Pick any day of the week. Pick any location, be it Northwest High where Samantha is a junior or Mercy, where Holly's a freshman. Somehow a lunchtime conversation swerves toward either girl's athletic specialty, racquetball.

Then the questions start. What is racquetball? How do you play? And why would you play, for heaven's sake?

"A lot of kids think it's a stupid sport and you don't have to be athletic to play," said McGuffey, of Colerain Township. "It's hard when I talk about it in school, because people are clueless. They think it's a sport for nerds."

Hettesheimer said her circle is more apt to consider it tennis. "They know there's a racket and a ball," said Hettesheimer, a Westwood resident. "It's really much different."

There's something else very few people know: McGuffey and Hettesheimer form the most elite 16-and-under doubles racquetball team in the country.

They swept the 31st annual USA Racquetball Junior Olympic Championships 16-and-under doubles title in Eau Claire, Wis., June 23-27 and earned a berth in the International Racquetball Federation's World Junior Championships in Mexico, Dec. 19-23.

How elite is that? Holly's father, Scott, is vice president of the Ohio Racquetball Association. He said only three girls' doubles teams in the country qualify - one from each division (13- and 14-year-olds, 15 and 16, and 17 and 18).

Because the sport is rare among teen girls, some doubles partners live thousands of miles from each other and compete together only several times a year. McGuffey and Hettesheimer consider themselves lucky to live in the same city. Even here, the third-year partners have trouble finding like-aged competitors.

"We go to tournaments and play people from 25 to 50 years old," McGuffey said. "Age doesn't matter as much in this sport, because you can still be fast and be 50."

McGuffey's power game and Hettesheimer's finesse are complementary, but they didn't consider the elements a surefire combination for success entering nationals. Hettesheimer, 14, played up a division so she could compete with McGuffey, 15.

She had to oust her older sister, Sarah, to advance to Worlds. Sarah, 16, and Ashley Willhite of Oregon, the 2004 16-and-under Junior Olympics girls' singles champ, were upset by the upstart newcomers in the round-robin tournament's final match.

McGuffey and Hettesheimer won 15-13, 11-15, 11-9.

"I didn't even know we were underdogs until we won and everyone kept saying that," Holly Hettesheimer said. "We weren't supposed to win."

The duo joined junior championship teammates and coach Kelley Beane at the U.S. Junior Team training camp in Colorado Springs Aug. 8-15, when they underwent rigorous skills clinics, off-court exercises and extensive match play.

The team will reconvene in December after months of practicing and fund-raising. (Anyone interested in donating to the

McGuffey-Hettesheimer fund can e-mail askscott@fuse.net.)

The sport might not be high-profile just yet, but it's a labor of love for both girls.

"Even when we went to training camp and got up at 6 a.m. and had to run 3 1/2 miles around a lake," Hettesheimer said. "It was worth it."

Bryan Bedacht / Milford

Look out, Michael Phelps. This 12-year-old swimmer has your number: Seven. As in gold medals won.

Bedacht didn't claim Olympic glory, but the Summit Country Day seventh-grader pocketed seven golds, two silvers and a fifth- and seventh-place finish at the Ohio Swimming Age Group State Long Course Championship Meet at St. Xavier July 22-25.

Bedacht won, or was part of, the winning 200 IM, 200 free, 100 breast, 200 medley relay, 400 medley relay, 200 free relay and 400 free relay. He was second in the 50 breast and 400 free, fifth in the 50 fly and seventh in the 100 free. Bedacht earned the 11-12 age group boys' High Point award for accruing the most points for his team at the state meet.

"All the years I've (competed) I've done pretty well, but not as well as this," Bedacht said. "I was really excited about it."

Though he was faced with three days of exhaustive swimming, Bedacht's biggest concern was the 400 free. It was the first event of his last day, and his longest event. Bedacht surprised himself with a second-place finish.

After helping the Cincinnati Aquatic Club to third place in the big team division, Bedacht has been watching Phelps (his favorite swimmer) bring home golds at the Olympics. Someday Bedacht, too, would love to represent his country at the Games.

Look in his room and you'll see he's well on his way. In place of a curtain on his bedroom window, Bedacht blocks the sun by stringing up his medals.

Courtney Hannah / West Chester

Courtney Hannah was only 7 months old when her father, Ray Hannah, died in a racing accident at Salem Speedway in Indiana. The Shawnee Elementary fifth-grader is continuing his dream with a racing career of her own.

