Hillsboro athlete medals at Special Olympics USA Games

Aug. 14—The letter was still in Hillsboro resident Evan Kitchens' hands when he read it aloud a second time, just to make sure he had gotten it right. Evan had been selected to compete in the Special Olympics USA Games at the University of Minnesota. "You should have seen our faces when we saw it together," he said. His mother, Melissa Kitchens, had gotten the letter first and handed it straight to him. "He read it like two or three times just to fully register he was going," she said. "Then he immediately had to start preparing. He had to get a headshot, sign ESPN waivers, get a physical." The 20-year-old won a gold medal at the 2025 Alabama State Games in bocce, a precision ball sport in which players try to place their balls closest to a smaller target ball. Alabama Special Olympics selected its USA Games delegation through a lottery of qualifiers who had won gold medals at the state level. Melissa said because of distance and travel costs, only about 25 athletes from Alabama got to go. "Some states do it differently, but they do take in account sportsmanship and behavior," she said. "So let's say you go to state, you get that gold, but you were awful to people the entire time you're there, they may not take you." For the first time in his life, Evan boarded a plane without his parents, traveled more than 900 miles and stayed in a dormitory for more than a week, from June 20 to June 28. "When he got there, he messaged me how cool it was. They had a huge welcome at the airport. There were signs everywhere," she said. "They did water cannons from fire trucks over the planes and he was like, 'It's cool they did that, but none of us could see it because we were in the plane.'" For Evan, the experience remained difficult to take in. "It all just felt unreal," he said. "All of it." In his first event, Evan and doubles partner Jamel Robinson, of Courtland, won a silver medal. By the end of the week, Evan had added a bronze medal, giving him two medals at his first USA Games. "We kept joking that they were coasters," Melissa said. "They were not medals. They were big metal coasters because they're so heavy." But while Evan competed, Melissa was struggling to contain her excitement in what she called a "hushed and tense, golf-like atmosphere." Evan's sister also competes in track and field at the state level, which means Melissa usually watches those events instead of bocce. "I'm usually on track and field with the girls. I don't get to watch bocce because his sister competes at the state level on track and field.  It is nerve-wracking," Melissa said. "Some of their games can last 15 to 20 minutes against each other. They're hitting each other out, points are matched perfectly. They actually had to do overtime to get the bronze medal." Evan said the game is all about precision and accuracy. "You never want to knock the pallina (the target ball) out; I've been there a couple of times," he said. "There's some real nuances. It requires focus, strategy, careful thinking and timing." Evan began playing bocce in 2019, but this was his first trip to the USA Games. The indoor facility had thick turf and painted lines he had to account for because even small variations in the playing surface can affect the path of a bocce ball. "That was my first time playing on the turf like that. They had a few divots and the paint made it hard," he said. "Not every turf is exactly the same. So the more you experience it, the better visual you'll have of it." Evan previously competed in track and field at the local and state levels. But once he got a taste of bocce, he never went back. "I like that I'm good at it, and  the environment. When you're out on the track and field, boy does that get muggy," he said. "But when you're inside the bocce field, you can actually get a feel. More of a full sense of self." Beyond the medals, Evan said he was proud to represent his community on a national stage. "Our church really did a big thing for him, and they threw him an Olympic-themed sendoff. They also created a video and sent it up to him on the first day of competition," Melissa said. Melissa said the trip and Evan's success were made possible by years of support. "I think Lawrence County school system as a whole has helped you get where you need to be with all of that," she said. "We've had a lot of good teachers, a lot of good aides, nurses and coaches to get where we are." Evan said he does not yet know what comes next in bocce, but he knows one thing. "I don't always look very far into the future," he said. "But what I do know is that when it comes, I'll be ready."