It was at a practice in early-March when Penn Hills track coach Lee Zelkowitz fixated his eyes on an unfamiliar face swiftly making his rounds in the 400-meter dash.

That face belonged to Aaron Foster-Williams, a senior who had joined the team for the first time.

Void of technique or fluidity to his running routine, the inexperience showed. But that didn't stop Zelkowitz from excitedly stating what was even more obvious.

"I said, 'Hey, this kid is pretty fast. Where's he been?'" Zelkowitz recalled.

Last week Foster-Williams could be found atop the medal platform.

In likely the most rapid rise to prominence of any district high school track performer this season, Foster-Williams sprinted to a pair of gold medals at the WPIAL Class AAA championships at Baldwin last Thursday.

Foster-Williams blazed past the field to win the 200-meter dash, and ran the second leg of the Indians' 1,600-meter relay team -- along with Micah Murray, Dorian Rumble and Brandon Bailey -- that also took home top honors.

"It's just something, that with the little experience running track he has, and the success he's had this season, it's just phenomenal," Zelkowitz said.

In the 200, Foster-Williams overcame a shaky start to finish in 22.42 seconds, narrowly edging Moon Area's Ray Fisher (22.47) to claim the top prize.

"When I got out of the block, I stumbled, so I really didn't think I had a chance of winning," Foster-Williams said. "But I just kept running. I caught the guy who was in first and I beat him."

That's been a recurring theme for Foster-Williams, who said he dabbled with track in fifth or sixth grade, but didn't really like it at the time. Instead, he took up wrestling, and later track, focusing on those sports once he got to high school.

That was until the spring, when Foster-Williams, encouraged by a few football teammates who also ran track, decided to give the sport a go in his final chance.

Needless to say, the experience has been even better than he expected.

"I thought I'd win a couple of races, but I didn't think I'd be a WPIAL champion," he said.

Although his technique still might not be on par with most of his competitors, Foster-Williams' comfort level has soared in just a few short months. Some of that can be attributed to what he's learned from a pair of his better-known teammates, Bailey and Brandon Ifill.

A year ago, Ifill took first in the 200 at the WPIAL championships, and Bailey took third. This year, however, Bailey concentrated on the 400, and Ifill, fighting an injured hamstring, focused solely on the 400-meter relay.

It wasn't until a second-place finish in the 200 at the Baldwin Invitational that Foster-Williams knew he could pick up where his teammates left off.

"I realized it was something I might be good at," Foster-Williams said, humbly.

He followed that strong performance by posting the top 200 time at the WPIAL qualifier at Norwin, an outing that made Zelkowitz believe his new star was a title threat.

"After qualifiers, I was thinking, 'He's got a legit chance to win this thing,'" Zelkowitz said.

And a little more than a week later, Foster-Williams did exactly that, adding an exclamation point to what has been quite a breakout season.

Said Zelkowitz: "I wasn't shocked that he won, but if you would have asked me at the beginning of the season, I would have said there was no way."

It was yet another outstanding outing overall for the Penn Hills' boys, who added two additional gold medals to the ones Foster-Williams was a part of. Bailey ran an impressive 48.78 to win the 400, and the Indians' 400-meter relay squad (Daniel Darnell, Bailey, Stephen Pepper and Ifill) took first, as well.