Pack the Gym

Published 2:53 pm Monday, February 14, 2011

The community and student body filled the bleachers at Sumner High Feb. 9 for Pack the Gym Night as the Sumner-Bonney Lake Special Olympics basketball team took on Rogers High in both individual skills competition and a full-court battle on the hardwood.

“It’s like the Super Bowl to them,” coach Keith Ross said. “It’s pretty special. It’s a feel-good night.”

With the band playing, the cheerleaders chanting and the crowd raising the roof, the 10-member Sumner-Bonney Lake team edged the Rams 36-34. The Sumner-Bonney Lake team topped the Rams earlier in the season during Pack the Gym in Puyallup.

The team took its 2-0 record to the district tournament Sunday and is headed to the state tournament March 4 and 5 in Wenatchee, but first will try to Pack the Gym March 1 at Bonney Lake High when they take on Franklin Pierce.

Last season, the team, which is a combination of 15- to 21-year-olds from both Bonney Lake and Sumner high schools, captured second place at the state tournament.