Collegiate 10th Graders Host Meet in the Middle

Collegiate School hosted the 30th annual Meet in the Middle, a Special Olympics event for Henrico County Middle School students run by Collegiate 10th Graders today. The more than 200 visiting students competed in multiple sporting events on Grover Jones Field and in tennis on the Robins campus.
To prepare for the meet, sophomores set up the campus and greeted the athletes as they arrived and competed in running, jumping and throwing events. They also directed the soccer and basketball clinics, presented the awards, ran an arts-and-crafts area and played with the athletes in the Olympic Village.

Steve Hickman, Collegiate’s Head of School, welcomed the athletes at the event’s opening ceremony and encouraged them to have a wonderful day.

“Compete hard and have fun,” he said.

Elijah Gee and Jack Rowe manned a water station on Grover Jones Field. They were excited to be volunteering at Meet in the Middle.

“It’s a great experience to take time in your day to help other people,” Elijah said. “It makes them so happy.”

Jack added, “It’s really fun and it’s important to help out with something like this.”

Missy Herod, Upper School Associate Director of Student Life, started the event in 1987. She says Meet in the Middle is one of her favorite days of the year at Collegiate because of what it provides for all of the students involved.

“With so much going on, you might see a Collegiate student when he or she finally understands that even at their young age they can make a significant difference in the life of another human being,” she said. “Special Olympics provides our students the opportunity to learn how easy it is to serve others and how an event such as Meet in the Middle can bring out the best in intellectually challenged athletes who only want to do what most of us at Collegiate have always been able to do.”
 
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