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ADAPTED ATHLETICS 2022 NEWSLETTER

YOU
MAKE IT
HAPPEN!

Video Transcript

Adapted Athletics Thank You Video Transcript

00:00 - 00:09 Ahkeel: Hey supporters, this is Ahkeel Whitehead, director of the Adapted Athletics program here at San Diego State University. We have a quick message from all of our athletes to all of you. Roll the tape.

00:10 - 00:12 Michelle: Hi everyone my name is Michelle Cross.

00:13 - 00:14 Jason: My name is Jason Pacheco.

00:15 - 00:15 Anthony: My name is Anthony Pohl.

00:16 - 00:17 Aubrey: My name is Aubrey Jumper.

00:18 - 00:18 Manuel: My name is Manuel Gomez.

00:19 - 00:20 Donato: My name is Donato Telesca.

00:20 - 00:23 Jason: For the San Diego State University’s Adaptive Athletics program.

00:24 - 00:28 Anthony: The reason why I’m able to achieve my goals and go after them is because of you.

00:28 - 00:34 Aubrey: Thank you for giving me energy and resources to support myself and the rest of the program. We couldn’t have done it without you.

00:29 - 00:41 Scene: (Video of wheelchair tennis and track athletes warming up on track)

00:35 - 00:41 Manuel: Myself and my teammates couldn’t do it without you guys, our supporters, our donors who help us get out to all those tournaments.

00:29 - 00:41 Scene: (Video of Manuel talking while holding a tennis racket. Video of tennis athlete serving.)

00:42 - 00:56 Donato: All the support from SDSU Adapted Athletics, the coaches to the PT, they give the same quantity of attention to every athlete and I’m sure this can help every single athlete be a part of this program.

00:47 - 00:57 Scene: (Photo of Donato lifting with coach Aj. Video of Coach Greg talking to a tennis athlete on court. Video of tennis athletes running on track toward Coach Isaac)

00:57 - 01:02 Manuel: And compete at the highest level against the top players in the world and hopefully make the Paralympics.

01:02 - 01:15 Michelle: I realized a large part of why I’m able to work towards these goals is due to your support. Thank you for believing in me so much. Thank you for giving me your time, energy and resources to support myself and the rest of the program.

01:07 - 01:15 Scene: (Photo of Michelle, Ahkeel, and Manuel. Video of Adapted Athlete practicing wheelchair basketball with Aubrey.)

01:15 - 01:23 Anthony: Thank you for your ongoing love and support and believing in us and the program, without you nothing would be possible.

01:16 - 01:22 Scene: (Photo of the whole adapted athletics program cheering on track. Video of Coach Greg explaining a serve.)

01:23 - 01:32 Jason: The donations and the time that y’all have given to make this program successful, I speak for myself and my team, we just want to say thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

01:22 - 01:26 Scene: (Video of Ahkeel and Coach Aj racing on track. Video of a tennis athlete serving.)

01:33 - 01:44 Donato: I’m sure that the next paralympic games we’ll see more SDSU Adapted Athletes at the games because of the work they are doing now is amazing.

01:37 - 00:45 Scene: (Video of tennis and track athletes doing a warm up lap on track. Video of an athlete making a layup in wheelchair basketball. Track athletes warm up on track.)

01:45 - 01:47 Michelle: We couldn’t have gotten here without you.

01:48 - 01:48 Jason: We thank you so much.

01:49 - 01:49 Aubrey: Thank you again.

01:50 - 01:50 Anthony: Thank you.

01:51 - 01:51 Manuel: Thank you so much.

01:51 - 01:54 Jason: We love y‘all so much and we hope to make you proud.

