Preparation for track season off to good start at Penn Hills

By: Josh Rizzo
Sunday, March 17, 2024 | 11:01 AM

Penn Hills track coach Lee Zelkowitz is thrilled about the preparation for the upcoming outdoor season.

The Indians have had plenty of things bounce their way so far as the seasons begin to change. Having good weather has given everyone an opportunity to get outside and get some work in.

“We were blessed with almost 10 days of decent weather,” Zelkowitz said. “We are in the second week of practice and are able to do faster-paced stuff right now. We haven’t been able to do that in the past.”

Penn Hills is hoping to get a few more athletes out to the state meet in Shippensburg than it did last season. The Indians’ 1,600 relay team, consisting of Maliah Powell, Janaya Coleman, Mylah Faulk and Milani Oliver, were the only Indians to qualify last season after placing third at WPIALs.

Mackenzie McIntyre also competed as an alternate runner on the relay team.

“We are expecting great things from our girls 4×4 relay and the 4×1 as well,” Zelkowitz said.

Achan Green (hurdles) and McIntyre both built momentum by qualifying for the indoor state championships. Green will be eager to try and earn a spot at states. At WPIALs last season, Green suffered an injury that kept him from competing at his top form.

Penn Hills will find itself in Section 5-3A this season for dual meets, along with Franklin Regional, Gateway, McKeesport, Oakland Catholic, Plum and Woodland Hills.

Zelkowitz said the Indians like to use the dual meets to try out kids in different events. Dual meets almost seem like a more competitive practice.

“We use that and even the kids know what we are going to be doing,” Zelkowitz said. “We work through those meetings. We treat the dual meets like a practice. Work them hard, put them in multiple events and it’s a quick turnaround. Most important thing is to get kids in proper events to help them once they get to big meets.”

Zelkowitz said that Penn Hills will have a strong number of kids out for the team. He is looking forward to seeing how everyone is able to improve throughout the season.

With a strong foundation of practice thanks to some fortunate weather, Penn Hills feels like it is on the right path to have a strong spring season.

“Some of our younger girls got some nice work indoors and we have some new kids out,” Zelkowitz said. “We have a lot of kids who came back from last year. We also have a few people coming out that played basketball during the winter and couldn’t do indoor.”

Tags: Penn Hills