Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League

 
The only thing that beat Marla Puryear in her high school career was cheerleading. Due to a hamstring suffered in cheerleading tryouts as a sophomore, Puryear couldn’t compete in the WPIAL track qualifiers. Otherwise, she never lost a race in high school. One of the greatest sprinters in Pennsylvania history, Puryear won the 100-, 200- and 400-meter dashes at both the WPIAL and PIAA level as a freshman, junior and senior. A two-time Post-Gazette athlete of the year, she is one of only five female athletes in WPIAL history to win six or more gold medals at the PIAA championships in individual events and her WPIAL championship time of 11.2 seconds in 1989 is still the best in WPIAL history. Marla passed away of an illness two years ago.