A heavy downpour cut Saturday’s action short at the Special Olympics Kansas State Track and Field Championships, forcing an early end to the 2025–26 summer track campaign for the Central Kansas Storm team. Great Bend Tribune reports the weather also washed out Sunday events at Maize South High School, leaving 14 Storm athletes unable to compete in five scheduled running and walking events.
Team coordinator Amanda Hammond said the cancellation does not erase the progress athletes made during the season, including tracked times and marks and personal best performances. She also pointed to team bonding during the weekend despite the lost races, including opening ceremonies, the dance, the Healthy Athletes program, and additional shared time together at the hotel.
One highlight came before the trip even reached Wichita: the Great Bend Police Department escorted the Storm team bus out of town, a gesture Hammond said the athletes had not experienced in more than a decade. The season wrap-up also followed a busy year across fall bowling, winter basketball and cheerleading, and spring track and field, with 44 athletes competing in at least one sport.