JOHN NAVAGE

SCHOOL: Blackhawk.

WHO IS HE? A 6-foot-4, 180-pound senior and one of the top baseball players in the WPIAL.

LAST WEEK: Navage, who plays pitcher and first base, threw a four-hitter in a 6-0 victory against Mars last Wednesday and also was 3 for 4 hitting with two RBIs. He had two hits in a 12-2 victory Friday against Ellwood City.

SEASON: Navage has a 1-0 pitching record with a 0.70 ERA. He has pitched in two games and has struck out 10 in 10 innings. He has a .400 batting average with three doubles and three RBIs and is one of the reasons Blackhawk is the Post-Gazette's No. 2-ranked WPIAL Class AAA team.

SCOUTS ARE WATCHING: A handful of major-league scouts show up every time Navage pitches. He is considered a prospect as a right-handed pitcher.

"He has more interest from pro scouts than anyone I've had in my six years of coaching high school and 16 in American Legion," said Blackhawk coach Bob Amalia. "Scouts are calling from all over wanting to know when he pitches. They love his potential. He topped out at 90 mph in American Legion last summer. He's only hit 87 or 88 so far this year, but he's pitching smart. He's not trying to overdo it."

Navage has accepted a scholarship to Western Michigan, a Division I school.

"I want to get drafted, but I have to work hard to make it happen," Navage said. "I would consider signing [with a team], but it depends on what round I get drafted and how much money."

Amalia said he would be surprised if Navage didn't get drafted.

"There are too many pro scouts around for him not to get drafted," Amalia said. "It's just a matter of what round."

THE OTHER SPORT: Navage also was a standout on the Blackhawk basketball team. He averaged 19.9 points a game and was selected to the Class AAA Section 2 all-star team.

GROWING UP: Navage always thought his future was in basketball. But he grew four to five inches from the end of his sophomore year to his junior baseball season.

"I can't lie. I thought I'd play basketball in college," Navage said. "But I grew a lot. Then after my junior basketball season, we went into the gym for baseball. I started throwing real hard and was just, like, 'Wow. Where did this come from?' Then things just sort of took off from there."

Navage was 7-2 as a junior.

-- By Mike White

SCHOOL: Baldwin.

WHO IS SHE? The defending WPIAL Class AAA shot put champion and one of the top discus throwers in the region.

PAST WEEK: Competing in the South Hills Classic at her home track Saturday, Veney was the only double winner from the WPIAL. She threw the discus 132 feet, 7 inches, a personal best and the 19th-longest throw in WPIAL history. Her winning shot went 42-7 1/2.

In a dual meet four days earlier, Veney put the shot 43-2 1/4, also a personal milestone and 11th best in WPIAL history.

CAREER: This is Veney's fourth varsity season. She also was the WPIAL runner-up in the discus last year, and made her PIAA debut in each of her specialties. Veney took fifth in the PIAA shot put. As a sophomore, she was sixth in the WPIAL discus competition.

Veney could do better this spring. Baldwin coach Ed Helbig said she benefited in indoor track this winter, then worked at refining her technique in the weeks before the outdoor season began. She has started fast.

"If she continues to progress, and doesn't get hurt, she should be the odds-on favorite in the WPIAL meet in both events," Helbig said. "But a lot can happen between now and then."

INTO HEAVY METAL: Embellishing her trophy case is nice, but Veney has loftier goals.

"Above everything else, I want to throw the shot 45 feet and the discus 140," she said. "My goals after that are to win WPIAL championships in both events, then finish first or second in both at states.

"My long-range goal is to go to the national meet [this summer]. To get there, I have to throw in the 40s and mid-140s."

ROLE MODELS: Veney attributes much of her success to Helbig and his staff. "They pulled me up from a puny freshman who didn't want to do anything and turned me into a person who wants to work hard," she said.

WALK, DON'T RUN: A three-year member of the drum line, Veney gave up the band for soccer last fall. She played for the first time and was a goalkeeper ... by design.

"I can't run," she said. "In fact, I hate running with a passion. That's why I throw. That's one place where I can spin a piece of pizza and throw a ball around at the same time."

FUTURE: A quality student with a 3.2 grade point average, Veney has made a verbal commitment to the University of Massachusetts track program and plans to sign soon. She is considering geology as a major.

-- By Rick Shrum