ESPN RISE

Here are four female athletes and teams scorching the high school sports landscape this fall:

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Michael Schmitt/ESPN RISE

Courtney Verloo is one of the top soccer players in the country.

COURTNEY VERLOO
Tualatin (Tualatin, Ore.)
Class of 2009
Verloo has established herself as one of the nation's premier strikers. She helped the U.S. U-17 Women's Youth National Team qualify for the U-17 Women's World Cup this past summer by scoring six goals in four games -- including a hat trick in a 9-1 win over Trinidad & Tobago -- at the CONCACAF U-17 Championship. At the high school level, Verloo led Tualatin to state titles as a freshman and sophomore and entered 2008 with career totals of 90 goals and 38 assists. She was named Class 6A Player of the Year in 2006 and Gatorade State Player of the Year in 2007. The 5-foot-9 forward is bound for Stanford.

DARCY DORTON
Delta (Muncie, Ind.)
Class of 2009
Dorton has established herself as one of the best volleyball players in the country thanks to her ability to thrive under pressure. The 6-foot-2 outside hitter dominated as a junior, registering 461 kills, 210 digs and 67 blocks while leading Delta to a 27-8 record and a berth in the Class 3A regional playoffs. And when the competition got tougher, the Penn State-bound Dorton was even better. At the AAU national championships, she guided her Munciana Samurai team to the finals, earning All-American honors along the way. She also helped the U.S. Women's Junior National Team win gold at the NORCECA Junior Continental Championships in Mexico this past summer.

ASHLEY BRASOVAN
Wellington (Wellington, Fla.)
Class of 2009
It's good to be the queen. Brasovan battled her way to victory by eight seconds at the 2007 Foot Locker National Championships, avenging a loss at the South Regional to national runner-up Kathy Kroeger of Independence (Thompson's Station, Tenn.). As a result, Brasovan was named Gatorade National Girls' Cross Country Runner of the Year. Despite battling injuries in the spring, she won the 5,000 by nearly a minute at the Nike Outdoor Nationals. Brasovan will have to take down two former national champions (Kroeger and California's Jordan Hasay) to defend her Foot Locker crown this fall but is the runner to beat.

JANE RAH
Torrance (Torrance, Calif.)
Class of 2009
Rah started her high school golf career in storybook fashion and hasn't looked back. Back in 2005, she sunk a 30-foot putt in darkness to win the individual state title as a freshman, beating teammate and future LPGA pro Angela Park in the process. Rah's effort also helped Torrance win its first team title. Since then, the Oklahoma State recruit finished fifth as a sophomore and second as a junior while guiding Torrance to another team crown in 2007. Rah claimed her first AJGA major in 2007 when she won the Rolex Girls Junior Championship. She also played in her first LPGA event, the 2004 Safeway Classic, before entering eighth grade. Expect Rah on the LPGA permanently in the near future.