Faces in the Crowd

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COLOR PHOTO: TOM GILBERT Tisha Burress, MUSKOGEE, OKLA. Rodeo Tisha, a senior-to-be at Oktaha High, was the top all-around cowgirl at the national high school championships, edging Jennifer Lytle, a recent graduate of Dixie High in St. George, Utah, 670-630 by finishing eighth in barrel racing and second in pole bending.

COLOR PHOTO: JON FREILICH Martin Flores, MANSFIELD, TEXAS Golf Flores, 18, fired a two-under-par 70 to break a three-way tie entering the final round and win the Lucent Technologies boys' junior championship. A four-time top five finisher in American Junior Golf Association events this year, he shot a 15-under 273 for the tournament.

COLOR PHOTO: DAN PEARCE Shannon Pluhowsky, PHOENIX Bowling Pluhowsky, 18, rallied from 65th place after the first day to win the five-day Junior Olympic Gold national championship, beating Diandra Hyman, 20, of Dyer, Ind., 257-198 in the final. The only two-time winner in the event's history, Pluhowsky will compete for Nebraska this fall.

COLOR PHOTO: DENNIS SPAIZIANO Laura Gerraughty, NASHUA, N.H. Track and Field Laura, 17, who traded gymnastics for the shot put 16 months ago after she broke an exercise floor on a landing, won a pair of national titles, the U.S. Track Association juniors, with a put of 50' 10 1/4", and the Foot Locker high school championships, with a meet-record 51' 11 1/4".

COLOR PHOTO: KEVIN HARVEY Sarah Martz, LANARK, ILL. Softball Martz, a recent graduate of Eastland High, set Illinois high school records for career wins (103), career strikeouts (1,402) and single-season strikeouts (492 as a senior). K-Martz, as she's been called, was 33-1 with a 0.16 ERA last season and batted .515 with 42 stolen bases.

COLOR PHOTO: JEBB HARRIS Craig Hartley, NEWPORT BEACH, CALIF. Rugby Hartley, 31, a prop, scored eight tries in six games as San Diego's Old Mission Beach Athletic Club won the national sevens title, beating the Sacramento Rugby Club 27-17 in the final. Hartley was also a member of Old Mission Beach's 1995 national championship side.