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Thursday, October 11, 2001

By Mike White and Paul Zeise, Post-Gazette Sports Writers

SCHOOL: Mars.

WHO IS HE? A 5-foot-11, 165-pound junior and one of the fastest running backs in the WPIAL.

	Brad Mueller: 8.5 yards a carry for Mars. (Lake Fong, Post-Gazette)

LAST WEEK: Mueller rushed for 155 yards on 25 carries in a 21-0 victory against Riverside.

SEASON: Mueller has gained 815 yards on 96 attempts (8.5-yard average). He also has scored eight touchdowns in helping Mars to a 5-1 record. The Planets are 5-0 in the Allegheny Conference and the Post-Gazette's No. 4 Class AA team.

CAREER: Mueller was a starting wingback at the start of his sophomore season but eventually lost his job.

"There's a big-time difference with me between this year and last year," he said. "Just with being more mature and knowing what to do."

IN THE FAST LANE: Mueller was the WPIAL Class AA 100-meter dash champion as a sophomore and finished second at the PIAA meet. At Joe Butler's Metro Index Football Camp in the spring, Mueller ran the 40-yard dash in 4.27 seconds.

Division I colleges already are expressing an interest in him because of his speed. He also plays defensive back and could play that position or receiver in college. But he's not totally sure which sport he will play in the future.

"Wherever the best school is for me to go, it won't matter if it's for track or football," Mueller said. "I don't know if I'll do both. It's hard to say which one I like better. It's football season now, so I say I like football more. When it's track season, I say track."

TOO FAST: Could a running back actually be too fast? Mars Coach Scott Heinauer says yes. "Sometimes he runs so fast that blockers aren't able to get to their blocks. You know, blockers are normal speed people."

WATCH BRAD RUN: When Mueller breaks through the first line of defense, Heinauer has some special rules for his offensive players.

"When he gets through the line, we tell our guys not to start blocking anybody. Just let him run because he can basically outrun everyone else. Not many people can say that."

OH, BROTHER: Mueller's brother, Brandon, is a starting defensive back at Princeton. Brandon was a running back-defensive back at Mars a few years ago and rushed for 1,139 yards as a senior.

"I want to beat his mark," Brad said. "He gets mad when I tell him how many yards I have. He always tells me I have better blockers than he had."

-- By Mike White

SCHOOL: North Allegheny.

WHO IS SHE? A senior, Madia is one of the best girls' long distance runners in the state.

LAST WEEK: Madia won the A Division girls' individual championship at the Central Catholic Invitational Saturday at Schenley Park with a time of 19 minutes, 2 seconds. She beat two-time defending WPIAL champion Lauren Bricker of Hempfield, who finished third.

CAREER: She finished eighth in WPIAL Class AAA and 12th in the PIAA in cross country as a freshman, second in the WPIAL and third in the PIAA as a sophomore and third in the WPIAL and second in the PIAA last year. In track, she was the WPIAL Class AAA champion in the 3,200-meter run as a sophomore and finished second in the PIAA. As a junior, she won the WPIAL and the PIAA in the 1,600-meter run and won the WPIAL in the 3,200 meter-run.

MANY TALENTS: Although Madia is an excellent runner, she has many other unusual talents. For instance, she is excellent at hanging drywall and has experience tarring roofs. That's because she is a volunteer with the group "Habitat for Humanity" and spends one week each summer on a mission trip building homes for the needy. This past summer, she spent a week in Preston, W.V., which is where she refined her tarring skills ... sort of.

"I tarred a roof for like four hours one day, but when I got down, I had it all over myself," she said. "I had to basically take a bath in paint thinner to get it off. It was sort of gross, but it was worth it because we were helping people. I'm better at drywall."

MUSICALLY GIFTED: When she is not running or tarring roofs, Madia is an accomplished violinist. She plays the violin for North Allegheny's orchestra known as the 'Strolling Strings'. She also plays at various concerts and also teams with several other musicians to perform at weddings.

FUTURE: She has narrowed her college choices to Duke, Notre Dame and the University of Virginia. A 4.3 student, she plans to run track and cross country and major in business or economics.

-- By Paul Zeise