Marilyn Hilliard needs surgery on her trigger finger and is battling double vision.

The Butler resident still managed to pitch horseshoes for 10 hours in 95-degree weather over a span of three days, winning all 17 games she played.

Oh, yeah, she'll be 78 years old in October. Or in her case, 78 years young.

Hilliard was one of approximately 52 Butler County area women competing in the National Senior Games in the San Francisco Bay area recently. She won the gold medal in horseshoes for her age group.

While she competed in San Jose, the bulk of the other women were competing in sports at Stanford University.

"I was separate from them and couldn't keep up on what they did," Hilliard said.

In the meantime, she did plenty.

Hilliard tossed 30 horseshoes per game and 36 percent of those resulted in ringers. In the finals, she scored on 29 of her 30 tosses, including 16 ringers.

"I was so proud of myself," she said. "I'm not trying to brag, but I stayed focused because that gold medal has been a goal of mine for two years.

"It was so hot out there that some women quit ... One didn't even start ... but there was no way I was giving up. I'd never won gold in horseshoes at the national games before."

Hilliard will now prepare for the National Games two years from now. The qualifier for that competition is next year.

In the meantime, she has surgery scheduled for her finger Tuesday and is receiving treatment for her vision.

And she wants to play basketball.

"Our Butler Cubs group doesn't have a basketball or softball team in my age group," Hilliard said. "I put my name in with teams from other states while I was in California.

"Texas has a 75-over basketball team. So does Arizona. I'll go down to Texas to practice with those girls. That's how badly I want to play. I want to play softball, too.

"I have some abilities and I'm a fast learner," Hilliard added.

More than 10,000 athletes from all 50 states competed in the National Senior Games. Ann Rizzo of the Senior Olympics of Western Pa. group captured a gold medal in tennis doubles and a silver in singles.

Carol McCollough of Chicora won a silver in bowling and Sue Faller did so in the javelin.

"I rolled a 508 series, but the lanes were awful," McCollough said. "Only two other players reached a 500. There were bowlers bringing three or four balls in with them who couldn't do it."

The local 60-over softball team won gold in its division, defeating a team from West Virginia 35-4 along the way. The team was coached by Don McCollough, Patty Swartzlander and player-coach Judy Butch.

Other players included Joy Brewer, Marie Biernesser, Marge Gardner, Pat Gibson, Pricilla Gulasky, Connie Jamison, Carol McCollough, Bobbie Sicchitano, Reen Tolland and Janet Willis.

"The wind during our last game was terrible," McCollough said. "I give Joy (Brewer of Zelieniople) a lot of credit. She was our pitcher and kept throwing strikes into that wind.

"The other team's pitcher was having all kinds of trouble dealing with the wind."

The 55-over volleyball team of Butch, Charlie Deeer, Karen Grenot, Teresa Mullen and Connie Patton won the silver medal.

Western Pa.'s 65-over basketball team placed sixth and the 55-over squad finished seventh.

"This was going to be our year to win," McCollough said of the 65-over hoop squad. "But we lost one starter to shoulder surgery and another was diagnosed with colon cancer.

"We played four games that first day with no bench. Our stamina just couldn't hold up."

The oldest athlete at the Games was a 100-year-old tennis player and bowler from Florida.

The Western Pa. group practices and organizes at the Butler Cubs Hall. New athletes age 50-older are encouraged to join. Call McCollough at 724-445-9997.

"The women we're getting in their 50s were able to play high school sports in school," McCollough said. "My generation couldn't. You can see the difference."