Faces In The Crowd

Terence Crawford
OMAHA > Boxing
Crawford, 19, a senior at Bryan High in Omaha, defeated Diego Magdaleno 13--8 to win the lightweight (132 pounds) title at the National Police Athletic League Championships in Oxnard, Calif. It was his first open-division title in a national tournament and the initial step toward qualifying for the 2007 Pan American Games and the '08 U.S. Olympic team.

Nicole Woody
ODENTON, MD. > Wrestling
Nicole, a junior at Arundel High, won the junior world championship in women's freestyle wrestling in Guatemala City after beating Diana Piza of Ecuador 4--0, 3--2 in the title bout of the 97-pound class. In July she won her third straight title at the junior women's national championship and was named the meet's Outstanding Wrestler.

Jamie Steffensmeier
MANKATO, MINN. > Football
Steffensmeier, a senior linebacker at Saint John's (Minn.), returned to the field this year after suffering a season-ending knee injury in the 2005 opener and led the 11--2 Johnnies with 94 tackles. He helped his school to a share of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title and to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division III playoffs.

Brittany Ryan
EASTON, PA. > Football
Brittany, a senior placekicker at Easton Area High, became the first female player in the 112-year history of Red Rovers football. She hit all five of her point-after attempts in a 41--0 victory over Emmaus on Sept. 8. The former soccer player made 46 of 53 PATs this season and kicked two field goals as Easton advanced to a Class 4A district championship game.

Bill Collins
HOUSTON > Track and Field
Collins, 56, a conditioning coach, has been called the "world's fastest man over 50." He was named IAAF/World Masters Athletics male athlete of the year after he won his fourth straight 100-, 200- and 400-meter titles at the USA Masters Outdoor Track & Field Championships. He owns 84 masters national titles and has set 20 world records.

Adam Shilling
FREMONT, CALIF. > Water Polo
Shilling, a junior goalie at USC, ended the season with 187 saves as he lead the Trojans to a 26--2 record and the championship game. He received his second Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Mikasa player of the week award after earning a career-high 12 saves in a 6--5 win over Cal in the SoCal Tournament championship game.