ELYSE GOODE

SCHOOL: Ambridge.

WHO IS SHE? One of the top sprinters in WPIAL girls' track. She competes in the 100- and 200-meter runs and the 400 relay.

LAST WEEK: Goode, a senior, won the 100 (12.21) and 200 (25.39) events at the Tri-State Track Coaches Association Championships Saturday at West Mifflin.

CAREER: Goode was the WPIAL Class AAA champion in the 100 and 200 last spring. She finished second in the 100, third in the 200 at the PIAA meet.

A pulled hamstring caused her to miss about a month of her sophomore season. She ran only in the 200 following her return, but took third in the WPIAL and qualified for the PIAA championships.

GOLD MARKET: Goode impressed the track community last year with her PIAA medals. But she wasn't satisfied. "I hope to come back to Ambridge with a PIAA title this time," Goode said. "But not to get ahead of myself . . . I'd like to defend my WPIAL titles."

SPEED THRILLS: Ambridge coach Denise Duncan said Goode "is an above-average" starter, but the key to her success is "she's a much better accelerator and closer."

COMEBACK KID: Three years ago, track and field was relatively new to Goode, then a freshman. It was an uneasy alliance at first -- she quit. "I liked the coach, but not the sport," Goode said.

"She had trouble with her back, which was part of her decision," Duncan said.

Goode returned as a sophomore, saying, "I thought I'd give this a second chance. I started winning and got to like it."

It was s fortuitous return. "I'm not sure Denise knew how good she could be until her sophomore year," Duncan said.

GIMME AN 'A': Goode was a cheerleader through middle school, then stepped away. She returned last fall. "I got to see the new, improved football team," she said, chuckling. Following a three-year run of 2-28, Ambridge went 6-5 and reached the WPIAL Class AAA football quarterfinals under new coach Don Yannessa.

FUTURE: Last October, Goode accepted a track scholarship to Pitt. "The coaches were honest with me," she said. "I liked the place from the moment I got there."

-- By Rick Shrum

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JUSTIN KING

SCHOOL: Gateway.

WHO IS HE? A 6-foot, 180-pound junior, King is a football star who also is excelling in track.

LAST WEEK: King won the 100- and 200-meter dashes at the Tri-State Coaches Association Championships at West Mifflin last Saturday and also anchored Gateway's 400 relay team that finished first. King ran the 100 in 11.03 seconds and the 200 in 22.52.

CAREER: King also was one of the top sprinters in the WPIAL last year, but he didn't run in the WPIAL 100 final because he false-started, which disqualified him.

BEST EVENT: Although King has done well in the 100 and 200, he's not sure which event is his best.

"I think it's the 100, but most people think I'm better in the 200," King said. "I don't like running the 200, though."

THE REASON HE RUNS: King does not try to hide his feelings for running track. "I just do it to keep in shape for football," he said. "I really don't like it that much."

His least favorite part of track is practice.

"You just run in practice," he said. "You're not running from anybody."

DOZENS OF OFFERS: King is a running back-defensive back in football. Although he is only a junior, he already has scholarship offers for football from colleges across the country.

"It's more than 25," said Gateway football coach/athletic director Terry Smith, who also is King's stepfather.

Most schools want him as a cornerback, but a few like him as a running back. Besides offers from Pitt and Penn State, King also been offered scholarships by big-time programs such as Southern Cal, Oklahoma, Texas, Florida and Florida State.

"Basically, whoever we sent a tape to, wrote back with a scholarship offer," Smith said. "We sent a tape to [USC coach] Pete Carroll. He called at 8 o' clock the next morning, talked to me and then offered."

Many had King pegged as a future Penn State recruit because he has said in the past that he likes the Nittany Lions. And also because Smith played receiver at Penn State.

But, when asked if he had a favorite, King didn't hesitate to say, "My leader right now is Michigan. Just because Michigan has been recruiting me the hardest, along with Penn State. Plus, I'm real comfortable with the coaches there -- and it's Michigan."

SPRINTERS' SHOWDOWN: King will run in the Butler Invitational April 16 against North Hills star sprinter Andrew Johnson. A senior, Johnson is a University of Miami football recruit and the defending WPIAL and PIAA 100-meter champ.

"If I hit on all cylinders, I have a chance against him," King said.

-- By Mike White