By Dave Krider
MaxPreps.com
Shawn Johnson continued her reign as the USA’s premier gymnast and its No. 1 hope for Olympic gold by successfully defending her all-around title during the prestigious Visa Championships at Boston University. Johnson, who just completed her sophomore year at Valley Southwoods (West Des Moines, Iowa), totaled 127.500 points to edge 2005 champion Nastia Liukin, who had 126.500.
Johnson, who has her own website courtesy of the Des Moines Register, also won floor exercise with 32.250 points. She placed second on the balance beam with 32.300 and fifth on uneven bars with 30.950. Other high school girls placing well in all-around were Samantha Peszek, Indianapolis, Ind., fourth; Mattie Larson, Los Angeles, Calif., seventh; and Olivia Courtney, Orlando, Fla., 11th.
Jordyn Weber, who attends DeWitt, Mich., Junior High, won the junior all-around title at the Visa Championships with 120.600 points. She also captured first place in vault (29.650) and floor exercise (30.300). Samantha Shapiro of Los Angeles, Calif., was all-around runner-up with 119.050 points. She placed first on uneven bars and the balance beam.
Softball Notes
* Ashburn Broad Run (28-0) blanked Dry Fork Tunstall, 4-0, to win Virginia’s Class AA state title for the second consecutive year and run its winning streak to 57 games. The Spartans shut out 27 of their 28 opponents and finished the year with 160 consecutive scoreless innings – No. 4 in high school history. Caitlyn Delahaba pitched a one-hitter with 15 strikeouts and compiled a perfect 0.00 earned run average for the year. Four players have signed Division I scholarships after leading Broad Run to an 83-1 record over the past three years.
* Junior Rachele Fico pitched a no-hitter with 14 strikeouts as Monroe Masuk (27-0) nipped Naugatuck, 1-0, to win Connecticut’s Class LL state title. Fico ended the game in a flourish, striking out the side in the seventh inning. The Panthers will carry a 51-game winning streak into her senior year.
* There was no Cinderella ending in Kentucky, however, as the state’s Miss Softball, senior pitcher Kirsten Allen of Union Ryle, suffered a pair of losses against three victories during the state finals. After a 3-0 win over Lancaster Garrard County, she struck out 20 to beat Louisville Ballard, 2-1, in a 14-inning marathon, which tied a state-tourney record for longest game. Then she fanned 16 to oust Lawrenceburg Anderson County, 2-1, in 11 innings.
However, she suffered a 5-0 loss to eventual state runner-up London North Laurel and then lost to Owensboro Catholic, 6-4, in the third-place game. Still the 5-foot-11 University of Oklahoma signee set 10 state records during her brilliant career. She also placed high in the national career record books with 110 shutouts (No. 3), 142 victories (No. 5) and 1,838 strikeouts (No. 5).
* Williamstown (26-1) edged Ridgewood, 2-0, in sweltering heat to win its first New Jersey Group 4 state championship. Pitcher Rachael Matreale, one of just two seniors on the team, did not allow a run in 35 tournament innings. The 5-11 right-hander finished the season with a 21-1 record, including 20 shutouts, and a microscopic 0.11 earned run average.
* One of this year’s greatest state-championship games was played in Ohio where No. 3-ranked North Canton Hoover (32-2) nipped No. 1 Elyria, 1-0, in 10 innings on Erin Riccardi’s two-out RBI single to take home the Division I crown. Elyria (28-2) was saddled with runner-up honors for the third year in a row.
* Senior pitcher Lindsey Dunlap has been named Alabama’s Miss Softball. The standout left-hander compiled a brilliant 41-1 record while pitching Hueytown to the Class 6A state title. In 247 innings, the Mississippi State signee struck out 440, fired 16 shutouts and compiled a 0.57 earned run average….Ider’s Hilary Phillips set a state record with 169 victories and she’s only a junior.
