Frost, 18, of Murray is one of the youngest athletes on Team Kentucky for the 2026 USA Games. He has been a Special Olympics athlete for two years and has already competed in flag football, softball, basketball and bowling along with track. He is a student at Calloway County High School. This will be Frost’s first trip to the USA Games.
Damion Frost
Sydney Graf
Graf, 19, of Louisville is making her USA Games debut in Minneapolis. She has also competed in flag football, basketball, softball and bowling with her Shelby County Stars program. She has also competed in KHSAA Unified track and field at Mercy Academy where she is an honor student and earned KHSAA Academic All-State honors.
“Special Olympics has changed my life by showing me there are many ways to be involved and be active. It provided me with a large community of love and support, which helped me set goals and meet people who gave me the confidence to achieve anything.”
Miguel Mendoza
At 31 years old, Shelbyville’s Mendoza is the senior statesman of the Team Kentucky track delegation. He has been competing in Special Olympics for just three years, but in that time he has been able to add bowling, basketball, flag football and softball to his competition schedule. He is also a member of the current Athlete Leadership Program class. He works at Convenient Food Mart.
“Being selected for the USA Games means all my hard work pays off. I look forward to meeting new people.”
Kaylen Toews
Toews, 17, of Murray IS the youngest athlete on Team Kentucky for the 2026 Games. Despite her age, Toews has been involved in Special Olympics for longer than her three track teammates combined. She got her start in the program 13 years ago in the Young Athletes Program. Along with track and young athletes, Kaylen has participated in bowling, flag football, soccer, softball and cheerleading. She is also a member of the Calloway County High School track team. Toews completes an entire Team Kentucky track team that will be making their first trips to the USA Games.
“It means the world to me to go to Minneapolis, Minnesota, and participate in a sport I love doing. And that is fun doing. What I look forward to the most is competing. And just having fun while doing it and having an amazing experience at USA Games.”
Laura Miller, Coach
Murray’s Laura Miller will be leading the Team Kentucky track athletes for her fourth consecutive USA Games. For the first time ever, she helms a group where none of her athletes have previous USA Games experience. In Seattle in 2018 her athletes captured eight medals including four gold. Her 2022 team followed that with three individual medals and an exhilarating gold medal run in the 4×100-meter relay that was streamed live on ESPN+.
The 2013 Special Olympics Kentucky Coach of the Year, Miller has been involved in the program for 19 years coaching golf and bowling and works with the Murray/Calloway County cheerleading and basketball teams in addition to coaching track and field. She has also spearheaded Unified Champion Schools programs in the Murray Independent School District while she worked there as a speech pathologist. She accompanied a Unified youth team to the Global Social Impact Summit that Special Olympics held in conjunction with the 2017 World Winter Games in Austria. Outside of Special Olympics she has coached the Murray Independent School District’s cross country program. She lives in Murray and works for the West Kentucky Education Cooperative and is the Western Kentucky Regional Coordinator for Special Olympics Kentucky.
“Special Olympics has enriched my life by connecting me with a diverse and supportive community of athletes, volunteers, and coaches. It reminds me to focus on the joy of sport and the power of humanity—where success is measured by personal growth, inclusion is unconditional, and every obstacle becomes an opportunity to rise above.”