By Dave Krider
MaxPreps.com
Swimmers from Texas and Indiana continued to dazzle by setting national records over the weekend.
At the Texas state finals in Austin, senior Jimmy Feigen (San Antonio Churchill) lowered his own national records with blazing championship times of 19.49 seconds in the 50-yard freestyle and 43.05 seconds in the 100-yard freestyle.
Austin Westlake junior Mary Beck set a national public school record of 53.03 in the 100-yard backstroke. She also helped the Westlake 400-yard freestyle relay team set a national public school record of 3:23.10. Beck (verbal) and Feigen both plan to attend the University of Texas.
A sophomore grabbed the spotlight during Indiana’s state finals as Chesterton’s Kyle Whitaker set a national public school record of 1:46.75 to win the 200-yard individual medley. The 14-year-old phenom erased the record of 1:46.90 which had stood since 1994.
Turning to Tennessee, Chattanooga Baylor won the boys and girls state titles, enabling Dan Flack to be named the state’s first-ever Coach of the Year in both sports during the same season…Nashville Ensworth’s Jackson Wilcox – also headed for the University of Texas – swam the fastest 200-yard freestyle time in the nation this year (1:37.11) and also won the 500-yard freestyle in 4:23.93…Curtis Lovelace (Nashville Montgomery Bell Academy) set state records in the 200-yard IM (1:49.07) and the 100-yard breaststroke in 54.88, which is the nation’s top time this year.
Josh Tanner of Salt Lake City Skyline was named boys Swimmer of the Meet during the Utah Class 5A state finals in Provo. He won the 200-yard freestyle in a meet-tying record of 1:42.49 and also won the 100-yard freestyle in 47.19. In the girls meet, Candace Smith of American Fork received top honors after winning the 100-yard freestyle (52.97) and the 100-yard backstroke (56.67).
Moving to Kentucky, Louisville Manual’s Abbie Fish (that’s right!) received the girls’ Outstanding Competitor Award at the state meet. She set a state record in the preliminaries by swimming the 200-yard freestyle in 1:47.73 and helped her 200-yard freestyle relay set another state record of 1:35.99. The boys Outstanding Competitor was Eric Bruck of Lexington Dunbar, who won the 50-yard freestyle in a state-record 20.42 and 100-yard freestyle in 45.57.
Basketball Notes
* Is Renardo Sidney the nation’s No. 1 junior? Those who watched him dominate talented Los Angeles Westchester last week would give an emphatic “yes!” With Los Angeles Fairfax trailing by seven points and only two and one-half minutes left, the 6-foot-10 superstar took control in a surprising manner. He poured in 11 consecutive points – including a pair of three-pointers – and drilled the winning 18-footer with two seconds left for a scintillating 55-53 victory. He finished with 32 points and 10 rebounds. Fairfax will meet Woodland Hills Taft for the LA city title Saturday at the Sports Arena. Taft’s standout senior point guard, Larry Drew, dished out 15 assists in a 77-51 semifinal rout of Fremont.
* Fort Lauderdale Pine Crest left no doubt as it defeated Plantation American Heritage, 90-76, for the third time this season during Florida’s Class 3A regional semifinals. Pine Crest sophomore guard Brandon Knight poured in 38 points, while 6-8 senior Jeff Pelage sparkled with 17 points, 13 rebounds and a school-record seven blocks. For the losers, junior guard Kenny Boynton scored 29 points before fouling out.
* Ralph Sampson III had an impressive triple-double as Duluth Northview defeated Lawrenceville Central Gwinnett, 64-58, during state tourney action in Georgia. The 6-11 Minnesota signee had 14 points, 13 rebounds and 11 blocks…Greg Monroe is stepping up his game in the Louisiana state playoffs. The 6-10 senior had 37 points – 16 in the first quarter – 18 rebounds, eight assists and three steals as Harvey Helen Cox defeated New Orleans Karr, 86-63.
