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Faces in the Crowd

Sammy Albanese
PALO ALTO, CALIF. > Softball
Sammy, a junior righthander at the Castilleja School, threw six no-hittersamong 10 shutouts in the first 12 games she pitched this season; four of theno-hitters were perfect games. Through Sunday she had a 12--0 record, an 0.00ERA and 214 strikeouts in 82 innings, including 37 in a 14-inning, 3--2victory. She was also batting .486 with 18 RBIs.

Eloheim Palma
CARY, N.C. > Wrestling
Eloheim, a senior at Cary High, is the top-ranked heavyweight high schoolwrestler in the nation, according to Wrestling USA, Amateur Wrestling News andWIN Magazine. The three-time state champion capped his season with wins at theDapper Dan Classic and the NHSCA National Seniors Championship, upping hiscareer record to 217--8.

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LayshiaClarendon
SAN BERNARDINO, CALIF. > Basketball
Layshia, a senior guard at Cajon High, is California's Ms. Basketball aftercompleting her high school career with 2,875 points, the fifth most inCalifornia Southern Section history (trailing Cheryl Miller, Giuliana Mendiola,Diana Taurasi and Lisa Leslie), and 945 assists, which rank second. She hassigned with Cal.

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Scott Rodgers
WANTAGH, N.Y. > Lacrosse
Rodgers, a senior goalie at Notre Dame, led the nation in save percentage(.663) through Sunday and was second in goals-against average (6.08). Recentlynamed Great Western Lacrosse League player of the year, he led thesecond-ranked Fighting Irish to an undefeated (15--0) record, which includedtwo wins in the league tournament.

SonyaLamonakis
TURNERS FALLS, MASS. > Boxing
Lamonakis, a sixth-grade teacher and an amateur boxer, won her fourth straightNew York City Golden Gloves heavyweight title with a knockout in the semifinaland a 5--0 decision in the title bout. A 2004 national Golden Gloves championand an '05 amateur world champion, she intends to turn pro after the U.S.nationals in June.

BrittniHamilton
WEBSTER, N.Y. > Bowling
Hamilton, a freshman at Vanderbilt, earned NCAA All-America and Division Irookie of the year honors after rolling the second-highest average in thecountry (201.2, runner-up to teammate Josie Earnest's 214.9). Hamilton topped200 in 25 games, including a season high of 254. The Commodores were ranked No.1 in the nation at the end of the regular season.

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KEITH PETERS/PA WEEKLY (ALBANESE)

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COURTESY OF JERRY WINTERTON (PALMA)

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JAMES CECH (CLARENDON)

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MIKE BENNETT (RODGERS)

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JOHN RUSSELL/VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY (HAMILTON)

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