Penn State Altoona’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) hit the bowling lanes on Monday, January 14 to volunteer with the Special Olympics of Blair County. The event was part of Penn State Altoona’s participation in the NCAA Division III National SAAC “50 for 50th Challenge.”

Student-athletes from Penn State Altoona’s SAAC joined Special Olympians at Pleasant Valley Recreation Center in Altoona for an afternoon of bowling. The student-athletes assisted and cheered on the Special Olympians, who had the opportunity to show off their bowling skills.

Included among the attendees from Penn State Altoona were SAAC advisor and men’s basketball head coach David McGreal, women’s bowling head coach John Carey, senior women’s bowler and SAAC representative Nicole Watt, and junior men’s basketball player Cameron Gardner-Nicholson, who also serves as Penn State Altoona’s representative to the NCAA Division III National SAAC.

The event fulfilled Penn State Altoona’s criteria to meet the “50 for 50th Challenge,” an initiative promoted by the NCAA Division III National SAAC to honor 50 years of the Special Olympics. Each Division III institution was challenged to have at least 50 student-athletes participate in Special Olympics events by the end of February 2019.