Dressed in brilliant colors from all reaches of the spectrum -- sunshine yellow, jet black, deep green and royal blue -- the participants of the WPIAL track and field championships last week at Baldwin represented the present.

They ran.

They threw.

They vaulted.

They jumped.

But one, still growing into his lanky body and dressed in bright orange, just might represent the future of WPIAL sprinters.

There he stood atop the medals platform, Clairton freshman Trenton Coles, a 16-year-old with the long arms and graceful stride, with his neck perched forward as he received his medal -- a gold for winning the Class AA 400-meter dash in 49.47 seconds.

"This is something I knew I could do if I just kept working hard," said Coles, just after he hopped down from the medals stand. "I just had to keep believing in myself. I just had to keep going out there and trying as hard as I could."

And there was no race where he was tested more than in the final, when Coles got pushed to the limit by Serra Catholic junior Randall Coleman, who finished second -- just a hair behind Coles -- in 49.74.

But to know Coles' bloodlines is to quickly understand why, as just a freshman, he was able to win that gold medal -- and stands a chance to have a decent showing tomorrow and Saturday at the PIAA meet in Shippensburg.

Coles is the son of Marla Puryear, one of the most accomplished sprinters in WPIAL history. Puryear, who went to Thomas Jefferson, won a number of WPIAL and PIAA titles and ran the 100 in 11.2 in 1989, still the best time in WPIAL history.

In addition to that, Coles' grandfather is Norman Jones, a 1971 Clairton graduate who was one of the premier sprinters of his time.

Coles knows there are expectations that will come from both whom he is related to and from the early successes he's had.

"I hear a lot about both [his mother and grandfather]," Coles said. "I just look at it like it pushes me to do better, I just go out there and I do my best, I go out there and just tell myself that I should win.

"I just know that all I can do is keep working hard."