Music blared over the speakers. Crowds of students were decked out in Bomber blue. Cheers erupted as the athletes were introduced — it was a classic pep rally at Palmerton Area High School on Friday.

However the athletes who were recognized won’t be competing for PIAA titles this spring, they are members of Carbon County Special Olympics.

The high school students decided to recognize the athletes during their spring pep rally after they chose the organization for their spring pep rally fundraiser.

“It was great having them all show up today, it’s what we really wanted,” said senior Cody Green. “It was a great honor and opportunity for me to meet them all.”

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The school does a “class war” fundraiser for each pep rally. The classes see who can raise the most money for a worthy cause, with bragging rights on the line.

This time, they chose the Special Olympics, to support science teacher Jeanne Knepper and her daughter Colleen, a Special Olympics athlete.

Students collected money on their lunch breaks, they went around to classrooms, and some even gave up to $60 of their own money, student council adviser Joshua Nenscel said.

Between the four classes, they raised a total of $908.36.

“We only thought we would raise $500 or so. To our surprise, we had over $900, which was more than we could possibly want, which we were all really happy about,” Green said.

As part of the fundraiser, they decided to bring the special Olympics athletes out during the pep rally. The students cheered them, and the athletes beamed with pride as they crossed the gym floor.

“They ran out, they were excited, it was a good experience for everyone involved,” Nenscel said.

Special Olympics athletes Luke Bynon, Nick Boone, Shane Ahner, Delina Rodrigues, Michelle Bock, Matt Anthony, Calvin Craig, Colleen Knepper and Carl Klager all ran out onto the court to the cheers of the gathered students.

Ahner, who participates in sports like bowling, track and powerlifting, said the best part of the day was having fun with his friends.

Special Olympics parents said the money would be a welcome boost for the organization as they fund their local programs as well as travel to a statewide competition at Penn State. The next event for Carbon County Special Olympics is May 19 at the Jim Thorpe Area High School track.