer

Valley Press

The SuperHawks of Sanders County competed in the Regional Competition in Kalispell Friday. Every member of the team came home a winner.

Justin Knutson took first place in his group for the softball throw. He threw 54 feet 2 inches.

Shawn McKahan took first place in his running event and the softball throw.

Curt Hedley won second place in both running and the softball throw. Colton Hedley scored top place in running and third place in the softball throw.

When the team arrived in Kalispell, snow was still falling. After some last minute defrosting, the sun came out and the games got underway.

Saturday, the SuperHwaks and their SuperFans got together to celebrate the team’s victory with a fun-filled night of dancing and fellowship with the community. A dance was held in the SHEC in Thompson Falls, which was also a fundraiser for their trip to the state competition in Bozeman in a few weeks.

Robby White, Ryan Knutson and Cody White donated the services as deejays for the event and provided music for everyone to enjoy. The boys are students at Thompson Falls and the boys’ brothers are on the SuperHawks team so they donated their time and talents to the cause as a way of saying “nice job”.

“We are music loving souls,” White said. “We wouldn’t miss this cause we love getting to hang out with everybody.”

Snacks and refreshments were provided by volunteers and kept people snacking all night.

Joann Mathers, who works for Little Bitteroot, brought three of their residents to the dance to celebrate with their friends. The Little Bitters did not compete in this year’s competition because they are in the middle of moving the location of the Little Bitteroot Store and had too much on their schedule.

Karen Knutson was one of the many volunteers on hand Saturday. Her son Justin is a member of the SuperHawks.

“When Justin fell 10 years ago,” Knutson said, “we were told he was going to be a vegetable and a burden on us for the rest of his life. We were told he would never do anything.”

Tears welled up in Knutson’s eyes as she continued the story of her son’s amazing journey and why she chose to participate in Super Olympics.

“Walking with him and watching my kid do that is what makes this all worth it. Because no one had hope, in him or his family, we knew we had to push even harder.”

Justin is now 25 years old and enjoys the same things his peers do, he just does them differently. Knutson said Justin wanted to win just as other competitors who participate in sports.

“He is such an inspiration to everyone,” Knutson said.

Knutson said want she wanted out of their whole Special Olympics experience is more awareness. People need to know that these kids deserve a break just like everyone else. When Knutson first took Justin to the Thompson Falls School, the kids were scared of him. Now, they high five, hug and even pound knuckles with each other.

Dave Headley, Sanders County Deputy Sheriff and coordinator for the SuperHawks welcomed the crowd Saturday. “Before we return to the blaring music and fun,” Headley said, “I just want to thank the people in Sanders County and the community that is the SuperHawks for their contributions.”

Headley said three years ago, Sanders County had no idea about Special Olympics; it was a concept that just flew by. Headley was asked by Sheriff Gene Arnold to attend a conference to get some ideas of how they might incorporate the program into Sanders County.

From there, Holly Headley jumped on board and became program coordinator for the Thompson Falls team. “There was already a team in Plains,” Headley said, “and so we wanted to form our own team over here that could compete with the Bitteroot team and give the kids some sense of camaraderie.”

A silent auction was also a part of the festivities, giving the community an opportunity to help raise money for travel to the state meet. Baskets of goodies, toys, candy and movies were just some of the items up for grabs.

But most importantly dancing was the priority for most. Damie Digiau, a member of the Little Bitteroot team, spent the better part of the evening spinning and grooving to the music. Shawn McKahan joined in on the fun and jumped around with some of his friends.

The popular dance song ‘Cotton-eyed Joe’ began to bleed from the speakers and the dance floor became packed within minutes. The Headley’s, joined by their sons, Curt and Colton, and Holly’s parents, who were visiting from Arkansas, were among the crowd of supporters who packed the floor in celebration of the boys’ accomplishments.

The SuperHawks will travel to Bozeman later in May for the state competition May 12-15..