Around USA Games: Team Indiana Wraps Up Competition

Team Indiana finished the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games in Minnesota on June 26, as basketball, bocce and swimming competitions concluded and bowling and golf received awards.

Basketball

The Indiana and Florida Unified teams met in the first game of USA Games with Indiana winning 47-41 on June 22, and Indiana took the bronze medal game four days later with a 40-32 victory over Florida.

Indiana, composed of nine athletes and Unified partners from Boone County and one athlete from Shelby County, finished USA Games with a 3-2 record. Florida went 0-5.

In the gold medal game, Texas defeated Maryland 48-30. Texas finished 4-1, and Maryland went 3-2.

Bocce

After completing singles and Unified play earlier in the week, Indiana’s two athletes and two Unified partners came together for Unified team play June 26.

Athletes Kurtis Atkinson and Michelle Hostetler and Unified partners Jenna Pugh and Kevin Pugh, all of Jay County, opened with a 10-3 win against Alaska. They then built a 4-1 lead in their second match, but Arkansas rallied for an 8-5 win. In their third game, Minnesota won 16-4. Then in the playoff round, Minnesota won 12-4, giving Indiana fourth place.

Golf

Indiana’s Alise Hazelett and her mother, Donna Hazelett, of Allen County earned gold medals for winning their division of Unified golf. Their rounds were 70, 68 and 67.

Individually, Eli Hightshue of Johnson County won a bronze medal in his division, carding nine-hole rounds of 52 and 41, and Charlotte Miller of Washington Township received a participation medal in her division, shooting 77 and 78.

Swimming

Kendra Franklin of Ripley-Ohio-Dearborn Counties was the sole Indiana swimmer to compete June 26, and she made big waves.

In the finals of the 100-yard individual medley, she earned gold with a lifetime-best time of 1:31.10. Her previous best was 1:33.11 in the preliminaries June 25.