Special Olympics Indiana Announces 2026 USA Games Rosters
More than 100 athletes, Unified partners, coaches and support staff have been selected to represent Indiana at the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games on June 20-26, 2026, in Minneapolis.
The USA Games include 16 sports with Team Indiana competing in 10: basketball, bocce, bowling, cornhole, flag football, golf, powerlifting, soccer, swimming and track and field.
“Congratulations to all of the Team Indiana members, and good luck at the 2026 USA Games in Minnesota,” said Katie Hilt, Team Indiana Head of Delegation and Special Olympics Indiana Director of Sports and Competition. “We look forward to competing on a national stage and showing the country all of the talented Special Olympics athletes who call Indiana home.”
Team Indiana will hold multiple training camps during the leadup to the USA Games. The initial training camp is July 25-27 at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.
The USA Games unite more than 4,000 athletes, coaches, volunteers and fans from all 50 states and the Caribbean.
Special Olympics Indiana uses sports, health, education and leadership programs to empower more than 19,000 Indiana adults and children with intellectual disabilities. Using sports as a catalyst for social change, Special Olympics highlights the abilities of people with intellectual disabilities while breaking down misperceptions and negative attitudes.
Learn more about Team Indiana here: Team Indiana – Special Olympics Indiana
Athletes and Unified partners named to Team Indiana include:
| Sport | Athlete | Unified partner | County Program |
| Basketball | Allen Flack | Boone | |
| Basketball | Ryan Hale | Boone | |
| Basketball | Alec Hurtubise | Boone | |
| Basketball | Anthony Saks | Boone | |
| Basketball | Chris Thompson | Boone | |
| Basketball | Drew Batts | Boone | |
| Basketball | Jason Dennis | Boone | |
| Basketball | Shaun Hitch | Boone | |
| Basketball | Shane Hitch | Boone | |
| Basketball | Alexander Jackson | Boone | |
| Bocce | Kurtis Atkinson | Jenna Pugh | Jay |
| Bocce | Michelle Hostetler | Kevin Pugh | Jay |
| Bowlng | Maria Segrist | Ted Seigrist | Ripley-Ohio-Dearborn |
| Bowling | Janet Roundtree | Sharon Shepherd | Madison |
| Bowling | Kody Conrad | Rachel Rosenthal | Vanderburgh |
| Bowling | Matt Colley | Nick Tedesco | Allen |
| Cornhole | Richard Newton | Deanna Niemin-Kucinski | Porter |
| Cornhole | Devin Lee | Kevin Anderson | White |
| Cornhole | Mallary Kemper | Melinda Kemper | Delaware |
| Cornhole | Martha Loper | Troy Atkinson | Jay |
| Cornhole | Christian Huber | Thomas Huber | Lake |
| Flag Football | Kyle Barton | Madison | |
| Flag Football | Emanuel Benitez | Madison | |
| Flag Football | Sam Benitez | Madison | |
| Flag Football | David Blankenship | Madison | |
| Flag Football | Josh Griffin | Madison | |
| Flag Football | Khalil Lewis | Madison | |
| Flag Football | Willie Thompson | Madison | |
| Flag Football | Derek Thurber | Madison | |
| Flag Football | Andrew Youngdale | Madison | |
| Golf | Alise Hazelett | Donna Hazelett | Allen |
| Golf | Eli Hightshue | Johnson | |
| Golf | Charlotte Miller | Marion-Washington Twp. | |
| Powerlifting | Katlin Slough | Gibson | |
| Powerlifting | Victoria Turner | Putnam | |
| Powerlifting | Liam Price | Johnson | |
| Powerlifting | Andrew Dziezak | Lake | |
| Soccer | Brady Allen | DeKalb | |
| Soccer | Ryan Bourgeois | DeKalb | |
| Soccer | Luke Eddy | Allen | |
| Soccer | Elliott Miller | Boone | |
| Soccer | Clay Skwier | DeKalb | |
| Soccer | Jonathan Snider | Hamilton | |
| Soccer | Nicholas Allen | DeKalb | |
| Soccer | Jillian Eddy | Allen | |
| Soccer | William Lengacher | DeKalb | |
| Soccer | Collin Schlatter | DeKalb | |
| Soccer | Paxton Simerman | DeKalb | |
| Soccer | Josh Whitney | DeKalb | |
| Swimming | Hunter Chaffee | Hancock | |
| Swimming | Kendra Franklin | Ripley-Ohio-Dearborn | |
| Swimming | Josh McRoberts | Johnson | |
| Swimming | Mary Renee Egly | Madison | |
| Track and Field | Shelby Baker | Benton | |
| Track and Field | Blake Buckner | Hamilton | |
| Track and Field | Nathan DeWitt | Hancock | |
| Track and Field | Alexandria Gotoh | Bartholomew-Brown-Jennings | |
| Track and Field | Andrew Hollis | Dubois | |
| Track and Field | Joseph McIntyre | Clark-Floyd | |
| Track and Field | Daniel Oehlman | Porter | |
| Track and Field | Heather Zwingleberg | Posey |
NOTE: Unified partners are individuals without an intellectual disability. Athletes and Unified partners listed side by side will compete as partners during an event. Athletes and Unified partners who appear on separate lines within a single sport compete as part of a team.
Coaches include:
- Basketball: Francis Hurtubise and Tim Noffke, Boone County
- Bocce: Heidi Bowman, Jay County
- Cornhole: Thomas Kemper, Delaware County; Ashley Current, Jay County
- Flag Football: Josh Elizondo, John Clay Sexton and Kurt Youngdale, Madison County
- Golf: Kirk Hazelett, Allen County
- Powerlifting: Shane Leisure, Madison County
- Soccer: Rob Allen, DeKalb County; Andy Hunnicutt, Bartholomew-Brown-Jennings County
- Swimming: Tori Gregory, Montgomery-Parke County; Mark Madden, Johnson County
- Track and Field: Jeff Bluethmann, Hancock County; Dominic Lancia, Allen County; Renee Parks, Barthomew-Brown-Jennings County
Support staff includes:
- Head of Delegation: Katie Hilt, Special Olympics Indiana state office
- Assistant Head of Delegation: Kevin Aders, Special Olympics Indiana state office
- Equipment Manager: Brad Elrich, Hamilton County
- Family Coordinator: Rose Teriski, Dubois County
- Training Coordinator: Ella Boyd-Strimple, Special Olympics Indiana state office
- Medical Coordinator: Stef Morgan, Tippecanoe County
- Development and Public Relations: Kelly Ries, Special Olympics Indiana state office
- Public Relations/Media Coordinators: Melony Salla, Benton County; Zach Spicer, Jackson County
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About Special Olympics Indiana
Special Olympics Indiana is a nonprofit organization that is part of the global Special Olympics movement, created by the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation for the benefit of persons with intellectual disabilities. Its vision is an inclusive world, driven by the power of sport, through which people with intellectual disabilities live active, healthy, and fulfilling lives.