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MATTHEW CONTRERAS

Fr., Orange

Then: Proved successful enough for the Orange Chiefs in the local Junior All-American program that Orange Coach Greg Gibson knew a talented youngster was headed his way. Contreras said he wanted to try out for the varsity, which had only three returning players who had significant playing time. “I don’t tell anyone they can’t do anything,” Gibson said. “Over the summer I told him, along with all the other running backs, ‘Every running back that’s decent looks fantastic with no pads on; it’s going to come down to when we put pads on in August.’ ”

Now: Won a starting position the first week in pads and, despite being only 15, has shown the maturity of a senior. A team player with a positive attitude, the 5-foot-8, 171-pound wingback in the Panthers’ double-wing offense hasn’t disappointed. He has rushed for 1,102 yards -- which ranks 16th in the Southern Section -- and has scored 14 touchdowns for Orange (6-2).

Quote: “Going back to Todd Marinovich when he was at [Santa Ana] Mater Dei as a freshman, I don’t really remember a freshman from Orange County having this kind of impact, not only on his team but in all of Southern California,” Gibson said. “He’s our go-to guy, and he’s a ninth-grader.”

-- Martin Henderson

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GIRLS’ TENNIS

HILARY BARTE

So., North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake

Then: An all-court player with a powerful serve despite her diminutive 5-foot-2, 106-pound frame, the left-handed Barte has long been a top age-group player. A strained abdominal muscle kept her off the court for much of 2003, but Barte posted a 27-5 record in sets as a Harvard-Westlake freshman, and the year ended with her advancing to the girls’ 16s singles semifinals at the U.S. Tennis Assn. Winter Nationals in December.

Now: Barte, 15, has gone 18-0 for the Wolverines (9-3), ranked No. 7 in the Southern Section Division I coaches’ poll. She won designated junior events in Fullerton, Whittier, Anaheim and Northridge earlier this year to rise to No. 9 in the Southern California girls’ 18s rankings. She was the girls’ 16s third-place finisher in singles and the runner-up in doubles with Los Angeles Brentwood’s Logan Hansen at the Easter Bowl/USTA Super National Hard Court Championships in April.

Quote: “She’s such an attacking player that now someone almost has to be Andre Agassi to beat her,” Harvard-Westlake Coach Chris Simpson said. “She’s just got too much game.”

-- Lauren Peterson

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GIRLS’ CROSS-COUNTRY

ALYSSA CRAFT

Jr., Palmdale

Then: Came on strong at the end of last season -- only her second of running cross-country -- to win the sophomore race at the Foot Locker West Regionals in 20 minutes 9 seconds on a 5,000-meter course at Mt. San Antonio College. Two weeks earlier, she had finished 29th in the Southern Section Division I final on Mt. SAC’s 2.91-mile layout.

Now: Passed Lauren Saylor of Clovis Buchanan at the finish line Saturday to win the team sweepstakes race in a photo finish at the Mt. SAC Invitational. Craft, who led the pack through the first mile in 5:15, completed the 2.91-mile course in 17:41, nearly a minute faster than her time at the same meet last season. She also posted a victory at the Seaside Invitational at Ventura State Beach in early September, finished second in the sweepstakes race at the Stanford Invitational and was third at the Clovis Invitational.

Quote: “I was up on the hill because there’s really not much coaching you can do at the finish line,” Highland Coach John Johnston said of Saturday’s race. “When I found out she was coming into the finish line a few feet back, I said, ‘OK, she got second.’ All of a sudden, I heard she won.”

-- Dan Arritt