FILE – Unified sports athletic director Alex Stork, proper, helps scholar Francisco Dame follow the shot put.
Jane Vaughan/JPR
On a brilliant afternoon in April, Klamath County students collect for one in every of their first track practices of the yr.
Following the success of the Unified basketball team this winter, a handful of athletes are attempting one other sport at Henley High School at the moment because the wind whips throughout the field.
Unified sports athletic director Alex Stork stated this system’s objective is inclusion, pairing students with and with out disabilities whereas drawing athletes from a number of colleges throughout the district.
FILE – Student Francisco Dame practices throwing the Turbojav whereas his teammates and coaches look on. The plastic and rubber are safer than the standard metal-tipped javelin.
Jane Vaughan/JPR
“Now these students get to wear jerseys that say Mazama, that say Henley, that say their local school team,” he stated. “They get the pride that comes from that and representing their team.”
The district hopes so as to add a Unified soccer team within the fall.
The track team contains 14 athletes and 15 associate athletes, who assist out throughout meets.
Lincoln Schultz, a ninth-grader and associate athlete at Henley High School, stated he beloved hanging out with the athletes throughout Unified basketball and appears ahead to the identical power on the track team.
“Our first assembly game was at Mazama, and that was one of the loudest games out of the high school stuff that I’ve been to. Everybody was cheering,” he stated. “Frank made a buzzer beater. It was pretty awesome.”
At follow, students put together for the upcoming meets, which embody three track occasions and three field occasions. In this system’s first yr, athletes compete in opposition to their very own teammates throughout meets. Stork hopes to compete in opposition to different regional groups subsequent yr.
For now, he stated, the main focus is on approach, somewhat than elevating consciousness, like they did with basketball.
“This season, we really want to get more individual skill-focused, so that we can develop techniques and training,” he stated. “They’re actually growing in their knowledge and understanding of the techniques of the sport.”
Students unfold out throughout the field, working with coaches on their occasions.
Stork helped students follow the shot put, advising them to push it up larger.
Nearby, particular training instructor Mike Eddy inspired students to select up their tempo in the course of the 50-meter stroll.
Students additionally practiced launching themselves right into a sandpit for the lengthy bounce.
Sebastian Aguilera, a sophomore at Henley, stated he joined Unified track to hang around together with his mates.
FILE – Student Sebastian Aguilera practices the lengthy bounce whereas particular training instructor Mike Eddy, left, coaches him.
Jane Vaughan/JPR
“I don’t really care about competitions,” he stated. “I prefer just to run, just for fun, for the thrill.”
Another athlete, Frank Fleming, is 20. He’s within the county’s Transition program, which offers help for students transitioning out of highschool with issues like post-secondary training, profession help, and impartial dwelling.
His mother, Melissa Sparks-Ables, stated Fleming beloved doing Unified basketball within the winter.
“I think it’s an amazing program,” she stated. “He wants to go every day.”
She hopes track retains him energetic and socializing.
The track at Henley High School in Klamath Falls. Shown on April 7, 2026.
“A lot of kids benefit from it,” she stated. “It gets him out there with other kids, and they accept him, and that’s a big thing.”
Coach Stork stated he appears for these moments of connection.
“The interactions that the students had,” he stated, “that’s just a huge part of the sports experience — just being on the bus together, being in a locker room before games, being on the bench together, and just having fun, making jokes —and so I really love to see that.”
The track and field season just lately concluded, and Stork stated all athletes made nice progress of their occasions. One relay team even certified for the district meet within the Unified class.
But Stork stated his favourite a part of the season had little to do with the outcomes on the field.
Jane Vaughan is a reporter with Jefferson Public Radio.
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