01:54 - 01:59 Scene: White background with Adapted Athletics | Associated Students | SDSU Logo fading in and out

Adapted Athletics Staff and Student Athletes Group Photo

2022
A YEAR IN
REVIEW

Adapted Athletics Staff and Student Athletes Group Photo

THANK YOU

to our donors, volunteers and friends for your loyalty and patronage

The Aztec Recreation Center (ARC) era of adaptive sports has emerged at San Diego State University and the program is taking flight! This era welcomed the program with a 138,000 sq ft renovation of the ARC, increased budget, and much needed storage for adaptive sports equipment. Furthermore, an increased awareness of the program has led to some amazing collaboration and integration opportunities with the general student body. This could not have come at a better time as it has become very clear through the COVID pandemic how critical recreation facilities, programs, and services are for supporting the well being of the disabled community.

In 2022, our athletes achieved tremendous athletic feats including the wheelchair tennis team’s 2nd place finish at the 2022 Collegiate National Championships as well as the track and field team’s 8 medals won at the Arizona Disabled Sports’ Desert Challenge. The singular most impressive performance however, came from our study abroad athlete Donato Telesca; taking the European World Championship, European Bench record (205 Kg | 450 lbs), resulting in Donato’s rise to #4 World Ranking.

These successes of the past year would certainly not have been possible without the dedication and teamwork of our staff. I could not be more proud of the can-do attitudes, creativity and commitment of our team. On behalf of the Adapted Athletics team, I would also like to extend a very sincere thank you to our donors, volunteers and friends for your loyalty and patronage. Your support continues to inspire us to deliver high quality programs and services.

With the move to a new department, new facilities, and a focus towards the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris, France the future is very bright for SDSU Adapted Athletics. We look forward to continuing to build the best collegiate adaptive sports program in the nation.

Sincerely,
Ahkeel Whitehead
Director - Adapted Athletics
Associated Students/ Aztec Recreation - SDSU

LIFT-A-THON

Lift-a-thon group photo of participants

THE FIRST ANNUAL

SDSU Adapted Athletics hosted the first annual Lift-A-Thon on Saturday, November 19, 2022. 45 participants registered in 5 events and the fundraiser generated over $3,000 for the program. The event set an excellent foundation for the program to build from.

Lift-a-thon group photo of participants
Adapted Athletics Wheelchair basketball game - woman throwing basketball into a hoop

RECRUITMENT

  • 150 prospective athletes reached
  • 15 athlete SDSU campus visits
  • 12 Recruitment events attended
    • Roll to Success - Wheelchair Basketball Camp
    • Disabled Athlete Sports Association - Para Powerlifting Event
    • Challenged Athletes Foundation x SDSU AA - High School Adaptive Track and Field Clinic
    • Play LA - Summer Launch Event
    • La Habra - Youth Wheelchair Tennis Tournament
    • USTA Wheelchair Tennis - All Comers Camp
    • Angel City Games
    • Challenged Athletes Foundation - Community Challenge Weekend
    • Moved United - Jr. Nationals
    • US Paralympic Track and Field - Throws Camp
    • Allyson Felix - All Inclusive Track Event
    • Adaptive Sports and Recreation Association - Youth Camp
  • In coming recruiting class
    • 6 athletes
    • Sports
      • Track and Field
      • Wheelchair Tennis
      • Surfing
      • Beach Para Volleyball

ATHLETES,
RECRUITMENT
& EVENTS

Adapted Athletics Wheelchair basketball game - woman throwing basketball into a hoop

ATHLETES

  • Michelle Cross - Soccer & Track and Field
    • US Women Soccer National Team Member & 2022 World Cup Champion - Track 37 Classification, US ranking #1, World Ranking #9, Aspiring Paralympian
  • Aubrey Jumper - Track and Field
    • Track 37 Classification, US ranking #2, World Ranking #11
  • Jason Pacheco - Track and Field
    • Track 64 Classification, US Ranking #50, World Ranking top 100, Aspiring Paralympian
  • Marco Borges - Track and Field
    • Field 57 Classification, Brazilian ranking #2, World Ranking #4, 2020 Brazilian F57 Silver Medalist, Shotput
  • Anthony Pone - Track and Field
    • Field 57 Classification, US ranking #1, World Ranking #23, Aspiring Paralympian
  • Manny Gomez - Wheelchair Tennis
    • Mexico Ranking #1, US ranking #2, World Ranking #204, Aspiring Paralympian - Collegiate Team Ranking in US #2
  • Ryohtaroh Sakaguchi - Wheelchair Tennis
    • Japan Ranking #25, World Ranking N/A - Collegiate Team Ranking in US #2
  • Donato Telesca - Paralympic Powerlifting
    • European Ranking #1, World Ranking #3, 2020 Paralympian
    • European World Champion

