Every great sprinter knows that a valuable part of their arsenal must be a lean at the tape and, in the race for 2009-2010 ESPN RISE DyeStat Girls Athlete of the Year, that lean served Ashton Purvis well.  The tough field of contenders for the annual award included highly accomplished distance runner Megan Goethals, who won national titles in each season, and fellow dasher Octavious Freeman - among others.  But the University of Miami signee and recent St. Elizabeth's (Oakland, Calif.) graduate simply was too good, with a combination of major victories and marks - indoors and out - that put her over the top.

“Lean” also applied to Purvis’s commitment to overall fitness that found her sporting a more chiseled look than ever before in a prep career that saw her wear the Team USA singlet in each of her four years (two World Youth, two World Junior meets).  “It seems like every year I’ve had a different body type,” she said at the USATF Juniors.  “This year it’s kind of all come together.”