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Thursday, April 18, 2002

By Mike White, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

SCHOOL: Washington

WHO IS SHE? A 5-foot-6 senior who is ranked among the top five WPIAL Class AA track and field athletes in five events.

	Suzanne Montecalvo: Multi-faceted athlete. (Franka Bruns, Post-Gazette)

THE PAST WEEK: Montecalvo won the 100-meter dash, the triple jump and long jump in a meet against Brentwood Tuesday. She won four events in two different meets last week.

AMONG THE BEST: Montecalvo's time of 12.7 seconds in the 100 is the best in WPIAL Class AA this season. She is second in the long jump (16-8) and triple jump (34-1 1/2), and fourth in the 200 (27.2) and 400 (1:03.3). Her marks in the 100, long and triple jumps are among the top 10 in the WPIAL, regardless of class.

WHAT'S HER BEST? No one is quite sure what Montecalvo's best event is. Including possibly one relay team, she will probably compete in four events at the WPIAL Class AA championships next month. "I think I like the 100 and both jumping events the best, but I really couldn't pick one event," she said.

HEART OF THE MATTER: Montecalvo has an irregular heart rhythm, and sometimes she has trouble recovering from longer races, such as the 200 and 400. "She's had extensive testing done on her in hospitals and she is in no danger," said Guy Montecalvo, Suzanne's father who also is Washington's track coordinator. "We just can't train her the same way we do our other athletes because she takes a little longer to recover."

THE OTHER SPORT: Montecalvo was a three-year starter in girls' basketball.

SPORTS FAMILY: Guy Montecalvo is Washington's football coach. Besides Suzanne, Guy and Marie Montecalvo have two other children. Jimmy was a kicker for Washington's football team and now plays golf at Bethany College. Laura is an eighth-grader and a standout in track and field. She long jumped 16-9 last year as a seventh-grader and triple-jumped 35-3.

"Just the way my dad coaches has had a great influence on me," Suzanne said. "He helped shape my work ethic. Just seeing the way he coaches the football team, I know he's really tough. I've seen the way you have to work to be the best you can be."

THE FUTURE: Montecalvo signed last week with Robert Morris University. It's not certain what events she'll compete in for the Colonials. "The coaches said they're going to try me in just about everything there and then see where I fit in," she said. "They said they might even try me in the hurdles."

Montecalvo has a 3.9 grade point average and is a member of the National Honor Society.

SCHOOL: Latrobe

WHO IS HE? A 6-foot-2, 180-pound senior, Argenta was a standout football receiver. Now he's the top long jumper in the WPIAL and one of the best triple jumpers. In dual meets, he also competes in the 100-meter dash and high jump, but the long and triple jumps are his best events.

THE PAST WEEK: Argenta leaped 21 feet, 5 inches in the long jump Tuesday in a meet against Kiski Area. It is almost a foot better than any other jump in the WPIAL this season. Last week against Derry, he went 42-6 in the triple jump, which is fifth best in the WPIAL.

LATE ARRIVAL: Argenta seemingly has a good shot at winning a WPIAL Class AAA championship next month. But he almost didn't come out for track and field this season.

"I mainly just wanted to lift weights for football," said Argenta, who will play football next season at Lehigh, an NCAA Division I-AA school. "But my aunt [Michelle Butler] is the girls' coach here. She kind of talked me into coming back out. She told me I could go to states this year and she said the season is really over next month."

Last year was the first time in his high school career that Argenta competed in track and field.

"I'd have to say I'm glad I came back, just because I'm doing well," Argenta said.

THE OTHER SPORT: Argenta was an all-WPIAL Quad South Conference receiver after catching 41 passes for 691 yards as a senior. He also had three interceptions as a defensive back and averaged 45 yards on five kickoff returns. He was the team's punter and holder on extra points. Argenta thought he would only play football at Lehigh, but now he isn't so sure.

"When I was down at Lehigh for a visit, they were having an indoor track meet," he said. "They were long jumping the same distances I am now. So I don't know what I'm going to do next year."

SON OF A NITTANY LION: Argenta's father, Ron, played at Greensburg Salem High School and was a two-year letterman at Penn State (1975-76). Ron Argenta also competed in track and field. But Aaron is much different than his father, who was a lineman in football. "He threw the shot put and discus, too," Aaron said.