High School Notebook: He's not done yet: Pryor will hit the track for the 200
Terrelle Pryor isn't ready to end his high school athletic career just yet.
After dazzling the masses in football and basketball, Pryor has decided to try a new trick.
Track.
Terrelle Pryor, a senior at Jeannette, said this week he will run the 200-meter dash for the Jeannette track team. Seriously.
"Why not?" Pryor said. "It's just something to do. Maybe another championship I can win."
This is actually not a new trick for Pryor. He ran on Jeannette's track team for part of his freshman year but quit near the end of the season, and one of the reasons was AAU basketball. At the time, he had one of the best 200 times in WPIAL Class AA at 22.7 seconds.
Pryor, who has signed with Ohio State to play quarterback, said he plans to run in a few meets with Jeannette this spring and then at the WPIAL qualifier in May. The WPIAL AA championships are May 13 and the PIAA championships May 23-24. Pryor will leave for Ohio State in mid-June.
Pryor said he works regularly on running.
"I run with parachutes on my back on our football field," Pryor said.
The 200 would seem to be a good event for Pryor. He won't have to work that much on starts because a good start is not as important in the 200 as the 100.
Plus, Pryor's long strides (he's 6 feet 6) and strength are perfect for the 200. His strength would be big in the final 100 meters.
Heck, he'd probably be an excellent long jumper, too.
The 400 might be his best fit, but that is a grueling event and Pryor knows it.
All-star time
The top basketball all-star games in the district will be Saturday night at Geneva College. The Roundball Classic will feature a girls' game at 6:30 and a boys' game immediately following.
The top players in the WPIAL and City League will play in the event. Allen Deep, Roundball Classic director, said Pryor has committed to play, as have the other four members of the Post-Gazette Fabulous Five -- Schenley's Deandre Kane, Moon's Brian Walsh, Blackhawk's Antoine Childs and McKeesport's Quentin Harding.
The girls' game also has a number of top players, including Duquesne recruits Alex Gensler (Upper St. Clair) and Jackie Babe (Mt. Lebanon), and Pitt recruit Shawnice Wilson (Westinghouse).
Tickets are $7 and only available at the gate the night of the event.
Not this year
A year ago, the West Allegheny baseball team became the first in 14 years to win a WPIAL title with a perfect record. But there will be no perfect storm for West Allegheny this season.
West Allegheny lost to Moon, 5-4, on Wednesday, to break a 24-game winning streak against WPIAL teams. Despite the streak ending, West Allegheny is still one of the best teams in Class AAA.
Play ball -- in college
Tony Villiotti of West Penn Baseball Prospects scouting service recently conducted a survey and found 607 graduates of WPIAL and City League schools are playing baseball this season in colleges and junior colleges.
According to Villiotti, here are the schools that have produced the most college players, broken down by classification:
WPIAL Class AAAA -- Baldwin (17), Central Catholic (16) and North Allegheny (16).
WPIAL Class AAA -- Blackhawk (15) and New Castle (10).
WPIAL Class AA -- Riverside (8), Greensburg Central Catholic (7), Neshannock (7) and North Catholic (7).
WPIAL Class A -- Laurel (7).
City League -- Brashear (4).
Go fish
How about a state championship for fishing? Don't laugh. Illinois will institute a state championship bass tournament next spring.
Illinois plans eight sectional tournaments before the state finals. It is the first state to sponsor fishing championships.
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