A high school basketball team from the Quad Cities has made it to the state tournament in just its first year of competition. The Moline Special Olympics basketball team will travel to Illinois State University in Bloomington-Normal this weekend after winning the District Tournament in January.
Special Olympics athletes at Moline High School compete in track and field, bowling, and skiing, but basketball is the first team sport.
Special Olympics Coach Jerilyn Hocker says the 7-person team practices three days a week and has played six games this season in addition to the district tournament.
Moline High School is the only high school in the Quad Cities with a Special Olympics basketball team, so it has to travel to other cities for games such as Canton and Monmouth.
The team will play its first game Friday night against Bloomington in the state basketball tournament.