By Dave Krider
MaxPreps.com
Willie Warren has proven to be a tremendous difference-maker wherever he goes. He was penciled in last fall as a starting guard at Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.). Coach Steve Smith told MaxPreps that he expected the 6-foot-3 senior guard to be his leading scorer this year. However, Warren transferred back to North Crowley (Fort Worth, Texas) before the season got underway. The Warriors lost another starter and had one of their thinnest benches in many years.
Meanwhile, North Crowley coach Tommy Brakel told his returning star that his team had moved on over the summer and Warren would have to earn his playing time. Well, he came back stronger than ever and has put the Panthers in the Class 5A Final Four for the first time. Warren scored a hard-earned 17 points as the defending state champs, Duncanville, fell, 61-57, in the region semifinals. Duncanville had been ranked as high as No. 3 in the nation. Then Warren really exploded. He poured in a record 47 points as North Crowley routed Midland Lee, 111-57, to win the region title. That gives the Panthers a 36-1 record with a 33-game winning streak.
Boys Basketball Notes
* Another Texas heavyweight bit the dust when Houston Yates was stunned by city foe Wheatley, 75-73, in double overtime for the Class 4A region title. Yates, which had beaten several nationally-ranked teams during the Christmas holidays, was ranked No. 1 in Texas and as high as No. 5 nationally. Wheatley staged a miracle by overcoming a nine-point deficit in the final minute of the fourth quarter to force overtime.
* However, the biggest shocker materialized in California where unbeaten Santa Ana Mater Dei – rated as high as No. 1 nationally – fell to Compton Dominguez’s great defensive pressure, 63-60, in the Southern Section Division I-AA finals. Jordan Hamilton, a 6-7 junior, had 16 points and nine rebounds for the winners. Unheralded Bryce Cartwright added 15 points and four assists. Both will advance to the regionals – Dominguez in Division I and Mater Dei in Division II.
* Woodland Hills Taft picked up a major victory when it defeated Los Angeles Fairfax, 65-55, to win the Los Angeles City Championship Division. With Magic Johnson among the spectators, North Carolina-bound senior point guard Larry Drew dazzled with 24 points and six assists. Taft already owns two victories over Dominguez. Fairfax was led by 6-10 junior Renardo Sidney with 23 points, including six dunks.
* San Diego High is another California team to keep an eye on. The Cavers rallied to nip Oceanside El Camino, 74-68, in overtime and notch their first Division I section title since 1975. One of the big reasons, literally, is 6-11 sophomore Jeremy Tyler, who dominated with 23 points and 21 rebounds. The Cavers are 22-4 and riding a 20-game winning streak.
* Alabama’s No. 1 team, Mobile LeFlore, also was beaten, 63-59, by eventual state champion Tuscaloosa Hillcrest in the Class 6A state semifinals. Wayne Dedrick paced the winners with 25 points. DeMarcus Cousins, a 6-10 junior, had 16 points and three blocks for LeFlore. He also announced that he plans to attend the University of Alabama-Birmingham – a major coup for coach Mike Davis if he doesn’t take another job this spring. Cousins averaged 17.3 points and 7.6 rebounds this season.
* Alabama’s Class A state title was captured by Montgomery St. Jude with a 72-59 victory over Sulligent. JaMychal Green, a 6-9 Alabama recruit, paced the champs with 39 points on 16-of-20 shooting, 11 rebounds, six assists and four steals…Missouri’s No. 1-ranked team, Raytown, finished the year with a 27-1 record after being upset by Independence Truman, 52-49, in the Class 5 state quarterfinals.
* Pine Crest (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) will be one of the most sought-after teams in the country next year when tournament directors seek marquee match-ups. Pine Crest defeated Gainesville P.K. Yonge, 69-50, to win its first Florida Class 3A state title as brilliant sophomore guard Brandon Knight scored 22 points. MVP honors went to 6-5 junior Ed Waite, who had 18 points and 13 rebounds. The 28-4 Panthers won their last 20 games.
