Faces in the Crowd: Dec. 22, 2014

Author:
Ali Fenwick
Publish date:
Dec 31, 2014

. Donald Payne

Fayetteville, Ga. > Football

Payne, a sophomore strong safety at Stetson, an FCS school, led all NCAA divisions with 185 tackles this season. He also tied an all-divisions record with 30 takedowns in a 28-24 win over Campbell. Payne, who also had 5.5 sacks and four picks, was named the Pioneer League defensive player of the year.

. Lauren Bair

Flower Mound, Texas > Climbing

Lauren, an eighth-grader at McKamy Middle School who climbs for Team Texas, won gold in the 12-to-13 age division at the Pan-America Youth Games in Mexico City in the speed and sport competitions. She also took gold in speed and silver in sport in July at youth nationals in Atlanta.

. Brian Hawkins

Chesterfield, N.J. > Soccer

Brian, a senior striker at Notre Dame High in Lawrenceville, scored four goals in each of three straight state tournament games to lift the Fighting Irish to the South Jersey Non-Public A title. The (Newark) Star-Ledger's player of the year, he had 35 goals and 11 assists. Brian will play at Rutgers.

. Valerie Higgins

Granada Hills, Calif. > Basketball

Valerie, a 6-foot junior point guard at Chaminade High in West Hills, scored 20 points in a 60-59 win over state No. 1 Mater Dei (Santa Ana) in the Palisades tournament final; she was named MVP. Last year she led Chaminade to the Division II state title. At week’s end Valerie was averaging 16.6 points and 9.3 boards.

. Trevor Reinhart

Ross, Calif. > Cross-country

Trevor, a senior at Marin Academy in San Rafael, won his second state title in three years with a 14:59 finish at the 5K Division V championships in Fresno. His time was the fastest in school history at a state meet. A two-year team captain, Trevor holds eight course records. He will run at Yale.

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To nominate an individual for an upcoming edition of Faces in the Crowd, please email editor Alexandra Fenwick with a name, age, gender, hometown, sport, school and all relevant contact information, as well as a short summary of the athlete’s recent accomplishments.