There's an old Wall Street axiom that says the greater the risk, the greater the reward.

Top performing students in The Herald's Stock Market Game took that to heart this year when they bet on long-shot odds and turned up hefty profits.

In the 10-week long game, which students play in the fall or spring, students invest an imaginary $100,000 in stocks listed in The Herald, along with gold or silver. Top teams were taken to the Federal Reserve Bank in Cleveland, thanks to a $1,000 contribution from the Midwestern Economic Education Foundation. Members of each level's No. 1 team also receive a $50 U.S. Savings Bond.

The high school division was won by students in teacher Gary Revale's economics class at Sharon High School. Gary Cimperman Jr., Nick Savioli and Shawn Zipay more than doubled their money to net $110,286 in profits.

The team placed a bundle on Bethlehem Steel, which is mired in bankruptcy.

"We heard the stock was on its way up,'' Cimperman said. "We felt like we had nothing to lose.''

The team made other safer, more traditional choices with shares of Toys R Us and National Fuel Gas.

"It was around Christmastime and we thought Toys R Us would be a good pick,'' Savioli said.

Likewise, NFG, was chosen because of the onset of winter.

"We thought people would be using more heat and the price of the stock would go up,'' Zipay said.

The lesson the team learned, Zipay said, was "We found some of the most unlikely stocks would be some of the best choices to stand by.''

Seventh-grade students of Hermitage Middle School teacher Rita McVey won the elementary division by wheeling and dealing their way to $34,293 in profits.

Like their high school counterparts, the students bet a bundle on another ailing steelmaker -- WHX Corp. which owns Wheeling-Pitt. Willie Pletcher, Cameron Konop and Ryan Hartenstein said they didn't flinch when opting for the steelmaker.

"The stock was real cheap so we bought a lot of it,'' Pletcher said.

But the trio also snapped up a few blue-chip stocks like Compaq and General Dynamics. After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the group said the students believed General Dynamics, a defense contractor, would do well.

"Also, my dad told me it was a good company,'' Hartenstein said.

The group also played the game last year and learned a few lessons.

"Last year we did horrible,'' Konop said. "Now I know how to use money wisely.''

The group also said it literally pays to do your homework. In this case, homework centered on researching a company before buying stock. Furthermore, Konop said, the oldest adage of Wall Street still holds water: "Buy low, sell high.''