BUTLER TWP - To say the odds were against the Seneca Valley girls track team would have been putting it mildly.

The Raiders traveled to Butler having not beaten the Golden Tornado since 1991. Plus, they were without their top middle-distance runner in Susan Fletcher, who missed the meet with strep throat.

But on the strength of 10 first-place finishes and eight second-place marks, it was Seneca Valley that came away with a 79-71 victory Tuesday.

"Coming in here without Susan, we knew it was going to be tough," said Raiders coach Wayne Roccia. "But track's a team sport, and like any other team sport, when someone goes down there has to be others who step up. We got that today.

"In a close meet like this was, second- and third-place finishes are very important," he added. "And we got some big finishes there to help us win."

Butler gained a split as the boys defeated Seneca 95-55.

It was Seneca's victory in the 1,600-meter relay that clinched the girls win.

Leading by three points before the event, the Raiders needed to finish first to secure the victory.

The quartet of Aly Triscuit, Carrie Wack, Ashlee Zinkhann and Jaylan Giuliano managed a time of 4 minutes, 8.6 seconds, which was 16 seconds in front of the Golden Tornado.

"I really can't say that the (1,600 relay) was where we lost the meet," said Butler coach Rod Harris. "There were so many other events that affected the outcome.

"And I can't say anything negative about the girls' effort," Harris added. "Seneca came to beat Butler today, as everyone does. And the fact that they did it without (Fletcher), I've got to give them a lot of credit."

Seneca sported two double winners in individual events.

Junior Kim Chapman (100 hurdles, 300 hurdles) and sophomore Kelsey Sullivan (1,600, 3,200) both went home with two wins.

Despite being an underclassman, Roccia said Sullivan has handled the responsibility of distance events well this season.

"She also came up big for us last year, so her performance isn't a surprise," the coach said. "But it's good to see her do well."

Butler's Sarah Thiebaud (long and triple jumps) and Tara Maxwell (shot put, discus) also won two individual events each.

In the boys competition, Butler's Tyrell Sales won all three throwing events while Calvin Littlejohn won all three jumping events.

Seneca Valley's Mark Rudolph captured the 100 and 200, while teammate Tom Dickey won both hurdle events.

Both Butler teams move to 4-1 in section meets, 4-2 overall. They will travel to North Allegheny Friday.

Seneca's girls improve to 4-2 in the section, 6-2 overall. The boys fall to 3-3, 5-3. The Raiders will host Pine-Richland next Tuesday.

Boys

Butler 95, Seneca Valley 55

Running events

110-meter high hurdles:

1-Tom Dickey (SV) :15.6;

100-meter dash:

1-Mark Rudolph (SV) 11.2;

1,600-meter run:

1-Zach Vavro (B) 4:37;

400-meter run:

1-Ryan Edmiston (B) 52.0;

300-meter intermediate hurdles:

1-Dickey (SV) 39.4;

800-meter run:

1-John Strutt (B) 2:07.63;

200-meter dash:

1-Rudolph (SV) 23.2;

3,200-meter run:

1-Vavro (B) 10:32

Relay events

3,200-meter:

1-Butler (Edmiston, Strutt, John Galante, Josh Cable) 9:24.34;

400-meter:

1-Seneca Valley (Rudolph, Dickey, Ryan Hoover, Gabe Delerme) 44.45;

1,600-meter:

1-Butler (Strutt, Bobby Ridley, Adam Tilko, Andrew Voll) 3:41.2

Field events

Shot put:

1-Tyrell Sales (B) 48-9½;

Discus:

1-Sales (B) 157-9;

Javelin:

1-Sales (B) 150-6;

Pole Vault:

1-Jason Spudic (SV) 12-0;

High jump:

1-Calvin Littlejohn (B) 6-4;

Long jump:

1-Littlejohn (B) 20-5;

Triple jump:

1-Littlejohn (B) 44-5

Girls

Seneca Valley 79, Butler 71

Running events

100-meter high hurdles:

1-Kim Chapman (SV) 16.8;

100-meter dash:

1-Ashlee Zinkhann (SV) 12.9;

1,600-meter run:

1-Kelsey Sullivan (SV) 5:39.9;

400-meter run:

1-Kate DeGeorge (B) 62.3;

300-meter low hurdles:

1-Chapman (SV) 47.9;

800-meter run:

1-Leisl Soergel (B) 2:26.5;

200-meter dash:

1-Carrie Wack (SV) 26.3;

3,200-meter run:

1-Sullivan (SV) 12:41.4

Relay events

3,200-meter:

1-Butler (Amanda Bresnehan, Soergel, Tess Crispin, Jess Tomsey) 10:31.5;

400-meter:

1-Seneca Valley (Wack, Zinkhann, Nikki Bryan, DaLynn Mills) 50.2;

1600-meter:

1-Seneca Valley (Wack, Zinkhann, Aly Triscuit, Jaylan Giuliano) 4:08.6

Field events

Shot put:

1-Tara Maxwell (B) 37-4;

Discus:

1-Maxwell (B) 109-5;

Javelin:

1-Ashley Turici (SV) 116-7;

Pole Vault:

1-Emily Chiappini (B) 9-6;

High jump:

1-Chelsey Pavlik (SV) 5-2;

Long jump:

1-Sarah Thiebaud (B) 15-9½;

Triple jump:

1-Thiebaud (B) 35-2