By Dave Krider
MaxPreps.com
She’s only a junior, but Minot (N.D.) star Dagny Knutson is the proud holder today of not one – but two – national swimming records. During the North Dakota state meet, she set an overall national record while winning the 200-yard freestyle in 1:42.81 and a national public-school record while winning the 500-yard freestyle in 4:34.78.
The previous 500 record was 4:37.30 by four-time Olympic gold medalist Janet Evans. It was set in 1988 and was the longest-standing girls record in the public-school books. It has been bettered, however, by an independent-school swimmer, Kate Ziegler (Bishop O’Connell, Arlington, Va.), who was clocked in 4:33.35 in 2006. The previous 200 record was 1:45.49 by Rhiannon Jeffrey of Atlantic (Delray Beach, Fla.) in 2002.
Jacksonville Bolles’ 200-yard medley relay broke both the independent and private national records with a sizzling 1:42.35 clocking during Florida’s Class A state tournament. The public-school record had been 1:42.71, while the private-school mark had been 1:43.38. Members of the Bolles relay were Aubrey Peacock, Caitlin Mumford, Megan Fonteno and Dana Nessler.
Seven records were broken during the Class 3A and 4A portions of the Washington state swimming meet. Mount Rainier senior Leona Jennings set new standards in the 50-yard freestyle (22.92) and 100-yard backstroke (53.66), while Lindsey Marchand of Peninsula lowered records in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:02) and the 100-yard butterfly (53.34).
Basketball Notes
* Look out, world, here comes Brittney Griner! The 6-foot-8 superstar launched her senior year with a national-record 25 blocked shots as Nimitz (Houston, Texas) crushed Alief Hastings, 69-18. The previous record was 23 blocks by Myeisha Jones of Castlemont (Oakland, Calif.) in 1997. She also had 21 points and 13 rebounds. She can dunk with ease and handle the ball quite well. It’s no wonder the Baylor University signee is ranked No. 1 in the country.
* The nation’s No. 1 guard, Skylar Diggins, exploded for 28 points, 12 steals, nine rebounds and eight assists as Washington (South Bend, Ind.) routed LaPorte, 95-31. Diggins, who has not yet chosen a college, amassed 15 points and seven steals in the first quarter alone. Overall the Panthers, who have won one Class 4A state title and placed second twice during Diggins’ career, forced the young LaPorte team into 42 turnovers…Clay-Chalkville (Ala.) set a school record by drilling 18 three-point shots en route to an 80-53 victory over Vestavia Hills.
* Perennial boys power Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) defeated Mountain State Academy (Beckley, W.Va.), 85-63, as 6-9, 320-pound senior Keith “Tiny” Gallon compiled 17 points and 10 rebounds. Noah Cottrill, a 6-2 junior, was impressive for the losers with 27 points (7-of-14 from three-point range), six rebounds and five assists…In Alabama, Tory Johnson poured in 40 points to lead Wenonah past Livingston, 86-72.
* Basketball fans in Wichita, Kan., are buzzing about 6-8 Wichita Heights freshman Perry Ellis. He not only is a rising superstar on the court, but he also is an “A” student in the classroom. Remember the name…Joe Arbitello has taken over as interim head coach at Christ the King (Queens, N.Y.). Longtime coach Bob Oliva, age 63, has stepped aside at least temporarily due to a heart ailment. We hope Bob soon will return to the sidelines.
* On the recruiting front, 6-5 shooting guard Michael Snaer of Rancho Verde (Moreno Valley, Calif.) signed with Florida State and 7-0, 240-pound Ruslan Pateev of Montverde Academy (Fla.) signed with Arizona State…The University of Florida received a commitment from 6-8 junior Patric Young of Paxon School For Advanced Studies (Jacksonville, Fla.).
* University of Louisville coach Rick Pitino made a startling statement after signing 6-4 guard Mike Marra, a native of Smithfield, R.I., who attends Mount Hermon (Northfield, Mass.). The highly successful veteran coach calls Marra “the best high school shooter I have ever seen.” He told Jody Demling of the Louisville Courier-Journal, “I’ve just never seen a guy who can stand out a foot or two beyond NBA range and comfortably – with perfect form – keep knocking them down.” Marra – who has a quick release – shot 47 percent from three-point range as a junior and developed his touch by shooting 1,500 shots a day as a freshman and sophomore.
Football Records
* Alamo Pahranagat Valley set a national eight-man record during a prolific 128-74 victory over Coleville during the Class A state semifinals in Nevada. The record of 118 points had stood since 1985. The Panthers also set a national record with 17 touchdowns. They did a great amount of their damage by recovering five of six on-side kicks by Jason Choi during a 44-8 third quarter. For the losers, Jason Peters completed 32-of-47 passes for 490 yards and 10 touchdowns, while Emmi Sandoval caught 13 for 208 yards and eight touchdowns.
* Mammoth (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.) junior Jose Cortez has tied for No. 2 in USA history with six touchdowns this year on punt returns. The record is seven…Billy Cosh cashed in on 26-of-38 passes for 402 yards and five touchdowns as Gambrills Arundel defeated North County, 49-15. That gave him a Maryland state-record 48 scoring passes this year.
