BUTLER TWP - Seneca Valley sophomore Ashley Turici thought she could do well at Saturday's Butler Girls Invitational.

She just didn't know how well.

It turned out she did better than everybody else.

Turici tossed the javelin 118 feet, six inches to win that event at the 22-team track and field meet held at Butler High School. She was the only Butler County athlete to win an event.

"I feel like I've been getting better with each meet," Turici said. "I was hoping to place here. I'm kind of surprised by this."

Turici's throw bested runner up Kerri Melis of Knoch by five feet. Seneca Valley teammate Emily Ford placed fifth.

Turici's previous best throw this season was 112-3, achieved at a meet the day before the Butler Invitational.

"Emily's a senior and she's been helpful to Ashley," Seneca Valley track coach Wayne Roccia said. "She pushes her in practice and at meets."

The Raiders' school record in the javelin is 127-2.

"I want to break into the top 10-list at school," Turici said of her goal for this season.

"Ashley's a big, strong girl who also plays basketball, so she stays active with sports," Roccia said. "As she finds her comfort zone and improves technique, she's only going to get better.

"I'm excited about her future. She solidifies that event for us for the next two years."

Butler finished a distant third in the team standings with 46 points, trailing champion Erie McDowell's 107 and North Allegheny's 86.

The Golden Tornado competed without top distance runner Jessica Tomsey, top sprinter Kelly Hilderbrand and jumping specialist Sarah Thiebaud.

"We had some girls who couldn't compete for various reasons," Butler coach Rod Harris said. "We used some younger kids today and they did well."

Most of Butler's points were scored in the field events. Val Gray (fourth in 300 meter hurdles) was the lone Tornado athlete to place among the top six in an individual track event.

Sophomore Kendall Butch placed in the high jump, triple jump and pole vault. Emily Chiappini was second in the pole vault. Sarah Rehm placed in the long jump and triple jump.

Tara Maxwell, coming back from a severe ankle injury that occurred in a gymnastics accident during the winter, placed second in the shot put and third in the discus. Baldwin's Jordan Veney won both events.

Maxwell's shot put of 36 feet, 6 inches marked a season-high for her.

"My technique is just now starting to come back," Maxwell said. "The injury was to my plant foot, so it's taken a while.

"This weekend was the first time I could actually go into a rotation. All I've been able to do to this point is power throws."

A junior, Maxwell said her goal is to reach the state meet and place there. She did not qualify for the PIAA meet as a sophomore.

"To come out here at less than 100 percent and perform the way she did with this caliber of competition is incredible," Harris said of Maxwell. "That says a lot about Tara Maxwell."

The caliber of competition is why Moniteau sophomore distance runner Alyssa Deal showed up for the meet.

Deal ran a personal-best 5:17 to finish second in the 1,600 meters, four seconds behind Penn Hills' Kaitlin Grimm.

"I wanted to see if I could rise up and run with them," Deal said of the competition. "I was pretty nervous, but you get better by running against more talented runners.

"Other than the state meet, this is the biggest meet I've ever competed in."

Nicole Smith of Erie McDowell was named Outstanding Field Athlete at the meet. She won the high jump, long jump and triple jump - setting a meet record in the long jump - and was second in the 100-meter hurdles.

Erica Moody of Oakland Catholic was named Outstanding Track Athlete. She set meet records while winning the 200 and 400-meter events.

McDowell's team championship was its second in three years at the meet. North Allegheny won the team title last year.