BRANDON BOGDANSKI

SCHOOL: Seton-LaSalle.

WHO IS HE? A 5-foot-10, 195-pound senior on the Rebels' football team, Bogdanski is an offensive catalyst running and catching.

LAST WEEK: Bogdanski rushed for 284 yards on 15 carries and scored six touchdowns in a 62-8 victory against Carlynton. He also caught one pass.

DUAL THREAT: Bogdanski is among the top 25 in the WPIAL in rushing and receiving. He has rushed for 1,124 yards on 146 carries and scored 15 touchdowns. He also leads the team in receptions with 33 for 476 yards and has helped Seton-LaSalle to a 7-2 record.

WHAT IF?: Bogdanski moved from Belle Vernon to Carrick when he was 3. Too bad for Belle Vernon because it could use Bogdanski. The Leopards have scored 35 points in nine games.

HAPPY CAMPER: After leaving Belle Vernon, Bogdanski lived in Carrick until this summer when he and his family moved to West Mifflin. Although Bogdanski spent his childhood in the city, he likes the wilderness.

"My family has a cabin near Clarion," Bogdanski said. "Ever since I was young, I've liked going camping."

COLLEGE: Bogdanski doesn't have any scholarship offers, but Akron, Toledo, Villanova and Richmond are showing interest.

-- By Mike White

SCHOOL: Schenley.

WHO IS SHE?: A 14-year-old sophomore and two-time City League girls' cross country champion.

THE PAST WEEK: Martinez successfully defended her City title Saturday, covering the 3.1-mile Schenley Park course in 19 minutes, 49.50 seconds. That was a meet record, eclipsing the 19.56.79 standard she established last year. Sassi Kerpedjieva of Allderdice was a distant second at 20:04.24.

SEASON: A second consecutive title and meet record weren't Martinez's only major accomplishments Saturday. "I hadn't been able to break 20 minutes all season," she said. "I was unsure I could break it."

UNCERTAINTY: Despite her success, Martinez said she considered quitting cross country this summer. A job and other things kept her so busy, she was unable to run.

"I thought we'd have problems. I didn't know if she realized what she had to do to maintain her status," said Schenley coach George Riley, who talked to Martinez by phone last summer. "We started practices Aug. 15 and she came on, then a little virus in September kind of slowed her down.

"But she bounced back, and she's really worked hard the past three or four weeks."

OTHER SPORT: The City track championships last spring were another showcase for Martinez's fleet feet. She won the 1,600-meter run and helped Schenley's 3,200 relay team take gold.

DISTANCE RIDER, TOO: A Beechview resident, Martinez has to take a trolley to Downtown then a bus to Schenley, where she is in a magnet program.

MOVING EXPERIENCE: Martinez, her parents and younger brother moved from Mexico City to West Mifflin about five years ago. They relocated to Chicago, then returned to Pittsburgh in 2002.

Her family owns two Mexican restaurants Downtown.

FUTURE: Doing well at the PIAA meet Nov. 5 is a short-term goal. "I'd like to run, maybe, a 19:30," Martinez said.

As for the long term, Riley said, "Angelica is definitely a college prospect. She's easily motivated, open to different ideas."

-- By Rick Shrum