Blackford Jr/Sr High School Unified Sports

03/10/2026

Sectional results are in for your Unified Bowling Bruins! 🎳🐻

The Bruins entered the Open Division this year to give junior high athletes the opportunity to experience Unified Sports while competing at a higher level. Nine teams competed in the division, with only the top six advancing to state.

The competition was tight all day. The difference between 1st and 6th place was just 383 pins, showing how competitive the field was. The Bruins were also one of only two high schools competing with two teams in the Open Division.

Our Bruins bowled their best games of the season at sectionals, finishing with strong scores of 107 and 105!

Coach McDonald shared his thoughts after the event:
“We played great all day. It’s always a difficult transition from bowling on lanes you’re used to and then competing on a different oil pattern. I thought our team did a great job adapting to the conditions and never giving up.”

He added, “The competition level in the league has gotten much closer since 2018. With such small pin differences between teams and larger schools competing, for our team to hang with them is something to be proud of.”

Great job this season, Bruins! ❤️ 🖤

02/22/2026

Thank you from everyone at Blackford Unified Sports! With your donations we were able to meet our goal of raising enough money to meet our Champions Together fees! This Polar Plunge season we raised $1,875! Over the past three Polar Plunges we have have raised $5,343! Thank you for your support! Go Bruins!

02/09/2026

Coach Wallace is leading donations raised so far with a week to go! When you donate you can donate to the team or to individual plungers on the team. Input their name in the section of the donation page asking to give credit to a specific fundraiser! Team members include Linda Wallace, Tyler McDonald, Gage Harding and Hunter Saldaña. Donate here! https://support.soindiana.org/team/783658

02/06/2026

We have raised $350 of our $3,000 goal. We would like to raise at least $1,500 to fully cover our champions together fees! Please donate here!

Part of the money raised by the Blackford Unified Sports team will be going to Special Olympics and to cover our fees for being a Champions Together program! This is our third year taking the Plunge! Help us reach our goal of $3000

02/03/2026

On Saturday, The Unified Co****le team traveled to Hamilton Heights Middle School to compete in the first Unified Co****le State Championship—not only in the state, but what is believed to be the first in the country. The Bruins drew a bye in the North bracket, automatically advancing them to the Elite Eight.

In the Elite Eight, the Bruins faced Madison Consolidated High School in a gym packed with energy and excitement. Due to a numbers issue, the Bruins were forced to concede one match. The electric atmosphere contributed to a shaky start, as the Bruins dropped all three matches and the deciding team shootout.

Despite the early struggles, the day featured several standout moments. Chayson Hall provided the highlight of round two with a hole-out—just one week after hitting the board for the first time in competition.

In round three, the Bruins matched up against a familiar opponent in Lawrence Central, whom they had faced the previous week. The Unified Bruins began to find their groove, with Scott Himes and Kalyssa Limle dominating their match with a 21–17 win. However, heading into the shootout trailing 15–5, the Bruins struggled to get their bags to stick and came up short.

The Bruins then moved on to the placing round, competing for seventh place against the Fishers High School Tigers. In this round, Himes paired with Gage Harding to secure a strong 21–15 victory, while the duo of Dakota Hawkins and Kalyssa Limle dominated their match 21–5 in under 15 minutes.

With the score tied at 10–10, the teams advanced to the final team shootout. The shootout lived up to its name, as neither team could gain more than a one-point advantage early on. The Tigers ultimately sealed the win with back-to-back hole-outs, pulling away for a 21–17 victory.

Reflecting on the day, Coach McDonald said, “This was a new event and experience for everyone. To come out and battle hard all day and finish eighth is amazing. I’m so proud of how we handled the stress throughout the day and eventually found our groove.”

Coach Wallace added, “What a day! I’m proud of how we competed and showed great sportsmanship no matter the circumstances. The Unified Sports community is amazing—what other sport brings competitors together after competing for a dance-off? It truly shows that inclusion is what makes Unified sports special.”

01/31/2026

Dakota and Kalyssa gave the Athletes Oath before play started.

01/31/2026

Your Bruins drew the Bye for the first round of Unified Co****le State Tournament! Go Bruins!

01/25/2026

On Saturday, the Unified Bruins hosted the 1st Annual Unified Bruins Co****le Invitational, welcoming Lawrence Central for a day of competition. This marked the Bruins’ only regular-season match before the Unified State Tournament at Hamilton Heights on January 31st.

Unified Co****le is the newest Unified Sport sanctioned by Special Olympics Indiana. Competition is played in two rounds. The first round is doubles, pairing one athlete with one partner. Doubles matches are played to 21 points, with bust-outs allowed, or until a 25-minute time limit is reached—whichever comes first. Each doubles match is worth five points toward the team’s overall score.

The second round is the Unified Shootout, where both teams compete together. Players rotate turns, each throwing one bag, working collectively to reach a score of 21.

The doubles team of Scott Himes, Hunter Saldana, and Kalyssa Limle went a perfect 3–0 on the day in dominant fashion. Dakota Hawkings, Addison Withers, Anabelle Helms, and Beau Doi finished 0–3, but competed in close matches throughout the event. The final doubles pairing of Chayson Hall and Gage Harding went 2–1, with their final match ending due to the time limit.

In the Unified Shootouts, the Bruins were tied with Lawrence Central at 10–10 after the first two rounds, but trailed 15–5 heading into the final round.

Reflecting on the competition, Coach McDonald said, “It was a great day! We’ve been working on our accuracy in practice, and it really showed today. All of our groups fought hard and played close matches all day.” He also added, “A lot of thanks go out to Special Olympics Indiana and the Unified Coaches Association of Indiana for all the work they’ve put in to add this sport to the Unified Sports lineup.”

Coach Wallace echoed the excitement, stating, “It was a great day of inclusion. The best part was seeing Chayson finally hitting the board. He had been so close during practices, and it finally paid off.”

Fans can catch the Bruins back in action as they travel to the Unified State Championship Tournament on January 31st at Hamilton Heights, where they will compete against 16 schools from across the state. Competition begins at noon.

01/21/2026

Thank you to BJSHS EdTech for 3D printing a device to help us adapt Co****le for Chayson!

01/19/2026

Only two weeks left in the Unified Co****le season! We will be having a Unified Bowling Callout meeting before our Co****le practice on Wednesday January 28th starting at 3:15pm until 3:30pm. This is open to any general education students grades 9-12 and new this year the Unified Bruins will be entering the Open Division this will enable us to open up spots on the team for students in the Jr High that qualify as an athlete. Eligible students include individuals with intellectual disabilities of any age including any combination of students, middle school students, and graduates.

01/19/2026

The 2026 Polar Plunge is just a little over a month away! Coach Wallace is beating Coach McDonald in fundraising! Donate to the team here: https://support.soindiana.org/team/783658
Donate to Coach Wallace’s campaign: https://support.soindiana.org/fundraiser/6896157
Donate to Coach McDonald’s campaign: https://support.soindiana.org/fundraiser/6808234

01/08/2026

First ever Unified Co****le practice is in the books! Still time to join! We practice every Wednesday and Thursday 3:15pm -4:30pm!