Penn Hills track plans to use invitationals to prepare for postseason

By: Josh Rizzo
Sunday, April 16, 2023 | 11:01 AM

Lee Zelkowitz is excited to see the Penn Hills track season heat up. Where the Indians will really excel is with their relay teams. Penn Hills competed in a triangular meet with Gateway and Plum in early April and is gearing up for the invitational part of its schedule.

The Indians were scheduled to compete at the TSTCA championships April 12 at West Mifflin and will be ready for the Butler Invitational on April 21. Competing at the large invites will provide a blueprint for Penn Hills, which hopes to take as many athletes to the WPIAL and PIAA championships as possible.

“The Tri-State will be big, but Butler’s enormous,” Zelkowitz said. “It’s the first big test, and we will see a lot of good competition, not just from the WPIAL, but from some other districts around the state. It will give us a chance to adjust our training after the meet and tell us where we need to go.”

One event where the Indians have displayed high hopes for the postseason is the 4×400 relay. Penn Hills has a number of different athletes who can take the four spots on the race.

Larissa Lockridge, Mylah Faulk, Maliah Powell, Jadyn Golden, Milani Oliver and Janya Coleman are all in the mix to compete for the four spots in the relay.

Zelkowitz said he’s seen a big shift in people wanting to compete in the race.

“When I first started coaching, that was the race everyone would opt out of,” Zelkowitz said. ‘But there’s been a big change in that over time. It’s a great event to bring the distance runners down and bring the sprinters up.”

Zelkowitz believes whatever combination of athletes the team uses for that race will allow them to finish in the top three at WPIALs. The Indians have a top time of 4 minutes, 10 seconds in the event, but Zelkowitz believes they can get that under four minutes.

Penn Hills also has a number of other athletes who can make a splash during the big invites.

Sawyer Kinney has been hitting personal bests in the distance events. Achen Green and Paris Bey have also been running well in the hurdles.

The Indians will also be competitive on the boys and girls sides in the 4×100 relays.

“The guys are coming along,” Zelkowitz said. “We have three or four guys from the basketball team and a few football players out. I believe we can make noise for the boys and girls in the relays.”

Tags: Penn Hills