Eighteen athletes from Moore County competed in the North Carolina Special Olympics

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Moore Spirit: Local Athletes Head to the Special Olympics State Games

Eighteen Moore County athletes competed in the Special Olympics North Carolina Summer Games June 1-3.

Summer Games in Raleigh and Cary this weekend.

The group left for Raleigh Friday to ­participate in Opening Ceremonies at Time Warner Cable Music Pavillion at Walnut Creek. Track and field athletes competing at Ravenscroft School in Raleigh included Damian Alston, Jordan Brooks, Megan Butler, Mitchell McLeod, Aresh Mirian, Anna Page, E.J. Russell, Lawrence Shamberger, Keli Smith and DaJante Thomas.

Caleb Taylor, Ricky Smith, Tyler Plummer, Heather Brant, Joey Ransdell, Matthew Bass, Mark Childress and Davis Edens competed in the aquatic events held at the Triangle Aquatic Center in Cary.

Bass, Childress, Edens and Ransdell competed in the 4x25-yard medley relay for the second year under the team name “Moore Spirit.”

Keli Smith, a fourth-grader at Vass-Lakeview Elementary School, was Moore County's youngest athlete this year. Smith competed in the 100-meter event and the running long jump for the track and field team.

As she anticipated attending the games on Thursday, Smith said she wanted to win a silver medal for her father, since she has already won gold and bronze at the state games.

More than 1,400 athletes from all over North Carolina competed in the annual games, which feature 19 Olympic sports.

Special Olympics North Carolina held its first games in 1970 with 400 athletes competing. Since then, the games have grown to include 38,000 children and adults with intellectual disabilities. The state program has been ­recognized as one of the largest Special Olympic ­programs in the world.

Athletes were competing for the chance to qualify for the 2014 Special Olympics U.S.A. Games in New Jersey.