MONTICELLO - Six Sullivan County Special Olympic gymnasts competed in last weekend’s state meet in Syracuse. Michael Plum, Tommy Popoli, Jimmy Dawson, Gloria Smith, Mary Jane Vaughn and Sigrid Sardeson all received medals for their performances, as well as plaudits from their coaches.

“They all did well. I was ecstatic about their performances,” noted coach Pedro Tweed.

Special Olympic Area Coordinator, Neil Tevelowitz, said that he still hadn’t received the results from the state meet so individual placements weren’t available.

More importantly, the state meet gave the Special Olympians a chance to show off what they had learned during their months of practice.

They started practice in February, under the guidance of Tweed, Rob Claman and Luis Figueroa. The three conduct their practice at the Monticello Neighborhood Facility. Tweed has been involved with the Sullivan County Special Olympics gymnast program for the past 13 years.

Said Tweed, “At the meet they did better than they did in practice, and I was very proud of them.”

They put together a sectional meet at the Neighborhood Facility on May 26, held under the auspices of Tweed’s Monticello School of Gymnastics. With the three coaches serving as judges, six state qualifiers were chosen from this competition.

More than performances and medals, though, the Special Olympians fulfilled their motto: “Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.”

Results of the Sectional meet:

Men’s All Around

1st place: Michael Plum

2nd place: Tommy Popoli

3rd place: Spencer Maxwell

4th place: James Finnoy

Women’s All Around

1st place: Gloria Smith

2nd place: Mary Jane Vaughn

Parallel Bars

1st place: Michael Plum

1st place: Tommy Popoli

Pommel Horse

1st place: Spencer Maxwell

2nd place: James Finnoy

Men’s Floor Exercise

1st place: Michael Plum

1st place: Tommy Popoli

1st place: Spencer Maxwell

4th place: Jimmy Dawson

Men’s Vault

1st place: James Finnoy

2nd place: Jimmy Dawson

Women’s Floor Exercise

1st place: Mary Jane Vaughn

1st place: Gloria Smith

2nd place: Valerie Henderson

3rd place: Sigrid Sardenson

4th place: Carol Ferber

Balance Beam

1st place: Sigrid Sardenson

2nd place: Carol Ferber

3rd place: Valerie Henderson

Women’s Vault

1st place: Gloria Smith

2nd place: Mary Jane Vaughn