ORLANDO -- Key West residents Amanda Kirkman and Wendy Sencial discovered gold in the alleys of Orlando, as they earned Gold medals in bowling at the Special Olympics Florida State Championship.

They were among 2,000 Special Olympians who converged on Disney's Wild World of Sports complex in Orlando Oct. 30-Nov. 1 to take part in the Fall Classic, competing in bowling, power lifting, softball and gymnastics.

With only two athletes selected from Monroe County, compared to Miami- Dade's 300, Kirkman and Sencial held the county banner high. In the first round, Sencial defeated her closest opponent by a few pins and in round two, she was trailing the Miami-Dade bowler early on. However, after her average started sliding, she picked up her game and completed an amazing come-from-behind victory, rolling past all the other bowlers with an overall average of 215 for the Gold medal. You may see it for yourself if you see a young woman working at Publix with the medal hanging from her neck.

Kirkman, on the other hand, was a rock. She was in a tough division and had the lowest qualifying average -- about 100 -- of all her competitors. Amazingly, in her first game she tapped into hidden resources and bowled an incredible turkey -- three strikes in a row -- and followed that up with a spare. She never looked back, finishing with an overall average of 255. After receiving her gold medal, Kirkman was more concerned about consoling a weeping competitor then the glory of her gold.

At the closing ceremony, The Knights of Columbus awarded a special medal to Monroe County Special Olympian Bill Smith. He received the Metal of Inspirational Athlete for the manner in which he lives his life as a person and an athlete.

His words of encouragement and coaching helped Sencial and Kirkman and numerous other bowlers improve their games and achieve their goals. Key West volunteer Dr. George Lindner also received a medal for Inspirational Coach.