* Turning to Washington, Spokane Ferris defeated Federal Way, 68-44, to win its second consecutive Class 4A state title and run its winning streak to 58 games. No 4A team can match either record. The overall winning streak record is 82 games by Class B Brewster. Jared Karstetter, who has signed to play football at Washington State, earned MVP honors with a 17-point tourney scoring average. DeAngelo Casto, a very underrated 6-8 senior, set a state tourney record with 25 blocks, including eight in the title game.
* Chase Dunn, a 5-9 junior guard, poured in 49 points as Livingston Academy defeated Gallatin Station Camp, 79-73, during Tennessee’s Region 4-AA semifinals…St. Matthews Calhoun County nipped Hemingway, 67-66, to notch its third consecutive Class A state title and South Carolina-record 78th consecutive victory.
* Duke has received a commitment from Mason Plumlee, a 6-11 junior from Christ School in Arden, N.C. He scored 15 points as Christ School (34-2) defeated Greensboro Day, 50-41, to win the Class 3A private school state title…Dane Miller, a 6-7 junior from Rush-Henrietta (Henrietta, N.Y.), has committed to Rutgers. He is averaging 21 points, 17 rebounds and four blocks.
* Mike Brown, who already holds legendary status in New Mexico, posted his 400th coaching victory when Albuquerque Academy defeated Belen, 70-53. The 61-year-old Brown holds the state record for winning six consecutive (Class 3A) state titles from 1989-94 and he also has four state runner-up finishes. Adding to his legacy are two sons, Greg and Danny, who also are head coaches in New Mexico. Greg already has one state championship under his belt.
Girls Basketball Notes
* Spokane Lewis & Clark (Wash.) became the first large-school team – boys or girls – to win three consecutive state titles when it defeated Moses Lake, 42-37, to finish 29-0 in 4A competition. The Tigers also set a record by winning 13 consecutive state tourney games…Washington recruit Kristi Kingma, a 5-11 senior guard from Mill Creek Jackson, broke a 28-year-old state record with a 43-point effort during a 77-74 loss to Vancouver Skyview…Seattle Ballard coach Karen Blair picked up her 300th victory against Kentwood during the Class 4A tournament.
* Cypress Cy-Fair (Texas) erased the frustration of losing the Class 5A state championship game last year by routing DeSoto, 50-33, to win it all this time around. Stanford-bound Nneka Ogwumike, a 6-2 senior, earned MVP honors with 17 points and 17 rebounds. The Bobcats were 112-2 with her in the lineup during the last three years. Her sister, Chiney, a 6-3 sophomore, will lead the way next year.
* Switching to Indiana, Carmel shot 51 percent to defeat defending Class 4A champion South Bend Washington, 84-72, to win its first title before a crowd of 11,030. Chrissy Steffen, a 5-11 junior, tied the championship game record with 31 points. Senior Danielle Havel added 16 points, 14 rebounds and six assists. Washington received 25 points from premier junior guard Skylar Diggins – who was slowed by illness – and 24 from another junior, Takoia Larry.
* Indiana’s Class 2A crown went to 27-1 Indianapolis Heritage Christian – for a state-record-tying third year in a row – with a 53-31 victory over previously unbeaten Oak Hill. Both teams are loaded with talented underclassmen and should battle it out again next year. Oak Hill’s 6-4 sophomore, Ashley Pickering, got into early foul trouble and was not a factor.
* The Illinois tournament was a tale of two coaches. Dorothy Gaters won her record 881st game and eighth state title as Chicago Marshall defeated Freeport, 58-47, in the new Class 3A division…Meanwhile, Buffalo Grove coach Tom Dineen guided his team to a third-place finish and retired with a 29-year-record of 677-229.
* Canyon defeated Kennedale, 59-43, to give coach Joe Lombard his 1,000th career victory and 14th Texas Class 3A state championship. In 30 years, the 54-year-old coach has lost just 92 times…Kem Zolman (Syracuse Wawasee) has been named to coach the 2008 Indiana All-Stars during their annual summer series against Kentucky. Zolman’s daughter, Shanna, was Indiana’s 2002 Miss Basketball and later starred at the University of Tennessee.
