Temple University Athletics
Owls Climb For Good Cause
11.24.12 | Men's Basketball
PHILADELPHIA -- The Temple University men's basketball team got into the spirit of giving back early this holiday season.
Instead of donating goods or gear, a handful of Owls donated their time on a Sunday morning to show their support for Special Olympians in the Philadelphia region.
They did so by racing up all 53 flights of stairs in the city's fourth-tallest building -- the BNY Mellon Center building at 17th and Market Streets.
Senior guard Khalif Wyatt, overheard talk of the event while participating in a semester-long internship at Our Brother's Place, a homeless shelter located at 9th and Hamilton Streets, and proposed the idea of participating to his teammates.
“A lady that I work with at my internship is affiliated with the Special Olympics,” he explained. “She asked me if I wanted to come and I said sure. I thought it would be cool for my teammates to come and show their support with me since I was going.”
It didn't take much convincing for this particular group.
Seven other Owls joined Wyatt to lead the day's group of Olympians, supporters and professional stairclimbers in a series of warmups.
“We got everyone loose with some jumping jacks and stretching and listened to the Special Olympics pledge before we took part in the actual stairclimb,” he said of the day's agenda.
Then the team was off to the races -- literally.
Every thirty seconds another runner got the green light and set off to conquer the 53 flights of stairs. Seems like an easy enough task for a group of well-conditioned Division-I athletes, right?
“Yeah, no,” T.J. DiLeo said with a laugh.
“It's totally different than the type of conditioning we're used to. I thought I was going to be able to jog the whole thing, but I jogged for maybe 20 flights at most and then I had to walk. I wasn't prepared for how tough it would be.”
When the group finally reached the top floor some 10 minutes after they began, they were taxed from the effort but grateful for the opportunity to be a part of the experience.
“We saw how excited the Olympians were about participating,” said Wyatt. “They were good athletes who were happy that other people were coming out to show their support.”
DiLeo recognized the immediate impact that just an hour of volunteerism on a Sunday morning can have on the lives of others.
“It doesn't take much out of our time to do something like this, to do it for a good cause and help raise money, to encourage others to stay active,” he said.
By Kami Mattioli, Owlsports.com columnist
Instead of donating goods or gear, a handful of Owls donated their time on a Sunday morning to show their support for Special Olympians in the Philadelphia region.
They did so by racing up all 53 flights of stairs in the city's fourth-tallest building -- the BNY Mellon Center building at 17th and Market Streets.
Senior guard Khalif Wyatt, overheard talk of the event while participating in a semester-long internship at Our Brother's Place, a homeless shelter located at 9th and Hamilton Streets, and proposed the idea of participating to his teammates.
“A lady that I work with at my internship is affiliated with the Special Olympics,” he explained. “She asked me if I wanted to come and I said sure. I thought it would be cool for my teammates to come and show their support with me since I was going.”
It didn't take much convincing for this particular group.
Seven other Owls joined Wyatt to lead the day's group of Olympians, supporters and professional stairclimbers in a series of warmups.
“We got everyone loose with some jumping jacks and stretching and listened to the Special Olympics pledge before we took part in the actual stairclimb,” he said of the day's agenda.
Then the team was off to the races -- literally.
Every thirty seconds another runner got the green light and set off to conquer the 53 flights of stairs. Seems like an easy enough task for a group of well-conditioned Division-I athletes, right?
“Yeah, no,” T.J. DiLeo said with a laugh.
“It's totally different than the type of conditioning we're used to. I thought I was going to be able to jog the whole thing, but I jogged for maybe 20 flights at most and then I had to walk. I wasn't prepared for how tough it would be.”
When the group finally reached the top floor some 10 minutes after they began, they were taxed from the effort but grateful for the opportunity to be a part of the experience.
“We saw how excited the Olympians were about participating,” said Wyatt. “They were good athletes who were happy that other people were coming out to show their support.”
DiLeo recognized the immediate impact that just an hour of volunteerism on a Sunday morning can have on the lives of others.
“It doesn't take much out of our time to do something like this, to do it for a good cause and help raise money, to encourage others to stay active,” he said.
By Kami Mattioli, Owlsports.com columnist
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