The first leg of the 2023 Trooper Ross M. Riley Memorial Torch Run will kick off the annual Special Olympics Unified Basketball Competition at St. Bonaventure University Thursday.

The torch run begins at 8:45 a.m. at the City Building in Olean, continues along West State Street, and ends at the Reilly Center on campus.

The runners will enter the RC Arena for the opening ceremony of the Unified Basketball Competition, which will see competition from teams representing the Olean, Allegany-Limestone, Salamanca and Franklinville school districts. Each team consists of athletes with and without disabilities.

During the opening ceremony, St. Bonaventure President Jeff Gingerich, Ph.D., will provide opening remarks along with Athletic Director Joe Manhertz. In her first visit to St. Bonaventure, Special Olympics New York’s new President & CEO Stacey Hengsterman will offer words of encouragement and provide a moment of silence for the late Dr. Neal Johnson, President & CEO emeritus of Special Olympics NY and an SBU alumnus.

Thursday’s basketball schedule will feature six rounds scheduled every half hour from 10 a.m. until closing ceremonies at 1 p.m. During each round, three games will be played on the court in the Reilly Center and two will be played in the Richter Center.

Every athlete will also participate in a healthy athlete session coordinated by Dr. Claire Watson, founding director of the university’s public health program, and students from the School of Health Professions.

Approximately 200 athletes from the four school districts will be participating. The Salamanca team will be playing to demonstrate its skill level as it prepares to move from the St. Bonaventure competition, which focuses on player development, to a regional competitive conference. Allegany-Limestone will also be starting a conference team in May.

“This event is made possible each year through the generous collaboration with a number of campus programs, departments and individuals, and community programs such as United Way,” said organizer Dr. Paula Scraba, associate professor of physical education. A number of St. Bonaventure students will be volunteering for the event, including members of the Physical Activity Club, the newly formed Sport Management Club, and student-athletes  from all of St. Bonaventure’s Division 1 teams.

The event is open to the public. For more information about the Torch Run, contact Erica Raepple with Special Olympics NY at eraepple@nyso.org or 716-909-6444. The torch run is named in memory of New York State Trooper Ross Riley, who died in 2013 during a training exercise.

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About the University: The nation’s first Franciscan university, St. Bonaventure University is a community committed to transforming the lives of our students inside and outside the classroom, inspiring in them a lifelong commitment to service and citizenship. St. Bonaventure was named the #5 regional university value in the North in U.S. News and World Report’s 2022 college rankings edition.