NA’S TAYLOR AMONG TOP JUMPERS IN WPIAL
Tall, athletic teens just don’t fall out of the sky, but one has kind of come out of nowhere for North Allegheny this season.
Dwayne Taylor is a lengthy 6-foot-5 junior who caught the eye of Tigers’ cojumping coach Justin Eskra the first week of practice.
“I see this 6-5 kid running up the field, and I looked at [head coach] John Neff and asked him who it was,” Eskra recalls. “He said it was one of the new kids. I asked him if he was any good, and he said, ‘Yeah, he’s going to be a stud.’”
Taylor came to North Allegheny last spring by way of California. Not California, Pa., but Bakersfield, Calif. He and his family moved into the district after his mom took a job here. His mom works for a charity founded by former Steelers linebacker Joey Porter. She and Porter are cousins.
When Taylor jumps, he travels long distances, as well. He owns the top triple jump and long jump in the WPIAL this season. He has jumped 45 feet, 6½ inches in the triple jump, which ranks second in the state. His best long jump is 21-7½. Those two jumps earned him gold medals at the Butler Invitational.
Taylor knew he had talent, but considering he didn’t even compete for a year due to the pandemic canceling his sophomore season, he said he’s a bit surprised by the big leaps in the first month of the season.
“I’m very happy [with the start], but I didn’t expect it,” Taylor said. “But I put my mind to it and I’ve done well.”
Eskra, who along with Lisa Wheeler coaches the North Allegheny jumpers, said that Taylor has the potential to go even further this season. Much further, actually.
“The thing that’s kind of scary is that there have been a couple of times where he’s had a little toe scratch on his take off and has long jumped over 23 and triple jumped over 47,” said Eskra. “He has so much more distance than what his stats are saying. Long term, hopefully he’ll bring home WPIAL titles in both events and a PIAA title.”
As far as numbers go, Taylor is shooting even higher. He said he’s aiming to reach 48 feet in the triple jump and 24 feet in the long jump. He has also shown off his speed by running the 100- and 200-meter dashes and 400-meter relay.
Taylor’s favorite sport is actually football. He started at wide receiver this past season for a North Allegheny team that reached the WPIAL Class 6A championship game.
McGuffey
Clara Barr is setting the bar high for McGuffey athletes this spring much like her dad on the football field a few decades ago.
Barr is a junior who is having an outstanding season for the Highlanders. Last week, she was named track MVP of the Big South Invitational after taking first place in three events and second in another. She won the 100 hurdles and long jump, and ran the anchor leg on the winning 1,600 relay team. She also took second in the 200. Her best time in the 100 hurdles this season is 15.85, which coming into the week was the top reported time in WPIAL Class 2A this season. As a freshman in 2019, she placed second in the long jump at WPIALs.
Barr’s father, Jason, is a McGuffey graduate and one of the top rushers in WPIAL history. A 1994 graduate, Barr finished his career with 5,749 yards. At that time, that ranked second all time. It now ranks 10th.
Clara Barr is working double duty this spring, as she is also a standout for the McGuffey softball team. She’s one of three Barr siblings on McGuffey’s track team. Ethan is a senior and Julia a freshman. Ethan placed third in the long jump at the Big South Invitational and Julia was fifth in the javelin. Ethan, like his dad, is also an outstanding wrestler, and finished his high school career with 131 wins.
West Mifflin
One of the state’s top hurdlers took down a longstanding school record last week.
West Mifflin senior Dontae Lewis claimed a Big South Invitational title in the 300 hurdles after finishing with a blistering time of 38.55. It was the No. 1 time in the state this season and topped the school record of 38.7 set by Paul Rozgonyi in 1986.
“He’s been holding that record forever,” Lewis said earlier this season. “I’m definitely breaking that by the time I graduate. That will be a really big milestone for me.”
Lewis is the defending WPIAL Class 3A champion in the 300 hurdles and will likely be the favorite to win the 110 hurdles, as well. His top time of 14.82 ranks first in the WPIAL and fifth in the state.
Shenango
Emma Callahan went to a place Saturday where only a handful of WPIAL shot put throwers have ever been. Callahan, a junior at Shenango, unleashed a winning throw of 46-9 at the TriCounty Championships, a mark that ranks fifth in WPIAL history. The only girls who have thrown farther are Center’s Allyn Laughlin (50-10¾, 2006), Trinity’s Elaine Sobansky (50-1¼, 1980), Freedom’s Ashley Adams (47-3½, 2009) and California’s Kailyn Clancy (46-10, 2014).
Callahan could climb that list before the season is over. Her indoor best is 48-0¼, which she reached in January.
Baldwin Invitational
The largest regular-season invitational in Western Pa. and one of the biggest in the eastern part of the country will be a two-day event this year. Baldwin will host the Baldwin Invitational, with boys competing Friday and girls Saturday. Events will begin each day at 12:30 p.m. As of Tuesday night, 93 schools had registered to attend. No spectators will be allowed, but Baldwin is offering a pay-per-view live stream both days.