Chartiers Valley High School’s unified bocce team is returning to the state playoffs — the second time in four years.
The unified bocce team is one of eight teams to qualify for the state championship, held Thursday, March 19, at the Giant Center in Hershey.
The team has competed at the state level before. CV finished in seventh place at states in 2023.
Coaches Vickie Cushey and Mary Ellen Peduzzi said CV has two bocce teams.
Team 1 went 7-3 in the regular season, and Team 2 finished 6-4. Team 1 entered playoffs as the No. 3 seed, and Team 2 missed out on playoffs after a tiebreaker.
In the divisional round of playoffs Feb. 26, Chartiers Valley defeated Bethel Park but lost to Peters Township. CV earned a wild-card berth and advanced to the regional round as the No. 8 seed.
The regional competition was held March 3 at RIZE Sports in Leetsdale.
At regionals, Chartiers Valley made the most of its second chance against top-seeded Peters Township and won. CV later defeated Knoch in the semifinals and Somerset in the final to qualify for the PIAA/Special Olympics Unified Bocce State Championship.
The coaches said having a unified bocce team at the district has been a benefit to the school, as it forms bonds between regular education students and special education students.
Members of Chartiers Valley’s Team 1 include Katie Daley, Ben Heinzl, Tony Montana, Babu Sagdullayev, Logan Vaites, Luke Waldron, Amanda Wyandt and Sophia Bragano.