Track Notes
* Chanelle Price (Easton, Pa.) didn’t get the record, but she ran the second-fastest-ever 800 meters by a high school girl (2:01.61) to place sixth against college and professional runners during the star-studded Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Ore. The record of 2:00.7 by Kim Gallagher has stood since 1982….Other great efforts by high school seniors were turned in by Florida’s Jeff Demps, 10.19 for third in the 100-meter dash; and Utah’s Luke Puskedra, 8:46.41 for 10th in the two-mile run.
* Ryann Krais of Methacton (Norristown, Pa.) scored the second-highest heptathlon point total (5,522) – just 11 short of the national record – while placing first during the Great Southwest Track & Field Classic in Albuquerque, N.M…Tennessee star Jackie Coward (Knoxville West) won the 100-meter hurdles in 13.0, which is No. 2 all-time.
* Milford senior Dwight Barbiasz set a New Hampshire state record for the second week in a row by high jumping 7-1 during the Meet of Champions in Durham…Turning to Connecticut, coach Gerry Chester is retiring after winning a combined 17 state championships in track and cross country at Danielson Ellis Tech and Griswold…In Indiana, Carmel’s Chuck Koeppen is retiring as track coach and will handle cross country one more year. He has won 20 state titles combined in boys and girls cross country.
Football Notes
* One of West Virginia’s top rising senior quarterbacks, C.J. Crawford, is transferring from Huntington to Nitro. The 6-2, 205-pounder threw for over 1,600 yards and 13 touchdowns, while running for 500 yards and seven touchdowns as a junior. Huntington posted a 1-9 record last fall, but its only victory, ironically, was over Nitro, 28-24. Nitro also will have a new head coach in the fall.
* The University of Notre Dame has received commitments from two rising seniors who play for national-class programs: Brentwood Academy (Tenn.) offensive guard Alex Bullard (6-3, 280) and St. Ignatius (Cleveland, Ohio) linebacker Dan Fox (6-3, 215)…Lakeview (Stoneboro, Pa.) offensive guard Cory King (6-5, 310) has pledged to the University of Pittsburgh.
* The University of Alabama has received a commitment from Trent Richardson, who could be Florida’s top running back in the fall. The 6-0, 214-pounder is considered the best at Pensacola Escambia since National Offensive Player of the Year Emmitt Smith. He rushed for over 400 yards in one game as a junior. He also bench pressed 340 pounds to place second in the state weightlifting contest and he runs 100 meters in 10.7 seconds.
* Boise State continues to pick up blue-chip verbals with the commitment of Gresham Barlow running back Malcolm Johnson. As a junior, the 5-10, 185-pounder led Oregon’s Class 6A rushers with 2,514 yards…The University of Michigan has reached down to Florida for a commitment from athletic Jeremy Gallon. As a junior, the 5-8, 165-pound Apopka star ran 219 times for 1,613 yards and 23 touchdowns and passed for 1,071 yards and eight touchdowns.
* The University of Missouri has received a commitment from in-state standout T.J. Moe (6-0, 185). During his junior year at O’Fallon Fort Zumwalt West, he passed for 2,326 yards and 17 touchdowns, while running for 1,497 yards and 24 touchdowns…Linebacker Jonathan Evans has made a commitment to Auburn University. The 6-0, 205-pounder made 104 tackles and forced 10 fumbles as a junior for Blount in Pritchard, Ala.
Basketball Notes
* Superstar Elena Delle Donne stayed just two days in summer school at the University of Connecticut and then returned home to Wilmington, Del. It appears to be homesickness and basically a personal matter, but she is uncertain if she will return.
* MaxPreps All-America guard Willie Warren poured in a record 41 points and won the dunk contest, but his Texas All-Stars still bowed to Oklahoma’s best, 121-101, during the 43rd annual Faith 7 game in Shawnee, Okla. The record of 36 points had been set by Texas’ Dwight Jones in 1970. Keiton Page scored 37 points, which is an Oklahoma game record, and Rotnei Clarke added 29 in the shootout.
* Fayetteville (Ark.) guard Fred Gulley has made a commitment to Oklahoma State University. The 6-2 standout averaged 16.9 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.4 steals as a junior…C.J. Wilcox (6-5, 190), who averaged 23.7 points as a junior for Pleasant Grove (Utah), has made a commitment to the University of Washington…Kavon Rose, a 6-2 guard, has signed with Texas Christian after being released by Oregon State. Rose averaged 22 points, nine rebounds, six steals and five assists as a senior at Finney (Detroit, Mich.).
