Devin Polzot and Rashad Kenney have been running against each other ever since they were little.

These days, they are on the same team but still compete to see who is the fastest.

Polzot is a senior at Aliquippa High School, while Kenney is a junior. They compete against each other in the 100-meter dash and could end up finishing one-two at the WPIAL Class AA championships May 14 at Baldwin High School.

They also are half of the Quips' 400-meter relay team that hopes to carry on the school's fast tradition at the championships. Aliquippa has won the 400 relay at the WPIAL championships the past four years.

At the Midwestern Athletic Conference championships last week at the Mars Athletic Complex, Polzot was second in the 100 with a time of 10.89 seconds, just edging Kenney who was third in 10.9. They were beaten by Center's Chris Kimbrough, a good friend of both.

"I thought he had me but I came on strong and got him," Polzot said. "Working together has made us both faster. We're two of the top sprinters in the WPIAL. I can never jog with him around."

"We push each other all the time," Kenney added.

Kenney placed third in the 100 at the WPIAL championships last season. Polzot made the final but was called for a false start and didn't earn a medal.

He redeemed himself by anchoring the 400 relay to WPIAL and PIAA first-place finishes. While maybe not the fastest sprinter in the WPIAL, Polzot is one of the most determined.

"There might be other guys who are a little faster than him, but if it comes down to the end and it's close and Polzot gets the baton, I'll bet anything that he'll win," Aliquippa coach Sherman McBride said. "He has that heart, that desire and he doesn't like to get beat. There's something to be said for that."

If the Quips are to win the 400 relay at the WPIAL championships for a fifth consecutive year, Polzot will have to be at his best. Although Aliquippa's relay team is good, it has been beaten a couple times this season.

New Castle, which also has a history of outstanding sprinters, edged the Quips at the MAC meet. New Castle finished in 43.07 seconds, Aliquippa in 43.29. But the Red Hurricane runners will compete in Class AAA at the WPIAL meet.

Center's 400 relay team beat the Quips at the Trojan Classic earlier this month, but Polzot didn't run that day.

"The last three years I think we were like 30-1 in the relay. We lost at the Baldwin Invitational last year," McBride said. "We lost at Center when we didn't have Devin and I've always believed that you play with who you got. But when we're at full strength, it's a different story."

He said the Quips' relay, which also includes Jaquan Humphries and Kaylan Kenney, Rashad's little brother, ran a time of 43.5 seconds at the Beaver County championships at Riverside High School but was disqualified when one of the runners stepped on the line between lanes. Center won that race.

"It's a high-risk event, no question," McBride said at the MAC meet April 15. "But we're off until [tomorrow] and we'll have a chance to work on some things."

The Quips are expected to compete in the 400 relay at the Baldwin Invitational tomorrow. Polzot and Rashad Kenney will be in the 100 with Polzot in the long jump and Jordan Lawson in the high jump.

Aliquippa was scheduled to practice this week at New Brighton High School's track. In past years the Quips, who do not have a track, worked out some at Hopewell High School's Tony Dorsett Stadium. But that facility is undergoing renovations.

Most of this season Aliquippa held drills in the parking lot and driveway in front of the high school. That's also a switch. In the past the Quips held workouts in the large parking lot at the middle school, but it is filled with construction vehicles for renovations at that building.

The driveway in front of the high school isn't flat. Because of that, Aliquippa athletes are running uphill part of the time.

"Running uphill makes you stronger," Rashad Kenney said.

Polzot, who like Kenney was a running back and defensive back for the Quips' WPIAL Class AA championship football team, is also a talented long jumper. He was third at the MAC championships in that event with a distance of 21-41/2 and second at the Beaver County championships.

Polzot did not qualify for the WPIAL finals last year in the long jump.

"Next to the relay team, my favorite event is the long jump. It might be my best individual event," he said.

As for running the anchor leg on the relay, Polzot admits there is pressure.

"It's a tough thing because if you're behind, you have to make it up," he said. "I usually have to keep the lead ... I don't want to let my teammates down."

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AROUND THE TRACK -- The WPIAL Class AA qualifiers will be 2 p.m. Tuesday at Mars Area and South Side Beaver high schools. Local schools at Mars are Beaver Falls, Cornell, Ellwood City, Freedom, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Riverside and Sewickley Academy. Schools at South Side Beaver are Aliquippa, Beaver, Bishop Canevin, Burgettstown, Carlynton, Center, Fort Cherry, Monaca, New Brighton, Quaker Valley, Rochester, South Fayette. South Side Beaver, Sto-Rox and Western Beaver. ... Ambridge, Blackhawk, Hopewell, Montour and Moon Area will be at the Class AAA northern qualifier at Butler on Tuesday. Chartiers Valley and West Allegheny will be at the southern qualifier at West Mifflin.