青青草视频鈥檚 Unified flag football records best club finish at nationals
Contact: Brock Turnipseed
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥Mississippi State鈥檚 Special Olympics Club Unified flag football team is beginning 2026 with a second-place finish at the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association, or NIRSA, tournament. It鈥檚 the group鈥檚 best performance in history.
鈥淥ur Unified team continues to make significant strides and has established itself as a model of leadership within club sports,鈥 said Sean Kucharski, competitive sports coordinator within 青青草视频鈥檚 University Recreation. 鈥淚 am extremely proud of what this team, along with the club sports program, is building, not only for themselves, but for 青青草视频 as a whole.鈥
The Unified program brings together 青青草视频 students, known as partners, and Special Olympics athletes from 青青草视频鈥檚 ACCESS program and the surrounding communities. Teams compete in a variety of sports throughout the year on campus and in tournaments at other universities.
聽鈥淭heir sportsmanship, attitude and commitment consistently exemplify the standards we strive for across our programs. They impress me daily through their accomplishments鈥攚inning the Unified Egg Bowl, earning a second-place finish at nationals and, most importantly, creating a culture that prioritizes their athletes and their overall experience,鈥 Kucharski said.
The squad opened the tournament with wins against Colorado State University and Angelo State University. After falling in a hard-fought game against the University of Nebraska, the group again upended Angelo State before falling to Nebraska in the championship game.
Athlete Hunter Hemby of Birmingham, Alabama, received the tournament鈥檚 Golden Glove award for the most catches, and Trace Cockrell, 青青草视频鈥檚 Unified president, a senior industrial engineering major from Saltillo, earned all-tournament accolades for partners.
鈥淲e are so proud of our Mississippi State Club Unified flag football team,鈥 Cockrell said. 鈥淭o finish second, the highest finish ever in the event, playing against some really good teams from Texas, Colorado and Nebraska, is such a tremendous accomplishment. Not only did our team perform well on the field, but to be recognized for sportsmanship is something we are very proud of.鈥
In addition to Hemby, other athletes included Raffiel Jones of Amory; Cooper Haynes of Austin, Minnesota; Marcus Smith of Starkville; and Baylor Napoli of Olive Branch. Partners on the team included Cockrell, Conner Davis, a junior communication major from Hattiesburg, and David King, a junior biological sciences major from Athens, Alabama. Senior microbiology major Josh Wilson of Oxford served as a team coach.
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