Tuesday evenings throughout the month of October, memories were created in the lobby of Steele Hall thanks to a weekly cornhole tournament held by the SUNY Fredonia Special Olympics Club.

The Club was co-founded by student-athletes Hannah Retzer and Zachary Zentz. Its goal is to promote inclusivity throughout the community by connecting students of all ages through events held on campus. The latest in a series of events to do just that was the weekly cornhole tournament at Steele Hall.

Students of all ages from schools across the area attended the events, which have been supported by Jim Eppinger of Twisted Bags and Jennifer DePasquale, owner of the Buffalo Brawlers professional cornhole team.

“I feel like this experience is great for me,” Mekiah Sedlacek said. “I think Zachary came up with a great thing.”

Pictured above Special Olympics Club President Hannah Retzer dances with Ayden Hamernick. Bottom photo shows Charles Domenico tossing a bag while his teammate, Mekiah Sedlacek, waits his turn during the cornhole tournament .

Sedlacek entered Tuesday’s event as the front-runner to win the tournament, with a 5-1 record entering Tuesday’s competition. He was confident entering the tournament, and backed it up once the games began. In the blink of an eye, Sedlacek and his partner found themselves in the finals. They delivered yet another victory, earning Sedlacek the championship belt.

The competition resembled a Unified sporting event, pairing Special Olympics Club members with partners from nearby schools. Zentz was inspired by his high school experiences through the Dunkirk High School Unified Club, and wanted to pass that on to an even larger stage at SUNY Fredonia.

“I don’t have a set reason of why I want to do it. It’s just something in me,” Zentz said. “It’s good for the soul. I could come here even if I failed all my exams on the day and think it’s the best day ever.”

Zentz, a SUNY Fredonia baseball player, paired with Retzer, a women’s soccer player, to form the Club.

“I think it’s going great. I feel like all the athletes are having a great time, and that’s what matters most, to make sure they are having fun,” Retzer said. “We’re getting more of the community involved, and we’re getting more campus clubs involved, which is great. As we continue to grow, we just want to create the best environment for all the athletes to make sure they have a great time.”

With Halloween just a few days away, Retzer donned a hot dog costume at Tuesday’s event. She was only outdone by Luke McKnatt, who dressed as Woody from Toy Story.

Throughout the evening, music was playing as the competitors tossed bags at the custom Twisted Bags boards set up throughout the lobby of Steele Hall. Near the end of the evening, many of the competitors sang along and danced to the music, led by Ayden Hamernick.

Students of all ages from several different schools attended the event. Sedlacek and Hamernick were Dunkirk Unified teammates with Zentz during his time in high school, while McKnatt was a Fredonia Unified teammate with Charles Domenico, Fredonia’s Senior Class President a year ago. Dunkirk’s Mia Curtin was also among the many participants on the evening.

“We’ve gotten an insane response from all of the schools. Out of nowhere, people are coming out. I think it’s a culture change because before, these kids didn’t have somewhere to go and have fun,” Zentz said. “Now they are starting to see that they can come to the college and have relationships. … That’s what I think is the best part. No matter win or lose, they are having fun and creating relationships they will have the rest of their life. It’s honestly amazing.”

Sedlacek said the most fun part of participating in Tuesday’s event was being with all his friends. At Dunkirk, he coined the phrase, “We’re all best friends here,” which has since been adopted as a motto for the Dunkirk Unified Club. Sedlacek looks forward to Unified Bowling and Basketball later this school year, his final year at Dunkirk High School.

Retzer also highlighted the friendships built and strengthened through events like Tuesday’s tournament. “I just love seeing everybody light up, not just the athletes but our club members, as well,” she said. “I just love having fun and having a good time with everybody. It’s very rewarding. I think it’s awesome.”

From the time Zentz stood in the Steele Hall Fieldhouse at the annual Special Olympics during his senior year at Dunkirk High School to now, a year and a half later, he has seen his idea of a Special Olympics Club at SUNY Fredonia grow into what it is today – a platform to foster relationships throughout the community. Still, he acknowledged that there is still room for the program to improve in the years to come.

“Things have gone very well, but they can definitely go a lot better. We still have a lot of room to grow,” Zentz said. “It’s an unprecedented thing that we’re creating, we’re not going off a structured plan. We’re trying to create the best program we can possible.”

Follow the SUNY Fredonia Special Olympics Club on Facebook and Instagram for more information about upcoming events.