Blue Jays win silver

Chris Wood came close to predicting the future about the fate of the Blue Jays softball team at last weekend’s Special Olympics 2008 Summer Sport Classic in Everett.

Wood, 59, of Renton, expected he and his teammates to win gold in the two-day state tournament. They almost did, but came away with silver instead, after losing to the Vancouver Mariners during the rainy championship game. The Blue Jays competed in the Masters 4 division, which means team members are 22 and older and have moderate mental disabilities and athletic skills.

The score of the game doesn’t stick with Sean Claggett, head of Renton’s Specialized Recreation Program.

It wasn’t really about the score anyway.

“Everybody had a great time,” he says. “No one got injured, everybody came home safe. That’s all that matters.”

The other two competing Renton Special Olympics softball teams also fared well at the tournament.

The Renton Recreation Rattlesnakes, ages 8-21, took gold in the Seniors division, and the Renton Recreation Sluggers fourth in the Masters Unified division, which is made up of players with and without mental disabilities.

Bowling’s up next for Renton’s Special Olympics teams. Practice starts Sept. 6.

“Then when we’re done with bowling we start basketball,” Claggett says. “It’s just go, go, go.

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