FACES IN THE CROWD
PRESCOTT LINE
OXFORD, MICH. > WRESTLING
Prescott, a 6'1" senior at Oxford High who is ranked 12th in the nation in the 220-pound weight class, went 4--0, including three pins in under one minute and a 5--2 win in the final, to win the 215-pound bracket at the Detroit Catholic Central Invitational. Last year he won that weight class at states to help the Wildcats to the D-1 team title. A running back, Prescott was named Michigan's 2011 Mr. Football this fall. He had a league-record 2,454 rushing yards and added 138 tackles as a linebacker.
ALEX LAURETANO
MORRIS, CONN. > WATER SKIING
Lauretano, a senior at Lousiana-Monroe, won gold medals in the women's tricks event and overall and earned the silver in jumping to help the U.S. to team gold at the World University Championships in Chile. She also placed fourth in the slalom en route to her competition-high 2,800.67 total points. Last year, after breaking a wrist and dislocating a shoulder in a crash on her penultimate jumping attempt at collegiate nationals, Lauretano won the title with a 150-foot effort on her final try.
THOMAS AWAD
EAST NORWICH, N.Y. > TRACK AND FIELD
Thomas, a senior at Chaminade High, won the two-mile at the Hispanic Games in New York City with a meet-record 9:10.97—the fastest in the state and second fastest nationally this season, through Sunday. At the Molloy Stanner Games a week later he ran the state's second-fastest mile this season (4:15.67). Last year Thomas won the 1,600 meters to pace the Flyers to the Catholic High School Athletic Association title. In November he qualified for outdoor nationals. Next fall he'll run at Penn.
NORA GILBERTSON
LAKE ELMO, MINN. > NORDIC SKIING
Nora, a senior at Stillwater Area High, defeated 166 competitors with a time of 17:29.6 in the 5K classic at the Mesabi East Invitational, the country's largest high school Nordic skiing event, held at Giants Ridge in Biwabik, Minn. Her win helped the Ponies to a second-place finish. Last year Nora was named all-state, and in February she won the women's title in the 23K Kortelopet classic race at the American Birkebeiner in Wisconsin, North America's largest annual cross-country skiing competition.
TANNER McDANIEL
KALAHEO, HAWAII > BODYBOARDING
Tanner, a homeschooled seventh-grader, finished first in the 12-and-under category at the U.S. Bodyboarding Association's Pro-Am tour stop in Seaside Heights, N.J., to win the national title for his age group. He also won the 13-to-18 group and the men's open at the event to become the first rider to sweep the amateur field. In November, Tanner became the youngest competitor to enter an International Bodyboarding Association trial. He is ranked seventh in the USBA's Open A division.
JORDAN COOPERRIDER
PALM HARBOR, FLA. > RACQUETBALL
Jordan, a seventh-grader at Palm Harbor Middle School, won the junior world 12-and-under girls' title in the Dominican Republic. Seeded fourth, she defeated the No. 1 seed in the semifinal and beat the No. 2 seed in the final after losing the first match and forcing a tiebreaker in which she came back from an 8--1 deficit to win 11--10. Ranked No. 1 in the nation among girls 14 and under, Jordan qualified for worlds by winning the 12-and-under singles title at junior nationals in Portland in June.
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HARDBALL DIPLOMACY
It wasn't exactly the Little League World Series, but on Jan. 17 the Rev. John Foundation team from Kampala, Uganda—which last year had become the first African team to qualify for the LLWS but was prevented from traveling to South Williamsport, Pa., when the U.S. State Department denied it visas—finally got to face Canada, the team it had been scheduled to play in the first round. The humanitarian organization Right To Play set up the game as part of its Pearl of Africa baseball series, and the Ugandan 11- and 12-year-olds defeated their Langley, B.C., counterparts 2--1, in Nakirebe, Uganda, in a matchup in which winning or losing mattered far less than simply playing the game.
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PAIGE MCCLANAHAN (LITTLE LEAGUE)
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MATT MAURAD/FLEXIBLE PHOTOGRAPHY (LINE)
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JOHNMOMMERPHOTOGRAPHY.COM (LAURETANO)
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RAY O'CONNOR PHOTOGRAPHY (AWAD)
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COURTESY OF THE GILBERTSON FAMILY (GILBERTSON)
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TIMOTHY HAMILTON (MCDANIEL)
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DARYL COOPERRIDER (COOPERRIDER)