ORLANDO  | Bishop Moore and Morning Star Catholic Schools’ Unified Team won regional and state championships for the first time.

Coming together as one, the track and field team is made up of equal students from Bishop Moore Catholic High School and Morning Star Catholic School. Unified events are sponsored through the Florida High School Athletic Association and Special Olympics with the goal of promoting social inclusion through shared sports training and competition experiences. The idea is to bring together people with and without intellectual disabilities to foster friendship, understanding and inclusion.

According to Carolista Ware, coach for the Unified Team, there are two districts that take the top 10 to 12 teams combined to the regional meet, which creates about 22 teams in the region. The region meet took the top eight teams to the state meet at Lake Minneola High School, April 29, 2025. Established last year, the team won in the regional competition, and was left yearning for a state win. This year, the team came back proving their hard work paid off.

“These athletes have worked together since February to represent teamwork and unity,” Ware wrote in an email. “This was a collective effort between Morning Star and Bishop Moore campuses. It took hard work and the discipline to focus on practices and be dedicated. As coaches we focused on emphasizing the importance of following routines. We encouraged the athletes to embrace challenges, focus on the process, not just the outcome. These athletes met the challenges of competition and celebrated each other’s successes as one team unified.”

Unified Track is a Varsity level sport sponsored by the Florida High School Athletic Association and Special Olympics.

Click here to watch a reel of the pep rally.

Staff Report, May 08, 2025