Faces in the Crowd

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COLOR PHOTO: BEN WEDDLE Gabe Downey, Merriam, Kans. Diving Gabe, a senior at Shawnee Mission North High, won the state one-meter springboard crown with a record score of 525.00 points, to become the first Kansas schoolboy to win four consecutive one-meter championships. He will compete in college at Nebraska next year.

COLOR PHOTO: CHARLES JEANE Cliff Chunn, Nashville Rugby Chunn, 19, of the Lakeshore Foundation Demolition of Birmingham, was named most valuable player at the national quadriplegic championships for the second year in a row. He was a member of the gold-medal-winning U.S. team at the 1996 Paralympics.

COLOR PHOTO: VERN MILLER Kaunda Williams, Laurel Hill, Fla. Basketball Williams, a sophomore at Gulf Coast Community College in Panama City, Fla., paced NJCAA women in scoring for the second straight year, with 28.7 points per game. She led the Lady Commodores to the Region VIII title and was named NJCAA Division I player of the year.

COLOR PHOTO: GEOFF SCHEERER Corey Breyne, Aurora, Ill. Baseball Breyne, a senior shortstop at Aurora University, hit safely in 46 consecutive games, a Division III record and the third-longest streak in NCAA history. During his tear, he batted .442, had a slugging percentage of .878 and helped the Spartans to 22 wins in a row through Sunday.

COLOR PHOTO: ADAM TRAUM Shonna Murphy, Metter, Ga. Track and Field Shonna, a sophomore at Metter High, won the girls' 200-meter Class A title for the second year in a row, with a time of 25.53, helping the Tigers to a best-ever second-place finish. Her third place in the 100 meters, which she won in 1997, was her first defeat in two years of high school competition.

COLOR PHOTO: JULI TREDWELL Karin Lichey, Cincinnati Gymnastics Lichey, a junior at Georgia, tied for first in the floor exercises with Stella Umeh of UCLA and was the runner-up in the all-around at the NCAAs. A six-time All-America, she also set a Division I postseason record with a score of 39.875 in the all-around at the Southeast Regional Championships.