* Georgia fans won’t soon forget Tierra Benton, a lanky 6-2 senior who plays basketball and runs track at Gainesville East Hall. Benton won the regional 100- and 200-meter dashes last spring and this year averaged 12 rebounds and four blocks as a basketball power forward. She carries a superb 4.07 GPA and this summer will go full-time with what is expected to be a hugely successful modeling career in New York.
Football Notes
* The Cincinnati portion of the 2008 Kirk Herbstreit Ohio vs. USA Football Challenge will be held on Aug. 30-31 at Paul Brown Stadium. The schedule – Saturday, Aug. 30: 11 a.m., Middletown vs. St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.); 2 p.m., Huber Heights Wayne vs. Warren Central (Indianapolis, Ind.); 5 p.m., Cincinnati Colerain vs. McKeesport (Pa.); 8 p.m., Cincinnati St. Xavier vs. Prattville, Ala. Sunday, Aug. 31: noon, Cincinnati Elder vs. East St. Louis (Ill.); Cincinnati Moeller vs. Montgomery Bell Academy (Nashville, Tenn.); 6 p.m., West Chester Lakota West vs. St. Rita (Chicago, Ill.).
* Florida State has received a commitment from Chris Thompson, a 5-8, 173-pound running back from Madison County High in Greenville, Fla. As a junior he ran 187 times for 2,256 yards (12.1 average) and 33 touchdowns. He also had more than 800 yards in kick returns…Tucker, Ga., junior running back Drayton Calhoun (6-1, 175) has committed to LSU.
* Good Counsel (Wheaton, Md.) junior running back Caleb Porzel has committed to the University of Virginia. Last fall he used his 10.9 100-meter speed to gain 967 yards on 107 carries and score 16 touchdowns…The University of Utah has received a pledge from Vincent Jones, a 6-3, 270-pound junior offensive guard from Jordan in Sandy, Utah.
* Georgia’s oldest active coach, 78-year-old Bob Lord, has resigned his position at Fellowship Christian in Roswell. He was named Class A Coach of The Year last fall, but wants to spend more time with his wife of 54 years. He led Fellowship Christian to an 11-2 record last fall and its first region championship. Lord also has coached 12 years in the NFL and 19 at the college level.
Track Notes
* Stephen Michael, a senior from Laramie, dominated the annual Wyoming State Indoor Track Meet by winning four events: long jump, 23-0; triple jump, 47-00.50; 200-meter dash, 22:55; and 55-meter dash, 6.51. On the girls side, Cheyenne Central sophomore Alyssa Miller won the 800 in 2:26.69, the 1600 in 5:44.16 and the 3200 in 12:22.55…Georgia standout Emily Reese of Atlanta Chamblee placed second in the junior women’s 4K event during the NACAC Cross Country Championships in Orlando, Fla. She ran 5:13, just four seconds behind Canada’s Kendra Schaff.
* Ryann Krais (Norristown Methacton) was named girls MVP during the annual Pennsylvania Indoor State Championships at Penn State University. Despite battling the flu, the UCLA signee won the 60-meter hurdles in a record 8.54 seconds, placed second in the long jump, fifth in the 200-meter dash and ran a leg on the fifth-place 4x400 relay…The boys MVP was Pittsburgh recruit Elliot Rhodes (Philadelphia Engineering & Science), who won the 800-meter race and ran legs on relays which placed first and third.
Wrestling Notes
* Apple Valley had five individual state champions to tie a Minnesota state record and set another record with 52 overall. The record of 50 had been shared by Blue Earth and Robbinsdale. The Eagles also won their ninth team title in the past 10 years, extending their own state record to 16. Coach Jim Jackson also extended his state record with 37 individual champions. Apple Valley is ranked No. 3 in the nation by Amateur Wrestling News.
* Bill Sutter has retired after nearly 40 years as a wrestling coach. The Goodhue mentor ranks No. 2 in Minnesota history with a 757-181-8 record. The record is 854 wins by Scot Davis of Owatonna. He won a pair of state titles, coached five individual state champions and has been in the state wrestling coaches Hall of Fame since 1988.
