July 21, 2000

Midwest
Zach Randolph, who graduated from Marion High (Ind.) this spring, is heading oversees. The 6-foot-9, 260-pound forward, who will attend Michigan State in the fall and play for the defending NCAA men's basketball champs, is one of 12 players who was selected for the U.S. team that will participate in the Young Men's World Championships in Brazil. Randolph is the only Class of 2000 player to make the team, which consists of top-notch college players. Randolph was the MVP of this year's McDonald's All-American game, scoring 23 points and 15 rebounds for his victorious West squad.

With one more win, the improbable could happen. The North High (Iowa) baseball team, which has won only eight games (8-29) this season, is one victory away from the state tournament. North took out a legend Monday, when it beat Ankeny High (24-16) and its retiring baseball coach, Mel Murken, 2-1. A Rory Peterson home run in the top of the eighth proved to be the difference in this sub-state semifinal game.

Alex Gordon picked a fine time to throw his best game of the summer season. On Wednesday, in an Nebraska American Legion Area A-5 Junior Baseball Tournament game, Gordon tossed a no-hitter for his J.C. Brager's team, which beat Waverly, 3-0.

Southwest
Behind Jonathan Hargett's 21 points, the Atlanta Celtics edged the New York Ravens Wednesday night, 77-76, to win the Open Division of the adidas Big Time Tournament in Las Vegas, Nev. The Celtics, ranked No. 3 in the SchoolSports.com Top 25 AAU basketball poll, defeated two other teams in the Top 10 to reach the finals. In the quarterfinals, the Celtics topped No. 7 Pump and Run (Calif.), 91-74, and followed that up with a thumping of No. 10, the New Orleans Jazz, 80-65. Hargett, a senior-to-be at Emmanuel Academy (N.C.) who earned tournament MVP honors, scored 27 and 20 points, respectively, in those two games.

All football teams in the Denver Public School (DPS) system will hit the road for the opening weekend of the upcoming fall season. A $1.7 million renovation on the All-City Stadium is a few weeks behind schedule due to a problem with the drainage system for the newly installed AstroPlay turf. Next year, all DPS teams will host games during the opening weekend.

Southeast
Tragedy struck Monsignor Edward Pace High (Fla.) Tuesday as senior Brian Bell, 17, died while running laps on the track during preseason football practice. The cause of death was determined to be a congenital heart problem, according to doctors at the Parkway Regional Medical Center. Bell's right artery was connected to the wrong place in his heart, which caused blood flow problems. He was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital.

Danny Caughman went out in a blaze of glory Wednesday. The Fayetteville Basic Black American Legion (Ark.) manager, who said he will retire at the end of the summer season, won his final game with a 16-6 victory over Morgan Keegan to capture his second straight American League A state title. Caughman's club pounded out four home runs in the game and scored eight times in the second inning.

West
In incredible comeback fashion, the Southside American Legion baseball team (Calif.) scored eight times in the bottom of the ninth inning to beat Roseville Wednesday, 15-14, in the first round of the Area 1 American Legion playoffs. Southside actually trailed Roseville, 14-3, heading into the second half of the seventh inning before mounting a rally.

Runs were also scored at a rapid pace in Alaska this week. In the final American Legion regular-season game for both clubs, Bartlett outscored West on Wednesday, 17-10. Bartlett had 15 hits and was helped by seven West errors. Nick Thomas drilled a bases-loaded triple in the first inning and Erik Waalkes finished the day with three doubles.

Mid-Atlantic
Kurt Wessel of Langley High (Va.) won the Bobby Gorin Memorial Junior Golf Tournament Wednesday. He took the 16- to 17-year-old division in match play fashion with an 8 and 6 win against Steve Doerrer of DeMatha High (Md.).

After 397 wins in 23 years, Rush Henrietta Senior High (N.Y.) basketball coach Jim Cox is stepping down. His replacement will be former player Chris Reed, who helped Cox and Rush-Henrietta to Section V crowns in 1980 and 1981.