photo by: Rochelle Valverde/Journal-World

LHS students Jacob Daugherty and Ayo Obadare hold hands as Daugherty prepares to cross the finish line as part of the Pat Grzenda Triathlon on May 3, 2023.

With high school students and other community supporters lined up along the finish line, Jacob Daugherty was nervous to make his way across. The cheering line of supporters represented the end of an event that provided special education students the chance to swim, bike and run as part of an adaptive triathlon.

Participants swam the length of the Lawrence High School pool, pedaled stationary bicycles to the beat of up-tempo music, and ultimately headed out to the track to round its curves and face down its straightaways.

With a little moral support from his fellow students, Daugherty, a student at LHS, did cross the finish line, at least a couple of times. And in the end, as he sat around a table in the LHS west gym eating lunch with other students as they waited for the awards ceremony to start, he didn’t hesitate when asked his favorite part about running on the track.

“The fans,” he said, saying that participating in the event made him feel good.

photo by: Rochelle Valverde/Journal-World

Reyna Casimiro, an eighth grader at Billy Mills Middle School, crosses the finish line.

The Pat Grzenda Triathlon returned for its fourth year on Wednesday. The event, organized by adaptive physical education teachers Jayme Savage and Brad Stoll, brings together adaptive PE students from the district’s four middle schools and two high schools. Adaptive PE is a type of physical education program designed to meet the needs of students with disabilities.

Among the students crowded around the table with Daugherty was Ayo Obadare, an LHS senior, who was one of the students who ran shoulder to shoulder with Daugherty for the last straightaway.

“He was nervous to go across the finish line, so I asked if he wanted to go across with me,” Obadare said.

Other students added their own flair to their finishing jog. As she crossed the finish line, Leah McMahan, an eighth grader at Billy Mills Middle School, did a cartwheel, setting off whoops from the crowd.

“I practiced a lot,” she said of the cartwheel. Leah said it was her first time participating in the event and hearing all the cheers had made her feel happy.

photo by: Rochelle Valverde/Journal-World

Leah McMahan, an eighth grader at Billy Mills Middle School, receives a medal following the Pat Grzenda Triathlon on May 3, 2023. Lawrence school Superintendent Anthony Lewis applauds at left.

As LHS senior Jackson Martin pedaled on the stationary bicycle, shirt off, a white towel from the pool draped over his head, someone told him he looked like Rocky. Still slightly out of breath after running on the track, Martin said it was his second time doing the event, and that he was sad that as a senior, it would be his last time.

“It’s awesome,” he said. “You get to run, you get to swim and you get to bike. That’s what’s good about it.”

photo by: Rochelle Valverde/Journal-World

Superintendent Anthony Lewis and LHS senior Jackson Martin chat as he pedals a stationary bicycle as part of the Pat Grzenda Triathlon on May 3, 2023.

Ione Mason, a ninth grader at LHS, picked up her pace as she finished out the run. Afterward, with her arm around another student who had also just finished, she said she liked running the best. When asked how she felt having completed the event, she recognized the accomplishment.

“I feel pretty proud of myself,” she said.

photo by: Rochelle Valverde/Journal-World

Ione Mason, ninth grader at LHS, prepares to cross the finish line.

Savage, one of the adaptive physical education teachers who organizes the event, said it allows the community to support the district’s athletes with special needs and provides the athletes a valuable experience.

“The athletes deserve an opportunity to compete in an event that’s all their own,” Savage said. “All eyes on them.”

Stoll, the other adaptive physical education teacher who organizes the event, said it was one of his favorite days of the year.

“The greatest benefit is obviously promoting lifelong fitness,” he said. “As physical educators, that’s what we want to do.”

That aspect wasn’t lost on Legacy Sheldon, a sophomore at Free State High School who participated. Legacy said her favorite part was the running, and that she was feeling happy and excited as she passed through the cheering crowd at the finish line. She said she planned to do the event again next year.

“Because it’s healthy for you,” she said. “I like to run.”

photo by: Rochelle Valverde/Journal-World

Legacy Sheldon, a sophomore at Free State High School, pedals a stationary bike as part of the Pat Grzenda Triathlon on May 3, 2023.

The event is named for Pat Grzenda, who taught adaptive physical education in the Lawrence district for 34 years before her retirement in 2011. Grzenda, who was among those cheering on the students, said the coming together represented by the event — of students, staff, community members — was something she looked forward to every year. She said it was a special event she was proud to be a part of.

“The kids are so fantastic and they are enjoying it so much,” she said. “And to see the pride that they have makes me proud to be associated with it.”

photo by: Rochelle Valverde/Journal-World

Larissa Powers, junior at LHS, crosses the finish line of the Pat Grzenda Triathlon on May 3, 2023. Grzenda cheers at far left.

photo by: Rochelle Valverde/Journal-World

Darby Bates, seventh grader at West Middle School, crosses the finish line as part of the Pat Grzenda Triathlon on May 3, 2023.

photo by: Rochelle Valverde/Journal-World

The Billy Mills Middle School mascot stands near the finish line at the Pat Grzenda Triathlon. Ford Lechtenberg, senior at Free State High School, cheers a right.