Catch up with the daily Team Wisconsin action at the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games!
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MONDAY, JUNE 22 – DAY 1
Bocce brought home the first medals for Team Wisconsin with mixed doubles play Monday. The tandem of Christian Sylvester (Waunakee, Wis.) and Christina Wren (Madison, Wis.) fell to Florida, 3-7, and Colorado, 5-9, in round robin play, earning bronze in Division 4. In Division 1, the pair of Michael Berry (Dousman, Wis.) and Norma Ryan (Janesville, Wis.) had a forfeit in their pool, shifting their competition to a two-match series against Florida. The Wisconsin pair split that series but earned silver on aggregate point differential.
Powerlifting began Monday with Joshua Follen (Marshfield, Wis.) taking to Northrop Auditorium. He led off with a squat of 67.5 kg, then posted a bench press off 52.5 kg. His deadlift of 87.5 concluded his trio of lifts, earning fourth place in all three individual events plus the combination. Team Wisconsin’s powerlifting schedule will conclude with the women’s competition Wednesday.
Basketball kicked off the team competition on opening day, dropping a 26-52 contest to a very strong Southern California squad. Josh Leitner (Sturgeon Bay, Wis.) led with eight points, with Joey Riebe (West Allis, Wis.) and Isaiah Tallman (Rice Lake, Wis.) adding six apiece. Wisconsin will continue Group B play Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. against Maine (1-0).
Cornhole opened competition with singles play Monday with two matches apiece. Joe Neumann (West Salem, Wis.) went a perfect 2-0 with a 21-9 win over Florida and a 21-16 win over Texas. Will Hautamaki (La Crosse, Wis.) picked up a rare shutout win over Mississippi, 21-0. Scott Prairie (Onalaska, Wis.) knocked off a Minnesota foe 21-13 to pick up a win, as did Jacob Decker (Green Bay, Wis.) over Mississippi, 21-2.
Volleyball split its opening day slate, breezing past Alabama 2-0 (25-6, 25-13) in the tournament opener before falling to New York 0-2 (22-25, 11-25) in the nightcap. The 1-1 overall finish placed second in Group B. Wisconsin will move into Group D for Tuesday’s matchups against New Jersey (2-0) and Texas (0-2) at 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. respectively.
Swimming began preliminary heats Monday in the 50 Butterfly, 200 Freestyle, and the 4×50 Medley Relay. Those events will move into finals competition Tuesday, as well as prelims in the 50 Freestyle, 100 Freestyle, 50 Backstroke, and 100 Medley.
Track & Field preliminary heats in the 400-meter, 1500-meter, Mini-javelin, and men’s Running Long Jump took place Monday. The two running events will move to Finals Tuesday, joining prelims for the 100-meter, 200-meter, 4×100 Relay, and women’s Running Long Jump.
Golf hosted a divisioning round for Team Wisconsin’s traditional golfers and unified tandem Monday, with all four golfers hitting the links Tuesday.
Bowling also held divisioning events Monday; competition will begin with singles Tuesday.
MEDAL COUNT: Wisconsin posted its first two medals of the 2026 USA Games—both coming via Mixed Doubles on the Bocce pitch. That pair placed Team Wisconsin 16th overall after the first day of competition. Host Minnesota leads the field with six gold after Day 1, while Nebraska leads with a total of 10 medals overall.
Day 1 Recap Video (Viewable on Mobile)
TUESDAY, JUNE 23 – DAY 2
Track & Field earned Team Wisconsin’s first gold medal of the 2026 USA Games Tuesday. Kallie Saal (Wausau, Wis.) crushed the competition in Division 4 400-meter run, with a time of 1:53.26—earning the first gold for Team Wisconsin. Bobby Kuske (Whitefish Bay, Wis.) shaved more than 15 seconds off his preliminary time in the 1500-meter, finishing sixth overall with a final mark of 6:11.79. Preliminary events also took place in the women’s Running Long Jump and the 100-meter. Wednesday welcomes finals in the men’s Running Long Jump.
