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Thursday, April 24, 2003

By Mike White, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

SCHOOL: Valley

	Mycah Clemons: Unusual combination of speed and power. (Matt Freed, Post-Gazette)

WHO IS SHE? A senior who excels in a variety of track and field events for Valley.

ODD COMBINATION: Clemons has been a standout this season in the long jump, 200-meter dash and 100 hurdles. Those three events show her athletic ability. But what really makes Clemons stand out is she also is among the best shot-putters in the WPIAL.

"I threw the shot when I was younger," she said. "I've always liked it, but I never really thought I'd excel at it because I'm a lot smaller than the other girls."

Clemons is 5 feet 10, 155 pounds.

"This year, I was just fooling around in practice with the shot put," she said. "I threw it and I threw it pretty well. So I decided to try it. I haven't done it every meet, just occasionally."

HIGH MARKS: Clemons is No. 1 in the WPIAL -- Class AA and AAA -- in the long jump (17 feet, 7 1/4 inches) and 100 hurdles (14.5 seconds). She is third in the 200 (25.7 seconds) and fourth in the shot put (38-5 1/2).

FUTURE HEPTATHLETE: Clemons signed with Pitt in November and plans to compete in the heptathlon for the Panthers. The heptathlon consists of the 100 hurdles, 200, 800, long jump, high jump, shot put and javelin.

"I'm not that good in the javelin, and I have the worst time in the high jump," she said.

NO SISTER ACT: Last year, Clemons' younger sister, Mycaiah, won the PIAA Class AA championship in the 100 hurdles and Mycah was second. Mycah won the PIAA long jump. But Mycaiah, a sophomore, moved in with her father and transferred to Penn-Trafford at the start of the school year. Mycaiah is one of the top hurdlers in Class AAA, but the sisters will not meet at the WPIAL or PIAA championship meets because Valley is Class AA.

"I'm happy for her because she likes it better out there," Mycah said. "But as far as her not being on the team, it's a little bit lonely because she's always been competition for me. I will get to run against her at some invitationals, though."

SCHOOL: Greensburg Central Catholic

WHO IS HE? A 6-foot-1, 180-pound senior shortstop and one of the best baseball players in the WPIAL.

THE PAST WEEK: Schaeffer had a double and two RBIs in a 14-4 victory Tuesday against Kittanning. Against Kiski School, he was 2 for 2 with a home run and a single in a 16-7 loss Thursday.

SEASON: Schaeffer is hitting .605 (23 for 38) with three home runs, 19 RBIs and 15 runs scored.

RBI KING: If Schaeffer bats with runners in scoring position, there is a good chance he will bring them home. He had 48 RBIs last year. That gives him 67 RBIs in 32 games the past two seasons. A year ago, he batted .534 (39 for 73) and was selected to the Post-Gazette All-Area team, which is made up of the top 10 players in the WPIAL and City League. A few major-league scouts have watched Schaeffer play this season.

MAKING HIS PITCH: Schaeffer said he most likely will pitch in the next few games. "Our top two pitchers are hurt and we're struggling right now," he said. "The last time I pitched was my freshman year, but I love pitching. I always pitched when I was younger, but I stopped when I was 14 and just played shortstop because we had so many pitchers on our team."

OVERCOMING INJURY: Schaeffer started as a freshman for Greensburg Central but missed his sophomore season because of an injury to the anterior cruciate ligament of his left knee. "It doesn't bother me at all anymore," Schaeffer said.

DRIVE TIME: Schaeffer lives with his father in Vandergrift, which is part of the Kiski Area school district. He drives 40 minutes to school. He attended schools in the Kiski Area through eighth grade.

FUTURE HOKIE: Schaeffer, who has a 4.0 grade point average, signed with Virginia Tech in November. "It's a huge relief to have that out of the way," Schaeffer said. "The fall was very stressful because of choosing a college."