NATALIE BOWER

SCHOOL: Latrobe.

WHO IS SHE? The WPIAL Class AAA girls' cross country champion and one of the favorites in the PIAA meet Saturday in Hershey.

PAST WEEK: A sophomore, Bower won a second consecutive WPIAL crown Thursday at Cooper's Lake Campground near Slippery Rock. She covered the 3.1-mile course in 19 minutes.

CAREER: Bower was fourth in the PIAA meet as a freshman. Her goals Saturday are to improve on that finish and break her personal record (18:35 at the Carlisle Invitational last month).

HEALTHY AGAIN: Shin splints, the plague of distance runners, presented one of the few challenges to Bower this season. She was affected by them in earlier meets, but a change of shoes and the implementation of a cross-training regimen alleviated the problem.

ROLE MODEL: Latrobe was the WPIAL and PIAA team champion last year, but a number of runners graduated. Bower was elected a captain by her peers before the season, and thus expected to be more of a guiding force.

"Natalie is a leader," said Wildcats coach Teresa Curci. "She respects the other kids on the team and she knows they support her."

OTHER SPORTS: Cross country isn't the only activity in which Bower makes waves. She also is on the girls' swimming team, specializing in the 100-yard breaststroke and competing in various other events. Then she switches to track in the spring, running in the 1,600- and 800-meter events and a couple of relays.

FUTURE: Bower has a 4.0 grade point average and plans to run in college.

-- By Rick Shrum

JOHN FUHRER

SCHOOL: Keystone Oaks

WHO IS HE? Fuhrer is only 5 feet 6, 180 pounds, but he has been gigantic in Keystone Oaks' run to a WPIAL Class AAA playoff berth and a home game in the first round tomorrow night against Hampton.

LAST WEEK: Fuhrer carried 38 times for 192 yards in a 34-3 victory against Chartiers Valley. He also broke the school single-season rushing record of 1,429 yards, set in 1983 by Mike Blair. Fuhrer, a junior, has 1,619 yards.

CARRYING THE LOAD: Fuhrer averages 31.8 carries a game. He had 44 attempts against Montour and 42 in the season opener against Brashear. In a triple-overtime game last year, Fuhrer carried 51 times, three short of the state record.

Fuhrer seems strong enough to handle the load. After all, he bench presses 320 pounds. Fuhrer doesn't see the big deal about his number of carries.

"I really don't think about it during the game," Fuhrer said. "I'm so used to it by now."

LITTLE JOKES: It seems every newspaper and television interview Fuhrer does, he is always asked about his size and how he overcomes it. "I don't get sick of talking about my size," he said. "How can I get sick of it? We have some plays named after me, like 'Gremlin' or 'Yoda.' It doesn't bother me at all. I like being short."

NAME GAME: And just to clear things up, Fuhrer said he is a "distant, distant" relative of Frank Fuhrer, owner of a beer wholesale business on the South Side who also runs his own golf tournament.

-- By Mike White