Olivia Linnemann remembers how special she felt the first time she received a Columbus East basketball jersey to wear when she was a freshman.
Linnemann wants the Unified basketball players at East and Columbus North to experience that same feeling in years to come. So for her senior project, she’s putting on an Alumni basketball game between East and North at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at The Orange Pit.
The $5 per person admission will help fund jerseys to be worn by the East and North Unified basketball teams. If money is left over, it would go to the special education departments at both schools.
“I joined the Best Buddies program when I was a sophomore, and I really just fell in love with the kids in the special education department,” Linnemann said. “They’re really sweet, and they always brighten up my day and I noticed by attending some of the Unified games that they didn’t have jerseys. They just had t-shirts, and I thought about the first time that I got a jersey when I was on the basketball team at East, and I thought about how that made me feel like a true Olympian, like part of a team. It validated me as a player and made me feel like included. I thought how that would make them feel because they don’t have jerseys and how I wanted them to really feel that inclusion.”
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Some of the top boys and girls players in North and East history are planning to play on Thursday. The Bull Dog roster includes former boys standouts Sawyer and Kooper Glick, Kevin Johnson and Nathan VanDeventer, as well as former girls star Ashley (Hilderbrand) Slate and four girls who graduated in 2018, including current Hanover sophomores Kat Norman and Liz Tynan.
The Olympian roster features former boys standouts Matt Allison, Ryan Crase, Marcus Hunter, Drew Johnson, Josh McDonald and Ben Slaton, plus several girls who played or currently are playing college basketball, including Allyson Bunch, Britney Ballard and Courtney and Jordan Ogle.
Former East girls coach Mel Good and current North boys assistant Nate Frazier will coach the teams. East girls assistant Willie Humes and North boys head coach Paul Ferguson will be celebrity referees.
Linnemann said Alumni cheerleaders and the East pep band will perform.
Alana Cook, who runs on the Bull Dogs’ Unified track team, has been helping out with the North end of things. Linnemann, who has been a varsity basketball player for the Olympians the past two years, but gave up that sport to focus on cross-country and track, is hoping the Alumni game fundraiser can continue after she graduates.
“I think it’s a really good way to bring the community together and to show how important inclusion is to Columbus and to America,” Linnemann said. “I’m really hoping that this game will show the city of Columbus that these kids really matter and that Unified sports really matter and that their basketball game is more than just a halftime show. It is a real basketball game, and it’s not always about winning. It’s about participation, and it’s about letting them be able to be a part of a team. I really hope this will shine a light on the unity and impact Columbus, as well as get jerseys for the Unified team.”
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Columbus East vs. Columbus North Alumni Basketball Game
When: 6:30 p.m. Thursday
Where: Columbus East High School
Admission: $5 (proceeds will help fund jerseys for Unified basketball teams at East and North and special education funds and both schools)
East roster: Matt Allison, Britney Ballard, Ally Bunch, Ryan Crase, Marcus Hunter, Drew Johnson, Josh McDonald, Courtney Ogle, Jordan Ogle, Ben Slaton, Jenni Smith, Shana Tooley, Audrey Wetzel
North roster: Alan Ballard, Jenna Borger, Kooper Glick, Sawyer Glick, Kevin Johnson, Kat Norman, Eric Notestine, Kenzie Patberg, Ashley Slate, Liz Tynan, Nathan VanDeventer, Cameron Ziegler
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