OAKLAND, Calif. – Ashton Purvis kept looking up and blinking hard. What was Leon Powe doing here?
The super sub for the Cleveland Cavaliers and 2008 NBA finals hero for the Celtics was in on the surprise presentation for Purvis, who received the Gatorade National Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year Wednesday at the East Oakland Youth Development Center.
Leon Powe and Ashton Purvis.
Photo courtesy of Susan Goldman/Gatorade
He overwhelmed not only the kids but Purvis as well.
"I just kept looking up at him thinking, 'Oh wow,'" Purvis said.
Shortly after Powe made his speech, in marched the Gatorade folks to award Purvis with the 222nd national award in the organization’s 25-year history. Of those, 55 have been Californians including 15 Golden State females in track and field.
Olympians Marion Jones, Allyson Felix, Monique Henderson, Angela Williams and Suzy Powell are among the honorees.
Purvis completed an illustrious career with two more state sprint championships, winning in national-leading marks of 11.17 seconds in the 100 meters and 22.90 in the 200. Her 100 time was No. 2 all-time in high school history, just off of Jones’ mark of 11.14.
The University of Miami-bound Purvis is now a finalist for the Gatorade Female High School Athlete of the Year award, to be presented at a pre-ESPY Awards ceremony in Hollywood in two weeks.
She beat out more than 457,000 high school girls track and field athletes nationwide for Wednesday’s award.
"When they said I won I was just so happy," Purvis said. "I couldn’t believe it. It was like all that hard work had all paid off."
Said Powe: "Hard work always pays off."
Doesn’t he know it.
Despite a harrowing childhood which featured poverty, homelessness and foster homes, despite a lack of height for a post player, the 6-foot-7 Powe has overcome numerous obstacles to earn a solid spot in the NBA.
Some suggest his rough and tenacious upbringing bred him to thrive in the paint.
The EOYDC was a place he found strength and guidance and a place he often gives back as he did Wednesday not only to Purvis but other classes.
"I always like coming back and spreading the pride," Powe said. "I tell kids it all starts with school. I really try to get that across."
The bright light of Powe and Purvis shined about 24 hours before the same streets brace for a second round of rioting. The verdict of a closely watched trial of a former transit police officer accused of murdering an unarmed black man on a subway platform could set off repeat mayhem and destruction which occurred shortly after the incident on New Year’s Day 2009.
Purvis was all smiles on Wednesday.
Photo courtesy of Susan Goldman/Gatorade
"It’s good to see something positive in the community," Powe said. "(Purvis) definitely is all positive. I’ve spoke with her a couple times before (Wednesday) and it’s obvious she’s a real nice person, very humble. That makes this even better."
JUST RUN BABY: Gatorade Player of the Year ambassador and historian Bruce Weber is also longtime friend of Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis. The two attended the same high school – Erasmus Hall (Brooklyn, N.Y.) – and Weber thought about giving Davis a call during his Bay Area trip.
"Everyone knows (Davis) likes players with speed, especially at wide receiver," Weber said during Purvis’ press conference in the EOYDC gymnasium. "Wait until he gets a load of her."
Erasmus, by the way, has schooled a regular who’s who of celebrities and sports figures. Among its alums: Barbara Streisand, Neil Diamond, Susan Hayward, Mae West, Eli Wallach, Billy Cunningham, Bob Arum, Bobby Fischer, Sid Luckman and Jerry Reinsdorf.
MORE NAMES: One of the more impressive part of the presentation was the list of past national winners bantered about, including LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Payton Manning, and Kerri Walsh.
St. Elizabeth retiring athletic director Bob Howard had a couple more famous names when describing the vivacious Purvis.
"Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," he said. "Yes she is so sweet and nice on the outside. But get her on the track and don’t mess with her.
"I’ve seen her in the cold, the rain, the wind. Without fail she doesn’t miss training. And all she does is win. She’ll do great things at Miami and beyond."
Purvis’ next stop is the World Junior Games in Canada on July 15. She makes it quite clear that 2012 Olympics in London are on her immediate radar.
"You need to aim high," she said.
Said Howard: "I’ve been to two Olympic games before and with (Purvis) I think I will go again."
MORE FINALISTS: Purvis was the final finalists for Gatorade’s Female Athlete of the Year Award. The others are: Ashley Wittman (Shakopee, Minn., volleyball), Megan Goethals (Rochester, Rochester Hills, Mich., cross country), Chiney Ogwumike (Cy-Fair, Cypress, Texas, basketball), Mollie Pathman (Durham Academy, Durham, N.C., soccer) and Kasey Fagan (Dunnellon, Fla., softball).
Ogwumike and Fagan were also MaxPreps Players of the Year and Ogwumike earned the MaxPreps female Athlete of the Year as well.
Sam Crouser, a shot putter and javelin and discus thrower at Gresham, Ore., was named Gatorade’s Male National Track and Field Athlete of the Year this week as well. Crouser shattered the national high school and American junior javelin record by nearly 14 feet with a throw of 255 feet, 4 inches.
He joins Malcolm Jones (Oaks Christian, Westlake Village, Calif., football), Lukas Verzbicas (Sandburg, Orland Park, Ill., cross country), Brandon Knight (Pine Crest, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., basketball), Soony Saad (Dearborn, Mich., soccer) and Kales Cowart (Cook, Adel, Ga., baseball) as other male winners.
REPLAY 3 ANNOUNCED: Gatorade’s popular REPLAY program has picked a third game to reproduce – a boys basketball game between South Side Chicago high school’s Bloom and Brother Rice. Players from the 2000 game, which ended on a controversial call, will square off sometime in September.
Players will take part in an eight-week training and transition program, just like the other two games, the 1993 football rematch between Easton (Easton, Pa.) and Phillipsburg (Phillipsburg, N.J.) in REPLAY 1 and the 1999 hockey replay of Trenton (Mich.) and Catholic Central (Novi, Mich.) in REPLAY 2. Both those contests played to sellout crowds and without serious injury.
Check listings on FOX Sports Net or go to www.replaytheseries.com to see the documentary on REPLAY 2.
