Faces In The Crowd

Effie Nielson, SALT LAKE CITY
Powerlifting
Nielson, 90, a great-grandmother of 12 and a retired payroll worker, squatted 80 pounds, bench-pressed 50 pounds and dead-lifted 135 pounds at the Nevada Powerlifting Championships. She established marks for her age group in all events.

Nick Ellis, SANTA ANA, CALIF.
Water Polo
Ellis, a senior goalkeeper and three-time All-America, led Stanford to victory in the SoCal Championship. Ellis had 33 saves, including a season-high nine against California, to propel the Cardinal to five wins against teams ranked in the Top 10.

Lindsay Van Alstine, MIDLAND PARK, N.J.
Cross-Country
Lindsay, a senior at Hawthorne Christian Academy, won the 5,000-meter Season Opener in Darlington Park in Mahwah, N.J., in 17:38, breaking a nine-year-old course record by 11 seconds; no one else had come within 20 seconds of the mark.

Alvin Cowan, AUSTIN
Football
Cowan, a junior quarterback at Yale, threw for three touchdowns and ran for three more in his first collegiate start, a 49-14 win against San Diego. He completed 18 of 23 passes for 283 yards and ran 12 times for 114 yards.

Cristine Sant'Anna, S�O PAULO, BRAZIL
Volleyball
Sant'Anna, a junior outside hitter, led Louisiana Tech to victory in the Southern Mississippi Tournament, the school's first tournament win in nine years. She had double-digit kills in all three matches, including 12 against Grambling State.

Brittany Kart, LILBURN, GA.
Equestrian
Kart, 18, won the gold medal in three-day eventing on her horse Semper Fidelis at the North American Young Rider Championships in Wadsworth, Ill. In three-day eventing riders compete in dressage, cross-country jumping and stadium jumping.

Ellen Ward, THORNDIKE, MAINE
Field Hockey
Ward, a junior goalkeeper at Plymouth ( N.H.) State College, established a school record for shutouts with 16 in a win over Franklin Pierce ( N.H.) College in the season opener. She has allowed only one goal in the Panthers' first eight games this season.