JARED LAPKOWICZ
SCHOOL: Carmichaels.

WHO IS HE? A 6-foot, 180-pound junior pitcher-first baseman who has helped Carmichaels to the WPIAL Class A championship game.

THE PAST WEEK: Lapkowicz was the winning pitcher in all three Carmichaels victories in the WPIAL playoffs. In a 4-1 semifinal victory Monday against Sto-Rox, he pitched a three-hitter and struck out six. He pitched five innings in a 12-1 victory Saturday against Brentwood.

Last week, Carmichaels defeated Geibel, 6-1, in a game that was started May 20 and finished two days later because of rain. Carmichaels plays Neshannock in the title game Saturday.

SEASON: Lapkowicz is 9-0 as a pitcher and is hitting above .400.

CLOSING IN ON 30: It's not often a WPIAL pitcher wins 20 games in a career, but Lapkowicz's career recordis 25-2, and he has the rest of this year and next season to improve it. He was 7-1 as a freshman, 9-1 as a sophomore.

Ellwood City's Kevin Ricciuti was considered one of the most successful pitchers in WPIAL history, going 31-2 from 2000-03. Lapkowicz has a good chance to surpass Ricciuti's total.

"Winning 30 games is huge," said Carmichaels coach Dave Bates. "But he might end up close to 40."

TWIN TEAMMATE: Lapkowicz's twin brother, Jeff, has been Carmichaels' starting catcher since his freshman season. The last time Jeff wasn't Jared's catcher for a game was when the two were in Pony League (13- to 14-year-olds).

"I just feel so much more comfortable with him back there," Jared said.

Jeff is the team's leading hitter with an average above .600.

"The two are a carbon copy of each other. They're great kids," Bates said. "Jeff may be a little more vocal, but they're both very quiet kids. It's like the difference between a maple and an oak tree."

In football, Jeff is the starting quarterback and Jared a starting receiver. Both also started on the basketball team. Obviously, the twins do a lot together.

"I think we'd like to go to the same college," Jared said.

MORE THAN SPORTS: Jared has a 4.0 grade point average and Jeff a 3.9.

-- By Mike White

ANNE MURRAY
SCHOOL: Mt. Lebanon.

WHO IS SHE?: A midfielder for the Blue Devils (23-0), who won the WPIAL lacrosse championship Thursday. This was the first year girls' teams competed in the WPIAL.

THE PAST WEEK: Murray scored 10 goals in the title game, a 14-9 victory against Sewickley Academy. She also registered three Sunday as Mt. Lebanon defeated Grosse Point South (Mich.), 10-7, for the championship of the Midwest Schoolgirls Lacrosse Association tournament in Buffalo, N.Y.

SEASON: A junior, Murray had 80 goals this spring, including 23 in seven playoff games. She has started since she was a freshman.

PERFECT 10: Ten goals is a decent season for some players. Murray had that many in the crucible of a WPIAL final.

"I still can't believe it happened. I don't know how it happened," she said. "It hasn't sunk it yet."

Mt. Lebanon coach Julie Gartley said, "Not even a Division I [college] defender would have stopped her."

SEMI-SURPRISE: Until this year, girls' lacrosse in Western Pennsylvania was a club sport, not sanctioned by the WPIAL. Mt. Lebanon had been a powerhouse but, with the graduation of eight starters, Gartley had concerns coming into this season.

Enter Murray, with heightened skills and the commitment expected of a co-captain. "We lost some key offensive players from last year," she said. "I figured someone had to step up and take the lead."

ANNE-IMATED: No one laughs at Murray on the field. It's a different story off it.

"She's hilarious, the team jokester," Gartley said. "She does this fake interview with players after a game that is really funny.

"She makes everyone feel welcome, everyone feel confident."

STICK FIGURE: Lacrosse isn't the only activity in which Murray wields a stick. She has played ice hockey since first grade, or five years longer than lacrosse.

During the winter, she plays for the Amateur Pens Tier One team.

FUTURE: Murray, who has a 4.2 grade point average on a weighted scale, wants to play lacrosse in college. Gartley said, "I envision her as a top-10 Division I athlete."

-- By Rick Shrum