Jun 26, 2021 4 min read

Amy Allen describes her athletic achievements as “crazy” and “insane” because they truly are nuts.

During her four-year tenure at South Fayette High School, Allen excelled on the track and on the pitch.

In soccer, she played defense, earning all-section laurels twice. She gained All-WPIAL acclaim last fall when the Lions advanced to the district playoffs only to fall to Franklin Regional, 2-1, in the first round.

“One and done,” Allen said sadly. “We should have won because we outshot them like 20-4 but their goalie had an insane game. And, she was a freshman replacement.”

Allen knows about early success. She was a sophomore when the Lions reached the semifinals of the Class 3A tournament only to fall to Oakland Catholic, 1-0, and eventually finished fourth in the WPIAL.

Allen has played soccer since kindergarten. She also competed at the Cup level for the Pittsburgh Football Club until she reached a crossroads because club soccer conflicted with track, which she picked up in seventh grade. Both activities were held during the spring months.

If she had thoughts of competing in college, Allen had to focus on one or the other. She picked track because she thought it was easier to get recruited. She also figured she could definitely get a lot better.

Allen was right. She improved immensely and eventually earned a scholarship to Duquesne University where she will pursue a degree in occupational therapy while running for the Dukes. Long-term, Allen says she hopes to break some school records and compete in the Atlantic 10 championships both individually and as part of relay teams.

Allen’s been there and done that already with amazing results at South Fayette. She graduates with six school records and a plethora of medals from prestigious invitationals, district and state competitions.

After taking third in the WPIAL in the 300-meter hurdles and finishing ninth as a sophomore, Allen, like most scholastic athletes, lost her junior year because of the coronavirus pandemic. Allen, however, made up for lost time.

This spring, she won four gold medals at the WPIAL Championships held Slippery Rock University. She sprinted to victories in the 200- and 400-meter dashes, then anchored the 4×100 and 4×400 relays to victories. She won the 400 with a personal-record time of 56.01.

During the PIAA Championships held at Shippensburg University, she anchored the 4×100 relay to victory in a school-record time of 47.85.

She also helped the 4×400 unit to a fourth-place medal.

Allen said that winning gold at states with the 4×100 team and winning four first-place medals at WPIALs were the highlight of her scholastic track career. She said she never thought she could accomplish such feats because the Class 3A division was “so competitive” and ladened with “so many talented” athletes.

Additionally at states, Allen sprinted to seventh and third places in the 200 and 400, posting times of 25.54 and 57.32.

Allen holds school records in the 300 hurdles, 60-meter hurdles, the indoor 400 and 4×200 relay.

She not only helped her relays to gold medals but to school records as well as an upcoming appearance in the Outdoor National Championships to be held July 1 at the Hayward Field on the University of Oregon campus.

“I’m very excited,” Allen said of the trip.

“It’s going to be awesome. We only see people in Pennsylvania but now we will be competing against the best in the country. If we try really, really hard maybe we can end our careers on a good note,” said Allen.

Allen ends her scholastic career on the best note possible. She has been named the Observer-Reporter/Almanac Female Athlete of the Year.

“No, way. That’s crazy,” she said. “Out of all the people, I would have never thought that but that’s awesome.”

As far as South Fyaette track coach Scott Litwinovich is concerned, the choice was obvious.

“Amy is the ultimate track teammate,” he said.

Litwinovich noted that Allen could have dropped the relays to focus on placing higher in her individual events but the thought never crossed her mind. He added that South Fayette was “lucky” to have her as a leader and track team member for four years.

According to Litwinovich, Allen has probably had one of the most decorated high school track careers in recent memory, and certainly for the program.

“However,” he added, “Amy is an even better person than she is an athlete. To be honest, I will remember her most for her unselfishness, her leadership, and her kindness to all around her. In those regards, she is truly special.”