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Zone 16
No. 13 Vol. 14
www.mypaperonline.com
August 8, 2017
Swimmer Takes Home Trophy At Adaptive Sports Junior Nationals
S
By Anya Bochman tephen Machak, of Pompton Plains, prefers that people don’t tiptoe around the word “disabled” when speaking of people like him. Born with a neuroblastoma- a type of nerve tissue cancer- on his spinal cord,
which caused a thinning of the spine and sapped the strength in his legs, the 18-year-old has been active in sports since the recommendation of a doctor in early childhood. He joined Children’s Lightning Wheels, a program at Children’s Specialized Hospital
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in Mountainside, when he was five. “I try not to look at it as a setback,” Machak says of his condition. “Because of what it has allowed me to accomplish, I view it as a blessing.” His outlook helps him navigate a society that harbors many misconceptions about differently abled individuals. Although Machak has been involved in sports through Children’s Lightning Wheels since early childhood and has been competing at swimming meets since joining the Pequannock High School swim team four years ago, he still finds himself on the receiving end of strange looks due to being confined to a wheelchair. “Sometimes at competitions I get looks because they don’t think I can compete,” Machak explains. “I want to prove people wrong despite what society may say about people with disability.” This weekend, the recent high school graduate got another chance to demonstrate his skill as an athlete as he and 10 representatives from the Lightning Wheels team qualified for the Adaptive Sports USA Junior Nationals in Middleton, Wis. The Junior Nationals is the oldest continuous-
Stephen Machak warms up for the 5000m race. Photo courtesy/Stephen Machak)
ly held competitive sports event for junior athletes with physical disabilities in North America. Held this year at Middleton High School, July 15 – 22, the national championship includes categories of wheelchair or ambulatory track and field, swimming, archery, powerlifting, table tennis and air guns and pentathlon. The competing athletes are divided by classification-level of functionality- as well as age and gender. Machak, who competes
with his team at regional meets across the country, qualified at a sanctioned meet in order to be eligible for Nationals. The weekend in Wisconsin was a resounding success for the junior athlete; he placed first in all of his swimming events and in javelin; second in shot put, discus and the Open 5,000m track race; and third in the 1,500m, 800m and 400m races. As a team, Children’s Lightning Wheels was placed into the Large Team
division based on the number of its members. Earning enough points throughout the competition to place second in its division, the team took home the same trophy for the fifth consecutive year at the Junior Nationals. Describing the championship as “fun,” Machak points out that it is as much about competition as it is about socializing, with opportunities to meet differently abled athletes from around the country, and continued on page 2