By Dave Krider
MaxPreps.com
Senior Tyler Stovall pitched and batted Hokes Bluff to its sixth consecutive Class 3A state baseball championship and left his name all over the Alabama record book. The 6-foot-1, 190-pound left-hander struck out 17 en route to a 4-2 semifinal triumph over Montgomery LAMP, then went 4-for-4 at the plate in a 9-4 title-game triumph over the same team. He completed his brilliant career with six consecutive hits.
The Auburn University signee, who is his class valedictorian, set these Alabama state career records: 54 pitching victories (against five losses), 683 strikeouts and 95 doubles (which also ties the national record). As a junior, he set state single-season records with 18 victories and 227 strikeouts. He also had a 19-strikeout game last year. This year he compiled a 14-1 record and batted a lofty .531.
Baseball Notes
* San Diego Jewish Academy pitcher Michael Fagan toppled a 46-year-old San Diego Section record with 175 strikeouts this spring. The record of 170 was held by Monte Vista’s Ron Scagliotti. Fagan, a 5-10, 140-pound sophomore, has an 11-2 record and a 4.4 GPA. He is the master of four pitches and, blessed with excellent control, is adept at keeping hitters off balance.
* After playing in 70 games covering more than 250 at-bats, Gilmour Academy (Gates Mills, Ohio) junior Billy Urban suffered his first career strikeout. He fanned on a 2-2 curve which wound up in the dirt, but his team still posted a 9-3 victory over Lakewood. ..In Connecticut, Higganum Haddam-Killingworth coach Mark Brookes posted his 500th victory. He was presented a team-autographed home plate and cake decorated with “500” during post-game festivities.
* Northern California is losing one of its finest coaches with the retirement of Gary Cunningham at San Jose Bellarmine Prep. In 21 years, Cunningham set the school record with 524 victories (against 185 losses). Among his other major claims to fame were coaching current Major League star Pat Burrell, successfully using unorthodox strategy throughout his career and sitting behind future Fleetwood Mac singer Stevie Nicks in his senior English class at Menlo-Atherton. He told the San Jose Mercury News, “I’ll be sitting in the stands watching – that’s where all the best coaches are, anyway, from what I hear.”
* New Jersey is losing one of its highly-successful coaches, too, with the retirement of Bill Haessler at Marlton Cherokee. He won over 400 games – including the 1985 state championship – in 26 years…Long ago a legend, Jack Curran recently posted victory No. 1,600 in his 50th year as baseball coach at Archbishop Molloy (Queens, N.Y.). He is even better known for his basketball coaching and belongs to nine halls of fame.
Track Notes
* Foot Locker National Cross Country Champion Mike Fout has given up his dreams of beating Rudy Chapa’s Indiana state record in the 3,200-meter run. The LaPorte, Ind., senior won the 3,200 last spring and had hoped to repeat. However, a severe case of tendinitis in his right leg caused him to pass up the state competition and begin preparing to run at Florida State University in the fall.
* Alaska strongman Jordan Clarke bested his own nation-leading shot put effort with a huge toss of 70 feet, six inches at the Cook Inlet Conference Championships. The 6-4, 280-pound Anchorage Bartlett senior, who is peaking at just the right time, has signed with Arizona State University…Rhode Island’s oldest state track record was eclipsed when Westerly’s Andrew Springer ran the two-mile in 9:14.96. The record of 9:22.2 had stood for 34 years.
* Turning to California, Compton Dominguez – more noted for great basketball – ended Long Beach Poly’s seven-year reign as Southern Section Division I champion. The Dons also broke a 23-year-old meet record by winning the 4x400-meter relay in 3:11.87. Members were Kivon Grant, Manoah Wesson, Leon Dillihunt and Aaron Hester…Riverbank senior German Fernandez turned in an outstanding 4:05.57 clocking in the 1600-meter run – fastest in the nation this year – during the Sac-Joaquin Division III championships.
