It was the final high school baseball game of career, so Washington’s Jordan Allen figured he’d end it in a big way.
Allen was named player of the game after helping Class AA tie Class A, 4-4, in the first of two WPIAL Baseball Coaches Association all-star games held Sunday at Burkett Complex in Robinson. The game was played its regularly-scheduled nine innings, and officials chose not to extend it any further.
Last week: Wise won the 100- and 200-meter dashes at the PIAA Class AA track championships Saturday at Shippensburg University.
Check this out: Wise is only a junior, but has already established herself as one of the top sprinters in the state. Wise's time of 11.85 in the 100 fell just 0.07 seconds shy of the PIAA Class AA championship record held by former Rochester star Lauryn Williams, who went on to Olympic fame. Wise placed first in the 100 and second in the 200 at the WPIAL championships. She won both WPIAL events her sophomore year and finished third in both at the PIAA championships.
• Did you think you were going to win the 100 and 200 at states? No. I was just focusing on the 100. Winning the 200 was a big surprise to me.
• Do anything to celebrate? I had a couple people over my house when I got back, but they didn't stay long because I got tired.
• What is left for you to do in your high school career? Just continue to work and get in the weight room more. I have to work extra hard because I know there's going to be a target on me my senior year.
• Do you have any superstitions when you run? I have to wear the same headband and I wear the same compression shorts every race.
• Dream school? North Carolina.
• If you could see anyone in concert, who would it be? Drake.
Cara De Carlo's feature on Washington's Alyssa Wise:
"For Alyssa Wise, a trip to Shippensburg proved to be double the fun.
Wise, a junior at Washington High School, won PIAA Class AA championships in both the 100- and 200-meter dashes.
In the 100-meter race, Wise battled past Brookville's Lanae Newsome to take first place with a time of 11.85 seconds. Vincentian's Ally Bartoszewicz came in fourth with a time of 12.24."
“Getting out quick at the start, beating the other ones at the starting blocks … a lot of people don’t realize there’s a technique to getting in and out of the blocks,” Washington’s Alyssa Wise said. She’d been asked what drills she did to practice starts, and her answer explained that there are no drills – there’s only mastery.
Wise won both the Class AA 100-meter dash (11.85 seconds) and the 200-meter dash (24.85).
“In our section, [Wise] wasn’t pushed too much,” said Washington head coach Teresa Booker. “[Vincentian’s Ally Bartoszewicz] beat [Wise] in the 200 WPIAL finals … Alyssa knew what she needed to do to get to that next step.”
Malik Vincent's feature on Washington's Shai McKenzie:
(Photo: In addition to winning the WPIAL Class AA shot put title Washington's Shai McKenzie finished fourth in the 100-meter dash and was part of a winning relay team. Pam Panchak/Post-Gazette.)
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