"This is paving the way for different athletes coming after me."

HELEN NEWMAN, left, a freshman at Granby High, and Stephanie Marquez, a junior at Sport and Medical Sciences Academy in Hartford, head into the first turn of the 400-meter race at Canton High School Tuesday afternoon. Visit courant.com/track0412 for more photos. (John Woike | jwoike@courant.com)

“We made history in our state,” said Stephanie Marquez.

“Definitely, I think we did,” said Helen Newman.

“It is something that had to be done,” said Marquez, born with spina bifida. “It is a very important day. This is paving the way for different athletes coming after me."

"Yes, this day was about state history. This day was about inclusion," wrote Hartford Courant reporter Jeff Jacobs in his article, "Team Inclusion."

Jacobs' article tells the inspiring story of two student athletes, their teammates, parents and educators  leading the way by paving a path of inclusion. A path being cleared of the stones blocking long overdue progress. If you haven't read it, please do.

The photo and quotations are from the Hartford Courant article.


Don Shaw, Jr.
Writer and Editor
RedTruckStonecatcher.com