NORTH VERSAILLES — To finish in sixth place in the state of Pennsylvania in anything is a very big deal.

To do it in a program's inaugural season makes it even sweeter.

The Butler varsity girls bowling team took part in Saturday's Pennsylvania High School Bowling Championships, hosted by the North Versailles Bowling Center against 11 other qualifiers.

Penn Hills and Hempfield, the only two teams to defeat Butler in last weekend's Western Pennsylvania regional, finished first and second, respectively, in the state championship.

"We were very pleased," said Butler coach Bill Fay. "I thought they handled themselves well. They went there to win it and they worked real hard."

Each team — made up of five starters — rolled three games.

"After the second game, I told the kids we were down 36 pins," said Fay, "and we would need to bowl well. Well, they shot 1,018 and put them up to one of the final eight teams.

"The first two teams got byes, then we went head to head and lost to Shikellany," Fay added.

Shikellany wound up placing third, ahead of Schuylkill Valley and Midwest. and Butler. Exeter, Pennsbury, Neshaminy, Penn-Trafford, Erie McDowell and Baldwin round out the 12 finishers.

Butler's five starters were Heather Paul, Autumn Hepler, Nicole Balk, Hope Griffith and Brea Suchonic. The team's two alternates were Chelsea Shever and Aliha Fisher.

Two starters during the regular season, Ashley Aul and Ashley Hevesy, were unable to take part as they were in New York to compete in a choir competition with the school.

The Tornado went through their first regular season with an unblemished 10-0 mark, then placed third in the western regional.

Fay knew at the beginning of the season this group was special and could compete with anyone they would face.

"We thought we'd go all the way," said Fay. "If you suggested something, they had their heart into it. They worked together so well."

Next season, the team will lose just Griffith, who led the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Bowling League with a 189 average, to graduation.

In the boys final, five of the top seven teams came out of the WPIAL. Hempfield won the title ahead of Pennsbury, Hopewell and East Allegheny. Baldwin and Woodland Hills were sixth and seventh, respectively, while Penn Hills was 11th.