Faces in the Crowd

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COLOR PHOTO: DEBORA ROBINSON April Ross, Newport Beach, Calif. VolleyballApril, a senior setter at Newport Harbor High, was named the Gatorade national high school player of the year after finishing the season with 624 kills, 526 digs and 117 blocks. She led the Sailors to a 37-2 record and their second straight state championship.

COLOR PHOTO: BILL HYMAN Kenny Wooddell, Buckhannon, W.Va. Weightlifting Wooddell, 50, the owner of a lawn service, bench-pressed 265 pounds, double his body weight, to win the West Virginia open championship in the 132-pound division. The victory extended the number of decades in which he has won at least one state crown to four.

COLOR PHOTO: D.C. GOINGS P.J. Mallon, Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich. Hockey P.J., a senior forward at Grosse Pointe North High, scored 11 points over three games, including four assists in a 9-2 defeat of Ann Arbor Pioneer High and three assists in a 10-1 victory over Grosse Pointe South. Through Sunday he led the 16-5-1 Norsemen with 51 points, on 16 goals and 35 assists.

COLOR PHOTO: FORD JACOBSEN Katie Eckholt, Omaha Swimming Katie, a junior at Omaha Marian High, won the 100- and 200-yard freestyle and swam legs on the winning 4?50 free relay and 4?50 medley relay to help the Crusaders win the girls' team title at the Metro Conference Championships. Her 100 time of 51.19 qualified her for the U.S. Olympic Trials.

COLOR PHOTO: CHAS KEITH DaJuan Wagner, Camden, N.J. BasketballDaJuan, a junior guard at Camden High and son of former Louisville star Milt Wagner, scored 80 points, including 24 in the fourth quarter, in a 122-66 victory over Pennsauken Tech High. Through Sunday he was leading the Panthers in scoring with 32.3 points a game.

COLOR PHOTO: MIKE SIEGEL Lauifi Tauiliili, Seattle Wrestling Lauifi, a senior at Chief Sealth High, beat Ryan Mallory of O'Dea High 5-1 to win the 275-pound division at the Metro 3A tournament. He was 12-6 for the season, despite having been in a car accident last August that left him in a coma and partially paralyzed for two weeks.