RECRUITMENT

  • 150 prospective athletes reached
  • 15 athlete SDSU campus visits
  • 12 Recruitment events attended
    • Roll to Success - Wheelchair Basketball Camp
    • Disabled Athlete Sports Association - Para Powerlifting Event
    • Challenged Athletes Foundation x SDSU AA - High School Adaptive Track and Field Clinic
    • Play LA - Summer Launch Event
    • La Habra - Youth Wheelchair Tennis Tournament
    • USTA Wheelchair Tennis - All Comers Camp
    • Angel City Games
    • Challenged Athletes Foundation - Community Challenge Weekend
    • Moved United - Jr. Nationals
    • US Paralympic Track and Field - Throws Camp
    • Allyson Felix - All Inclusive Track Event
    • Adaptive Sports and Recreation Association - Youth Camp
  • In coming recruiting class
    • 6 athletes
    • Sports
      • Track and Field
      • Wheelchair Tennis
      • Surfing
      • Beach Para Volleyball

PREMIER EVENTS HOSTED

  • Challenged Athletes Foundation x SDSU AA | High School Adaptive Track and Field Clinic
    • Participants - 16
  • Aztec Recreation Lift-A-Thon
    • Participants - 45 people
    • Money raised approx $3,000
    • Donors - 40 people

FEATURE: DONATO TELESCA

Donato Telesca on a bench after a benchpress set

ADAPTIVE POWERLIFTING CHAMPION

Donato Telesca is a European powerlifting paralympic champion and, while training with SDSU Adapted Athletics in September 2022, he set the European record for bench pressing at 205kg (about 450 pounds). Donato is originally from Positano, Italy and more recently lived in Rome to study entrepreneurship and innovation. Donato decided to study abroad in the United States because he believes that entrepreneurship is a bigger focus in the U.S. and he is always seeking opportunities. Donato chose to study at SDSU because of the combination of the amazing Adapted Athletics program and SDSU’s renowned business program. Donato noted that one of the best things about SDSU Adapted Athletics is the team of coaches that take care of all the athletes; there is a coach for nearly everything including program coaching, physical therapy, nutrition, and lots more! As a paralympic athlete he has difficulties that able-bodied people do not experience, but he believes that this has formed his mindset for the better - working harder and applying his creativity to find different ways to continuously improve.

The world of powerlifting is not something new to Donato. He was first introduced to weight training when he was nine years old. As he got older, he developed a passion for the sport and in 2016 he learned that adaptive athletes could compete. Donato is now ranked #4 worldwide in bench press but, it has not always been sunshine and rainbows. Competing at the recent European Championships, Donato describes it as a chance at redemption after not performing to his expectations at his first European championship in 2018. One difficulty he faced during the recent championship was managing the jet lag. Since he had been living in California since August, it was a bit of a challenge for him to readjust to the European time zone in only a few days. During the championship competitors get to lift three rounds. His first two rounds he did not score as high as he had hoped, but he did not let that deter him for his third round. During the last round he decided to attempt 205kg to be the new record holder. After successfully completing the lift Donato said it was one of the most rewarding moments of his life because it was proof that all of his hard work finally paid off. For the remainder of the year his goal is to hit a personal record of 215kg.

Speaking to Donato leaves a person inspired. Donato has such a strong work ethic and is passionate about self growth and development. He strongly believes that what you put in is what you get out of it.

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