If you ask her father, Alisha McClinton's busy itinerary late last week was not unusual.
In Wednesday's Bob Golliday Invitational, the Perry Hall junior finished first in the 100-meter dash, second in the 200, and broke a 14-year-old meet record with a winning long jump of 17 feet, 8 inches.
After track practice the next night, McClinton was playing in a club basketball league at Harford County's Bel Air High, helping her team, coached by her father, Jack McClinton II, to victory.
On Friday, McClinton was singing in a school-sponsored talent show. And Saturday, she took her Scholastic Assessment Test for the first time, hoping to improve on the 1,130 she scored on her PSAT.
"Ever since I can remember, Alisha's always put about three to four hours into studying. I mean, this kid would come home on Fridays and do that," said Jack II. "We [he and wife Suzanne] felt it was important to get her involved in other things as well, sometimes literally having to pull her away from her books. Now, she's always busy doing something."
Jack II, 37, earned the name "Jumpin' Jack" for his rebounding prowess as a 6-foot-5 power forward at West Virginia Tech, and his son, Jack III, 11, appears to be on the same path. But for now, it appears Jack's daughter is the jumper.
Her personal-best long jump of 18 feet, 1 inch ranks second only to Howard's Donna Mullings, an All-Metro and the area's No. 1 Division I recruit in girls track. At the rate she's going, it appears McClinton could be the next Mullings.
"My father got me involved in basketball in sixth grade, and at first I thought that was going to be my sport. But now I'm leaning toward track," said McClinton, whose freshman year at Perry Hall included leading her JV basketball team through a 20-1 campaign, and winning the 100-meter county title in her first varsity season.
"I try to be self-motivated and set high goals for myself. I'm a person who always wants to get it right the first time," said McClinton, whose training includes weightlifting with personal trainer Brian King.
"I go into the boys' gym at Perry Hall about three days a week. At first, the guys thought it was a joke, but now they know I'm serious."
As a sophomore last year, after only her second year competing in track on any level, McClinton earned All-Metro honors.
She leaped a personal-best 17-10 3/4 in the long jump, winning the county and region crowns and finishing as a 4A state runner-up )) in that event.
In the 100, where her personal best was 12.3 seconds, she was first in both the county and region. In the 200, McClinton was third in the county and second in the region.
"At the states last year, Mullings' jump was the only one that was better from the area in any of the classifications. She's already a two-time county champ in the long jump and the 100, and a two-time region champ in the long jump," coach Jerry Martin said.
McClinton also earned second-team All-City/County honors in basketball from The Baltimore Sun this past winter, leading the Gators to the 4A state semifinals -- including a regional title game upset of area power Western -- while averaging 15.4 points, 11 rebounds and three assists as a guard.
"We knew she had ability, based on the athleticism she inherited from her father's background," Martin said. "And as a sprinter and a jumper, she'd fit in well at any college program. She's very coachable, and has a lot of talent in a variety of areas."
From her 3.7 grade-point average in advanced subjects to her community and school involvement, McClinton's versatility would impress most any college recruiter.
Her resume includes membership in the student council, National Honor Society and Our Voices, "a school-sponsored African-American Awareness Association," said McClinton, who is also an usher at her church, Ray of Hope, in Baltimore City.
The course load for McClinton, who has designs on a college degree in engineering, includes computer programming and physics for gifted and talented students, honors English and advanced placement calculus.
Pub Date: 5/05/96
