Marla Puryear, who as a sprinter at Thomas Jefferson High School in the late 1980s was one of the most decorated track athletes in WPIAL history, died yesterday after a prolonged illness.

The Robert A. Waters Funeral Home in Clairton confirmed her death and that it will be handling arrangements.

A 1989 Thomas Jefferson graduate, Ms. Puryear was a two-time Post-Gazette scholastic female athlete of the year.

She still holds the WPIAL girls' 100-meter dash record at 11.2 seconds, which she ran in 1989.

Ms. Puryear won PIAA gold medals in the 100 and 200 in 1986, 1988 and 1989.

Ms. Puryear, Lauryn Williams of Rochester and Breehana Jacobs of Laurel Highlands are widely acknowledged as the premier sprinters in WPIAL girls' track history.

And perhaps Ms. Puryear's athletic legacy will continue.

Her son, Trenton Coles, is one of the WPIAL's bright young athletes as he enters his sophomore year at Clairton this fall. As a freshman, Trenton won the Class AA 400-meter dash in 49.47 seconds and was a member of the Bears' football team that won the WPIAL Class A title and went to the PIAA championship game in Hershey.