* In California, flu-like symptoms caused Tyler Gaffney to throw up several times on the sidelines, but between the lines he was dynamite. The powerful 6-1, 215-pounder, who runs a 4.4 40 and bench presses 340 pounds, tied the San Diego Section record with seven touchdown runs to spark Cathedral Catholic’s 70-37 rout of Scripps Ranch.
* Ponderosa junior running back Lyndell Scarr became the 18th California player to score eight touchdowns during a 61-35 rout of Oak Ridge. Five of his touchdowns were between 33 and 72 yards. He missed the Sac-Joaquin Section record by one touchdown. The state record of 11 was set in 1929. He carried 26 times for 392 yards.
Football Notes
* In Florida, J.T. Arnold took advantage of a rarely-used rule for a free kick following a punt and booted a spectacular 60-yard field goal from a tee with 2.4 seconds left to give Crestview a dramatic 31-28 victory over Pensacola Washington…In Michigan, Lake Orion edged Sterling Heights Stevenson, 38-36, on a career-best 49-yard field goal by Jeff Heath as the final horn sounded…Driscoll’s streak of seven consecutive Illinois state titles was broken with a 24-17 loss to Aurora Christian in the Class 4A quarterfinals.
* In Missouri, Blue Springs South reversed a season-opening 42-14 loss by ousting Kansas City Rockhurst, 14-9, in the Class 6 state quarterfinals. Derrion Thomas, son of the late Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Derrick Thomas, led the rock-solid defense with five sacks while wearing his father’s shoulder pads…Garrett Gilbert ran for four touchdowns and threw for three as Lake Travis (Austin, Texas) rolled past LBJ, 55-14, for its 25th consecutive victory.
* The 74th annual East Los Angeles Classic drew a crowd of over 25,000 and Nike’s 5 Days 2 Friday to see Garfield defeat Roosevelt, 26-7…In San Diego, Mason Mills completed 15-of-25 passes for 232 yards and six touchdowns to lead Coronado past Morse, 41-7…In the San Jose area, Gilroy blanked San Benito, 47-0, behind the passing of Jamie Jensen, who completed 30-of-37 for 470 yards and three touchdowns…In Texas, 5-11, 200-pound senior Chistine Michael ran 29 times for 304 yards and six touchdowns as Beaumont Westbrook defeated Pasadena Memorial, 51-35.
* Turning to Arkansas, Spencer Keith passed for 415 yards and six touchdowns and ran for two touchdowns as Pulaski Academy raced past Alma, 63-39…In Alabama, Davidson made six interceptions during a 38-21 victory over McGill-Toolen. Donnell Knight and Jimmy Ward each picked off a pair…In Oklahoma, Tulsa Union senior linebacker Daniel Hausher made 12 tackles, forced two fumbles and recovered a blocked punt during a 70-21 rout of Sand Springs.
* Miramar (Fla.) dual-threat quarterback Eugene Smith (6-3, 182) has made a commitment to West Virginia University…Outstanding South Pointe (Rock Hill, S.C.) safety Devonte Holloman (6-2, 213) has switched his commitment from Clemson to the University of South Carolina following a coaching change at Clemson.
Cross Country Notes
* The first three regionals were held over the weekend to qualify teams and individual runners for the Nike Team Nationals. The Heartland Regional boys race was won by Jakub Zivec, a Czech Republic native who now lives in Grand Rapids, Minn. He was ruled ineligible by the state of Minnesota and had competed only in JV and open meets, but won the big one at Sioux Falls, S.D., in 15:23. The girls title went to Ashlie Decker, a junior from Dowling Catholic (West Des Moines, Iowa), in 17:52. Wayzata Cross Country Club (Minn.) captured the boys team title with 62 points, while the girls team title went to the Eden Prairie Cross Country Club (Minn.) with 45 points.
Jeff Howard led the powerful North Central Cross Country Club (Spokane, Wash.) to the championship during the Northwest Regional in Boise, Idaho. He picked a great time to win the first race of his career in 15:27 and help his team take honors with 42 points. In the girls division, Crusader Harriers (Portland, Ore.) took team honors with 47 points. Alyssa Andrews (Gig Cross Country Club) smashed the course record with a 17:58 clocking.
The Midwest Regional boys team title was captured by the Kroy Track Club (Elmhurst, Ill.) with 66 points. Its standout runner, Steve Sulkin, also placed first with a time of 15:22 at Terre Haute, Ind. The girls titles went to Geneva Running Club (Ill.) with 61 points and to Stephanie Morgan (Barnesville, Ohio) with a time of 18:01.
* The Woodlands won both the boys and girls team and individual championships during the Class 5A state finals in Texas. Senior Reed Connor won the boys crown in a swift 14:48 and the team finished with 56 points. The girls totaled 61 points and sophomore Sarah Andrews was clocked in 10:45…Defending Foot Locker national champion Ashley Brasovan (Wellington, Fla.) has chosen Duke over Stanford.
Potpourri
* The Wethersfield boys soccer team defeated Old Lyme, 3-2, to set a Connecticut record with their 15th state championship…In Virginia, Tabb junior field hockey keeper Danielle Brookover tied the state single-season record with 19 shutouts. She has 42 career shutouts, just 12 short of the state record.