* In Iowa, West Des Moines Dowling Catholic senior Betsy Flood left a crowd of 14,717 cheering as she completed her career by winning the 1,500-meter run in a state-record 4:33.76. Her younger sister, Katie, who held the previous record, finished second in the classic state-finals race….Albuquerque Academy star Curtis Beach set New Mexico state records in the long jump (23-01) and 110-meter hurdles (14.24) during the Class 4A state meet.
Boys Basketball Notes
* Chris Paul’s CP3 Stars from North Carolina routed Maryland’s National Christian Academy, 70-50, to win the Southern Invitational (17-and-under Gold Division) at the University of Virginia as 6-6 sophomore Tashawn Mabry scored 15 points. Wilbur O’Neal, a 6-7 senior, had 14 points and 14 rebounds for the losers. Reggie Bullock, a 6-6 sophomore from Kinston, N.C., had 21 points and 10 rebounds for the champs during a quarterfinal match-up against 6-6 junior Dominic Cheek, who helped St. Anthony (Jersey City, N.J.) win the national championship this winter.
* Houston Hoops edged the Compton Magic, 70-67, to win the Cactus Classic at the University of Arizona. Tommy Mason-Griffin, a 5-11 junior from Madison (Houston, Texas), led the champs with 14 points and six assists. Roberto Nelson, a 6-3 junior from Santa Barbara (Calif.), took game honors with 29 points for the Compton Magic.
* Rainier Beach (Seattle, Wash.) assistant Ed Haskins has been given his “dream job” as the new head coach at perennial power Seattle Garfield. He will inherit 6-5 Tony Wroten, ranked by some as the nation’s premier freshman…In Connecticut, Jim Reynolds has left New Haven Wilbur Cross to take the head coaching position at Guilford. In 14 years at Wilbur Cross, Reynolds compiled a 254-90 record…In New York, Yonkers Sacred Heart coach John Volpe has retired with 529 victories.
* Given his release from Indiana University, 6-8 senior Devin Ebanks (St. Thomas More, Oakdale, Conn.) has decided to attend the University of West Virginia…Another senior, Ryan Kelley, has signed with the University of Colorado. The 6-4 point guard averaged 16.8 points this year for Diamond Ranch (Pomona, Calif.).
* The University of Louisville has received a commitment from 6-0 point guard Peyton Siva, who averaged 19.5 points as a junior at Franklin (Seattle, Wash.). He also set a Class 4A state tourney record with 32 assists in four games…Junior bigmen who have made recent commitments include 6-8 Matthew Staff (Memorial, Houston, Texas), to the University of New Mexico; 6-10 Nate Austin (Lone Peak, Highland, Utah), to Brigham Young; and 6-10 Jeremy Olsen (Collins Hills, Suwanee, Ga.), to the University of Utah.
Girls Basketball Notes
* The University of Southern California has received a commitment from Kendall Hackney, who averaged 12.4 points as a junior for Ohio state champion Cincinnati Mount Notre Dame…The winningest girls basketball coach in New York history, Red Hook’s John Kuhn, is retiring. In 35 years he posted a 619-124 record and never had a losing season….Maine also is losing a coaching icon with the retirement of Paul Vachon at Augusta Cony. In 23 seasons, he put together a superb 433-37 record with seven Class A state championships.
* Though she’s only 12 years old, Jaime Nared already stands 6-foot-1 and has been playing with and against boys since she was in the second grade. Following a recent 30-point explosion, however, she was informed that she no longer could play in the boys league at The Hoop, a private facility in Beaverton, Ore. Through no fault of her own, Nared now has to play on a sixth-grade girls team.
Football Notes
* USA Football will sponsor the first International Federation of American Football Junior World Championships in the summer of 2009 at Fawcett Stadium in Canton, Ohio. Each of the eight invited teams will play at least three games during the two-week competition. Entries will be drawn from 40 countries, with the USA gaining an automatic berth. The event will be held once every four years….When Muskegon, Mich., had trouble signing a new football coach, highly-successful Tony Annese decided to re-claim his job and stay on.