* No. 2-ranked Holt (29-0) routed No. 5 Temperance Bedford, 41-17, to win Michigan’s Division I state title. Earlier in the day, Holt defeated No. 1-ranked Davison, 34-22, by winning the final six matches. Davison had won five consecutive titles from 2002-06…The Ohio wrestling finals drew a crowd of 14,924.
Swimming Notes
* Though just a sophomore, Elizabeth Beisel already is making big waves. The North Kingstown star set a pair of state and University of Rhode Island pool records by swimming the 200-yard freestyle in 1:47.38 and the 100-yard backstroke in 54.71. She is qualified to swim seven events at the U.S. Olympic Trials…Wakefield South Kingstown’s Ryan Garr broke Rhode Island’s 27-year-old record in the 100-yard freestyle with a 46.83 clocking. He also broke a 15-year-old 100-yard backstroke record with a time of 52.62.
* Chattanooga Baylor, which dominated the recent Tennessee state finals, took it to the next level last week by winning the 108th Eastern Independent School Championships in Philadelphia, Pa. Baylor totaled 312 points to win the boys division with ease and finished third in the girls division. Brad Hamilton paced the champs with firsts in the 100-yard butterfly (50.36) and the 100-yard breaststroke (57.16). The Peddie School (Hightstown, N.J.) won the women’s division with 290 points.
In the girls division, double winners included Kate Riefenstahl (Germantown Academy, Fort Washington, Pa.), 200-yard freestyle in a meet-record 1:46.60 and the 500-yard freestyle in 4:47.40; and Spindrift Beck (Hockaday School, Dallas, Texas), meet-record 1:01.33 in the 100-yard breaststroke, 1:59.78 in the 200-yard individual medley; and Teresa Crippen (Germantown Academy), meet-record 54.16 in the 100-yard backstroke and record-tying 54.60 in the 100-yard butterfly. In the boys division, Evan Reed (Delaware County Christian, Newtown Square, Pa.) won the 200-yard freestyle in 1:39.37 and tied for first in the 100-yard freestyle (45.18).
Baseball Notes
* Orlando Bishop Moore scored six runs in the top of the sixth inning to defeat Eagle’s View Academy, 11-9, and win Florida’s prestigious Tournament of Champions in Jacksonville. Randy Sipp’s bases-loaded triple was the big blow. The tourney included all six of Florida’s defending state champions. Sarasota, ranked No. 3 in the country, placed third with a 4-1 victory over Venice.
* In California, North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake nipped Valencia, 1-0, as side-arming right-hander Eric Shultz fired a four-hitter with eight strikeouts and no walks. Shultz has a 4.0 GPA and is headed for Yale in the fall. The game’s only run came in the third inning as the result of a bases-loaded walk.
Gymnastics Notes
* Shawn Johnson, a sophomore at Valley Southwoods (West Des Moines, Iowa), placed second in all-around during the prestigious Tyson American Cup before a crowd of 9,318 at New York City’s Madison Square Garden. The defending world champion won vault (15.175), balance beam (16.325) and floor exercise (15.975), but was nipped by Nastia Liukin (Parker, Texas), 63.425-63.100.
The 18-year-old Liukin gained her edge with a very difficult uneven bars routine while winning an event she also captured in 2006. Johnson, age 16, who won the 2007 title as a mere freshman, made a particularly tough dismount on the balance beam…Samantha Peszek (Indianapolis, Ind.) and Shayla Worley (Orlando, Fla.) placed third and fourth with respective scores of 62.075 and 60.400.
Potpourri
* The Stripes defeated the Stars, 190-163, during USA Hockey’s “24-hour hockey game,” which was played by teams in each state to celebrate the International Ice Hockey Federation’s 100th anniversary…Mac Bennett, a 6-1 junior defenseman from the Hotchkiss School (Lakeville, Conn.), has made a commitment to the University of Michigan.
* In Florida, the Coral Gables Gulliver Prep girls water polo team defeated Miami Beach, 18-5, for its 200th consecutive victory. The Raiders, who have not lost since 2001, were led by super freshman Taelor Moreno, who scored nine goals.
