An intriguing question was posed to me the other day.

It wasn't as profound as, say, the meaning of life, why the sky is blue or what is wrong with David Ortiz, but it presented me with hours of thought.

Who is the best high school athlete you have ever seen?

I have seen many, and there are many more I haven't seen who would surely have received some consideration. I have been told the legends of Annessa Schnur, C.J. Brown and Kevan Smith, to name a few.

But here is a list of the top prp athletes I have seen:

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No. 4: Jordan Shoop, Knoch High. If he wanted to get to the hoop, Shoop got to the hoop.No one was going to contain his blend of strength and speed.Toss in a nice little jumper, and the point guard was tough to stop on the basketball court.But there are a lot of athletes who can do that. What set Shoop apart in my mind was his prowess on the football field. He had a cannon for an arm as a quarterback, but showed just how talented he was by converting to linebacker in college and helping Richmond win the Division I-AA national championship last fall.•

No. 3: Brad Mueller, Mars High. I felt the breeze when he ran by me in the 100-meter dash preliminaries at the state track meet — and he was just basically jogging on the way to a time 10.7 seconds.Mueller could flat out run.Eagle staff writer Derek Pyda was able to chase him down to get a hasty interview from Mueller, who had just dusted the field at the Baldwin Invitational and was making his way to the prom.But we won't hold that against Mueller.•

No. 2: Jesse Alfreno, Grove City High: He played three different positions on the football field — wide receiver, running back and quarterback — in his final three seasons, and did them all well.On the baseball field, Alfreno hit the ball like he was mad at it, as if it called his mother a nasty name.I have never seen a high school hitter smack a baseball harder.Alfreno is now a relief pitcher for the Penn State University baseball team and a defensive back for the football team.•

No. 1: Jence Rhoads, Slippery Rock High. Everyone knows the mad skills Rhoads possesses on the basketball court — I once saw her lose her balance, but keep her dribble and slice through three defenders on the way to an easy layup.But many forget just how golden her right foot was on a soccer field.To put it simply, Rhoads was a sick goal scorer, finding the net more than 100 times in her career. The fact that she could have been a Division I soccer player had she focused more on dribbling a soccer ball than a basketball, and there is no doubt she is the best high school athlete I have ever seen.Plus, she beat me down like Dwight Howard on Anderson Varejao while playing HORSE.It takes a great athlete to do that.Mike Kilroy is a staff writer for the Butler Eagle.