It has been an interesting couple of weeks for New Brighton High School junior Josh McFrazier.

He has gone from the disappointment of placing fourth in the 110-meter hurdles in Class AA at the WPIAL championships to the euphoria of winning the silver medal in the event at the PIAA finals last weekend.

"My coach kept telling me that I had a good shot of placing high," McFrazier said.

He was beaten in the PIAA meet by Camp Hill Trinity's Christian Kuntz, a Penn State football recruit. Kuntz came on in the second half of the race for a time of 14.40 seconds. McFrazier, who had the led early, finished in 14.55.

And maybe if McFrazier didn't have to deal with a painful hip pointer, he would have been able to hold off Kuntz ... or finish higher than fourth at the WPIAL meet.

A hip pointer is a painful injury seen most often in football. The hip bone or the muscle that covers it can be bruised and as a result it hurts to walk, laugh or cough.

McFrazier's right hip was injured and his right leg is his lead leg going over a hurdle. It is also the leg that needs to be snapped down after going over the hurdles to help pull the trail leg through and to generate power.

"It was more like a bad cramp," McFrazier said when asked to describe the pain.

"We don't know how he did it," New Brighton coach Matt Stuber said. "But it has bothered him since the beginning of the month."

The injury might have been a contributing factor to why he smacked the ninth hurdle in the event at the WPIAL championships. He was leading the race at the time but almost came to a complete stop as competitors zoomed past.

"I had to almost stop to keep my balance. I knew if I fell that would be it, but I didn't and just sort of hopped over the last hurdle and ran to the finish line," he said.

"I kind of knew I was in the top four when I turned and looked at the scoreboard for my time."

The top five in each event in Class AA at the WPIAL championships advanced to the PIAA meet, so McFrazier knew he would have an opportunity to make up for his stumble.

He did just that at Shippensburg. He easily advanced out of Friday's preliminaries and had the fastest time (14.74) in the semifinals.

Not bad for someone who didn't get into track until he was a freshman and didn't qualify for the WPIAL finals last year. But he had a few things going for him.

• First, his father, Rudy, who ran track at Beaver Falls, is his hurdling coach. It's nice to have somebody around who understands the intricacies of the event.

• McFrazier is an outstanding athlete who competed in the 300-meter intermediate hurdles, the open 100, the high jump -- he cleared 6 feet, 2 inches -- and ran a leg on the Lions' 400-meter relay. In the winter, he was a key member of the New Brighton basketball team and helped the Lions qualify for the WPIAL playoffs.

• He lives only five minutes from the high school track, so it was easy to get in some extra practice with the hurdles.

• And he had a reason, other than the fourth-place finish at the WPIAL meet, to do well.

McFrazier was in a pick-up basketball game at Shippensburg last Thursday evening. He set his cell phone at the base of the basket support while playing and it was accidentally knocked into a hole.

"I couldn't reach it," he said. "That made me mad and I thought if I did well in the race maybe my mom would let me get another one."

While basketball is his first love and the sport he has been playing the longest, track is catching up quickly. He plans to run this summer for the Beaver County YMCA Track Club. And he might give indoor track a try next winter in between basketball games and maybe run cross country in the fall.

The goal would be for McFrazier to improve on his PIAA second-place finish next year.

"From last year to this year his work ethic has been exceptional," Stuber said. "I think that's the biggest reason for his improvement."

Stuber said the best part of McFrazier race in the 100 hurdles is his start and finish.

"I can see him getting down to the low 14s and maybe even the 13s next year," Stuber said. "Especially if he gets a little stronger."

And he can see college scholarship offer for track coming McFrazier's way.

"He has good grades and his versatility will help him," Stuber said. "Being a hurdler and a high jumper is a unique combination and colleges like individuals who can do multiple events."