By Kyle Coppola
Mount Dora Students Win Gold at Special Olympic State Games
MOUNT DORA, Fla.— Two students from Triangle Elementary School in Mount Dora made history for Lake County at the Special Olympics Florida State Games, held recently at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World.
Jayden Valadez Delgado and Brooklyn Aiken were the only athletes from Lake County Schools to qualify for the state-level track and field competition — and both delivered standout performances.
Aiken sprinted to victory in the 50-meter run and also earned gold in the tennis ball throw, bringing home two first-place medals.
Valadez Delgado added to Lake County’s success, capturing first place in the tennis ball throw and finishing fourth overall in the 100-meter run.
“We are extremely proud of them,” said Tiffany Dickson, Mental Health Liaison at Triangle Elementary. “Their hard work, determination, and positive spirit represent the best of our school and community.”
The Special Olympics Florida State Games bring together athletes from across the state to celebrate inclusion, perseverance, and athletic achievement. For Triangle Elementary, this year’s event was a moment of pride and inspiration. We are so proud of Jayden and Brooklyn! Way to go!
Kyle Coppola was born in Newton, Massachusetts and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communications from Curry College in 2016. After traveling to Florida on a family vacation, he decided he could not get enough of the warm weather and made the move from snowy Massachusetts to central Florida 8 years ago.
For the last decade Kyle has gained valuable experience in social media content creation, marketing and sales, writing, video production, sports announcing and even broadcasting for local radio stations, such as FM 102.9 in The Villages and FM 91.5 in Massachusetts. Every year he volunteers at The Villages Charter High School as a play-by-play sports announcer for the football games as well as a public address announcer for the basketball games, including the annual Battle at The Villages Tournament.
Outside the office Kyle is a husband and father to two beautiful girls along with their cat. In his spare time he likes to spend time with his family, travel, play golf and swim. He is also a huge sports junkie and even bigger motorsports fan and loves to attend racing events when he can.
