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Oakland Catholic runner keeps improving

Written by Brad Everett on .

Brad Everett's feature on Oakland Catholic sprinter Taylor McCorkle:

 

"Taylor McCorkle isn't your average female track athlete.

McCorkle, a junior at Oakland Catholic, sometimes practices with the boys team at Central Catholic, which provides her with more of a challenge.

She's an excellent student. Actually, an exceptional student. She sports a 4.72 grade point average and has prestigious schools such as Princeton and MIT in hot pursuit.

When McCorkle steps on the track, few girls in Western Pennsylvania can rival her standout speed. In fact, George Rudolph, in his 39th season as Oakland Catholic's head coach (including seasons at Sacred Heart, Oakland's predecessor), calls McCorkle one of the best athletes he has coached.

Mostly everything in McCorkle's life is pointing upward, but she tirelessly is trying to drop one thing as low as she can -- her times."

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Track and Field: East Featured Athlete is Oakland Catholic’s Taylor McCorkle

Written by Cara De Carlo on .

Name: Taylor McCorkle
Grade: 11
High School: Oakland Catholic
Sport: Track and Field
Event: Sprints

Background information: McCorkle defeated more than 80 runners to win the 100-meter dash (12.34 seconds) at the April 6 South Hills Classic. In the 200, she did the same (26.00).  During basketball season, McCorkle is well-known at Oakland for being a guard/forward on the Eagles’ traditionally strong team. Now, McCorkle is so fast that she actually trains with the Central Catholic all-boys’ track team. She prizes academics as much as athltetics, and she is currently being recruited by MIT, Harvard, Bucknell, and Brown.

Quotes from Central Catholic head coach Maurice Lucas: “She has a 4.8 and she’s in all honors classes. The track coach at CMU is a Central grad, and he’s afraid to recruit [McCorkle] because she might feel there’s a better offer from somebody else.”

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Alumni Update: Marissa Polk (Robert Morris)

Written by Sports Town on .

Sophomore Marissa Polk set a school record in the 1500-meter run, as the Robert Morris women’s track & field team finished tied for 16th out of 30 teams in the Colonial Relays held at the College of William and Mary in Wiliamsburg, Va.

Polk’s time of 4:38.02 placed her 22nd and was the first of her record-breaking accomplishments on the day. The Oakland Catholic also helped set a new school mark of 9:31.55 in the 4x800-meter relay.

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All returning Oakland hoopers play AAU basketball

Written by Cara De Carlo on .

So while some players are resting or pursuing other things, the Eagles (9-14) are competing.

“All returning players go and play AAU,” said Oakland head coach Shannon Boyle. “And, our offseason plan is just to continue to stress the fundamentals and get stronger in the weight room.”

If all of the underclassmen on Oakland’s roster return to play basketball next year, there will be 15 returning players in 2013-14. These players include dependable scorers like junior guard/forward Taylor McCorkle as well as veteran guard Madison Caulfield.

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PG's girls' sports athlete of the week is Oakland Catholic's Leah Smith

Written by Brad Everett and Craig Meyer on .

Last week: Smith nearly broke a national record in the 500-yard freestyle at the PIAA swimming championships, finishing in 4:36.41, a little less than two seconds short of the United States high school girls' record. In the 200 freestyle, she came back to defeat Hershey's Meaghan Raab, who had never lost in that event in her high school career.

Check this out: Though she did not break the national record in the 500 freestyle, Smith's time put her in the No. 2 all-time spot, ahead of such notable swimmers as Janet Evans. After taking last year off from high school swimming to compete in international meets and the U.S. Olympic Trials, Smith won the 200 and 500 freestyle at both the WPIAL and PIAA meets. Smith, a senior, will swim next season at the University of Virginia.

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