Rettke, a fifth-year middle blocker at Wisconsin, had 11 kills and tied a career-high 13 blocks
in a 3–2 defeat of Nebraska, leading the Badgers to their first NCAA title in the program’s
47-year history. The AVCA Player of the Year and only five-time All-American, Rettke set
Wisconsin career records in hitting percentage (.423), total blocks (738) and points (2,314).DANA RETTKE Sport: Volleyball Hometown: Riverside, Ill.
Amir, a senior at Fowler High, defeated Joseph Almajdi to win the
156-pound youth title by a 3–2 decision at the USA Boxing National
Championships in Shreveport, La. A five-time national champion, Amir
also won the 165-pound Junior Olympic title by stoppage in July.AMIR ANDERSON Sport: Boxing Hometown: Syracuse, N.Y.
for the first time on a whim in 2016.
In the summer of 2000, she
traveled from Mongolia to Minnesota
for a monthlong stay on a visa. A
week after her arrival, Uranchimeg’s
spinal cord was severed during a car
accident, and she learned she would
never walk again. She was stuck in
a foreign country without a support
system while her 6-year-old son,
Amarsanaa, was back home. Her
family and friends applied for visas
to visit her, but they were denied.
Three years after the accident,
on her first trip home, she realized
that Mongolia’s lack of accessibility
offered no chance for normalcy, so
she resolved to live in the U.S. with
her son. She worked full-time—
she’s currently an administrative
assistant at the University of
St. Thomas—and married, obtaining
citizenship. In 2008, Amarsanaa
finally received a green card. “I can’t
even describe how happy I was,”
Uranchimeg says. “The one thing
that held me onto life was my son.”
Now she is an empty nester. In
March, she’ll be a Paralympian.FOOTBALL
TITLE
TRIBUTE
WHEN THE N.J.
state quarterfinals
began Nov. 12,
Red Bank Catholic
senior quarterback
Alex Brown just
wanted to focus on
winning. The day
before, his mother,
Michelle, had
died from breast
cancer. Less than
24 hours later, Alex
scored eight total
touchdowns in a
58–34 defeat of
Morris Catholic.
The next week he
wore a towel reading
MOMMA, THIS ONEFOR YOU during the
state semifinal,
rushing for two
second-half TDs in
a comeback against
St. Joseph Academy.
In the closing
seconds of the final
against DePaul
Catholic, Alex was
out in coverage. He
batted away thegame’s final pass to
secure the title in a
13–8 win, then ran
to his teammates
and broke down. “I
was trying to put
it off,” says Alex, a
Bucknell commit.
“It makes you feel
better knowing you
did everything she
would’ve wanted.”SCORECARDDOUG HOOD/USA TODAY NETWORK (BROWN); GREG ANDERSON/UW ATHLETICS (RETTKE); COURTESY OF CHRIS BURNS (ANDERSON)
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