Swimming also earned hardware for Team Wisconsin Tuesday—both coming in the 50 Butterfly. Noelle Marks (Oconomowoc, Wis.) posted an impressive time of 40.85, and Danny Chafetz (Madison, Wis.) swam a 50.42 mark to both earn silver medals. Katrina Crow (Waukesha, Wis.) appeared in her first final of the week, finishing sixth in the 200 Freestyle with a time of 4:37.60. Wednesday’s schedule includes finals in the 4×50 Medley Relay as well as three prelim races.
Bowling completed singles competition Tuesday. Despite not officially earning their awards until later in the week, the eight bowlers combined for four medals on the day. This post will be updated when scores are officially finalized. Team Wisconsin will partner up tomorrow for mixed doubles Wednesday afternoon.
Basketball picked up its first win of the week, overwhelming Maine (1-1), 49-26. Nine different players scored for Team Wisconsin, led by 10 points apiece from Tyrone Davis (Milwaukee, Wis.) and Joshua Sprosty (Milwaukee, Wis.). Basketball (1-1) will finish Group B play Wednesday against District of Columbia (0-2).
Volleyball split its pair of matches for the second straight day, opening with a tight 22-25, 23-25 loss to an undefeated New Jersey squad before sweeping Texas, 25-15, 25-19. Team Wisconsin ends pool play with a 2-2 record overall and heads into Division 2 for the medal rounds, facing Pennsylvania Wednesday afternoon and Virginia Thursday morning.
Cornhole entered doubles preliminary action Tuesday. The unified tandem of Jennifer Fuerstenau (Beaver Dam, Wis.) and Lori Fuerstenau (Beaver Dam, Wis.) went 2-0 Tuesday, knocking off Texas 21-17, then Oklahoma 17-9. The traditional pair of Will Hautamaki (La Crosse, Wis.) and Joe Neumann (West Salem, Wis.) eked out a win over Minnesota 8-7, then handled West Virginia 21-6. Jeff Johnson (Mount Pleasant, Wis.) and Scott Prairie (Onalaska, Wis.) beat that same West Virginia team 21-9, then lost to Florida 8-21. The duo of Jacob Decker (Green Bay, Wis.) and Dominick Mack (Racine, Wis.) dropped both prelim matches. All athletes will return to singles play for the medal rounds Wednesday.
Severe weather altered Golf’s afternoon preliminary rounds Tuesday. Team Wisconsin will hit the links for a second round of divisioning with all four golfers teeing off before noon Wednesday morning.
Powerlifting was idle today, with Team Wisconsin’s Katelynn Robinson (Ashland, Wis.) taking to the stage Wednesday.
Bocce was idle today and will return to singles play Wednesday morning.
MEDAL COUNT: Wisconsin added a gold and two silvers to its medal haul in Day 2, currently in 23rd place overall. Host Minnesota leads the field with 19 gold medals and overall count with 35 after two days complete.
Day 2 Recap Video (Viewable on Mobile)
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24 – DAY 3
Swimming had an incredible showing in the pool Wednesday, securing two gold medals in the 50 Freestyle races. Danny Chafetz (Madison, Wis.) surged to gold in Division 2 with a time of 40.20—more than three seconds off his preliminary time. Logan Gdowski (Slinger, Wis.) echoed that effort, shaving two seconds off his preliminary time with a 32.01 mark—winning Division 5. Team Wisconsin’s 4×50 Medley Relay also improved in its final—five seconds faster in fact—finishing fifth in Division 2 with a time of 3:05.54. Three preliminary events highlight Thursday’s slate with finals taking place Friday.
Cornhole added its own haul of hardware Wednesday, finishing up singles competition with the medal rounds. In Division F, Jeff Johnson (Mount Pleasant, Wis.) defeated teammate Will Hautamaki (La Crosse, Wis.) in the opening round, then beat West Virginia to take home gold. Will would finish with bronze. Joe Neumann (West Salem, Wis.) also defeated teammate Jacob Decker (Green Bay, Wis.) in the opening round of Division D, and both won their next round matchups to secure gold and bronze respectively. Jennifer Fuerstenau (Beaver Dam, Wis.) knocked off Kansas in the consolation match to bring home silver medal in Division G. Scott Prairie (Onalaska, Wis.) and Dominick Mack (Racine, Wis.) dropped both matches Wednesday, brining home bronze in Division C and A respectively.
