RYAN GOODMAN

SCHOOL: Latrobe.

WHO IS HE? The PIAA Class AAA wrestling champion at 152 pounds.

THE PAST WEEK: Goodman defeated Matt Ryan of Canon-McMillan, 1-0, Saturday at the Giant Center in Hershey, Pa., to become the first Latrobe wrestler to win a PIAA title. (The program began in 1951.)

Goodman won a tough semifinal match earlier Saturday, a 3-1 overtime decision against Jared Sernoffsky of Elizabethtown. Goodman was ahead, 1-0, when he was called for stalling with eight seconds left in regulation.

CAREER: A junior, Goodman went 4-0 at the PIAA tournament. That was his first appearance there; he missed by one place as a freshman, having finished fourth in the WPIAL. Goodman had a 41-1 record this winter and is 105-18 over three varsity seasons. He competed at 145 pounds as a sophomore, 125 and 130 two years ago.

WINNING TEMPERAMENT: Latrobe coach Marc Billett wasn't surprised that Goodman finally made it to the PIAA championships, then departed with gold.

"All along, we thought he was a talented kid," Billett said. "He made some changes in technique and got better as the year went on."

OTHER SPORT: Goodman has become a two-sport athlete. In the summer, he tried out for varsity football for the first time and became a starting defensive back.

FUTURE: A good student with a 3.0 grade point average, Goodman plans to wrestle in college.

-- By Rick Shrum

SCHOOL: Monessen.

WHO IS SHE? A 5-foot-11 senior center who led the Monessen girls' basketball team to the WPIAL Class A championship.

THE PAST WEEK: Pearson had 18 points in Monessen's 60-39 victory against Berlin-Brothersvalley in the first round of the PIAA Class A playoffs Friday. Monessen played in the second round last night against Coudersport. In the WPIAL title game March 3, Pearson had 15 points and 19 rebounds in a 40-34 victory against Serra.

STATISTICS: Pearson averages 16 points and nine rebounds a game. She has scored more than 1,000 career points.

HAIRY SITUATION: You could call Pearson the team hairdresser. She attends Monessen for only half of a school day. The other half, she attends Mon Valley Career & Technology Center in Charleroi for cosmetology.

BASKETBALL HELPS: Pearson spent much of her pre-teen days living in the Garfield section of Pittsburgh before moving to Monessen in fifth grade. She has pretty much been raised by her grandmother and grandfather. Pearson said her mother has been in jail since Perrial was 3. She has three other brothers and two sisters, and one of the brothers also is in jail.

THE FUTURE: Pearson would like to play basketball in college but has not decided on a school.

-- By Mike White