Best friends take on Unified Bowling State Championship together

NORFOLK, Neb. -  The Unified Sports Special Olympics Bowling Champions will be defending their title Monday in Omaha.

"Bowling is my sport," said Dawson Reimen, Norfolk senior. "I love doing this stuff. This is the stuff that I live for."

Reimen is a player for Norfolk's Unified Bowling team.

"We're trying to get some wins going," said Reimen. "Hopefully, we can keep that up and hopefully have fun."

Not only is the team filled with talent and skill, but it's also chock-full of friends.

"They have somebody they can trust and somebody that is willing to do anything for them," said the mother of Calen Mefford, Tammy. "It's a good friendship they have. They really are good for each other and keep their spirits high."

The friendship between Dawson Reimen, Katelyn Anderson, and Calen Mefford came to life through years of living in the same neighborhood. The students hang out all the time. 

"I Face Time Calen a lot and we talk about what we are doing this weekend," Anderson said. 

The friendship isn't just valued by the students.

"It really means a lot, when you have a parent with special needs," Anderson's mother said. "Because you wonder about the friendships they have."

Because two of the three friends are seniors, this championship may be the last they will ever compete in together.

But as for as their friendship is concerned:

"These three getting to go together is something they're going to remember for the rest of their life," Tammy Mefford said. "It's a friendship that'll never be broken. It's something that they will be best friends forever."

The Nebraska Unified Bowling State Championships will be broadcast on News Channel Nebraska on Monday starting at 12:25 PM CST/11:25 AM MST.