Faces In The Crowd

Kristin Schmidt, HOUSTON
Softball
Schmidt, a righthanded pitcher and recent graduate of LSU, was named the NCAA Women's College World Series' Most Outstanding Player after she struck out 44 batters in 40? innings. She ended her college career with 116 wins and 1,154 strikeouts.

LaShawn Merritt, PORTSMOUTH, VA.
Track and Field
Merritt, a graduate of Wilson High, won three gold medals at the LAAF World Junior Track & Field Championships in Grosseto, Italy. He won the men's 400 meters and was a member of the world junior record-setting 4x100-and 4x400-meter relay teams.

Rebecca Ward, PORTLAND
Fencing
Rebecca, 14, a homeschooled ninth-grader, won three gold medals in women's saber (under-19, under-16 and youth-14) at the summer national championships in Charlotte. She is undefeated in four years of national competition in her own age group.

Jeff Wood, MANSFIELD, MASS.
Motor Sports
Wood, 29, won the 20-lap SportBike race, the main event at the New Hampshire International Speedway's 81st annual Loudon Classic, the nation's oldest motorcycle road race. He also won the SuperBike and ThunderBike finals.

Mary Heitkamp, ORWELL, VT.
Track and Field
Heitkamp, the 2004 valedictorian at Fair Haven Union High, won the state high school heptathlon championship, with 4,360 points. She has won 14 individual outdoor tides, the most in Vermont history, and was named its high school girls' track athlete of the year.

Jarod Gschwind, LA CROSSE, WIS.
Baseball
Gschwind, a graduate of Logan High, hit for the cycle in each game of a doubleheader sweep, going 9 for 9 with eight RBIs for the La Crosse American Legion Post 52 team. The centerfielder and pitcher threw a three-hit shutout in the second win.

Rachel Uremovich, HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C.
Golf
Rachel, 13, an eighth-grader at Hilton Head Prep competing in her first match play tournament, became the youngest winner of the Women's South Carolina Golf Association's Match Play Championship. She is a member of the Dolphins' varsity golf team.