Powerlifting returned to the program Wednesday for Team Wisconsin with Katelynn Robinson (Ashland, Wis.) taking the stage at Northrop Auditorium. Consistency was key—her squat of 87.5 kg, her bench press of 52.5 kg, and her deadlift of 95 kg were second-best in her weight class across the board. All three events, plus the combination total of 235 kg, meant four silver medals added to the trophy case for Robinson and Team Wisconsin Powerlifting.
Bocce featured the women’s singles competition Wednesday with a pair of Team Wisconsin athletes taking to the pitch. Norma Ryan (Janesville, Wis.) went 2-1 in Division 4 pool play, securing an important head-to-head tiebreaker victory to leap into the championship matchup. In the gold medal game, she would fall for the second time to a very strong New Mexico opponent, but still earned a silver medal. Christina Wren (Madison, Wis.) went 1-2 in Division 11, winning a thrilling fifth place match over Wyoming, 7-6. The gents take center stage Thursday with more singles play.
Track & Field saw a singular final for Team Wisconsin Wednesday, and it was quite a successful one! Logan Peterson (Milton, Wis.) posted a Running Long Jump mark of 3.40 meters—up from a 3.13 effort in the preliminaries—and finishing in silver medal position. Prelims in the 4×100 Relay and the 200-meter also took place Wednesday. Finals for Team Wisconsin Thursday include the women’s Running Long Jump, men’s Mini Javelin, and the 100-meter and 200-meter runs.
Volleyball picked up a big playoff victory Wednesday, defeating Pennsylvania in straight sets 25-15, 25-19. Seven players recorded a service ace in the victory, including one from serving specialist Cindy Bentley (Milwaukee, Wis.). Dustin Scott (Grafton, Wis.) led the offense with eight kills, with Luke Smith (Manitowoc, Wis.) adding two. Team Wisconsin (3-2 overall) advances to the Division 2 championship match Thursday morning against Virginia (3-1-1).
Bowling at USA Games seems to operate a day behind, with doubles competition taking place Wednesday. However, Tuesday’s singles results were finalized overnight and awarded Wednesday evening. On the women’s side, Julia MacArthur (Hudson, Wis.) took home bronze in Division 5 with a 379 series, edging teammate Grace Keller’s (Oshkosh, Wis.) 357 fifth place finish. In Division 10, Missy Baldwin (Minocqua, Wis.) used a strike on her final ball in the 10th frame to leapfrog into a third place bronze by a single pin. Tabitha Hyde (Eau Claire, Wis.) also finished eighth place against a tough Division 3 field. All four men finished in the top four of respective singled divisions Tuesday. Nathan Stygar (Eau Claire, Wis.) posted a series of 493 in Division 5—just three pins away from gold. Dalton Schulz (Appleton, Wis.) bowled among the best in the field, finishing bronze with an impressive 595 series. Travis Doire (Lancaster, Wis.) also earned bronze in Division 7 with a 426 series, and Preston Bjarnarson (Manitowoc, Wis.) finished fourth with a score of 459 in Division 4. Team competition is on deck Thursday.
Basketball finished off Group B play Wednesday with a second consecutive decisive victory, knocking off District of Columbia, 41-20. Josh Sprosty (Milwaukee, Wis.) led the team with 13 points, including three 3-pointers. Seven players scored in the game, including first tournament points by Danny Cox (Menomonie, Wis.). Team Wisconsin (2-1) will move into Division 2 for tournament play beginning Thursday, matching up with New Mexico (1-2) in the semifinal round.
Golf hit the links for its final divisioning round Wednesday, with all four golfers finally getting in a full nine. The unified pair of Alison Mushett (Madison, Wis.) and Kari Knowles (Madison, Wis.) also posted a score of 66 Wednesday, up three strokes from Monday’s round. Jeff Jenks (Sun Prairie, Wis.) and Jake Zydowsky (Pardeeville, Wis.) shot mirroring rounds of 53 Wednesday, and both will enter the medal round Thursday.
MEDAL COUNT: Team Wisconsin added four gold, eight silvers, and eight bronze medals in Day 3, leaping up the medal standings into ninth place overall. Leader and host Minnesota doubled its overall medal count to 78 after Day 3, already with more gold medals (33) than 47 other states’ medal totals.
