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NATCHEZ — Nearly 50 athletes from the Natchez area will compete Friday morning at Natchez High School in a track meet to determine who will be the 30 athletes going to state. The qualifiers are part of the Mississippi Special Olympic Games held each year. 

Tommie Jones said the meet will start at 9:30 a.m. Friday and last until 1 p.m. at the Natchez track. Athletes will participate in the standing and running long jumps, softball throws, 50 and 100 meter dashes, 50 and 100 meter walks, a wheelchair race and assisted walk events. 

“It is free and open to the public so the more spectators and supporters the merrier,” Jones said. “On May 11th, we will do a torch run as a send off for those who qualified to the summer games. The torch comes through Natchez and our Adams County Sheriff’s Office helps put it on.” 

Natchez’s leg of the torch run is a mile long and typically starts on the Natchez bluff and finishes on Main Street. The 30 or so special olympic athletes who qualify for the state special olympics will be involved in the torch run. Jones said the public is welcome and encouraged to be involved and can run with the torch. 

Mississippi’s Special Olympic’s Summer Games are held in Biloxi at Keesler Air Force Base on May 12 to May 14. Special Olympic Area 7 is a non-profit organization and will need help taking the athletes to Biloxi. 

“We have to provide transportation and we will stay on the Air Force base for a few days. Donations will help feed the kids and transport the kids and provide whatever materials they need such as uniforms and shirts,” Jones said. 

Donations can be mailed to Ricky Warren at 108 Tanglewood Drive, Natchez, Mississippi, 39601. Make sure you mark your donation as for Special Olympics Area 7, Jones said.