INDIANAPOLIS — Jackson County had 15 athletes compete in the Special Olympics Indiana bowling state tournament, and eight of them returned home with medals.

The gold medalists, placing first in their divisions during the tournament Dec. 4 at Western Bowl in Indianapolis, were Elijah Noble, Nevaeh Ackeret and Becky Klosterman.

Noble’s game scores were 79, 86 and 126. He entered with an average of 90.

When asked if his favorite part of the day was bowling strikes and spares or getting the gold medal, Noble said it was receiving the gold medal.

Ackeret, at 13 the youngest of the 15 competitors, beat her average of 51 in all three games, rolling 53, 66 and 79.

“I tried to make sure I looked at the arrows on the floor before I threw my ball. I think that helped me knock down more pins,” she said.

Ackeret said she liked being able to compete against people her age.

“I was shocked when I won first place. It made happy,” she said.

Klosterman has competed in the bowling state tournament several times over her years in Special Olympics, but this was her first time winning a gold medal.

She, too, bowled better than her average of 71. Her game scores were 80, 113 and 95.

“I just think I did really good,” Klosterman said. “I had done a lot of practicing. We had a lot of practices, and it just got me really concentrating more how to roll the ball down the middle of the lane.”

She said she enjoyed being around other athletes from around the state, and receiving gold topped off a great day.

“Oh, it was great. My mom is going to be happy,” Klosterman said, smiling.

Jackson County had second-place finishers in Averie Brennan, Montana Casto and Dale Hickman.

Continuing a trend among the team, Brennan performed better than her average, posting game scores of 95, 87 and 73.

“I had some gutters and some mistakes, but other than that, I feel like I did pretty well,” she said.

Of earning a silver medal, she said, “I’m really happy about it. I’m just so happy about it. That’s all I can say. I loved it. I had a lot of fun. I had a really great time.”

Casto was happy with his improvement from his last time bowling for Jackson County in 2019 when he placed sixth in his division at the Area 2 tournament but didn’t qualify for state. This year, he placed first and then backed that up with a silver-medal showing at state.

“I had a lot of fun,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if you win or lose. It’s just to have fun and show good sportsmanship.”

Casto noticed the step up in competition at the state tournament.

“In Clarksville, I was happy (placing first), and I came up here, had a challenge, just to have fun, tell people good luck and make friends,” he said. “I am happy to get a silver medal.”

At state, Hickman improved along the way, rolling games of 84, 101 and 115. He entered with an average of 97.

He received a medal at state for the first time.

“Amazing. My very first silver medal at state bowling,” he said. “I think everybody did a pretty good job.”

The other medalists were Derrick Martin and Donald Bennethum.

Martin was in the same division as Klosterman and placed third, and Bennethum also earned bronze in his division.

“The first game was not good. I thought that I might finish fourth or fifth,” Martin said. “The third game, it was a little bit better. I am happy getting third.”

Earning ribbons for fourth place were Tim Ashburn and Rob Smith, while Dennis England placed fifth, Roger Hanner finished sixth in his division and Cassie Brock, Joya Buddo and Alysha Sandlin all earned ribbons for seventh place.

“No matter what place, it was an awesome tourney day,” Sandlin said. “It was a lot of fun for all of us and for our community, and it will help us out.”

The Jackson County bowlers advanced to state after competing in the Area 2 tournament Nov. 6 at Blackiston Bowl in Clarksville. The gold medalists were Ashburn, Noble, Brock and Casto. Silver medalists were Sandlin, Smith, Ackeret, England and Hickman, while Klosterman and Martin won bronze, and Buddo, Hanner, Bennethum and Brennan all finished fourth.

Jackson County was coached by Jim Shepherd.