Cheers from the Cedar Fork Elementary School gym could be heard down the hall on June 6 as fourth- and fifth-grade students anticipated the start of the third annual Cedar Fork Elementary Miracle League T-Ball Tournament.

Students look forward to the chance to do the wave and shout for their fellow students in the Severe Profound Mentally Disabled classes. This year, high temperatures kept the excited team members off the field, but enthusiasm poured from the bleachers in the gym as the game began.

The blue T-shirts of Lynne Wiggs’ kindergarten to second-grade Fantastic Four team were printed with each student’s name. By the time Keil Jansen’s third to fifth-grade Team Sparky entered the gym, students were wildly waving posters with each team name.

First up was Fantastic Four’s Zachary Youngquist, who scored the first home run of the game. Later, Team Sparky’s Eric Loftus rounded the bases as he clapped and cheered himself on, waving to his fans as he crossed home plate.

During the game, fourth-graders who have spent time with the SPMD students helped them cover the bases by walking at their sides or pushing their wheelchairs.

“This is such a great school in the way students accept the kids with disabilities,” said Wiggs. “All of this wouldn’t be possible without the leadership of Mrs. Marynak.”

Emceeing the event was Kathleen Marynak, principal at Cedar Fork, often standing in the “outfield” to call the shots.

Fourth-grade chair Carol Chalk watched from the sidelines. Throughout the year she had organized the students who volunteered to visit the SPMD classes before school, in their free time, to read and play toys and games.

“I think it helps them understand people who are different than they are,” Chalk said. “It helps our school become a tighter community as well.”

After a tight race, the tie from the last two years’ games was broken, with Jansen’s Team Sparky edging out Wiggs’ Fantastic Four by two points, at 10 to 8. The excitement continued as students carried the party upstairs to the fourth-grade hallway to enjoy a pizza lunch.