The Boothbay Special Olympians had an impressive showing at the 2015 Summer Games held at the University of Maine at Orono June 5-7.

Approximately 2,500 athletes came from all over Maine to compete. Attending the games for Boothbay were 18 athletes along with five student helpers.

Competing were Adam Jackimovicz, Vincent Giles, Valerie Giles, Deshawn “The Beast" Averill, John “Piper's Son” Rankin, Thomas Wilcox, Matthew Hyson, Amber Hyson, Chloe Desjardins, Blake Chadwick, Grace Giles, Ronda LeConte, Brenda LeConte, Peter Brewster, Matt Farnham, Donny Dunning, Joey Ranco and Danny Miller. Athlete Royce Rogers also attended but was too young to participate.

Helpers included Dylan Geyer, Christy Tozier, Lisa Palowski, Sinead Miller and Ellison Boord.

In total, the athletes brought home 16 golds, 14 silvers, 15 bronzes, six 4th places, five 5th places, seven 6th places, and two 7th places.

Jackimovicz placed fifth in the shot put, second in the running long jump, and first in the 400 and the relay.

Vincent Giles placed first in the shot put and 200, and second in the 50 and relay.

Valerie Giles placed second in the running long jump and third in the shot put, 400, and relay.

Averill placed first in the shot put, running long jump and 400, and third in the relay.

Rankin placed second in the relay and 50 and third in the 200 and running long jump.

Wilcox placed first in the running long jump and relay, second in the 400, and third in the shot put.

Matthew Hyson placed third in the 200, fourth in the shot put, and fifth in the running long jump.

Amber Hyson placed second in the shot put, third in the relay, fifth in the running long jump and sixth in the 400.

Chloe Desjardins placed first in the shot put and running long jump, second in the relay, and fifth in the 400.

Blake Chadwick placed third in softball, fourth in the 200, and sixth in the running long jump.

Grace Giles placed first in the shot put, running long jump and 400, and second in the relay.

For adult athletes, Peter Brewster placed third in the relay, fourth in the running long jump and 400, and seventh in the shot put.

Ronda LeConte placed first in the running long jump, second in the 400, third in the relay and fourth in the shot put.

Brenda LeConte placed first in the relay and sixth in the shot put.

Matt Farnham placed second in the 400, third in the running long jump and relay, and sixth in the shot put.

Dunning placed first in the running long jump, second in the 300, third in the relay and sixth in the shot put.

Miller placed third in the relay, sixth in the shot put and 400, and seventh in the running long jump.

Joey Ranco placed first in the relay, second in the 800, fourth in the shot put and fifth in the running long jump.

“It was one of our best showings ever,” Coach Toby LeConte said. “I'm really impressed with Joey, getting second place in the 800, and Grace and Deshawn who each got three gold medals.”

On Friday the team participated in the opening ceremonies, where their theme was “Don't Rain on My Parade.” They had the song by Barbra Streisand playing, while they twirled colorful umbrellas and carried a banner made by Carol Deetjen, the former art teacher at BRES who retired in 2012.

“We should have won,” Toby LeConte said. “We had the best routine and I'm really proud of them.”

On Saturday athletes got to meet the local police departments and check out the cruisers and Segways used by the department. A helicopter was planning on landing, but the weather proved too windy. That night was the dance. The band Motor Booty Affair played at the Alfond Arena in Orono for 90 minutes straight.

“They (the athletes) danced their brains out,” LeConte said. “They found all their old friends from Special Olympics and had a fantastic time. And the band was amazing.”