Butler and Seneca Valley have plenty of reasons for optimism entering Saturday's Section 3-AAA wrestling tournament at Fox Chapel High.

The top four placers in each weight class advance to next weekend's WPIALTournament at Canon-McMillan.

The section meet begins at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, with the championship and consolation finals slated for 6:15 p.m.

Eleven of Butler's 13 wrestlers enter Saturday's action with winning records. Seven of them — Eric Tuck at 119 pounds, Cody Hartman at 130, Mike Crawford at 140, Cole Baxter at 145, Dakoda Collins at 160, Chris White at 189 and Marino Quercio at 215 — have more than 20 wins.

Yet only three Golden Tornado wrestlers are among the top two seeds in their respective weight classes.

"I'm a little disappointed at that,"Butler coach Scott Stoner said. "I don't think some of our guys were given enough credit for the caliber of schedule we wrestled this year."

Tuck (27-10) and Baxter (34-0) are No. 1 seeds, with Quercio (31-6) seeded No. 2 at 215. White has 27 wins and Hartman 26.

"Hartman's a 4-seed and I thought he'd be higher,"Stoner said. "Chris White is probably our most improved wrestler from beginning to end this year, though he lost his last couple of matches to highly ranked opponents."

Seneca Valley has eight of its 14 wrestlers sporting winning records and has five seeded No. 2: Jake Perri at 103, Grant Evans at 119, Dan Papst at 135, Nate Cully at 140 and Dave Bonetti at heavyweight.

"I'm pleased just having a full, healthy lineup at this time of year,"Raiders coach Tom Tomeo said. "We're looking to get at least half of our team through to WPIALs.

Papst and Cully have posted 20-plus victory seasons for the Raiders.

Butler and Knoch have been battling injuries this year. Crawford is 23-8 at 140 pounds for the Tornado, but has been bothered by a bad shoulder in recent weeks.

Crawford has not wrestled since defaulting against Waynesburg during a Feb. 11 dual match.

"He's been on limited duty since and Mike will return to drills today (Thursday),"Stoner said. "He won't be 100 percent and I'm not sure how long he'll be able to go.

"Hopefully, he can gut his way through this weekend, earn a spot in the WPIAL, then we'll make a decision on him from there."

Knoch's roster was decimated by injuries early this season. The Knights have only three wrestlers in the section tournament:Grayson Hixon (17-7) at 119 pounds, Brittney Faust (11-9) at 125 and Kevin Green (9-10) at 145.

Faust is the only female wrestler in the tournament.

Tomeo said he's geared his Seneca Valley team all year to peak when postseason competition arrived.

"I believe we've done that," he said. "I like where we are right now in terms of technique, attitude and mental toughness.

"This year has been a learning experience for me, getting to know some of the teams. There are a lot of quality teams in our section. This is going to be a battle for everyone."

NEAR THE TOP

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Here are Butler and Seneca Valley wrestlers among the top two seeds of their respective weight classes for Saturday's Section 3-AAA meet:

ButlerNo. 1 seed119 pounds: Eric Tuck, sophomore, 27-10145: Cole Baxter, sophomore, 34-0

No. 2 seed215 Marino Quercio, senior, 31-6Seneca Valley

No. 2 seed103 pounds: Jake Perri, freshman, 14-7119: Grant Evans, senior, 14-8135: Dan Papst, junior, 21-3140: Nate Cully, junior, 22-3285: Dave Bonetti, junior, 19-3

Other SchoolsNo. 1 seed103 pounds: Troy Zangaro, North Hills, 30-8112: Mike Wanner (North Allegheny) 21-12125: Carson Brooks (Fox Chapel) 31-8130: Joe Waltko (North Allegheny) 31-1135: Andy Candiello (North Allegheny) 30-5140: Dave Cawley (North Allegheny) 11-0152: Justin Mahon (Fox Chapel) 32-4160: Nick Letters (Fox Chapel) 36-1171: Josh Fleming (Shaler) 28-7189 pounds: Aaron Barker (Fox Chapel) 32-5215: Doug Rodgers (Shaler) 18-5285: Joe Raimondi (Hampton) 24-2