Have you heard about Raven Cato? This 2014 Mt. Hebron High School graduate is the toast of the town at Special Olympics Maryland competitions.Chosen as the August Special Olympics Maryland athlete of the month, the 21-year-old has been racking up medals in basketball, track and field and bowling.I asked her mom, Marian Williams-Cato, how many medals this young superstar has won in her four years with SOMD. "A lot," she chuckled. "We have a bag of them."The Ellicott City resident was introduced to sports at Mt. Hebron High School via the allied sports program — competitive games designed for students with disabilities —where she excelled in soccer, softball, bowling, track and field and basketball."I don't know a sport Raven doesn't like," said her mom, who gives credit to the allied sports program and her high school coach Patricia Ewart for nurturing her daughter's interest in sports.Cato was quick to name coach Ewart as "the person I look up to " in the SOMD August athlete of the month video posted on the organization's website.Cato's current coach, SOMD senior head of track and fieldShirley Duhaney, trains her for the individual and relay 4 x 100 and 4 x 200 races held at Towson every summer. Cato serves as anchor on the relay teams.Impressed by Cato's excitement and enthusiasm when competing and her dedication to the sport off the field, Special Olympics Maryland's Howard County Area Director Bob Baker nominated her for beginner Global Messenger, a SOMD program that teaches athletes to be leaders in their everyday life.Global messengers represent SOMD and its home county at various public speaking engagements statewide, and sometimes even nationally and globally.According to her mom, Cato gave her first speech last month as a Global Messenger at the Howard County Invitational that brings together athletes from around the state to compete.Not one to rest on her laurels, Cato is also a thespian. She performs with Columbia Center for Theatrical Arts Broadway Kids & Teens, an outreach program for special needs youth where she's landed the plum role of Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. Currently, she's in rehearsals for a new show that will debut in October."As long as my daughter finds all of her activities fun, I'm happy," remarked Cato's mom.When Cato is not giving interviews or training for competitions or rehearsing for a musical, her mother says "you can catch her outside playing football with her two brothers." Yes, football. It seems there may be yet another sport in Cato's future.Good luck Raven Cato. Keep up the good work.