Penn Hills sprinter continues to make great strides during indoor track season

By: Josh Rizzo
Sunday, March 2, 2025 | 11:01 AM

Mackenzie McIntyre has continued to inch toward her goal of being one of the best sprinters in the state.

The Penn Hills senior earned her opportunity to showcase what she can do in front of the whole state at the Pennsylvania Track & Field Coaches Association indoor state championships March 2 at Penn State.

While results from that meet were too late for this edition, Indians coach Lee Zelkowitz was proud of the progress McIntyre has made this season. She hit a personal-best time of 7.87 seconds in the 60-meter dash to place third at the Tri-State Track Coaches Association meet Feb. 22 at Edinboro.

McIntyre also finished the 200 dash in 26.49 seconds to place fourth at the TSTCA meet.

“She really put it together,” Zelkowitz said. “She wanted to get into the 7.8s and she did. That’s what she felt like she had to do to get to states. Coach Carlson Christian has been working hard with her.”

McIntyre competed at indoor states for the second straight year in the 60 dash. Last season, McIntyre finished with a time of 7.96 seconds and placed 20th. McIntyre has also competed at outdoor states as a member of the 1,600 relay team.

Zelkowitz said that McIntyre has been a consistent performer since her freshman season. She’s grown a lot physically and has invested the time to improve her technique.

“She works really hard,” Zelkowitz said. “If you look at her from her freshman year to now, it’s like looking at a different person. She’s going to be a better runner in college than in high school. The sky’s the limit for her.”

McIntyre was Penn Hills’ only state qualifier. Tymere Alston finished in 11th place in the 400 dash with a time of 52.51 seconds. Zelkowitz expects Alston to bounce back during the outdoor season to compete for a spot at states.

Isaiah Petty-Allen competed in the high jump, finishing with a distance of 5 feet, 4 inches.

“Tymere has a nagging foot injury,” McIntyre said. “He wasn’t able to improve after the first half of the indoor season, so we had to shut him down a little bit. He wasn’t getting the training he would like. I believe he should have no problem making time to get to states. He should rebound and have a great outdoor season.”

Tags: Penn Hills