Truman Cheerleader Brings Unmatched Enthusiasm

by Justin Sampson from St. Joe Channel:
(ST. JOSEPH) Fourteen-year-old Aliyah Hall, an eighth grader at Truman Middle School, enjoys staying active, like many teenagers, with things like swimming and basketball.
Also like many children, she was born with down sydnrome.
"I really can't explain it to you, but it was something that I just knew," Aliyah's mother, Laurie, said. "After she was born, it was more of a confirmation for me."
An avid dancer as well, Aliyah quickly took a shine to the Truman cheer squad when she got to middle school and wanted to be a part of it. It was something Laurie wasn't sure about at first, given that Truman had never had a special needs cheerleader before.
"I shared my concerns because not everyone deals with special needs children the say way. They were awesome. They really embraced her."

Middle school cheer squad welcomes new member with Down Syndrome

from WCSH 6 Portland by Michele Mullen:
A 13-year-old girl is learning it isn't easy being a cheerleader.

"I think it's pretty cool that I'm a cheerleader," said Sarah Hill.

Hill's 30 new teammates think it's pretty cool that she's with them.

"It definitely has pulled us closer, cause like, everybody is helping Sarah, so it's like a team basically now," said teammate Rashel Vega. "Usually it was like, eighth-graders on one side, seventh-graders on the other, sixth-graders on the other, and like everybody had just joined together into a really big team."

The seed was planted in Hill's mind in early March while watching a cheer performance. The eighth-grader, who has Down Syndrome, turned to her aid and said she wanted to join the team.

"She said, 'Jessica, I'm going to be a cheerleader someday,' and I looked at her and I got a little teary-eyed and I said, 'Yeah, you are.'" said aid Jessica Ortiz.

Calls were made and a plan was put into place, a day later, Hill was invited to join the New Brighton Middle School team.

"It just make me proud, proud of what we can do as people for each other, and Sarah's done a lot more for me than I've done for her," said cheerleading coach Jen Walker.

Owen Groesser makes 3-pointers & SportsCenter!

from ESPN:
Middle schooler with Down Syndrome, Owen Groesser, makes SportsCenter's Top Plays after draining two 3-pointers.
Owen Groesser enjoyed a night to remember, and took Twitter by storm in the process.
Groesser, a junior high student with Down syndrome, made a pair of 3-pointers in his school's basketball game Wednesday, prompting a Twitter campaign that resulted in a highlight on "SportsCenter."
According to ABC affiliate WXYZ in Detroit, Groesser had not played this season for Van Hoosen Junior High School, which was playing its season finale Wednesday.
But after entering late in the game, Groesser received a pass beyond the arc and sank a 3-pointer, sparking a wild celebration in the stands. Groesser also made another 3-pointer, finishing with six points in approximately two minutes of playing time.
After the game, Groesser's friends and teammates launched a Twitter campaign called #GetOwenOnSportsCenter, which trended as highlights of the game spread on the Internet.
The campaign was a success, as Groesser's exploits were featured on "SportsCenter's" Top-10 highlights Wednesday night.

Robert Griffin III Helped An 8th Grader With Down Syndrome Get On SportsCenter

by Cork Gaines from the Business Insider:

Owen Groesser is an eighth grade basketball player with Down Syndrome from Rochester Hills, Michigan. He had not played all season until his coach had him play the final two minutes of the team's final game. Owen made the most of his two minutes sinking two three pointers.

Friends and family then started a movement on Twitter to try and get Owen on SportsCenter.

One person reached out to Robert Griffin III through Twitter and RG3 forwarded (retweeted) the message to his 780,000 followers. And sure enough, Owen came in at #10 on SportsCenter's "Top 10" and later he and his father were interviewed.

There are a lot of bad things on Twitter. But there are also a lot of great things. Here's the "Top 10" clip as well as a shot of Owen and his dad being interviewed...