South Carolina boys soccer proved to be the best in the nation this spring.
Rock Hill Northwestern defeated Columbia Irmo, 3-1, over the weekend to win South Carolina’s Class 4A state title and the mythical spring national championship.
Both teams entered the ballyhooed finale with 23-0 records. Northwestern was No. 1 and Irmo No. 2 in rankings appearing in USA Today and ESPN Rise Magazine.
Ricardo Garbanzo scored two goals for the champs and Enzo Martinez – the state’s career record holder with 182 goals – scored once.
Northwestern won its third state title in the past four years in what was billed as the “game of the century” in South Carolina. Fans tailgated before the contest and filled most of the 8,000 seats in the stadium.
The champion Trojans also set a state record by allowing only 10 goals during the entire season. Junior goalkeeper Ryan Foster made five saves against the potent Irmo Yellow Jackets, who had scored 153 goals this year.
National gymnastics champ
Kirsten Strausbaugh, a senior from Kellam (Virginia Beach, Va.), captured the all-around title on Saturday during the National High School Gymnastics Association’s Senior Showcase at Virginia Beach, Va.
Strausbaugh, who won the Virginia state all-around crowns as a junior and senior, totaled 38.425 points while competing in four events. She won uneven bars (9.6), tied for first on floor exercise (9.725), and tied for second on vault (9.45) and balance beam (9.65). The University of Pennsylvania-bound standout helped Team Virginia place third in the 13-team field.
Roesler earns ovation
Laura Roesler has been dominating the North Dakota girls state track meet since she was in eighth grade.
Last week the Fargo South star won four events for an unprecedented fourth consecutive year. When it was announced that she now has notched an incredible 17 state championships, she received a standing ovation from the appreciative crowd.
She won the 200-meter dash in 25.16 seconds after setting a state record of 24.66 in the trials. She won the 400-meter dash in 55.10, breaking her own record of 55.37 which she had established during the trials. She also captured the 100-meter dash in 12.45 seconds and the 800-meter run in 2:13.92.
And she’s only a junior!
Lee smashes records
Daniel Lee, a sophomore from Valencia, Calif., carded a record 18-under-par 198 to win the prestigious Thunderbird International Junior Golf Tournament over the weekend in Scottsdale, Ariz. He also set records for 18 holes (63) and 36 holes (128) while notching his first American Junior Golf Association title.
Lee strung together an amazing streak of 40 consecutive holes without a bogey.
Yueer Cindy Feng, a 13-year-old phenom from Orlando, Fla., nipped Sarah Brown of Phillipsburg, N.J., in a two-hole playoff to capture the girls championship – the seventh in her young career. Both shot 3-under-par scores of 213 over the regulation 54 holes. Both also had pars on the first playoff hole before Feng drilled a 15-foot putt to win on the second hole.
The prestigious tournament drew 78 players from 13 states and 14 foreign countries – 48 boys and 30 girls ages 12-18. Forty-four have earned Rolex Junior All-American honors.
