Three Laredoans Honored with Statewide Awards from Special Olympics Texas
Written by admin, Sep 25, 2017, Comments Off
Courtesy Steve Helm,
AUSTIN, Texas – Special Olympics Texas (SOTX) officially announced its statewide Athletes, Unified Sports Partner and Coach of the Year awards on Monday. Among the six recipients, half of them hail from Laredo. Tino Serna and Laura Mashuca have been named statewide Male and Female Athletes of the Year for the 22 and older age group, respectively, while Olga “Gogi” Gutierrez was dubbed the organization’s statewide Coach of the Year.
All recipients will be formally honored on Friday, Oct. 13 during SOTX’s next statewide competition, Fall Classic, in College Station.
Serna, 29, has been a very active competitor with SOTX since 1990. Since getting involved, he has participated in athletics (track & field), aquatics basketball, bocce, bowling, softball and powerlifting.
“Tino is an outstanding athlete and volunteer in our area and community,” said Maribel Santoya-Maciel, SOTX’s director for the Laredo Area. “Through the past 20 years, I’ve had the opportunity to work side-by-side with Tino and I admire his dedication and love he has for Special Olympics.”
Mashuca is 35 years old and has been participating with SOTX since 2000. Over the years, she has competed in athletics, aquatics, basketball and bowling.
“She has made so much progress since she started competing and now she motivates herself to go even further every time she participates in the competitions, said Lihana Cedillo, assistant coach for the Ahora Y Siempre delegation. “Laura has great self-esteem and gets satisfaction from simply being able to participate.”
Coach Gutierrez, an adaptive physical education coach for Laredo ISD, serves as a head coach and head of delegation for SOTX. She is one of only a few coaches in the Laredo area to hold coach certifications for multiple SOTX sports. Gutierrez is a well-rounded person and it shows in her students and athletes, as they enjoy being coached in various sports.
“I have had the privilege of working with Coach Gogi since 1995 when Area 21 was only a local SOTX program,” said Santoya-Maciel. “She’s always believed in the mission and has continued to support SOTX in Laredo, as it has grown to become an area-wide program. She is very deserving of this award.”
2017 Special Olympics Texas Awards
Name Category City
Olga Gutierrez Coach of the Year Laredo
Laura Mashuca Female Athlete of the Year: 22+ Laredo
Tino Serna Male Athlete of the Year: 22+ Laredo
Caitlin Ripley Female Athlete of the Year: 15-21 Houston
Jarred Duran Male Athlete of the Year: 15-21 Celina
Tim Brown Unified Sports Partner of the Year Abilene
