TRAVERSE CITY -- Hundreds of athletes have descended on the Grand Traverse Resort for the 2013 Special Olympic winter games.
There are 12 athletes total from Shiawassee and Saginaw counties.
There are plenty of athletes have been here before but there are two women from Saginaw County who are giving.
Cheryl Quast and Debby Lagalo represent Saginaw. Debby is a fun-loving spirit, you can tell by her panda hat. Cheryl is known as the cheerleader of the group and is always there to lend her teammates a helping hand.
Both women are very independent. Cheryl works for a local paper. Debby works at a nursing home. They are 50 and 51 years old, respectively, and have been dedicating to these games for decades.
"My prerequisite is you have to be to every training for the season for three years. You have to earn that and you have to really want that and you have to know how to put your snow shoes on,” Area 22 snowshoe coach Trish Bronz said.
Cheryl Quast said, "It's easy. I do it myself."
"You have to practice, a lot," Debby Lagalo added.
Debby placed first Thursday in the snowshoe run, Cheryl came in fifth. They will both compete Friday in the 50 foot run.
