Faces in the Crowd: February 1, 2016
. Jordan McFarland
Waterloo, Ill. > Baseball
Jordan, a senior outfielder at Waterloo High and a member of the St. Louis Pirates club team, was named the 17-and-under player of the year by Perfect Game USA. He batted .571 and slugged .905 in three showcase tournaments, with a .627 on-base percentage. Jordan hit .427 at Gibault Catholic High last year. He will compete at Arkansas.
. Akela Jones
St. Michael, Barbados > Indoor Track and Field
Jones, a senior at Kansas State, won the pentathalon at the DeLoss Dodds Invitational with 4,643 points, the second-best NCAA score ever, including wins in the 60-meter hurdles, high jump and long jump. Two weeks earlier the defending NCAA heptathlon champ set a personal record of 6' 1.5" in the high jump, tied for tops in the nation this season.
. Brannon Kidder
Lancaster, Ohio > Indoor Track and Field
Kidder, a senior at Penn State, set an NCAA record in the 1,000 meters with a time of 2:18.26 at the Nittany Lion Challenge in University Park, Pa. He pulled away in the final 75 meters to win by 3.63 seconds in his first time running the event. Last year Kidder was runner-up in the 800 at the NCAA outdoor nationals with a 1:49.36.
. Kristen Spolyar
Lebanon, Ind. > Basketball
Kristen, a 5' 11" guard at Lebanon High, scored 44 points in a 78–67 win over Danville High for 2,630 points (since extended to 2,660) to break the school record of 2,595 by Rick Mount, the former ABA guard and the first high school athlete to appear on SI's cover (Feb. 14, 1966). Kristen is averaging 36.8 points through Sunday. She will play at Butler.
. Nick Sommer
Rockton, Ill. > Bowling
Nick, a sophomore at Hononegah High, set a national record with a 252.11 season average after rolling a 739 at Viking Lanes in South Beloit to lead the undefeated Indians over Guilford High of Rockford for the Northern Illinois Conference-10 title. Over 27 games Nick had high scores of 299 and 300, and two 800 series (816 and 824).
[object Object]
