Penn Hills’ ‘Dynasty’ trio shines at WPIAL meet

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, May 26, 2018 | 1:39 PM

A trio of Penn Hills senior athletes, who calls themselves “the Dynasty,” wanted to make sure they left their mark in Indians track and field history while competing at the WPIAL Class AAA championships May 17 at Baldwin.

The Dynasty, which consists of seniors Alex Trower, Jaden Rouse and Emmanuel Mitchell, fulfilled their goal, headlined by a record-setting performance by Trower in the 100-meter dash.

Trower, who transferred back to Penn Hills after spending his junior year at Central Catholic, captured the 100 title in 10.69 seconds. North Hills' Tom McDonough finished second in 10.93.

Trower broke the school record, which was set by Jeffrey Austin (10.74) at the state meet in 1980.

“I was happy to finally get the school record. I was shocked because I was only able to get a 20-minute break after the 200-meter prelims so I was exhausted going into the 100 final. When I saw 10.6, I was a little shocked,” Trower said.

Even though many expected Trower to break the school record in the 100, Penn Hills coach Lee Zelkowitz was impressed with what stage the record-breaking performance was made.

“To break that record on that stage is something. That's a 28-year-old record that he broke. Nobody pressed him in that race. He won by a good margin. I think he could go faster up at states. That was a tremendous race that he had,” Zelkowitz said.

Trower followed up his 100-meter performance by finishing second in the 200 in 21.90. Hempfield's Eudel Moreta won in 21.81.

Earlier this season, Trower broke the 200 record held by Brandon Ifill (2010) by finishing in 21.79 at the Tri-State Track and Field Coaches Association outdoor championship at West Mifflin.

Rouse, a Bucknell recruit, qualified for states after finishing second in the triple jump with a mark of 44-1.25. Franklin Regional's Jacob Shedd captured the title after a 44-6.75 mark.

Rouse qualified for states during his sophomore year but didn't qualify his junior year when he finished sixth with a 43-9.25 mark.

Rouse thought he could make the necessary changes in his technique to get the desired jump.

“I could've jumped a foot further if I held my last phase longer and kept both my feet together when I landed. The things I need to work on are easy fixes,” Rouse said.

Mitchell finished second in the high jump with a mark of 6-5; McKeesport's Terron Taylor won with a jump of 6-7.

At the Baldwin Invitational a couple weeks earlier, Mitchell reached his personal best at 6-7, which was an inch shy of the 6-8 school record set by Dion Bentley in 1988.

With his runner-up performance, Mitchell qualified for states for the third year in a row. Last season, Mitchell finished in a four-way tie for third.

The Dynasty's final performance, representing Penn Hills at the PIAA championships at Shippensburg, occurred after the deadline for this story.

However, heading into states, the trio wanted to set the bar high as they write their final chapter in Penn Hills history.

“We call ourselves the Dynasty because we're the guys on the team the coaches know will give it 100 percent and they know that whenever we compete, we want to win,” Trower said.

“At the end of the day, all that the Dynasty wants to do is go up to states, medal and have a good time,” Rouse said.

Andrew John is a freelance writer.

Tags: Penn Hills