CHRISTA HARMOTTO

	Christa Harmotto

SCHOOL: Hopewell

WHO IS SHE? A 6-foot-2 middle hitter on the Vikings' volleyball team, Harmotto is considered one of the best juniors in the state. She helped lead Hopewell to the WPIAL Class AA championship a year ago, and the Vikings are the No. 1-ranked team this season.

LAST WEEK: Harmotto helped Hopewell win the Blackhawk Tournament and was selected to the all-tournament team. She had 25 blocks and 26 kills in 12 games.

A PENN STATE RECRUIT: Although she is only a junior, she already has made a college decision. Last week she accepted a full scholarship to Penn State. She can't sign a binding letter of intent until her senior year at Hopewell, but a high school athlete can make a commitment at any time. She also had a scholarship offer from Duke and other Division I colleges were recruiting her. Some colleges started recruiting Harmotto after seeing her play Junior Olympic volleyball in the spring and summer with the Penn Juniors.

"I visited a lot of schools, and I keep a book on the likes and dislikes of all the colleges I visited," she said. "All of a sudden, the week before I visited Duke [Sept. 5-6], I just got this gut feeling that I belonged at Penn State. I felt most comfortable there."

This summer, Harmotto attended a volleyball camp at Juniata College that was run by Penn State's coaches and players.

"I really got to know all of the [Penn State] girls really well and I got to play with them," she said. "Plus, I got to know the coaches really well. Everything just seemed right."

THE OTHER SPORT: Harmotto has been a varsity starter in volleyball and basketball since her freshman year. She averaged 13.4 points a game in basketball last season.

COACH'S COMMENTS: "She is very athletic and moves extremely well," said Hopewell volleyball coach Terry Borkovic. "In volleyball, she has a real nice, fast arm swing. Plus, she's very, very powerful. Those are things Division I colleges are looking for.

"She was always pretty good, although her confidence has grown tremendously this year."

TWO FOR DIVISION I: Not many Class AA schools have one Division I volleyball player, but Hopewell has two. The other is Dana McLaughlin, who will play at Duquesne.

FRED BACCO

SCHOOL: Baldwin.

WHO IS HE? A 5-foot-11, 200-pound running back/cornerback.

THE PAST WEEK: Bacco's 8-yard run with 21 seconds left Saturday night broke a 14-14 tie and gave the Highlanders a 21-14 victory at Penn Hills, then the No. 1 team in the Post-Gazette's WPIAL Class AAAA rankings. He carried 36 times for 291 yards and three touchdowns, leading Baldwin back from a 14-7 deficit in the fourth quarter.

CAREER: A senior, Bacco has carried 89 times for 678 yards and has scored eight touchdowns for the Highlanders (3-1, 1-1 Quad East). Last year, he was the top rusher in WPIAL Class AAAA in the regular season with 1,318 yards, then gained 150 in a playoff loss to Gateway. Bacco missed most of his sophomore year with a broken left ankle, which happened in the season opener.

COMEBACK KID: Bacco had surgery on his left shoulder in March. He said he was injured in a playoff loss to Gateway but did further damage two weeks later while lifting weights. "It was dislocated," he said. "I didn't want surgery, but it was for the best. It feels great now."

POWER AND MORE: A Baldwin assistant last year, coach Mike Silianoff said Bacco, who is up 20 pounds from last year, is a power runner. "But it's not like he's devoid of talent. He's been timed at 4.5, and he has incredible balance. There are times he is almost horizontal to the ground, yet keeps running."

TRIPLE DUTY: Many Class AAAA coaches avoid using a player on offense and defense, not wanting to risk fatigue. Bacco, though, also plays cornerback and returns punts. "I've told Fred that some of the best players in the WPIAL in recent years played two ways, like Tyler Palko and Paul Posluszny," Silianoff said. "Fred's such a fierce competitor. To carry the ball as much as he did the other night and give us as many reps on defense, especially while covering David Harvey, says a lot about the character of Fred Bacco."

FUTURE: A Whitehall resident, Bacco wants to play in college. "I would like to be a running back, but wouldn't mind defense at all," he said. He currently favors schools in the Eastern United States and is leaning toward majoring in elementary education but said, "I'd definitely like to coach football."

-- By Rick Shrum