* Daniel Orton, a highly-ranked rising senior from Bishop McGuinness (Oklahoma City, Okla.), is recovering from a cracked bone in his right ankle, but is expected to play in next week’s NBA Players Association Top 100 Camp at the University of Virginia…Larry Yarbray, an assistant for the past 10 seasons, has been promoted to succeed Fred Pickett as head coach at perennial Pennsylvania state champion Chester.
* Courtney Brooks has retired as head coach at Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy (Atlanta, Ga.) to enter the ministry. During the past nine years he compiled a 214-70 record and coached the likes of current pros Dwight Howard and Javaris Crittenton…Kentucky girls power Lexington Catholic has promoted 11-year assistant Tony Talbott to the head coaching position.
Baseball Notes
* Kyle Skipworth has been named Gatorade National Baseball Player of the Year. The senior catcher, who was drafted No. 6 by the Florida Marlins, batted a lofty.543 this year for Patriot (Riverside, Calif.). He also slammed 13 home runs and drove in 47…Seaford High senior Derrik Gibson has been named Delaware State Player of the Year. The 6-1, 170-pounder has signed with the University of North Carolina, but recently was drafted in the second round by the Boston Red Sox.
* Ramsey Don Bosco (33-0) nipped Lincroft Christian Brothers Academy, 5-4, to win New Jersey’s Non-Public Class A state championship and complete a banner 33-0 campaign…In Texas, Plano West (40-2) overcame five errors to edge Southlake Carroll, 10-8, in the Class 5A state championship game…Eventual champion Plainville scored four times in the ninth inning to upset previously unbeaten Seymour –ending a 36-game winning streak – in Connecticut’s Class M state semifinals.
Tennis Notes
* Winchester Handley (18-0) dominated Williamsburg Jamestown, 5-0, to win its second consecutive Virginia Class AA state title and extend its winning streak to 45 matches. Jamestown is the last team to beat Handley, turning the trick in the 2006 state semifinals.
* TennisRecruiting.net has tabbed Princeton University No. 1 in women’s recruiting for 2007-08. Its three recruits are Hilary Bartlett, Lauren McHale and Rachel Saiontz. Georgia is No. 2, Notre Dame No. 3, Stanford No. 4 and Vanderbilt No. 5.
Golf Notes
* Simsbury shot 298 to win its fourth consecutive and eighth overall Division I state title under legendary coach Ed Lynch. His team posted a perfect 18-0 record this year, raising his national record to 689 victories in 27 years.
* Maria Piccio shot 9-under-par 135 to set an American Junior Golf Association girls record with an 18-stroke victory in the Medicus Preseason Junior at Callaway Gardens. Ironically, it was the first AJGA event for the rising senior from The Pendleton School in Bradenton, Fla.
* Kimberly Kim, a rising senior at Queen Creek (Ariz.), defeated Breanne Loucks, 3 and 1, during action in the Curtis Cup at the famed St. Andrews Golf Course in Scotland.
Potpourri
* The nation’s No. 1-ranked wrestler at 112 pounds, David Taylor, has made a commitment to Iowa State University. The rising senior has compiled a brilliant 124-2 record entering his senior year at national power Graham (St. Paris, Ohio). He has won a combined five freestyle and Greco-Roman championships in Cadet and Junior Nationals.
* Both teams were left with 19-1 records after No. 2-ranked West Islip nipped No. 1 Ward Melville, 4-3, to win its fifth straight Suffolk Class A boys lacrosse title. West Islip had lost 23 seniors the previous year from its state championship squad.
* Danielle Moyer has graduated from Clarke County (Berryville, Va.) with the distinction of sharing in an amazing 13 state championships – eight team and five individual – during her four-year career. She competed in track, cross country, soccer and basketball. She holds state soccer records for most career points (304), goals (136) and assists (67) and is the first individual in the 36 years of the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame to receive a special commendation.