ABERDEEN, S.D. – Aberdeen Central High School student Zach Bau can remember the moment he learned he was chosen to be an Olympian.
Bau got the letter notifying him in the middle of the day at school.
“I opened it, and I was reading the text in the beginning paragraph and realized I got selected, and I was just freaking out,” he said.
Bau and fellow CHS student Dannica Sheets were both selected to join South Dakota’s track and field team at the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games, and they are now only a few months away from competing. Joining them will be Central Special Education Teacher Peggy Heermann, who was chosen to coach South Dakota’s Unified Bowling Team.
The Special Olympics USA Games will take place June 20-26 at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. The event will draw an estimated 3,000 athletes, 1,500 coaches, 10,000 volunteers and 75,000 fans from all 50 states, according to the USA Games website.
Bau is running the 100-meter and 200-meter races. Sheets is running the 1-mile and 2-mile races. Both athletes are also part of the 4 x 100-meter relay team.
The students are looking forward to the USA Games with a mixture of nerves and excitement.
“I just can’t wait to do this,” said Bau, a sophomore.
What are they most looking forward to?
“Probably the attention I’m getting and the fact that I’m representing the whole state,” he said.
For Sheets, a senior, it’s “Representing Central High School because this is technically my last year.”
While this is a first for the students, it’s Heermann’s third USA Games. Previously, she coached CHS student Gabriella Hoffman, who competed in basketball in 2022. Heermann also coached at the 2018 USA Games in Seattle.
The experience, she said, was “honestly quite incredible.”
In Seattle, for example, there were people lined up in the airport for them when they got off the plane, and people were also lining the streets when they walked from the University of Washington dorms to the opening ceremony.
She expects there will be similar fanfare in Minneapolis, as well as nationally known musical artists performing.
Team South Dakota athletes and coaches will travel together by bus to Minneapolis, Heermann said, and will stay in the dorms at the University of Minnesota.
“That’s the best part—staying in the dorms,” Bau said, adding that it will give him a little taste of what college life is going to be like.
For now, the students have recently started preparing and training as the weather is getting nicer. While athletes are mainly training individually right now, they will get a chance to practice together—including at the Southeast Area Tournament in Brandon, which will provide Bau and Sheets an opportunity to compete with their USA Games Team members.
Also this month, Jersey Mike’s locations statewide are raising funds for Special Olympics. In Aberdeen, the local Jersey Mike’s is featuring life-sized cardboard cutouts of Bau and Sheets, with a meet and greet event planned for March 25 from approximately 5:30-7 p.m.
For other athletes who might be nervous about competing, Bau and Sheets offered advice.
Sheets said she stays focused by listening to music.
“Don’t think about it before your race,” she said. “Don’t freak out.”
Said Bau, “The only opinion that matters is yours.”
About the Aberdeen Public School District
The Aberdeen Public School District provides a comprehensive educational program to approximately 4,200 students in grades K-12, with a mission of empowering all students to succeed in a changing world. Our students receive the knowledge and skills necessary to reach their potential in a global community through high expectations of academic achievement; diverse educational opportunities; and community involvement in a safe, supportive environment. Learn more at aberdeen.k12.sd.us.