The Rio Rancho Rockets won 21 individual gold medals Saturday in the Special Olympics 2008 track and field championships at the University of New Mexico track facility.

Three Rio Rancho Rockets relay teams and five bocce ball teams brought home gold medals.

Karen Miller, Marsha Lena Begay, Alexandra Holder, Matthew Nelson and Lydia Rocks-McQueen won gold in the 100-meter dash, while teammate Jeremy Caskey won a silver medal. Kevin Adams and Brent Jenkins took home bronze medals for third-place finishes.

James Lowenstein, Charles Montoya, Alex Correa and Benny Small were gold medal winners in the 200-meter dash, while Steven Vegara won bronze.

Stephen McTernan and Grace Chacon won gold in the 400-meter, while Dale Jones and Joseph Parraz each won bronze.

Shiv Patel won a gold medal and a trophy for his sparkling efforts in the pentathlon, which incorporates the 100-meter dash, 400-meter dash, long jump, high jump and shot put.

Correa and Montoya also won gold in the long jump, where Lowenstein was a runner-up.

Nicholas Licon, Nelson and Miller won gold medals in the softball throw, while Holder won silver.

Caskey, Small, Adams and Chacon were gold medal winners in the shot put.

Jenkins, Jones, Parraz, Rocks-MacQueen and Matt Cooper were silver medal winners.

McTernan and Vegara notched bronze medals.

Two Rockets 4x100 relay teams won gold: Jones, McTernan, Chacon and Small, plus Correa, Devin Wright, Satyam Patel and his brother, Shiv Patel.

Montoya, Caskey, Jenkins and Vegara, plus the quartet of Holder, Begay, Miller and Nelson claimed silver.

Lowenstein, Rocks-MacQueen, Cooper and Licon won bronze.

Debbie Torres said the Rockets had 15 unified teams n a parent or guardian and a Special Olympian n compete in the bocce competition, in which five teams won gold.

“They all did an outstanding job,” Torres said, after the Special Olympics event.