North Allegheny sprinter Khiryn Boyd showing off his speed among WPIAL’s best

By: Chris Harlan
Saturday, April 22, 2023 | 11:01 AM

Purchase Photo Options

After not running track for a year, North Allegheny sprinter Khiryn Boyd was curious about the times being run this spring and how his compared with his competitors.

He learned two things: One, you can’t always trust your competitors. And, two, he’s still fast.

“I asked a kid before a race what time he runs,” said Boyd, who won the 100 meters at Latrobe’s Wildcat Invitational in 11.21 seconds. “He said like a 10.7. I was very nervous. I thought I was going to lose.

“I guess he lied to me.”

Boyd is known more as a football standout after earning WPIAL Class 6A Player of the Year honors in the fall. But the junior is also showing his speed on the track with goals of winning a WPIAL medal this spring and eventually breaking the 11-second barrier.

Watch out for the former California kid once the weather gets warm.

“I think he’s one of the best in the WPIAL and that’s saying something,” North Allegheny coach John Neff said. “The WPIAL really has some good sprinters this year, and I’d put Khiryn up with any of them.”

Boyd sprinted for the Tigers as a freshman but shoulder surgery to fix a torn labrum cost him his sophomore season. He didn’t run indoors this winter and had bulked up to 170 pounds for football, so at 5-foot-11, he wondered if he was still quick enough to win.

A few early-season races proved he was. He shaved off a half-second between dual-meet wins against North Hills and Butler, and followed with a personal-best at Latrobe.

“I’ve been lifting, so I thought my time would be way slower,” Boyd said. “I surprised myself.”

His coach wasn’t too surprised. Neff hadn’t seen Boyd compete in the 100 meters in a year, but watched him run away from defenders on a 100-yard field. Boyd scored a team-high 12 touchdowns for a football team that won the WPIAL championship.

“I got to see him on Friday nights all fall,” Neff said. “You could tell he was in great form at that point. Some of the things that he was able to do, the number of times that he outran defenders, you could tell he was going to be good.”

His winning time of 11.21 seconds at Latrobe would’ve placed fifth at the WPIAL championships a year ago. Last year’s champion, who since has graduated, ran a 10.92.

The WPIAL meet is May 17 at Slippery Rock, so there’s time to improve.

“I’m trying to get sub-11,” Boyd said. “That’s really the goal.”

Boyd moved here in eighth grade with his family from Bakersfield, Calif. He’s related to former Steelers linebacker Joey Porter, another Bakersfield native living in the North Allegheny district. The move to Pennsylvania was a big change in many ways.

Track-wise, one obvious difference was the weather. The average high temperature for March in Bakersfield is 70 degrees.

“It was a big transition,” Boyd said. “Right now, I’m used to it, but it was big.”

Still, he’s hoping for warm, dry days ahead.

Along with the 100 meters, Boyd runs a leg on the 400-meter relay team. He’s working nowadays to improve his starts, saying that’s an area where he can save some time. But he’s also focused on increasing his flexibility.

“I stretch a lot,” he said, “because my hamstrings are tight and I really think that’s the key.”

He flashed his sprinters speed with a 98-yard kickoff return in the fall. In the WPIAL finals, he caught touchdowns of 51 and 68 yards. If any college coaches weren’t already aware of his quickness, Boyd said, maybe they’ll notice his 100-meter times.

The defensive back and wide receiver is hoping to draw college football offers this summer. In the meantime, Boyd is focused on track and making up for a lost sophomore season.

“Last year, he was on the shelf, but he’s back and, man, he’s fast,” Neff said. “He’s getting faster all the time.”

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

Tags: North Allegheny