Sanders County athletes returned home Friday with nearly 75 medals after a day at the Montana Special Olympics Glacier Area Games in Kalispell.

The Little Bitterroot Wildhorses of Plains and the Sanders County Superhawks of Thompson Falls and Trout Creek took part in the Special Olympics track and field competition at Legends Field in Kalispell.

The Little Bitterroot Services had 12 men and eight women at the competition while the Superhawks had two men, a boy and a girl there all day. The Little Bitterroot team also took part in the bowling competition at Bigfork after the track and field competition, collecting almost 60 medals. Only one member of the Wildhorses participated in the golf competition, also held in Kalispell.

"I was very proud of them. They did even better than I thought they would," said Andy Ibarra, head coach for the Wildhorses. Nearly every member participated in three or four of the dozen track and field events, which included the softball and turbo javelin throw, the 50-, 100- and 400-meter walks, the 10- and 25-meter assisted walks, the 10- and 25-meter manual wheelchair races, and the 50-, 100- and 200-meter dashes. The entire team took part in the bowling competition, said Ibarra. He said the team, which ranged in age from 18 to 68, collected about 30 first place medals. The Wildhorses have been competing in the Glacier Area Games every year since 2010.

Only 24-year-old Ben Armstrong, who's been with the team five years, took part in the golfing competition and won a gold medal for his score of 80 on the 18-hole golf course. Donald Lord, 33, had the highest bowling game with a score of 144. The highest woman bowler was Donae Frost, 42, with a score of 86. Frost was one of two on the team who bowled from a wheelchair using a ramp. Frost also nabbed a gold in the 25-meter wheelchair race.

Lord and Kaleb Young, 25, were the only two to compete in the turbo javelin throw. Young took a gold in his class with a throw of 8.4 meters. Lord's results were unavailable.

More than 260 athletes from 14 different teams from throughout Montana showed up for the Glacier Area Games, which began at 9 a.m. Friday and finished shortly before 2 p.m.

"They tried their hardest and accomplished what they went there for. Even if they didn't win, they knew they tried their best," said Ibarra, who took over the coaching position this year. "He really helped me in my form and it helped me throw farther," said Willie Peachie, 55, who competed in the 50 and 100-meter dashes and the softball throw, where he threw for 11.8 meters. The farthest softball throw for the Plains team went to Young, who reached 54.3 meters.

The Sanders County Superhawks took away a dozen medals in the Glacier Area Games. The team, coached by Karen Knutson and Rhonda Flemmer, included Justin Knutson, 35, Shawn McKahan, 30, Brooke Flemmer, 9, all of Thompson Falls, and Cody James Page, 12, of Trout Creek.

Knutson took three gold medals and was the only participant in the wheelchair shot put competition. His longest throw was three meters. Flemmer took two gold medals and one silver. McKahan collected three gold medals and Page finished with two golds and a silver.

Ed Moreth

CROSSING THE LINE – Little Bitterroot Wildhorse Donea Frost displays tears of emotion as she finishes the 25-meter manual wheelchair race, nabbing first place and a gold medal.

"I thought they were amazing," said Knutson, who's been the team coach for eight years. "They absolutely enjoyed it. It was a blast for them. They do it just to have fun and they like the Area Games because they fit in and people aren't starring at them," she said. Knutson will be taking her team to the Special Olympics State Games at Great Falls May 14-17.