* Still unsigned in football, Terrelle Pryor continues to dominate in basketball. The 6-6 superstar produced these gaudy numbers – 39 points, 24 rebounds, 10 blocks and six assists – as Jeannette defeated Beaver Falls, 82-68, to win the Western Pennsylvania Class AA championship. Beaver Falls had beaten Jeannette by 20 points earlier in the season.
* Ohio State hardly can wait for B.J. Mullens to hit the campus in the fall. The 7-1 center rammed home eight dunks as Canal Winchester defeated Mifflin, 87-56, during Ohio’s Division II district semifinals. He finished with 37 points (16-of-21 from the field), 18 rebounds and eight blocks…St. Matthews Calhoun County has won its last 77 games – a South Carolina state record.
* After upsetting the No. 1- and 2-ranked teams in Nevada, North Las Vegas Cheyenne had to settle for state runner-up honors following a 76-72 loss to Reno in the Class 4A finals. Austin Morgan paced the champs with 37 points, including four free throws in the final 19 seconds…Clark Stepp, a 6-4 senior guard from Pippa Passas Buchanan, is the first Kentucky player to surpass 3,000 points and 1,000 assists in his career. This year he is averaging 25.2 points and 7.4 assists.
* The No. 1-ranked sophomore in Illinois, 6-6 Jereme Richmond, has been kicked off the Waukegan basketball team for his second violation of the school’s athletic code of conduct. Richmond averaged 19.9 points and 9.5 rebounds this year…Paintsville, Ky., coach Bill Mike Runyon will retire at the end of this season. He has won 525 games during a 26-year career at his alma mater. Two of his players were named Kentucky’s Mr. Basketball: John Pelphrey in 1987 and J.R. VanHoose in 1998.
* Ray Craft will retire in June as an assistant/associate commissioner for the Indiana High School Athletic Association – a post he has held since 1983. The 71-year-old Craft was the leading scorer with 14 points when Milan upset mighty Muncie Central in 1954 for Indiana’s most famous state basketball title. Craft, who also had a small part in the movie “Hoosiers” – which was based on that game – is a member of the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame.
* Coaches who recently posted their 800th career victories were Dick Katte of Denver Christian in Colorado and George Willis of Hollandale Simmons in Mississippi. Katte has won seven state titles. Willis also has won over 800 games coaching girls teams…Mike Bruesewitz, a 6-7 junior from Sibley (Mendota Heights, Minn.), has made a commitment to the University of Wisconsin. He is averaging 16 points and 10.5 rebounds…Louisville has received a commitment from Mike Marra, a high-scoring 6-5 guard from Northfield Mount Hermon (Northfield, Mass.). He drilled 111 three-pointers last year at Smithfield (Esmond, R.I.).
Football Notes
* The University of Miami (Fla.) landed a major recruit last week when Bryce Brown gave a commitment. The Wichita East (Kan.) junior will be one of the nation’s premier running backs in 2008. He rushed for 1,850 yards last year and has 5,158 in his three-year career. In another year he will join his brother, Arthur, a MaxPreps All-America linebacker, at Miami.
* LSU had a highly profitable week with three junior commitments. They included Michael Brockers, a 6-6, 260-pound defensive end from Cesar Chavez (Houston, Texas); Henry Orelus, a 6-2, 285-pound center from Glades Central (Belle Glade, Fla.); and Michael Ford, a 5-10, 200-pound running back from Leesville (La.)…Harvey (Painesville, Ohio) junior wide receiver Chris Fields has made a commitment to Ohio State. The 6-1, 181-pounder made 51 catches last fall for 879 yards and 20 touchdowns.
* North Carolina has received commitments from a pair of in-state juniors: Hunter Furr, a 6-0, 197-pound running back from Winston-Salem Mount Tabor; and Vincent Davis, a 6-1, 190-pound wide receiver from Monroe Sun Valley. Davis has accounted for 140 receptions and 25 touchdowns over the last two years, while Furr runs 40 yards in a blazing 4.3 seconds…Miami (Fla.) has received a commitment from A.J. Highsmith, a quarterback from Hightower (Sugar Land, Texas). The son of NFL player Alonzo Highsmith, A.J. passed for 2,299 yards and 21 touchdowns – with just 12 interceptions – as a junior.
