Special Olympics Marshall & Starke Counties - Bowling Tournament results

The Special Olympics Marshall & Starke Counties Bowling Tournament was recently held at Bowlaway Lanes in Knox.  Over 40 athletes from Marshall, Starke, and Pulaski Counties compete on December 7th.  Due to the number of athletes, they had two sessions Coached by Elizabeth Polstra and Bobby Hodge.

Over 15 volunteers participated in both sessions, which was very appreciated. A bowling Tournament of this capacity requires several volunteers. They had volunteers coaching, lane attendants, scorekeepers, award presenters, and an amazing cheer section! If you are interested in becoming a volunteer and witnessing some of the most amazing experiences of your life, please contact them. They offer many different sports to those with intellectual disabilities throughout the year.

We had several divisions for this tournament from youth juniors & seniors to men, and women's divisions.  Athletes practiced for eight weeks leading up to the tournament.

Tournament results:

1st Place ramp bowlers division 41 and 42:  Debra Kuhn and Joe Velchek

Women’s Division 32: 1st Place Brittney Riffle

Men’s Division 33:  3rd Lucas Thangam, 2nd Cash Little, 1st Christopher Rodriquez

Men’s division 35: 4th Tom Cripe, 3rd Jared Holt, 2nd David Renz, 1st Wesley Fletcher

Men’s Division 36:  3rd Kent Parker, 2nd Bryan Rans, 1st Michael Wise

Women’s Ramp Division 63: 1st Ellen Akes

Men’s Ramp Division 64:  2nd Dominic Moore, 1st Nate Stevenson,

Jr Girls Ramp Division 61:      1^st Ella Bendy

Women’s Ramp Division 62:  3rd Monika Luttman, 2nd Kathy Snyder, 1st Makayla Strickland

Senior Girls Division 51: 1st Mariah Leininger

Women’s Division 52:  6th Valerie Luby, 5th Joyce Gerard, 4th Emily Kipper, 3rd Laryn St. Germain, 2nd Denise Cole, 1st Christie Johnson

Junior Boys Division 53:  1st Xavier Lawrence 

Junior Boys Division 54:  3rd Asher Short, 2nd Gavin Gordon, 1st Jake Green

Men’s Division 56:  1st Michael Seaman

Men’s Division 57:  4th TJ Trusty, 3rd Todd Rininger, 2nd Brandon Head, 1st Donovan Newton

Women’s Division 31:  1st Samantha Hunt, 2nd Taylor Hesting (left to right)

These athletes put in the work, competed bravely, and represented Marshall and Starke Counties perfectly!  Bowling is the most popular sport with over 50 athletes practicing on Saturdays at Bowlaway Lanes.  A special thank you to Bowlaway Lanes for being an amazing host for the Special Olympics athletes.

They have already started basketball and cheer season for 2025 and will start powerlifting in just a few weeks!