Mike Kolor can't be in two places at once.

The Seneca Valley senior is fast. He's just not that fast.

Kolor has a conflict as the PIAA Track and Field Championships begin Friday. And it's a big one.

He's the valedictorian of his graduation class at Seneca Valley. He also happens to be the No. 1 runner in the state in the Class AAA 1,600-meter run with a seed time of 4 minutes, 13.23 seconds.

Seneca Valley's graduation is Friday. So is the 1,600 preliminary race in Shippensburg.

So Kolor had to choose just one. He chose to pursue a PIAA championship.

“It is frustrating,” Kolor said. “I put a lot of work and time into academics. My family stresses academics a lot. For the past four years, I've worked so hard in the classroom.”

But Kolor, who will attend Harvard, also left a lot of sweat on the track. He won his first two WPIAL gold medals last week in the 1,600 and 3,200. He opted out of running the 3,200 and 800 at the state meet to focus on winning gold in the 1,600.

“I'm going to miss seeing my classmates,” Kolor lamented. “I'm definitely going to use that as motivation. I'm going (to the state meet) to do something I've always wanted to do.”

Kolor isn't the only Butler County track and field athlete who has a legitimate shot at bringing home a state title.

Moniteau senior thrower Maura Kimmel is the top seed in both the shot put and the discus in Class AA.

Last year she admitted she crumbled under the pressure of the state meet. That won't happen to the University of Pennsylvania recruit this year, she said.

“I've had so many big meets this year — the indoor state championship, outdoor nationals, the Penn Relays,” Kimmel said. “I think I've learned how to handle that.”

Kimmel uncorked her best throw in the discus this season (144 feet, 7 inches) at the District 9 meet last week. Her best throw in the shot put is 45-1½.

Both are Moniteau school records.

If she beats those efforts, she has a good chance of coming home with two state championships.

“I just really want to PR,” Kimmel said. “And I want to put those school records even farther out there.”

Kimmel said a key to her turnaround since last May has been her ability to not take everything so seriously.

“I think a lot of it for me is making sure I don't think about it so much and have fun,” Kimmel said. “If I have fun, it's going to be a good day. I think that attitude has propelled me to do better.”

Knoch junior Jordan Geist has subscribed to that philosophy.

He draws huge crowds when he throws the shot put and the discus, but has shown a knack of keeping things light.

And being amazingly consistent.

Geist is the top seed in both the shot (72-7 and a WPIAL record) and the discus (192-11) in Class AAA.

Geist is more than 12 feet better than his closest competitor in the shot, but he may have some stiff competition in the discus where junior Matt Slagus of North Pocono has a seed throw of 184-1.

“We're just going to change up the lifting — lighter weights, quicker reps,” Geist said of his preparation for the state meet. “We'll do some stuff with lighter shot put to quicken up the finish on my throw.”

Freeport senior Dylan Hochbein also has a shot at two state golds.

He is the No. 1 seed in the Class AA 300-meter hurdles (38.93 seconds) and also runs a leg on the Yellowjackets' top-seeded 1,600-meter relay team with his twin brother Brandon Hochbein, Kevin Lynch and Robert Reichenbaugh at 3:25.14.

Brandon Hochbein, who had the third best time in the state in the 300 hurdles but was disqualified from the qualifying race two weeks ago, is helping Dylan Hochbein prepare for the PIAA race.

“Brandon and I are very competitive and we're also the type of brothers who have each others backs through thick and thin,” Dylan Hochbein said. “He pushes me so hard, even though he can't run the race. That's huge for me. He literally means the world to me and the fact he's doing that for me really puts me on top.”