CURTIS KELLY

SCHOOL: North Hills

WHO IS HE? A senior swimmer who won two WPIAL Class AAA championships for the second year in a row.

LAST WEEK: Kelly won the 50- and 100-yard freestyle titles Thursday and Friday at Pitt's Trees Pool. He won the 50 in 21.13 seconds and the 100 in 46.06. The second-place finisher in the 100 was more than a second behind. Kelly also swam on relay teams that finished second and third.

CAREER: Besides winning the two titles the past two years, he was second in the 100 as a sophomore and fourth in the 50.

FRIENDLY BEGINNING: Kelly had no interest in swimming until his friend, Luke Klein, talked him into joining the North Hills Aquatics Club when they were in fifth grade. "I was reluctant at first, but he ended up eventually quitting and going into acting, and here I am today," Kelly said.

HAIRY SITUATION: Kelly shaved his body before the WPIAL meet. "We only do it once a year, so it's a sacrifice we swimmers have to make," he said. "But in the end, you feel great when you get into the water. You almost feel slippery. It's probably more a mental thing than physical thing for dropping your times."

FIT TO BE TIDE: Kelly signed with the University of Alabama in November, choosing the Crimson Tide over Indiana and Maryland. "I've known the coach at Alabama [Eric McIlquham] since I've been a freshman because he used to be the coach at West Virginia," said Kelly, who will participate in the PIAA championships next week.

-- By Mike White

STACIE SAFRITT

SCHOOL: Seneca Valley

WHO IS SHE? A senior who won four gold medals at the WPIAL Class AAA swimming championships.

LAST WEEK: Safritt won two individual titles and two relays at Pitt's Trees Pool. She won the 50-yard freestyle in 23.86 seconds and the 100 in 51.85. She also swam on the 200 medley and 400 freestyle relay teams that finished first.

BEATING THE CHAMP: Gateway's Katrina Streiner was the two-time defending WPIAL champion in the 50 and won the 100 last year. But she finished second to Safritt this season in both events. Safritt wasn't at full strength for last year's championships because she was coming off shoulder surgery. "I thought I could definitely win the 100 this year, but I didn't think there was any way I'd win the 50," she said. "[Streiner] is fast. She's an incredible swimmer. It was really exciting to beat her."

FORCED INTO THE WATER: Safritt quit playing softball as a sixth-grader. That's when her father signed her up for the swim club when the family lived in Richmond, Va. "When I quit softball, he told me there was no way I was just going to sit at home and do nothing. He told me I had to do another sport," she said. "I didn't want to sign up for swimming. I think he thought I'd quit the first morning I hit the water. But I actually liked it."

Safritt and her family moved to the Seneca Valley district for eighth grade.

-- By Mike White