Track Notes
* The University of Kentucky High School Invitational, which drew 550 entries from 15 states, produced some outstanding performances over the weekend. University of Florida recruits Christian Taylor (Sandy Creek in Tyrone, Ga.) and William Wynne (McEachern in Powder Springs, Ga.) were among the standouts. Taylor pushed his 2008 national-best long jump mark to 25 feet, one-half inch. Wynne posted a 2008 national-best clocking of 47.82 in the 400-meter dash, while also running a meet-record 7.73 in the 60-meter hurdles…Erik Kynard, a 6-5 junior from Rogers in Toledo, Ohio, set a high jump meet record at 7-feet. He holds the 2008 national-best of 7-3 ¾.
* The New Jersey Meet of Champions also had some dynamite performances. Morristown freshman sensation Nick Vena took over the national lead in the shot put with a tremendous throw of 66-00.75…Senior Brian Leung of West Windsor-Plainsboro South nipped junior Doug Smith of Gladstone Gill St. Bernard’s in a terrific 3200-meter race. Leung was timed in a 2008 national-best 8:59.77, while Smith was right behind in 9:01.86.
Wrestling Notes
* Blair Academy (Blairstown, N.J.) scored 341 points to win the National Prep Wrestling Championships at Lehigh University. The meet drew 109 teams from across the USA. MVP honors went to 119-pound champion Ian McLaughlin of Kiski Area (Pa.).Winning individual titles for Blair were Evan Silver, 103 pounds; Sean Boyle, 112; Chris Villalonga, 125; Austin Ormsbee, 135; and Mario Mason, 145. Villalonga’s title was especially impressive because he had to get past a pair of wrestlers who had won championships at other weights in previous years.
* Though he stands just 5-foot-3, Tyler Graff is a giant in Colorado wrestling. He set an all-time state record with 162 career victories, including a championship this year at 130 pounds. The Loveland legend lost just once in four years and captured four state titles. A Wisconsin recruit, Graff had 101 pins in his career, including four during last week’s state finals.
The Colorado finals, which drew a record crowd of 18,569 to the Pepsi Center in Denver, also provided the swan song for another legend, Parker Ponderosa coach Tim Ottmann. The 47-year-old coach, who is retiring, guided the Mustangs to their record sixth consecutive Class 5A state title. His dual-meet record was a dominating 170-22. However, he will remain as assistant principal and athletic director.
* Mishawaka (31-1) ended No. 1-seeded Evansville Mater Dei’s reign as Indiana state dual-meet champion with a 28-22 victory. Mater Dei (23-2) had won the last two titles and never previously had lost in 10 championship appearances. The third-seeded Cavemen also eliminated No. 2-seeded Indianapolis Perry Meridian, 29-24, in the quarterfinals. Perry Meridian had given Mishawka its only loss earlier in the season.
Hockey Notes
* The U.S. National Under-18 team nipped the NAHL North Division All-Stars, 2-1, in the final game of the first annual North American Hockey League Top Prospects Tournament at the Ice Cube in Ann Arbor, Mich. Goaltender Brandon Maxwell (Winter Park, Fla.) had 27 saves and Robbie Czarnik (Washington, Mich.) fired home his 13th overall and third game-winning goal of the year. Earlier the Under-18 team whipped the South Division All-Stars, 8-2, as Jeremy Morin (Auburn, N.Y.) contributed a goal and four assists. Jordan Schroeder (Prior Lake, Minn.) had a goal and three assists.
* Though just 13 years old, eighth grader Jessica Erchul was the biggest star as underdog Farmington nipped Eagan, 1-0, in Minnesota’s Class 2A state semifinals. The rookie goaltender turned away 35 shots. She has an 11-2 record since being moved up from the junior varsity at Christmas.
