BUTLER TWP — With the dual-meet and invitational season in full swing and the team and individual qualifiers just around the corner, several Butler girls track and field athletes will take on a different challenge today.

Senior shot putter Bri Lumley and members of the Tornado's 400-meter relay team, Paige Allen, Tara Lowe, Jasmine Bailey and Katelyn Wetzel, will take part in the Penn Relays in Philadelphia.

"It's such a huge event," Butler girls coach Annessa Schnur said Tuesday. "That's where a lot of college programs compete and allows the kids an opportunity to expose their abilities."

The Penn Relays have been held at Franklin Field, situated on the University of Pennsylvania campus, for more than 100 years.

According to the event's website, more than 22,000 entries will be accepted, about half of which are from high schoolers, and the three-day event is expected to draw more than 110,000 spectators.

Lumley, who was the runner-up at the WPIAL Class AAA Championships in 2009, competed in the Nike Track and Field Championships in Greensboro, N.C., last summer and reached the PIAA Indoor Championships in March.

She was one of the top 20 entries that were accepted in each field event and was seeded 10th.

The 400 relay squad turned in a strong time of 49.83 seconds, which ranks fourth in Butler's history and seventh all-time in Butler County.

The event will be a bit of a break from the regular track season, although it's a chance to compete as an individual.

"Especially with the dual meets, there's a sense of team and it makes track and field seem less stressful than competing as an individual. It takes the pressure off," said Schnur.

But the athletes have the chance to do something a little out of the ordinary.

"It's an opportunity to run with some strong national competition," said Schnur, "and there are 10 lanes on the track, so that something different for them."