FACES IN THE CROWD

Margaux Arnston | Puyallup, Wash. | Volleyball

Arnston, a senior at Claremont McKenna who plays for the combined Claremont-Mudd-Scripps team, had a game-high 18 kills to lead the Athenas to a 3--0 win over Wittenberg and the Division III title. The first first-team All-America in program history, she had a team-best 358 kills, with 38 digs and a .340 hitting percentage.

Talanoa Hufanga | North Albany, Ore. | Football

Talanoa, a senior at Crescent Valley High, caught five passes for 159 yards and three touchdowns in a 51--0 win over Springfield. He also rushed for 74 yards and a TD and made five tackles as a strong safety. One of the top-ranked athletes in the country, Talanoa finished the year with 696 receiving yards, 44 tackles and four interceptions.

Melissa Sheeran | Schaghticoke, N.Y. | Ice Hockey

Sheeran, a junior forward at Plattsburgh, had two goals and an assist in an 8--0 victory over Potsdam; a day later she had a goal and an assist in another win over Potsdam. Through 12 games she leads D-III with 28 points (10 goals, 18 assists). Last year Sheeran scored a D-III-best 33 goals and led the Cardinals to the national title.

Christian Velasquez | San Manuel, Ariz. | Football

Christian, a senior at San Manuel High, rushed for a school-record 514 yards and nine touchdowns in a 78--13 win over Tombstone. The week before, he had run for 345 yards and five TDs in a 60--22 defeat of Globe. Christian finished the season with 2,103 yards rushing and 32 scores and went four straight games with four or more TDs.

Damon Martin | Alamosa, Colo. | Cross-country

Martin, the cross-country and track and field coach at Adams State, led the men's and women's cross-country teams to Division II championships, the 30th and 31st of his career and the 53rd and 54th in program history. The Grizzlies had five top 15 finishers and eight All-Americas. Martin has won 34 national coach of the year awards.

Maya Lacognato | Granger, Ind. | Soccer

Maya, a junior at Penn High, scored a goal in a 2--0 win over Guerin Catholic, helping the Kingsmen to their second straight state title. Maya, who netted the winning goal in the final last year, scored 13 times and had 12 assists in 24 games this season. She was named first-team all-state, as well as to the academic all-state team.

Nominate Now

To submit a candidate for Faces in the Crowd, email faces@simail.com For more on outstanding amateur athletes, follow @SI_Faces on Twitter.