FACES IN THE CROWD
KAYLIN WHITNEY
CLERMONT, FLA. > TRACK AND FIELD
Kaylin, who will be a freshman at East Ridge High, won gold in the youth division 100 and 200 meters at the USATF Junior Olympics in Baltimore. Her finishes of 11.59 and 23.41 seconds, respectively, broke national 14--15-year-old age-group records held by Olympic 400-meter gold medalist Sanya Richards-Ross. Kaylin tied the season's ninth-best high school time in the 100 and the second-best in the 200.
ANDY HYEON BO SHIM
DULUTH, GA. > GOLF
Andy, a 17-year-old homeschooled student, rebounded from a five-hole deficit—the largest comeback in championship-match history at the 36-hole U.S. Junior Amateur—to defeat defending champion Jim Liu (Smithtown, N.Y.), 4 and 3. A two-time Georgia PGA junior champion, Shim qualified for the tournament with a three-under 141 fourth-place finish at the Georgia qualifier in Athens.
BAILEY DICKINSON
JOHNS CREEK, GA. > CLIMBING
Bailey, who will be a junior at Chattahoochee High, won the 16--17-year-old division title at youth nationals in Atlanta in the 10-meter speed climb. With her time of 6.51 seconds, she not only set a women's national record (all ages) but also became the first American female to make the climb in less than seven seconds. Bailey's win earned her a spot in the youth world championships this month in Singapore.
MATT KAVANAGH
ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. > LACROSSE
Kavanagh, a 2011 Chaminade High graduate who recently completed a postgrad year at The Hotchkiss School, helped the U.S. win gold with two goals and two assists in a 10--8 victory over Canada in the U-19 world championships final in Finland. The lefthanded attacker was named tournament MVP with 19 goals and 15 assists in seven games. Kavanagh will compete at Notre Dame.
NICOLE MEDVITZ
PARAMUS, N.J. > GYMNASTICS
Nicole, who will be a senior at Paramus High, won her second straight balance-beam title competing for ENA Paramus at the Junior Olympic nationals in Hampton, Va., by .025 of a point, with a score of 9.500. The 2011 New Jersey gymnast of the year as named by the state's USA Gymnastics' chapter, she also repeated as New Jersey's Level 10 all-around state champion in her age group this spring.
TIM BENEDICT
PITTSFIELD, PA. > TIMBER SPORTS
Benedict, a recent Penn State graduate, won the Stihl Timbersports Collegiate Championship in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., with 18 points in four events, including first place in the underhand chop (standing on a log while chopping it in half with an ax; 26.620 seconds) and the stock saw (slicing a log twice with a chain saw; 12.005 seconds). His win earned him a spot on the U.S. rookie team at worlds in Lillehammer.
HOLY SMOKES!
Charting the wide world of flying squirrels, Olympic and otherwise
ELLIS COLEMAN | GABBY DOUGLAS | ROCKET J. SQUIRREL | |
TRADE | Olympic wrestler | Olympic gymnast | Cartoon do-gooder |
RIVALS | Bulgarians | Russians | Russians |
"FLYING SQUIRREL" ORIGIN | Aerial takedown maneuver | Excellence on uneven bars | Actual flying squirrel |
Nominate Now
To submit a candidate for Faces in the Crowd, go to SI.com/faces. For more on outstanding amateur athletes, follow @SI_Faces on Twitter.
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REESE STRICKLAND/US PRESSWIRE (COLEMAN)
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PETER READ MILLER (DOUGLAS)
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ABC/PHOTOFEST (SQUIRREL)
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KERRIE WHITNEY (WHITNEY)
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ROCHALLE STEWART/PGA OF AMERICA (SHIM)
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PAUL DICKINSON (DICKINSON)
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COURTESY OF USA LACROSSE (KAVANAGH)
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DENISE MEDVITZ (MEDVITZ)
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SANDY BENEDICT (BENEDICT)
