Eighteen teams from across the country battled for a first-place finish, championship title and gold medal. Here is the story from beyond the game. The 2007 USABA Youth National Goalball Championship unfolds here.

(St. Augustine , Fla.) After a weekend packed with intense goalball action from Thursday through Saturday, the results are in and the winners have proven themselves against even the fiercest of rivals.

Out of 10 boys teams from across the country, the Blind Sports Organization's team (BSO, formerly Pennsylvania Association of Blind Athletes), dominated the competition and clinched the title, defeating Illinois 8-2. Team BSO took an early lead in the championship game by scoring three unanswered goals in the first half. BSO athletes went on to conduct strict defensive play and hold their challengers to just two goals.

As for the girl's championship game, it was hometown-favorite Florida that earned the gold medal. After prevailing over a strong Georgia team, 7-4, the girls walked away with their heads held high and a team-wide triumph to celebrate. Georgia attempted a response to its opponent's first four goals, but the team was quickly shut down by a scoring-frenzy led by an enthusiastic Florida squad.

Bronze medals were awarded to the Florida boys (after winning 8- 5 over Georgia ) and the Illinois girls (versus Utah, 11-4).

USABA National Goalball Program Coordinator John Potts spoke of how impressed he was by all the athletes who competed in the tournament no matter what the final score read.

“The young athletes who represented the United States at the World Youth and Student Games earned gold and silver medals, placing our youth goalball program among the world's very best,” Potts said. “We truly saw the future of USA goalball in action this weekend.”

As a reward for a job well done, Andy Jenks of BSO and Crystal Fitzgibbon of Florida were both honored by being named the tournament's most valuable players.

Washington 's boys team and South Carolina 's girls team were recognized for exhibiting a consistent level of superior sportsmanship.

These athletes are off to a running start and have set the bar high for future athletes to come.

“While I'm impressed with our adult goalball athletes, I never cease to be amazed by the competitive energy and top quality play of our young goalball athletes” Potts said.

The following boys were named the tournament's USABA Boy's All-American Youth Team:

•  Chris Boidy, Illinois
•  Andy Jenks, BSO
•  Marcos Mendez, Florida
•  Ahmad Mshaiel, Illinois
•  Kyle Showalter, Florida
•  Matt Simpson, Georgia

The following girls were named the tournament's USABA Girl's All-American Youth Team:  

•  Ciara Carter , Florida
•  Amanda Dennis, Georgia
•  Crystal Fitzgibbon, Florida
•  Morgan Foxborrow, Utah
•  Ashleigh Heitt, Florida
•  Jilliam Wournma , Illinois

The United States Association of Blind Athletes, a member organization of the U.S. Olympic Committee, is a non-profit organization that provides training for blind and visually impaired athletes for competition in nine sports. USABA members range from blind children developing sports skills to elite athletes who train for competitions such as the Paralympic Games, which continually draws more than 4,000 disabled athletes.