Special Olympics Florida recently celebrated excellence, leadership, and inspiration at its annual Champions Gala in Orlando, where the organization announced the winners of its Athlete of the Year and Coach of the Year awards.

Athlete of the Year: Megan Bell – The Athlete of the Year award was presented to Megan Bell from the Jacksonville area, a 26-year veteran of Special Olympics Florida. Megan is a multi-sport competitor who has participated in surfing, paddle boarding, equestrian, golf, and more. Her athletic achievements include winning a bronze medal at the 2022 USA Games.

But Megan’s influence extends far beyond competition. She is a certified Zumba instructor, health advocate, and dedicated community leader who has taught virtual fitness classes and volunteered with numerous organizations. She also broke new ground as the first person with an intellectual disability hired by the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce. Megan continues to be a powerful voice for the Special Olympics Florida mission, inspiring others through her leadership, advocacy, and commitment to inclusion. 

To learn more about Megan, check out the video we produced her: 2025 Athlete of the Year Award: Megan Bell

Coach of the Year: Kendell Regas – This year’s Coach of the Year honor was presented to Kendell Regas of Collier County, a mother of three and longtime Special Olympics Florida volunteer. Over the past decade, Kendell has built one of the largest and most inclusive Special Olympics tennis programs in the state. In addition to tennis, she coaches bowling, basketball, and stand-up paddle, creating welcoming opportunities for athletes across sports.

Kendell is known for going far beyond the role of coach. She organizes transportation, provides equipment, hosts holiday gatherings, and celebrates her athletes in meaningful ways. Her practices are filled with joy, energy, and connection — a reflection of her belief that every athlete deserves to feel valued and supported. Kendell’s dedication, compassion, and quiet leadership have left a lasting mark on athletes, families, and volunteers alike.

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Special Olympics Florida is headquartered in Clermont, Florida and this year it hosted its National USA Games in Greater Orlando with the Triathlon Race held at Lake Minneola in Clermont.

For only the second time in history, the USA Games offered the Triathlon sports race. Triathlon Sprint is a three-sport athletic competition involving swimming, bicycling and a 5K running race. It’s an endurance sport where athletes train in all three disciplines, developing increased physical fitness and cardiovascular benefits.

A total of 550 Florida Special Olympics athletes participated in the games this year. Over 5,000 athletes were here to participate in these 50^th Anniversary games with over 125,000 families and fans attending from all across the USA and the Caribbean. Five states participated in the Clermont Triathlon including Florida, New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire, and Colorado. The 2022 Special Olympics included 53 Florida participants including their Unified Partners. There are 18 Triathlon athletes with 18 Unified partners including Adam Mucklow from the Clermont area. All of the Triathlon athletes swam 440 yards, biked 10.8 Miles and they ran 3.1 miles in the 5K race.

Special Olympics uses a “divisioning system” to create fair competition groups. The fundamental difference between Special Olympics competitions and those of other sports organizations is that athletes of all ability levels are encouraged to participate, and every athlete is recognized for his/her performance. Competitions are structured so that athletes compete with other athletes of similar ability in equitable divisions. Divisioning is implemented by determining each athlete’s ability as the primary factor in the Special Olympics competitions. Other factors that are significant in establishing competitive divisions are age and sex.

Here are the divisions and places for our Florida triathletes:

Division F1 Unified:

• 1^stAdrienne Bunn (athlete) Ocala and Amanda Kenny (UP) Winter Garden
• 2^nd Julliette Soos (athlete) Orlando and Maryory Calixto (UP) from Rockledge

Division F2 Unified:

• 1^stKairee Whitmore (athlete) New Port Richey and Phyllis Crain (UP) Tampa
• 2^ndAbigail Adams (athlete) Orlando and Alison Walker (UP) Orlando
• 3^rd Jennifer Hartley (athlete) Jacksonville and Pat Smith (UP) Orlando

Division M1 Unified:

• 1^stJoshua Olds (athlete) Fort Lauderdale and Haley McInerny (UP) Sanford
• 2^ndKennet Lefkovic (athlete) Palm Coast and Carlos Mendoza (UP) Orlando
• 3^rd Andrew Ahearn (athlete) Land O Lakes and Robert Berlant (UP) Orlando
• 4^thRyan Aytona (athlete) Lakeland and Jerome Bareth (UP) Sanford

Division M2 Unified:

• 1^stJonathan Sady (athlete) Apopka and Jamie Moses (UP) Orlando
• 2^nd AJ Mucklow (athlete) The Villages and David Berlant (UP) Orlando
• 3^rd Thomas Welsh (athlete) Reddick and KC Northup (UP) Sanford

Division M3 Unified:

• 1^stChris Nikic (athlete) Maitland and Daniel Grieb (UP) Winter Springs
• 2^nd Brandon Lang (athlete) Lakeland and Lori Campbell (UP) Winter Springs
• 3^rd Zachary Deonath (athlete)  Donnellon and Jeff Meister (UP) Rockledge

Division M4 Unified:

• 1^stFrankie Russell (athlete) Pensacola and Carol Walker(UP) Orlando
• 2^nd New Hampshire Athlete and UP
• 3^rd Chad VanScoter (athlete) Orlando and Mark VanScoter (UP) Orlando

The Special Olympics Florida team works together to deliver on its mission to provide year-round sports training and competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for people with intellectual disabilities who wish to participate. There are many unique values, benefits and advantages provided by the Special Olympics Florida. The organization provides an amazing platform for athletes to hone their skills, practice, build confidence and to showcase their talents. Through strategic leadership, training and competitions, they are always working to reveal the champion within each of their athletes. Special Olympics works to spread compassion, inclusion and acceptance for the athletes and their families to help unite the world. Their goal remains to awaken everyone and every community with a successful common humanity.

Special Olympics Florida provides in-person and virtual health exams to over 13,000 athletes inclusive of eye, dental and hearing examination checkups with prescription eyeglasses, orthodontics, hearing aids and more with no cost to their athletes. There are absolutely no fees to the athletes for full participation with uniforms, equipment, training and comprehensive healthcare. There are over 60,000 athletes participating here in Florida. Volunteerism, sponsorships and donations make it all possible. Special Olympics Florida, Inc. is a 501-C3 charitable organization. Eighty-five cents of every dollar donated goes directly into programming.

The ultimate objective of Special Olympics Florida is to help all people with intellectual disabilities participate as productive and respected members of society at large, by offering them a fair opportunity to develop and demonstrate their skills and talents through sports training and competition and by increasing the public’s awareness of their capabilities and needs. Special Olympic Florida athletes can participate in training programs for swimming, running, cycling, triathlons, bowling, softball, football, flag football, golf, powerlifting, surfing, standup paddle, equestrian, ironman, leadership, and technologies with over 20 different sports including practice sessions, leagues and competitions.

For More Information, contact Florida Special Olympics at 915 Don Wickham Drive in Clermont, Florida 34711 near South Lake Hospital, phone: 352-243-9536, email SherryWheelock@SOFL.org. Visit: http://www.specialolympicsusa.org and follow them on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/specialolympicsflorida.

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