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Thursday, May 22, 2003

By Mike White, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

Elyse Goode

SCHOOL: Ambridge

WHO IS SHE? A junior and one of the top sprinters in the state.

LAST WEEK: Goode won the 100- and 200-meter dash titles at the WPIAL Class AAA championships a week ago. She won the 100 in 12.05 seconds and the 200 in 24.93. Both times were the fastest at the meet since the WPIAL started using automated timing in 1998.

ALWAYS FIRST: Goode has not lost a race in the 100 or 200 all season.

A DISDAIN FOR RUNNING: Goode tried track for the first time in eighth grade and didn't like it. She liked volleyball and basketball better. Then last year, her preferences changed.

"I wasn't that good at track in eighth or ninth grade. I would always lose and say, 'This is so stupid,' " she said. "Then I started doing better last year. I hurt my hamstring and had to miss about a month. When I was out, that's when I figured out how much I liked it."

IN THE RED ZONE: At the beginning of this season, Goode dyed her hair bright red as she modeled in a photo shoot at a hair salon. With her speed and her hair, some of Goode's coaches started calling her "Red Flash." Now her hair is back to its usual black color.

LOOKING AHEAD: Goode is the No. 2 seed in the 100 and No. 4 in the 200 for the PIAA championship meet tomorrow and Saturday at Shippensburg University.

She will try to become only the third girl in Ambridge history to win a PIAA title.

Adam Dobies

SCHOOL: North Allegheny

WHO IS HE: A 6-foot, 220-pound senior standout on the North Allegheny baseball team.

THIS WEEK: Dobies had an outstanding game in a 12-3 victory against Norwin in the first round of the WPIAL Class AAA playoffs Monday. He pitched six innings and struck out 15 and also hit a home run and a double.

SEASON: Dobies, who pitches and plays first base, has six home runs and 21 RBIs. He has a 6-1 pitching record.

BROTHERLY HELP: Dobies' brother, Andrew, is a sophomore pitcher at the University of Virginia. Andrew had a 7-1 record this season.

"My brother really helped me a lot with off-season workouts. He taught me a lot of things that I don't know if other people on the high school level would know," Adam said.

FORGET FOOTBALL: As a junior at North Allegheny, Andrew Dobies was a starting center on the football team. But he did not play football as a senior. Instead, he played on the Mid-Atlantic Rookies, an all-star baseball team that played in weekend tournaments in the South.

THE FUTURE: Dobies signed a few days ago with Marshall University, an NCAA Division I school in Huntington, W.Va. "They recruited me as a pitcher," Dobies said. "But they saw me play against North Hills, and I hit a pretty good shot to center field that went out for a home run. So they said they'd let me hit in the fall as well."