* It’s only May, but football fans at Carroll in Southlake, Texas, again camped out over night. Fans started lining up almost 24 hours before 100 season tickets went on sale. Some parents are buying tickets as an investment so their young children will be able to use them in the future. The other 1,500 tickets already had been gobbled up by people who held them the previous year. A double air mattress also would be a good investment!
* Several more talented juniors have made recent college commitments. Ohio State, for example, was quite happy to hear from James Jackson, a swift wide receiver from Grand Ledge, Mich. The 5-11, 178-pounder, who had 30 catches for 500 yards last fall, also may run track in college… Penn State has landed Eric Shrive, a 6-7, 285-pound tackle from West Scranton (Scranton, Pa.), and Edison (Alexandria, Va.) offensive guard-fullback Frank Figueroa (6-4, 275)…Waymon James (5-9, 195), who ran for over 1,000 yards each of the past two years at Sherman, Texas, has chosen Texas Christian.
* An opportunity for early playing time encouraged wide receiver Willie Haulstead to make a commitment to Florida State University. The 6-3, 200-pounder caught 44 passes for 635 yards and 13 touchdowns as a junior at Titusville, Fla….Keller Fossil Ridge wide receiver Aaron Fisher elected to stay in-state when he committed to Texas Tech. As a junior he made 61 catches for 1,031 yards and 15 touchdowns….Clemson has landed Independence (Charlotte, N.C.) safety Devonte Holloman (6-2, 213).
Soccer Notes
* Texas is losing one of its most successful boys soccer coaches. Flower Mound’s Guy Greening is retiring after putting together a 483-138-48 record in 30 seasons, including 21 years at Duncanville…In South Carolina, Brookland-Cayce coach Kevin Heise celebrated his 300th victory, a 3-2 overtime triumph against Myrtle Beach in the Lower State semifinals.
* Rock Hill Northwestern edged Columbia Spring Valley, 2-0, to win South Carolina’s Class 4A state title. Defending champion Spring Valley, which entered the game with a 35-match winning streak, had been ranked as high as No. 1 in the nation a few weeks earlier. Northwestern (23-2) had lost to Spring Valley, 3-2, in last year’s state-title match and, 2-1, earlier this spring. The Trojans left no doubts this time, however, by forging a huge 19-4 advantage in shots-on-goal.
Potpourri
* Erin Nargi pitched Victor (18-1) to a 2-1 win over Binghamton Chenango Valley (20-2) in the championship game of the James “Ace” Morabito Softball Tournament in Binghamton, N.Y. She struck out 12 and allowed just one unearned run. Earlier in the two-day tournament, Nargi pitched 11 perfect innings – striking out 22 – during victories over John Jay (2-0) and Delmar Bethlehem (8-0). Kelly Kochar finished the final three innings against Bethlehem, allowing one hit.
* Dubbed “Mr. High School Golf,” Marty Donlon is retiring following an amazing 45-year coaching career at Louisville St. Xavier. In 45 years, Donlon guided his alma mater to 18 state championships and sent 106 players to college on golf scholarships. His efforts have been rewarded by being named National Coach of the Year three times and being inducted into the National High School Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
* Two seniors who have starred in track and cross country have been named winners of the annual California Interscholastic Federation Scholar Athlete of the Year awards. San Diego Rancho Bernardo’s Drew Flood, who has a 4.36 GPA, is the male winner, while Modesto’s Katie Drueen is the female recipient. Drueen, who has a 4.7 GPA and ranks No. 1 in her class, will attend Notre Dame. Flood will attend the University of California. Both will receive a $5,000 award and will be honored at the State Capitol on June 19.
* Albuquerque La Cueva senior Cody Hall defeated Albuquerque Valley’s Roman Salazar, 6-0, 6-1, to win the Class 5A state title and become the first boy in New Mexico history to win four championships…In Kansas, Wichita Trinity senior Jamie Bruce tied the Kansas record by winning her eighth state swimming title. She won the 200-yard individual medley and 100-yard breaststroke for the fourth straight year.
