FACES IN THE CROWD
Cam Akers | Clinton, Miss. | Football
Cam, a senior quarterback at Clinton High, threw for 228 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 217 yards and five more scores in the Class 6A final, a 49--35 win over Pearl High that gave the Arrows their first state title. A five-star recruit projected as a running back in college, Cam had a career 13,243 total yards and 149 TDs.
Beth Lillie | Fullerton, Calif. | Golf
Beth, a senior at Troy High, shot a bogey-free, four-under-par 70 at Red Hill Country Club in Rancho Cucamonga to win the CIF tournament by one stroke. She is the first player since 2003 to take both the state title and the Southern California regional championship, where she shot a record seven-under-par 65. Beth will play at Virginia.
Casey Clinger | American Fork, Utah | Cross-country
Casey, a senior at American Fork High, repeated as the Nike Cross Nationals champion at Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland, covering the 5K race in 15:28.4 to win by 6.7 seconds and lead the Cavemen to second place. This season he also won the NXN Southwest Regional title (14:53.0) and repeated as 5A state champ at three miles (14:42.9).
Cosette Stellern | Cheyenne, Wyo. | Volleyball
Cosette, a 6-foot senior right-side/outside hitter at East High, tied for a team-high 10 kills to lift the Thunderbirds to a 3--0 win over Kelly Walsh High (Casper) and a third straight 4A title. Last year she broke the girls' career-rebounding record in basketball. The defending state champ in shot put and discus, Cosette will compete in track and field at Wyoming.
Stefanos Lekkas | Elburn, Ill. | Hockey
Lekkas, a freshman goaltender for Vermont, had a career-high 40 saves in a 5--1 win over No. 3 Quinnipiac in the final of the Friendship Four in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He was named the tournament's most outstanding player. Through 11 games Lekkas (8-1-2) ranked fourth in the nation in goals-against average (1.72) and save percentage (.940).
Samantha Senczyszyn | Grafton, Wis. | Swimming
Senczyszyn, a sophomore at Wisconsin--Eau Claire, swam a 59.93 split in the 400-yard medley relay at the Rochester (Minn.) Invitational to become the first woman in school history to break one minute in the 100-yard breaststroke. It was the second-fastest 100-breast split in Division III history. She is the defending D-III champ in that event (1:01.09).
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