Meet the Texas Athletes

36 Texas athletes will be making the trip to Athens, Greece, for the 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games. (Full bios can be viewed in the media guide below)

	Daniel Aldrich (Softball) - San Antonio
	Daniel calls participating in World Games the chance of a liftetime that he'll never forget. He will be competing in softball at Greece.
	Joshua Altman (Bocce) - North Richland Hills
	Joshua competes in basketball, bocce, bowling, aquatics, powerlifting, volleyball and cycling. Plus, serves as a Global Messenger for SOTX. He'll be competing in bocce.
	Colby Bannister (Gymnastics) - North Richland Hills
	Colby joined SOTX family 16 years ago and competes in cycling, aquatics, powerlifting and gymnastics. He can't wait to represent the U.S. in gymnastics at the World Summer Games.
	Daniel Bena (Softball) - San Antonio
	Daniel competes in softball, basketball and volleyball. He credits SOTX with teaching him to be a team player and travel independently. He'll be competing in softball.
	Kimberly Bormaster (Volleyball) - Bellaire
	Kim competes in tennis and volleyball. She's in her 11th year with SOTX. She was named Greater Houston Area Athlete of the Year. She'll be competing in volleyball.
	Heather Boyer (Golf) - Houston
	Heather is a volleyball, golf, bowling and track and field athlete. She competed in volleyball at the 2006 National Games. She'll be competing in golf at the World Summer Games.
	Amanda Brookshire (Gymnastics) - Melissa
	Mandy joined SOTX 27 years ago and competes in gymnastics, aquatics, bowling and basketball. This will be her second World Games. She'll be competing in gymnastics.
	Curtis Brown II (Sailing) - Dallas
	Curtis is excited about attending his first World Summer Games and has been competing for 4 years in track and field and basketball. He will be competing in sailing.
	Gabriel Cantu (Volleyball) - Baytown
	Gabe is competing in his 3rd World Games. He joined SOTX more than 20 years ago and competes in volleyball and soccer. He will be competing in volleyball at the World Summer Games.
	Kevin Collins (Bocce) - Arlington
	Kevin is a two-time World Games competitor. He competes in volleyball, basketball and bocce. He's been an SOTX athlete for 25 years. He'll be competing in bocce.
	Jared Crowley (Softball) - San Antonio
	An 11-year SOTX athlete, Jared stays busy with basketball, bowling, softball, volleyball and athletics. He'll be competing in softball.
	Reed Fatheree (Softball) - San Antonio
	Reed is a softball, basketball and volleyball athlete. He earned Reagan High School's Principal Award for Most School Spirit. Reed will be competing in softball.
	Kenneth Friedrich (Golf) - Doss
	Kenneth started participating as a Unified Partner a year ago and says the organization has changed his life. He will be competing alongside his partner, Billy, in golf.
	Heather Friel (Bowling) - Spring
	Heather has been competing as a SOTX athlete for 17 years in Unified bowling and Unified golf. This will be her first World Summer Games. She's competing in bowling.
	Marcus Gary (Kayaking) - Houston
	This is Marcus' second World Summer Games. He competes in 10 different sports and has been a SOTX athlete for 10 years. He'll be competing in kayaking.
	J'Nine Gretz (Softball) - Windcrest
	J'Nine has been playing softball for 14 years and loves playing the sport. She'll be competing in softball at her first World Summer Games.
	Justin Hansen (Softball) - San Antonio
	Justin joined SOTX 10 years ago and competes in softball, volleyball and basketball. Justin enjoys the support of his dad, a SOTX coach. He'll be competing in softball.
	Billy Harris (Golf) - Fredericksburg
	Billy competes in track and field, bocce and golf with SOTX. He was Central Texas Area's 2008 Athlete of the Year. Billy will be competing in golf.
	Wayne Hoffman (Softball) - San Antonio
	Wayne is competing in his second World Games. He earned a silver medal in basketball at the 2007 China World Games. He'll be competing in softball.
	Anderson Jones (Sailing) - Dallas
	Anderson has been participating with SOTX for five years as a Unified Partner. He shares his sailing knowledge with athletes to build their self-confidence.
	John Lakey (Volleyball) - Houston
	John loves to compete at softball, but if you can't catch him on the softball field then try the basketball court. He'll be competing in volleyball at the World Summer Games.
	Lisa Lepley (Softball) - Houston
	For 25 years Lisa has been competing with SOTX. This is her second World Games, she also competed in 1999 games. Lisa will be competing in softball.
	Bobby Lord (Kayaking) - Webster
	For more than 20 years Bobby's been competing as a SOTX athlete. This is his second World Games. He earned 2 gold medals and a silver in powerlifting in 2007. He'll be competing in kayak.
	Eric Martinez (Softball) - San Antonio
	Eric's first World Games will be competing in softball. SOTX has given him the chance to socialize and be a part of a team. Currently, he's working on learning how to drive a car.
	Amanda Mickan (Cycling) - Richmond
	Amanda is competing in her second World Games after earning a silver in tennis at the 2007 games. She'll be pedaling through the streets of Athens in the cycling competition.
	Wesley Murphy (Volleyball) - Friendswood
	Wesley enjoys playing golf and tennis, but he'll be competing at volleyball in Greece. He's a graduate of Briarwood School, where he was Student Council president.
	Ashley Muth (Softball) - San Antonio
	Ashley was San Antonio area female athlete of the year in 2007 and also won a bronze medal at the World Games that year in basketball. She'll be competing in softball.
	Vanessa Parra (Softball) - San Antonio
	Vanessa, a SOTX athlete for the past 12 years, is ready to compete in softball at the World Summer Games. She graduated from San Antonio college and is CPR and first aid certified.
	Bryan Perez (Softball) - San Antonio
	Bryan says competing in softball at the World Games is "a dream come true!" He credits SOTX with helping him get out of his wheelchair and move from walking to running.
	Cody Porter (Softball) - San Antonio
	Cody's been participating in SOTX for 14 years in bowling, basketball and softball. He graduated from high school as an honor roll student. He'll be competing in softball.
	Katherine Richards (Volleyball) - Houston
	Katherine has competed in Special Olympics around the world and now adds Greece to the list. Most recently she was named Female Athlete of the Year for the state in 2009. She'll be competing in volleyball.
	Christian Summers (Softball) - San Antonio
	Christian is ready to combine his two favorite things - sports and traveling. He says SOTX helps him focus and learn new sport skills. He'll be competing in softball.
	Kathy Thompson (Bocce) - The Woodlands
	Kathy, one of our global messengers, loves every aspect of Special Olympics. A SOTX athlete for 8 years, she'll be competing in bocce at the World Summer Games.
	Patricia Threatt (Volleyball) - Houston
	Patricia, captain of her volleyball team for four years, brings her 17 years of SOTX experience and accomplishments with her to Greece. She attends Houston Community College.
	Frank Tucker (Volleyball) - Houston
	Frank is going for gold. A SOTX athlete for 15 years, he competes in basketball and soccer, but will be on the volleyball court in Greece. Frank works at Brookwood Community.
	Lindsey Wesneski (Volleyball) - Houston
	Lindsey loves to compete in the sports she loves. She competed at the 2006 National Games in volleyball. Lindsey will be back on the volleyball court in Greece looking for gold.

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