CONNOR OLLIO

Butler

Recently: Ollio pitched four no-hit innings Monday in an 11-1 victory against New Castle. Butler won its first four games, and Ollio pitched six innings and allowed only one run in those games. He also was batting .428 heading into the middle of the week.

Check this out: Ollio (6 feet 2, 185 pounds) is considered one of the best sophomore players in the state. He already is being recruited by ACC and Southeastern Conference colleges. In the summer of 2015, Ollio was selected to the U.S. under-15 team that won the COPABE Pan Am Championships in Mexico. As a pitcher, he won two games in the tournament. He also plays basketball at Butler and averaged 14.3 points a game this past season. Butler’s basketball coach is Matt Clement, a former major league pitcher who also volunteers at times with the baseball team.

You will pitch more than last season. Are you different in any ways? I’ve gotten a little bit stronger, I’ve improved my velocity a little and I’m just a little bit smarter, figuring out what to throw to kids at what times.

Would you say baseball is your future sport? Absolutely. I love baseball. I don’t think there’s much of a future for me after high school in basketball.

What would you tell someone who wanted to specialize in just one sport? Do two, especially if you play baseball and live in the north, because it’s hard to play baseball year-round. Playing two sports gives me time off from each one.

Don’t you sometimes work out at Matt Clement’s house? Yes. I’m so grateful for that guy. At his house, he has a half-court basketball gym. Then, you can slide this batting cage out and hit whenever you’re not shooting. It’s awesome over there. I could live in that gym.

What was it like playing baseball in Mexico? I pitched the semifinals against Mexico, and there was, like, 7,000 fans there. I walked off the mound the first or second inning and had a beer thrown at me. Then, I had a vuvuzela thrown at me. People were yelling, playing drums. But it was by far the best baseball experience I’ve had.

People might be surprised to know ... ? I used to be deathly afraid of animals, dogs especially.

Not now? Nope. We got a dog about four years ago. He’s my best friend now.

– By Mike White

JULIA HOWARD

Greensburg Salem

Last week: Howard swept the long jump (17-2¾), triple jump (36-7¾) and high jump (4-10) Saturday at the Mt. Lebanon Invitational.

Check this out: A 5-foot-10 senior, Howard was a gymnast before turning her focus to track and field. She also played volleyball for Greensburg Salem, where she holds the school record in the long and triple jumps.

College talk: Howard signed with Penn State in November.

So just how good were you feeling Saturday? I was feeling all right. The weather conditions were a little bit rough, it was pretty windy, so I kind of had to push through that. I think that held me back a little bit because I didn’t do any personal records or actually even get close to any, but it wasn’t too bad.

What goals do you have for yourself this spring? Right now, I’m just kind of focusing on winning all the big titles that I can. County champion in, hopefully, the long and the triple, possibly the high; WPIAL champion in the long and the triple; going to states and, hopefully winning in the triple jump, I think that’s my best bet to win.

When did you realize you were pretty good at this whole jumping thing? I broke my finger, so I couldn’t do any gymnastics, so a friend of mine suggested to just do track to try to keep in shape for gymnastics. So I started doing track and was really good at it. I ended up winning more track stuff than gymnastics because I’m 5 feet 10, and most gymnasts are not 5 feet 10.

What are you looking forward to more, Pirates season or Penguins playoffs? Pirates season.

What’s the latest movie you’ve seen in theaters? 10 Cloverfield Lane.

People might be surprised to know …? I like art. I don’t think most people realize that about me. I like to paint and draw, and I’m actually really into pottery. My mom has a pottery studio in Greensburg, so that’s kind of what got me started.

— By Brian Batko

First Published: April 9, 2016, 4:18 a.m.