Nivea Bryant wins gold medal in cheerleading

Staff Report

Nivea Bryant won a gold medal for cheerleading individual performance at the 2012 Special Olympics North Carolina Western Basketball and Cheerleading Tournament.
The Brunswick Shakers won a bronze medal. The cheerleaders are Joann Ballato, Tia Bowden, Jade Gary, Stephanie L. Neely, Amanda Prochazka, Marchetta Small, Rachael Teeples, Reba Webb and Kelly Young.
The tournament was Saturday and provided a full day of competition for nearly 1,000 athletes, according to Keith L. Fishburne, SONC president/CEO.
Athletes trained for a minimum of eight weeks at the local level prior to moving on to these state-level competitions.
The day featured competition in five-on-five basketball team, three-on-three basketball team and individual basketball skills as well as cheerleading events.
 Special Olympics North Carolina offers year-round sports training and competition for more than 38,000 children and adults with intellectual disabilities. SONC offers Olympic-type competition in 19 sports on local and state levels.