Malvern

Kids have been known to grow rapidly, but this is ridiculous. "He's 7-4 now. In a few days, he'll be 8-6. " Those words came from Bud Tosti, basketball coach at Malvern Prep, and he was talking about his newest player. The name is Okechukwu Onyekwe. His height? "Maybe 6-4. Six-five at most," Tosti said. "The first height I heard was 6-10. It's going up with each call I get. " He laughed. "My fellow Inter-Ac coaches are multiplying by three. " Onyekwe, a senior, is the brother of Penn freshman Ugonna Onyekwe, a 6-8 future franchise by way of Mercersburg Academy in south-central Pennsylvania.

Malvern Prep suffered an identity crisis after the Friars lost, 49-14, to Germantown Academy on Oct. 30. Before that game, the Friars thought they could compete with any team in the area, including powerhouses Central Bucks West and North Penn. The loss to Germantown Academy, however, created doubt and forced some players to question how good they are. On Friday, the Friars proved they could rebound by beating defending Inter-Academic League champion Penn Charter, 21-3. The victory improved Malvern's record to 7-1 overall and 3-1 in the league, which guaranteed Malvern a share of the Inter-Ac title.

The new wrestlers who join the Malvern Prep program each winter are usually just that. They're new to the sport, new to the moves it requires, new to the conditioning it demands. The Friars got a new middleweight this season, but Jimmy Patton was certainly not new to wrestling. Patton is the all-time career winner at West Chester Henderson, with 90 victories. He finished fifth at 119 pounds at last year's PIAA wrestling tournament at Hershey after capturing sectional, district and regional crowns.

Carla Cossa has played tennis all over the country. She has played girls from the West, girls from the East and girls from many points in between. Those girls often ask about Cossa's home town, and the 16-year-old Malvern resident has a pat response. "You go to nationals, and people say, 'Malvern? Where's that?' " Cossa said. "So I just say it's near Philadelphia. " Although Cossa may have to explain Malvern to other young tennis players around the country, she doesn't have to explain it to the people who put out the Middle States Tennis Association rankings.

THREE OF the colleges that made Brendan Kilpatrick's personal final four can be found in New England. Hmm, what have we here, a closet skier? "Not even close," he said, chuckling. "And I don't even plan on learning. When guys come back from skiing or snowboarding, they all seem to have broken arms or broken legs. I don't think that's for me. " Kilpatrick, a 6-5, 195-pound senior at Malvern Prep, is a quality basketball player and his next stop will be the University of Vermont.

There is no truth to the rumor that Gary Duda's life story can be traced to Aesop's. It can, however, be labeled a fairy tale. Gary Duda, a 6-foot wing guard at Malvern Prep, is highly productive in basketball. He is just as proficient in baseball, as a shortstop. He is capable of eye-popping grades in the classroom, even though his Scholastic Aptitude Test score (900) is merely good, not great. He loves his family, and is loved in return. Hey, what is this, 1960? Is Gary Duda such a fantastic kid that even Eddie Haskell would have a hard time finding a reason to verbally bring him to his knees?

Displaying a flawless brand of hockey highlighted by crisp passing, pinpoint shooting and an unyielding defense, Malvern Prep captured its fifth straight Eastern League title last week by dismantling Monsignor Bonner in two games of a best-of-three series. The Friars skated past Bonner by a 5-1 score on March 12 at the Skatium, then finished off their opponents with a dazzling performance Thursday night in an 11-1 romp. The Friars (18-2-1) advance to the Flyers Cup Championship.

Private services have been held for Hercules Membrino, the founder of Diaphane Corp., a package printing firm with offices in Philadelphia and Upper Darby before moving into Chester, Delaware County. Membrino, 84, who died Thursday, lived in Malvern, Chester County. Born in New England, Membrino lived in Delaware County before moving to Malvern almost four decades ago. The Membrino family founded the Diaphane packaging firm in 1935; five years later Membrino branched out into real estate, establishing Diaphane Realty.

Chris Coursey can dribble. The Christian Academy guard will make a lot of defenders look foolish with his behind-the-back, between-the-legs style by the time he finishes his high school career. Chris Coursey can pass. His eight assists in a 46-36 win at Malvern Prep yesterday were par for the course for a player whose brother, Bryant, was one of the best point guards in school history. What Crusaders coach John Waller didn't know - or hadn't seen evidence of - before yesterday's game was that Chris Coursey can play defense.

For the second time in three years, Jack Nicklaus will play in the Bell Atlantic Classic, scheduled to begin May 19 at Chester Valley Golf Club in Malvern. Mary Ann Saleski, the tournament's executive director, said yesterday that she received word of Nicklaus' committing to the Senior PGA tour event late Friday. Nicklaus also played in the Bell Atlantic in 1993. Although he did not contend for the championship, he certainly brought in fans. The event drew a record 120,000 people and raised $1.2 million, another record, for St. Christopher's Hospital for Children.