The Monticello Sages baseball team has a very special opportunity every spring to raise awareness for not only someone in our community, but also someone in our schools, and a big part of the baseball team.
Wade Jones, the son of baseball head coach Chris Jones, was diagnosed with Cri-Du-Chat syndrome at four months old. Cri-Du-Chat syndrome is caused by a missing piece of the fifth chromosome. It is also a very rare occurrence, happening in just one in every 50,000 babies born. Because the syndrome is caused by the deletion of part of the fifth chromosome, the day of awareness for Cri-Du-Chat is May 5th. As this is right in the heat of baseball season, the Sages are always delighted to represent Wade on his special day.
The Sages baseball team was set up to play St. Joseph-Ogden, a top ranked team in the state on May 5th. The game was a highly anticipated matchup, and though SJO won 4-2, it was uplifting to see both the Sages and Spartans wearing striped socks to show their support and spread awareness.
The game started with Wade Jones throwing out the first pitch, and then the game got underway. About what it means to him to compete in the 5p- game, senior and first baseman Russ Brown stated, “It means the world to play in the game. I grew up watching Wade throw out the first pitch, and getting to be playing in that game is amazing.”
The game itself was just the bookend to a full week of 5P- awareness throughout the district. There were five themed dress up days to represent Cri-Du-Chat and Wade’s favorite things.
Head Coach Chris Jones said, “It just goes to show what a great community and great school district we are in and that people will add more responsibility to their plates to try to put together something that is truly special to our family. It also raises great awareness and we are able to send money to the 5p- Society to help continue spreading that awareness of Cri-Du-Chat and 5p-.”
MHS Pep Club sponsor, Mrs. Stetson, really emphasizes the importance of 5p- Awareness Week. “I would say it is important because what I’ve learned working with kids is they love the giving back aspect of it, and so when we were trying to figure out something to do in the spring time it was kind of a no-brainer to do something with 5p. It was already established here, but how do we make it bigger? So, I think for the kids it is the fact that they all know Wade, and they all know Coach Jones, and it’s just one of those that feels really good because you know what you are raising awareness for affects people you know.”
Having the support of Monticello definitely helps and every donation and everyone that participated in 5p- Awareness Week are greatly appreciated.
Staff Writer, Andrew Neef
neean25@sages.us
The Sage Informer 
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