Bethel Park student qualifies for Special Olympics USA Games

Forget Disney World — Molly Mathias is going to Minnesota.

She was in for the surprise of her life when she and other members of Bethel Park’s unified indoor bocce team took a trip to Pittsburgh’s Southside Works on the morning of Jan. 28.

That’s when the Bethel Park senior learned she will travel to the University of Minnesota next June as the only female power lifter representing Team Pennsylvania in the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games.

Word of her selection — made at the corporate office of Special Olympics supporter American Eagle Outfitters — was accompanied by boisterous applause, cheering and the presentation of a giant novelty “boarding pass” to Molly to commemorate the achievement.

“Molly had no idea about this announcement until that moment, and it was really special to have her teammates and her friends here,” said Joe Villani, her bocce squad’s head coach. “And they are truly friends. You saw that with the tears of her friends when they heard that announcement, sharing her excitement with her.”

She qualified for the USA Games by winning gold medals in bench press, squat and deadlift at Special Olympics Pennsylvania’s Fall Festival in November at Villanova University.

Her mother, Kim, explained that Molly plays baseball in the Miracle League of South Hills, which offers an offseason training program at TELEO Performance in Bethel Park.

“They saw that Molly was really interested in the weightlifting part of it, and really loved it and seemed to come alive with it,” Kim said.

TELEO owners John and Heather Dennis joined the festivities at American Eagle, accompanied by Jeff Lippert, another trainer at the fitness center.

“They recognized how much Molly loved coming to those workouts and how passionate she was about it, and how good she was and how strong she was in certain lifts,” her father Mike Mathias said.

Molly’s specialty is the deadlift, which involves picking up a weight from the ground and hoisting it to hip level. In that event, she has achieved 88 kilograms, or 194 pounds.

“She is strong in power lifting and just a strong individual in person, and we couldn’t be more proud of how she’s flourishing,” Villani said.

As the high school principal and assistant to the superintendent for the school district, he complimented efforts toward inclusion by Bethel Park educators, including fellow bocce coaches Matt Richert and Anthony Piscioneri.

Villani further acknowledged special education teacher and transition coordinator Julie Hernandez, who sponsors the integrative Best Buddies group at the high school.

“She does a lot of work connecting our students with these opportunities,” he said.

Regarding opportunities to participate in Special Olympics, American Eagle Outfitters backs the nonprofit through its philanthropic arm, the Aerie Real Foundation. The foundation most recently awarded a $100,000 grant to support athletes across the nation, according to Marcie Eberhart, American Eagle senior director of corporate giving and social responsibility.

Thousands of them will compete in 19 sports at the USA Games, including 100 from Pennsylvania.

“Molly’s the first one to find out, and we’ll be announcing them over the next few months in preparation for training camp,” Eberhart said.

Then the athletes will spend several months getting ready for the big event in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.

“Being the mom, I always look for: Is it safe for Molly? We’re going to make sure that she’s doing all of her lifts safely,” Kim Mathias said. “And we’re excited. We’ve never been to Minnesota. We think we’re going to make a family vacation out of it.”

For more information, visit 2026specialolympicsusagames.org.