Day 3 Recap Video (Viewable on Mobile – Coming Soon!)
THURSDAY, JUNE 25 – DAY 4
Volleyball needed a couple of dramatic, heart-stopping sets to do so, but Team Wisconsin battled to an incredible Division 2 gold medal Thursday. The day began with one last pool play match, where it knocked off a solid Virginia squad 25-16, 26-24 to take the top seed into bracket play. The teams would meet again in the championship match Thursday afternoon, with Wisconsin eking out another thriller 23-25, 25-19, 15-11 to secure the gold medal. Dustin Scott (Grafton, Wis.) recorded a double-double with 10 kills and 10 aces in the championship match. Seven players recorded a service ace, including four apiece from Andrew Gitzlaff (Oconomowoc, Wis.) and Lucas Smith (Manitowoc, Wis.). Craig Becker (Cudahy, Wis.) recorded three aces and three kills, with Molly Teitgen (Bayside, Wis.) adding three kills and an ace in the title game.
Cornhole also ended competition Thursday with a bang, sweeping gold in all three divisions of doubles play. The pair of Dominick Mack (Racine, Wis.) and Jacob Decker (Green Bay, Wis.) cruised to wins over Kansas and Mississippi to win Division A. Jeff Johnson (Mount Pleasant, Wis.) and Scott Prairie (Onalaska, Wis.) won a squeaker over West Virginia, 21-19, before dominating Kansas to win gold in Division B. Will Hautamaki (La Crosse, Wis.) and Joe Neumann (West Salem, Wis.) breezed through their opener against Florida, then needed some steady scoring to knock off Minnesota on hostile ground, 17-15. The trio of results in the traditional event was perhaps the first sweep by Wisconsin in any event at USA Games. In the Unified division, the sister-pair of Jennifer & Lori Fuerstenau (Beaver Dam, Wis.) knocked off Oklahoma 19-11, then fell to Texas in the championship to earn a silver medal.
Bowling caught up on scoring and awards Thursday, completing the week with Team Competition. In mixed doubles play Wednesday, the pair of Tabitha Hyde (Eau Claire, Wis.) and Dalton Schulz (Appleton, Wis.) dominated the top division, finishing more than 150 pins clear of second place to secure gold in Division 1. The other three pairs were packed into a loaded Division 2 field, with Team Wisconsin taking three of the top four spots. Missy Baldwin (Minocqua, Wis.) and Nathan Stygar (Eau Claire, Wis.) earned gold with a score of 859, and the pair of Julia MacArthur (Hudson, Wis.) and Preston Bjarnarson (Manitowoc, Wis.) finished bronze with 803. Grace Keller (Neenah, Wis.) and Travis Doire (Lancaster, Wis.) secured fourth place. In Thursday’s team competition, the men’s quartet finished three pins shy of Illinois for silver in Division 1. The ladies finished fifth in Division 5.
Track & Field did their part adding to the medal haul with two silvers Thursday. Bobby Kuske (Whitefish Bay, Wis.) got the morning off to a great start with a second place Mini Javelin toss of 10.34 meters in Division 5. Daina Shilts (Neillsville, Wis.) then followed suit with a silver in the 100-meter with a time of16.92 in Division 7—shaving more than three tenths of a second off her preliminary time. Kallie Saal (Wausau, Wis.) also ran her 100-meter race in Division 6, finishing fourth with a time of 17.56 and a full second off her prelim mark. Shilts ended the morning with her Running Long Jump final, finishing fifth with a distance of 2.79 meters. Friday brings finals in the 200-meter run and the always-exciting 4×100 relay.
Basketball played by far its closest game of the tournament Thursday afternoon, battling a big New Mexico team in the Division 2 semifinal. Despite trailing much of the contest, a bucket by Joey Riebe (West Allis, Wis.) handed Team Wisconsin its first lead at 39-37 and it never looked back en route to a 43-38 win. Only four players scored; Riebe and Josh Sprosty (Milwaukee, Wis.) had 15 apiece, Tyrone Davis (Milwaukee, Wis.) added nine and Antonio Hoffman (Sturgeon Bay, Wis.) added four. But a focused rebounding effort and every player fulfilling their role was key down the stretch. Team Wisconsin will take on New York in the Division 2 championship game Friday afternoon.
