POCATELLO - Mike Burnham was dressed like a professional - wearing a teal bowling shirt, his own gloves and holding his own ball. He moved like a professional, taking three fluid steps and following through with his right arm after he let the ball zip down the center of the lane.

He bowled a strike like a professional. And he celebrated the results as if he'd just completed a perfect game.

Burnham, 28, of Pocatello, was among the 43 bowlers from several east Idaho cities competing in an annual Special Olympics regional tournament Saturday morning at Pine Bowl, 200 E. Pine St.

Once he saw all the pins topple, Burnham made three bunny hops, flexed his muscles and started pumping his right arm, shouting, "Whoop! whoop! whoop! Yah!"

"It's all about the look," his father, Steve, said, laughing. "He does have a good time."

"He was up at 5:30 a.m. to get his shower, but he didn't need to be there until 9 a.m. He gets excited," his mother, Marcia, added.

Burnham practices with his team each Monday at Tough Guy Lanes and breaks 100 in most games. Comparing scores, however, is not what Special Olympics bowling is all about. Everyone at the event got to wear a ribbon after finishing, and even athletes who have trouble lifting a bowling ball were able to compete - some bowlers pushed their balls down ramps.

Bowlers Molly Hale and Diana Rauh beamed with pride as they stood outside of the entrance to Pine Bowl sporting new ribbons.

"I was nervous, and I thought I would do bad, but apparently not," Hale said, glancing down at her award.

Hale, who has bowled for three years and participates in the Saturday Special League, hosted each weekend throughout the year, surprised herself by winning a second-place ribbon.

"They can come and bowl and just have fun with their friends," Hale said of the Saturday league.

She said she's benefited a great deal from tips offered by her Saturday Special League bowling coach.

"I'd get too excited and I'd just throw the ball," Hale said.

Rauh wore a blue, first-place ribbon after bowling games of 80, 80 and 84. The 56-year-old has enjoyed the sport since she was just 5.

"I'm going to start (coming every week)," said Rauh, who also goes on occasional bowling outings through Southeastern Development, "and I'll see all of my friends."

For Michael Holston, of Twin Falls, traveling to bowling tournaments is part of the fun. As always, his family provided him with a personal cheering section. When he bowls, Holston rolls the ball as fast as possible, and he says simply, the goal is to "avoid the gutter."

After he completed a frame, his sister, Heather, approached him to relay advice from his bowling coach: "You need to make sure you're keeping your ball down. You're lofting it, and you have more control when you keep the ball down."

His mother, Cathy, has seen him grow in both confidence and skill as a bowler in the past couple years. She added that her son bowled for two years at Twin Falls High School.

"He's entertaining," she said of watching him bowl. "He takes it so serious, and when he gets a strike he's so proud of himself."

Karen Apel heads a team of six local Special Olympics bowling coaches. She's been coaching Special Olympics bowling for three decades, and she got involved in the cause through her job as a special education teacher. In all of her years as a coach, Apel said this year's local enrollment is the highest she can ever remember.

"It's so rewarding to see their smiles," Apel said.