National Highlight Reel: Kendell Williams wins 4 golds at AAU Junior Olympics

Three times in her young track and field career, Kendell Williams had won three gold medals in the AAU Junior Olympics.

Last week, however, she captured a personal-record four golds during the annual meet, which was held in New Orleans.

The rising junior at Kell (Marietta, Ga.) also set a Junior Olympics record by winning the intermediate heptathlon with 5,170 points. The previous record was 5,142 by Ryann Krais of Methacton (Norristown, Pa.) in 2006. Williams called the heptathlon record "a pretty big deal, because I didn't think I was on record pace. The weather was really hot and humid."

During the individual events, she won the 100-meter hurdles in 13.66 seconds, the high jump at 5 feet, 10 inches and the long jump at 19-7 1/2.



Williams said she now will begin training for the LSU indoor meet in January. She has big goals for her junior year: 13.28 in the100 hurdles, 6-2 in the high jump, 20-0 in the long jump, 57 in the 400 hurdles and the high 5,000s in the heptathlon.

BOYS BASKETBALL: DAKARI JOHNSON RULED INELIGIBLE
Six-foot-11 Dakari Johnson will have to sit out his sophomore year at Montverde Academy (Fla.), due to Florida rules that penalize a player for following his coach from another school. He played last year for former St. Patrick (Elizabeth, N.J.) coach Kevin Boyle, who now is the head coach at Montverde.

* Two grandsons of former NBA player Walt Hazzard will be playing for Loyola (Los Angeles, Calif.) this winter. Jacob Hazzard is a rising senior guard, while his brother, Max, also is a guard who has a shot at the varsity even though he is just a rising freshman.

* How good is 6-10 rising junior Nerlens Noel of the Tilton School (N.H.)? His AAU coach, Leo Papile, told Basketball Times writer Kevin McNamara, "He's the best post player from Boston since Patrick Ewing. I grew up watching Bill Russell and no one has touched him, but he does remind me of Russell the way he dominates the game (defensively)."

* The Oregonian reports that 6-8 Landen Lucas has left Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.) and will play his senior year at Westview (Portland, Ore.).
 
* Zak Irvin, a 6-5 rising junior wing from Hamilton Southeastern (Fishers, Ind.), has committed to the University of Michigan, according to the Louisville Courier-Journal.

* Archie Goodwin, a 6-4 rising senior from Sylvan Hills (Sherwood, Ark.), scored 23 points to lead USA Midwest to a 99-94 victory over Canada during the finals of the annual Nike Global Challenge in Hillsboro, Ore. MVP honors went to 6-7 rising sophomore Andrew Wiggins of Huntington Prep (W. Va.), who had 18 points, seven rebounds and four assists for Canada.



* Riverside (Reserve, La.) rising senior Ricardo Gathers has committed to St. John's University, according to the New Orleans Times-Picayune. The 6-7, 240-pound standout was named Louisiana's Mr. Basketball last season after averaging 20.7 points, 16.2 rebounds, 3.9 blocks and 2.3 assists for the Class 2A state champions.

* MBNation defeated Team Magic, 57-46, to win the AAU Division I 12th grade national championship at Lake Buena Vista, Fla. It is believed to be the first team from Maine to win an AAU Division I national title.

* Bryan (Texas) rising senior point guard J-Mychal Reese, who averaged 28 points last year, has made a commitment to Texas A&M University, according to the San Antonio Express-News.

GIRLS BASKETBALL: AZZI LANDS GORMAN STAR
University of San Francisco coach and former WNBA star Jennifer Azzi has received a commitment from Zhane Dikes, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The 5-9 Dikes averaged 12.4 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists as a junior for Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas).

* High-scoring Danaejah Grant of Piscataway (N.J.) has chosen Clemson University, according to the Newark Star-Ledger. The 5-8 standout averaged 27.7 points and 13 rebounds as a junior, with a high game of 41 points.

* The Memphis Commercial Appeal reports that highly ranked senior guard Danielle Ballard has made a commitment to LSU. The 5-9 guard averaged 13.4 points, 4.7 steals and 3.6 assists as a junior for Class AAA state champion Memphis Central (Tenn.).



FOOTBALL: CAMERON PICKS SOUTH FLORIDA
Jupiter (Fla.) quarterback Tyler Cameron has chosen the University of South Florida over LSU, Purdue and Illinois, according to the Sun-Sentinel. The 6-3 star had a total offense of 1,299 yards and 13 touchdowns as a junior despite missing time due to a shoulder injury.

* The Newark Star-Ledger reports that all-state linebacker Kaiwan Lewis has chosen the University of South Carolina over Florida and Florida State. The 6-2, 228-pounder had 80 tackles and 10 sacks while also causing three fumbles as a junior at St. Joseph (Hammonton, N.J.).

* The University of Minnesota has landed Jonah Pirsig, a 6-9, 300-pound rising senior tackle from Blue Earth (Minn.), according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

* The Baltimore Sun reports that Greg Pyke has committed to the University of Georgia. He is a 6-6, 300-pound tackle who will be entering his senior year at Boys Latin (Baltimore). Pyke also is a Division I-caliber lacrosse player.

SOFTBALL: CHAOS IS PERFECT
Playing nothing like its name, Louisiana-based Chaos won the National Softball Association Class A 18-and-under national championship in Chattanooga, Tenn., and finished the season with a perfect 51-0 record. Left fielder Natalie Landry of Denham Springs (La.) belted four home runs during the nationals.

* Team North Florida (Dunnellon, Fla.) defeated Newtown Rock (Holland, Pa.), 5-2 and 2-1, to win the 18-and-under ASA Gold Nationals in Santee, Calif. Samantha Fagan batted .438 in bracket play, while Carley Hoover struck out 41 in 43 1/3 innings.



* Southern Cal Athletics (Upland, Calif.) nipped the Worth Firecrackers (Huntington Beach, Calif.), 8-7, to win its second straight championship during the Premier Girls 18-and-under national tourney in Irvine, Calif. Danica Mercado, who had been 0-for-4, drove in the tying and winning runs with a clutch, two-out single in the bottom of the seventh inning.

POTPOURRI
*Rising junior Missy Franklin of Regis Jesuit (Aurora, Colo.) won a pair of gold medals during the USA Long Course Swimming Nationals in Palo Alto, Calif. She captured the 100-meter backstroke in 59.18 seconds – fifth fastest time in the world this year – and the 100 freestyle in 53.63, which is a U.S. 15-16 age-group record.

* Rising senior Nico Rittmeyer has made a commitment to the University of North Carolina soccer program, according to WSAV TV. Last year he set a national record by scoring hat tricks (three goals in a game) in 10 consecutive games for Savannah Country Day (Ga.). The 5-10, 165-pounder finished the year with 50 goals and 11 assists.

* Cody Proveaux drilled a 15-foot birdie putt on the final hole to win the Junior PGA golf championship in Fort Wayne, Ind. The rising senior from Pelion (S.C.), who is committed to Clemson University, finished at 6-under-par 282 to nip Honolulu native Lorens Chan by a single stroke.

* The Nov. 5 Ohio state cross country meet is being moved from a horse track (Scioto Downs) to a drag strip (National Trail Raceway), because the horse track is planning to install slot machines. Last year's meet drew more than 12,000 fans and was billed as the largest high school or college meet in the nation.