Three Rivers Unified Bocce regional tournament set for Thursday at Geneva College

By: Michael Love
Wednesday, March 8, 2023 | 12:44 PM

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Ten high school Unified bocce teams will gather Thursday at Geneva College’s Metheny Fieldhouse for the Three Rivers Region playoffs.

Matches begin at 11 a.m. and will feature more than 100 athletes, partners, coaches and volunteers from qualifying schools Bethel Park, South Park, Chartiers Valley, Central Valley, Beaver, Grove City, Ellwood City, Gateway, Pine-Richland and Shaler.

The schools punched their ticket to the regional playoffs with victories at eight divisional playoff tournaments hosted by Baldwin, Hopewell, Mohawk and Gateway.

The playoff events are sponsored by Special Olympics PA Unified Sports, a fully-inclusive co-ed high school sports program that brings together a proportional number of students with and without disabilities on teams for both training and competition.

Two teams – the Three Rivers regional champion and runner-up – will advance to the state championship at the Giant Center in Hershey on March 22-23.

They will join six other teams – the top two from the other three regions – to form the eight-team state tournament.

A total of 55 schools this season sponsored Unified bocce teams. In addition to the regional qualifiers, schools that fielded teams included Beaver Falls, Blackhawk, New Brighton, Riverside, Rochester, Western Beaver, Aliquippa, Ambridge, Freedom, Hopewell, South Side, Butler, Knoch, Mohawk, New Castle, Seneca Valley, Shenango, Union, Hickory, Moniteau, Sharpsville, Slippery Rock, Wilmington, Fox Chapel, Plum, Riverview, Burrell, Franklin Regional, Ligonier Valley, Norwin, Avonworth, Deer Lakes, Hampton, North Allegheny, North Hills, Mt. Lebanon, Montour, Moon, South Fayette, Sto-Rox, West Allegheny, Baldwin, Keystone Oaks, Thomas Jefferson and Upper St. Clair.

For more information on Unified bocce through Special Olympics Unified Sports, visit specialolympicspa.org.

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Beaver, Bethel Park, Central Valley, Chartiers Valley, Ellwood City, Gateway, Pine-Richland, Shaler, South Park