Penn Hills notebook: Shot putter’s strong indoor season continues

By: Josh Rizzo
Sunday, February 27, 2022 | 11:01 AM

Having already qualified for the state indoor track championship didn’t mean Angelo Allen was done stacking up strong results. The Penn Hills senior thrower’s distance of 57 feet, 5 inches won him the Tri-State Track Coaches Association title Feb. 19 at Edinboro University.

Allen, who has the top throw in the state during this indoor season, should be in the running to win the state indoor championships.

“He’s thrown really well all season,” Indians coach Lee Zelkowitz said. “He threw really well at Youngstown State earlier this season, as well. In a meet a few weeks back, he felt a twinge in his back and decided to stop throwing, which was smart.”

Allen will be Penn Hills’ only state qualifier. The girls’ 4×400 relay team — consisting of Larissa Lockridge, Mylah Faulk, Caroline McDevitt and Maliah Powell — finished first in the recent TSTCA championship meet with a time of 4:15.02, but finished short of the state qualifying standard of 4:09.

Other individual competitions included MacKenzie McIntyre, who finished in 13th with a time of 8.27 seconds in the 60-meter dash; Cameron Thomas, who placed 12th in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.47 seconds; and Austin Stuchul, who placed 21st in the mile run with a time of 4:52.2.

Zelkowitz was pleased with how the Indians’ season went.

“I really think this was a good start,” Zelkowitz said. “I think we’ll get some football and basketball players out in the spring that will bring our numbers up even more. With the success we’ve had, I think we’ll be able to get people out and build up our numbers even more.”

Boys take opener

The Indians, seeded fourth in Class 5A, cruised by Chartiers Valley, 72-57, in the first round of the WPIAL playoffs. The win earned Penn Hills a spot in the quarterfinals for the seventh consecutive year.

Chartiers Valley, which ended the season 8-15, never had a chance against Penn Hills. The Indians shot 64% from the field.

Noah Barren led Penn Hills with 19 points, while Daemar Kelly scored 14, George Mitchell added 12, and Julian Dugger contributed 10 points.

It was a good night in the household for Indians coach Chris Giles. In addition to Penn Hills’ playoff win, his wife, Jordan Giles, guided Seton LaSalle to a 48-35 win over Sto-Rox in the first round of the WPIAL Class 2A girls playoffs.

Atta boy, Herb

Penn Hills graduate and Santa Clara basketball coach Herb Sendek is on pace to have his best season with the Broncos.

With two games left in the regular season, Sendek has guided the Broncos to a 18-10 record, including an 8-5 mark in the West Coast Conference. Sendek’s previous best season came during the 2019-20 season, where the Broncos finished 20-13.

Sendek has made eight NCAA Tournament appearances during his coaching career including five with NC State, two with Arizona State and one with Miami (Ohio).

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