Artificial Intelligence (AI) is blooming, so we put ChatGPT to the test and asked the Open AI platform to rank the best Pennsylvania High School Track and Field Athletes of All Time.
ChatGPT quickly put together a pretty respectable list. We then added historical context. We invite you to join the discussion; how good was its list? Let us know on Twitter and Instagram.
ChatGPT's Top 5 PA HS Athletes All-Time
1 - Leroy Burrell
Burrell attended Penn Wood High School and won four state championships in 1985 in the 100m, 200m, Long Jump and Triple Jump. As a result - Penn Wood won the 3A State Title in 1985.
He became a 9x NCAA All-American, set the NCAA Outdoor Long Jump record (27-5.50), and set multiple American and World Records, including the 100m WR of 9.85, which Donovan Bailey eventually broke.
He was inducted into the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame in 2008.
2 - Kim Gallagher
Gallagher attended Upper Dublin High School and won 12 PIAA State Championships on the Track and Cross Country Course. In 1982 she set the National High School Record in the 800m with her blistering 2:00.07. That record stood until 2013 when Mary Cain ran 1:59.51.
She still has the fourth fastest 800m time of All-Time.
She went on to win two US National Championships (800m, 1500m). She earned a Silver Medal at the 1984 Olympic Games and a Bronze at the 1988 Olympic Games.
3 - Chris Dugan
In the '90s, Dugan put together an incredible high school resume. Dugan competed for Southmoreland and won 2A State Cross Country Titles in 1994,1995, and 1996.
He also won three 1600m and two 3200m titles on the track. In 1997, he set the 2A PIAA Championship record in the 3200m with his 9:04.09. He went on to compete at NC State, where he earned All-American honors in the 3000m steeplechase, according to the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.
4 - Herb Douglas
Herb Douglas is one of the PA's All-time Greats and a pioneer for African Americans in athletics. Douglas won three High School State Championships for Allderdice High School in the 1930s (100m, 200m, and LJ). He was also the school's first Black basketball player.
He eventually competed at Xavier University of Louisiana, the University of Pittsburgh, and the 1948 Olympic Games, where he won a bronze medal in the men's long jump.
5 - Ryan Whiting
Whiting competed for Central Dauphin High School, where he won the 2004 and 2005 3A Discuss Championship (201-9), and was a two-time runner-up in the Shot-Put before earning the win in 2005 with his monster throw of 70-0.
That 2005 season, he won the Pan American Junior Championship in the Discus and the Shot Put.
He held the State Discus record until 2011, when Kyle Long (Hempfield 03) broke his record. His Shot Put Record stood until 2017 when Jordan Geist (Knoch) heaved one 76 feet.
Professionally, Whiting won the 2012 and 2014 Indoor World Shot Put Championships and earned a silver at the 2013 Outdoor World Championships.
* Reminder and Disclaimer - These are not our opinions. This is a subjective list generated by an artificial intelligence platform for fun. We tried to add historical context for each athlete. Please do not take this list too seriously, but we encourage you to engage in the discussion on our social media platforms.