New faces bring new depth to Penn Hills track program

By: Josh Rizzo
Sunday, April 5, 2026 | 11:01 AM

Lee Zelkowitz isn’t wild about having a steady stream of people filing into Penn Hills track and field practice two weeks after the season started. But he doesn’t want anyone to leave either.

Following a few years with lower numbers, Zelkowitz is happy to see 60 athletes out between the boys and girls programs this spring.

“It’s nice,” Zelkowitz said. “These kids kept coming, and I was like, ‘Where have you been?’ We are two weeks into the program, and they are still coming out. I’ve let it go because we haven’t been able to fill all of the spots the last few years. We have been telling all the football players who are coming out that we can make them faster. You are going to go back to football in great shape and will be faster.”

Tymere Alston will be eager to be back on the track. He was a contender for the WPIAL Class 3A championship in the 400-meter run last season but suffered a pulled hamstring. That forced him to miss out on competing at WPIALs.

“He did that at the Tri-State meet in early April,” Zelkowitz said. “He tried coming back and he had a hard time. The plan was for him to win WPIALs and to move him up to the 800. He ran some 8s indoors and ran 4x8s.”

Alston will be the team captain, and Zelkowitz said he is motivated to find his way to the district championships.

“He’s a special kid,” Zelkowitz said. “He’s a talented athlete, and he’s been a good captain.”

During the indoor season, Alston finished eighth at the Tri-State Track Coaches Association championship meet in the 800-run, clocking a time of 2 minutes, 6.67 seconds.

Zelkowitz said that Tauriyah McEachern showed some promise in the sprints during the indoor schedule. On the boys side, Ashton Wells also competed in the 400 dash at the TSTCA championship.

Zelkowitz said it was a challenging schedule because of issues with the weather.

“The indoor season was a disaster,” Zelkowitz said. “We had three meets. There’s no heat in the bubble anywhere. They were freezing their butts off at Edinboro. The most important thing about indoor is that it builds your confidence and helps you get in shape earlier.”

Zelkowitz is hoping the influx of youth will help Penn Hills turn in some good performances.

“We have a lot of new faces,” Zelkowitz said.

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