High School Athletes of the Week
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Last week: Coles won the 100- and 200-meter dashes at the WPIAL Class AA track and field championships and anchored the Bears' 400 relay team to a second-place finish. He set a Class AA meet record in the 200.with a time of 21.69 seconds.
Check this out: Coles, a junior, has won the 100 and 200 two years in a row. He also won the 400 as a sophomore. This weekend, Coles will attempt to become the first Clairton athlete to win a PIAA championship since Norman Jones won the 100-yard dash in 1971. Jones, coincidentally, is Coles' grandfather, and Coles lives with the 58-year-old Jones. Coles' mother, former Thomas Jefferson sprinter Marla Puryear, won six PIAA titles in the 1980s. She died of an illness two years ago. Coles (6 feet 2 1/2, 173 pounds) also is a football standout at receiver-defensive back and has football scholarship offers from Pitt, Wisconsin, Akron and Temple.
• What would it mean if you won a PIAA title? Shucks, it would be good because it would be my mom, my granddad and then me. It would be nice, and I'm going to win. I have to.
• Has the 200 become your best event? Yes, sir. The 400 last year was my best, but I don't run that this year. I liked the 100 more last year, but the 200 is my best now.
• Is Pitt the school you like most for football? Yes, but I'm a ways away from making a decision. I want to go on my visits to colleges and see some other places. I like Pitt best right now.
• Could you see yourself playing football and running track in college? I'm going to try. I want to do both.
• Last time you went to a Pirates game? I had to be like 9 years old.
• It's 10 at night, and you're hungry. What are you going to eat?
First Published May 26, 2011 12:00 am