Hannah, 10, has won her first two career feature go-kart races at Middletown Motorsports Park's dirt track since July. She has accrued a third-best 287 points in the novice division. Hannah also competes on road courses with the Ohio Valley Karting Association.

Boasting No. 34, the number her dad used, Hannah has been blazing a path in her third year of karting.

"My dad always wanted me to race go-karts and I liked the idea," Hannah said.

"I play basketball and fast-pitch softball but I like go-karting best of all because it's so fun. You can race against youre friends, and if you beat your friends it's fun. And sometimes you can get run off the track."

Ray Hannah always said he dreamed of having Courtney "beat the boys with a bow and ribbon flying from her helmet," and that she does. On the back of Courtney's helmet is an image of a pink ribbon.

Cincinnati Sting / Hamilton

The U-14 AABC select amateur traveling baseball team finished the season as the No. 1 U-14 baseball team in Ohio, and is ranked No. 12 nationally by USA Sports Rankings.

After winning three tournament championships, the Sting wrapped up the season with a 44-12-1 record. The Sting were the multi-sanction sub-regional champions, the national multi-sanction Midwest regional champions, and the five state Wood Bat Classic Champions. The Sting also placed third in the Simply the Best World Series in Panama City, Fla., July 20-24.

Players are Brennen Croy (Mason), Andrew Moyer (Lakota West), Josh Philips (Hamilton), Branden Whaley (Hamilton), Pete Amaro (Hamilton), Randy Mayes (Hamilton), Nate Hubbard (Badin), Clayton Pauley (Fairfield), Ryan Rinck (Elder), Drew Ernst (Elder), Zak Shiffman (Fairfield), Kyle Johnson (Hamilton) and Logan Brown (Badin). Coaches were Roche Croy, Terri Johnson, Craig Hubbard and Tom Mayes.

Bridgetown Tyra Trucking / Bridgetown

These 8- and 9-year-old baseball players have been summer juggernauts, finishing as the Greater Cincinnati D-2 Knothole Champions and posting a 28-1 record for the season. Getting there wasn't easy: Bridgetown had to beat Our Lady of Victory in Delhi 15-10 for the West Regional title and a bid to the city championships. There, at Blue Ash Sports Complex, they defeated the Valvoline Bulldogs in a double-header (18-8 and 13-3) Aug. 2 for bragging rights. Team members are (bottom, from left) Kyle Eads, Jayson Essell, Casey Metzger, Jake Richmond, Nick Hunsche; (second row) Tanner Viox, Austin Koch, Jake Hilvert, Jake Seaman, Alec Steffen; (back row) coaches Kevin Eads, Jay Essell, Jim Richmond and Brandon Scheland. Bat boy is Jameson Richmond.

ALL THUMBS

Thumbs up

1. Mike Williams. The Southern Cal wide receiver was classy despite the almighty NCAA's refusal to reinstate his eligibility him for this season. Sure he declared for the NFL, but only after a court ruling cleared the way, if temporarily.

2. The Little League World Series. After three months of watching the Reds, it's refreshing to see some fundamental baseball. (And you've gotta love an event with kids nicknamed Biscuit, Big Thunder and Big Country.)

3. Bullet Bob Hayes. Never mind you couldn't have a nickname like that anymore. The former Cowboys receiver, who passed away in 2002, is getting a highway named in his honor - Robert "Bullet Bob" Hayes Memorial Highway in his hometown of Jacksonville. He's the only athlete to win an Olympic gold medal (100 meters) and a Super Bowl.

4. The U.S. women Olympic teams. The softball soccer and basketball teams have pretty much put their male counterparts to shame. See you in three years, 50 weeks.

Thumbs down

Barry Larkin. No one wants arguably the greatest shortstop in franchise history to end his career with the Reds more than this space. But his careful politicing about a 2005 return is getting a little old. It's not always the fault of the Reds front office.

Just desserts. The Miami Hurricane football program took in balleyhooed recruit Willie Williams despite a lengthy criminal record the school claimed to be unaware of. Wednesday, the linebacker injured a knee and will be out for at least two months.

The U.S. men's Olympic basketball team. How could they disgrace . . . aw, who cares. Preseason camp oughta be opening a couple of weeks.

Summer. Prep, college and soon-to-be pro football. It's toast.