Fearless Foursome
BUTLER TWP — While snow covered the ground outside, Butler High School's girls 4x800 meter relay was bubbling inside.
Now it's ready to boil over.
Freshman Chesna Tomko, seniors Maggie Welty and Erin LeMay, and junior Liz Simms are off and running toward a potentially historic season.
At least, they hope so.
“We want the WPIAL record,” Simms said emphatically. “It would be so cool to be able to say we were the fastest 4x8 team ever.
“I know we can get there.”
They're headed in that direction.
This same foursome ran the 4x800 for the Butler girls indoor track team this winter. The indoor school record had been nine minutes and 42 seconds. Tomko, Welty, LeMay and Simms beat that record by 10 seconds at the Pa. Indoor Championships.
They then traveled to New York for a national meet and nearly shaved another 10 seconds off. The school indoor mark now stands at 9:23.
“That was pretty crazy, what they did,” Butler girls track coach John Williams said. “But these girls are extremely talented and they're really into this journey.
“They buy into the coaching and they don't slack in any way. That relay knows what it's capable of and they want to realize it.”
North Allegheny holds the WPIAL's 4x800 outdoor record of 9:09.99, set in 2011.
“The indoor season gave us a lot of confidence,” Welty said. “It's harder to run fast times indoor than outdoor. We want to have a big year. We just need to keep getting better.”
The Golden Tornado's 4x800 ran a 9:41.40 in winning Saturday at the Tri-State Track Coach's Association Outdoor Championships at West Mifflin. That is currently the fifth-fastest time in Pennsylvania this outdoor season.
Butler's 4x800 ran a 9:16.76 — ninth on the WPIAL's all-time list — last year. Alexis Leech — now running at the University of Pittsburgh — was part of that unit. Leech ran the first leg of the Tornado 4x800 that placed fourth at the state meet last year.
Tomko replaced her this year.
Tomko not only runs the first leg of the 4x800. She leads off Butler's 4x100 and 4x400 relay units as well.“For a freshman to be the first runner on all three relays here is unheard of,” Butler assistant coach Mike Seybert said. “But Chesna is not an ordinary freshman athlete.“She's not fazed by any of this. She wants to be a part of it.”Welty referred to Tomko as “amazing, an outstanding runner ... just what we needed.”Simms agreed.“Chesna gives us that fresh set of legs,” she said. “I believe we can contend for a state championship, largely because of her.”Running the first leg of the relay, Tomko knows what her role is.“When you're the second or third leg, your job is to keep the lead,” Tomko said. “My job is to get them the lead and not make them have to overtake somebody.“I've learned so much from the other three girls. This is my first year, so in terms of working out and preparation, I didn't know what to do. They've all worked with me ... They help me get better and I appreciate that.“It's an honor for me to run with them. The last thing I'd ever want to do is let them down,” Tomko added.LeMay has been running relays for Butler during all four years of her varsity career.“Runners have different techniques and a relay has to come together, get on the same page,” LeMay said. “There's definitely a bond with the four of us.“We don't want to let each other down and we all have a common goal.”That is to be the best in the WPIAL — ever.These girls shine in individual events as well. Simms is being recruited by numerous Division I schools, but cherishes her role as the anchor on the relays.“Relays emphasize the team aspect of track,” Simms said. “You're not just running for yourself. You're running for the other three, for the program and for the school.”And, perhaps, history.