Bocce finished up singles competition with the men’s draw. Christian Sylvester (Waunakee, Wis.) went 2-1 in pool play, qualifying for the bronze medal match. He avenged his lone pool play loss to Illinois with a 10-4 response, securing third place in Division 9. Michael Berry (Dousman, Wis.) lost all three pool play matchups in Division 2, then fell in the medal rounds to finish sixth.
Swimming had preliminary events Thursday, with all moving to finals Friday. Those include the 50 Backstroke, 100 Freestyle, and the 100 Individual Medley.
Golf completed competition Thursday. Final results and division medals will be awarded Friday.
Powerlifting completed competition Wednesday.
MEDAL COUNT: Team Wisconsin added six gold, four silver, and two bronze medals in Day 4, remaining in the top ten at No. 10 overall. Leader and host Minnesota has a simply ridiculous volume of medals, with 112 overall–42 of which are gold. Florida and Texas are tied for second with 64 total, and Indiana and Michigan are tied for fourth with 54.
Day 4 Recap Video (Viewable on Mobile – Coming Soon!)
FRIDAY, JUNE 26 – DAY 5
Golf (finally!) headlines Team Wisconsin’s efforts on the final day of USA Games competition. Despite finishing Thursday, the quartet was awarded Friday—and awarded were they ever! Jake Zydowsky (Pardeeville, Wis.) posted a three-day series of 51-53-51 for a final score of 155, earning gold in Division 2. Similarly, Jeff Jenks (Sun Prairie, Wis.) shot a series of 56-53-51 for a 160 total, also earning a gold medal in Division 5. The unified pair of Alison Mushett (Madison, Wis.) and Kari Knowles (Madison, Wis.) entered the clubhouse with four full rounds of 63-59-66-68 for a final score of 256—earning a silver medal in Division 7.
Swimming also brought home a gold on the final day of competition. Katrina Crow (Waukesha, Wis.) shaved more than 13 seconds off her preliminary time and finished with more than a 10 seconds cushion in the 100 Freestyle to win gold with a time of 1:47.40. Logan Gdowski (Slinger, Wis.) added a bronze medal to the swimming haul with a time of 37.62 in the 50 Backstroke. Noelle Marks (Oconomowoc, Wis.) faced a very strong field in the highest division of the 100 Individual Medley, finishing with a time of 1:38.81 for fifth place.
Basketball advanced to the Division 2 gold medal game Friday, playing in the final event of the entire week. Team Wisconsin put up a good fight, but its opponents from New York were just a bit better on the day. Despite the 23-61 loss, “Team 13” finishes the week by taking home a hard-fought silver medal. Not only did every player on the team score over the course of the week, every player contributed to the team’s success on and off the court, showing incredible sportsmanship and heart.
Bocce took to the turf for team competition Friday morning, in what was a wild pool of very balanced Division 2 teams. Team Wisconsin dropped its opener against West Virginia, 6-8, then responded with two straight wins over New Mexico, 8-6, and Minnesota, 8-4. That 2-1 mark was shared by four teams in their six-team pool, with Wisconsin falling to the bronze medal game after tiebreakers were enforced. Team Wisconsin avenged that earlier loss to West Virginia, securing bronze with an 11-8 win.
Track & Field had two finals Friday. Logan Peterson (Milton, Wis.) was the lone individual racing on the final day of competition, finished fifth in the 200-meter with a time of 32.09. Team Wisconsin’s 4×100 relay time fell right on the border of divisional placements, eventually landing up in Division 2 for the final. While the relay’s time of 1:06.67 earned seventh overall, it improved nearly two seconds from its 1:08.51 preliminary time—ending the week on a high note.
Bowling, Cornhole, Powerlifting, Volleyball finished competition earlier in the week.
MEDAL COUNT: Team Wisconsin added seven medals on the final day of competition—three gold, two silver, and two bronze. The 44 total medals shift Wisconsin into 11th place overall, just one behind Missouri. Host Minnesota led the way with 136 total medals, including 48 gold. Texas, Florida, Michigan, and Indiana rounded out the top five states.
Day 5 Recap Video (Viewable on Mobile – Coming Soon!)
