BUTLER TWP — The Butler Track and Field Invitational may not be the biggest, but it doesn't mean it's still not the best.

Now in its 47th season, the Butler boys invite brings in some of the best teams from the western side of the state as does the girls meet, which is now in its 10th season.

This year also marks the third consecutive year the boys and girls meets have been run together. they will join forces this Friday at Art Bernardi Stadium starting at 1 p.m.

“I think since it's still earlier in the season, this is the first big test, which is kind of nice,” said Butler boys coach Rick Schontz.

“There's not as many teams (about 35 for the boys, 30 for the girls through Tuesday, one day before the deadline), but it's unwritten that everyone knows this is where the competition is.”

With the season three weeks old, the Butler Invitational is the first true measuring stick for athletes.

“March wasn't a real good month weather-wise,” said Schontz. “It's supposed to be fairly nice Friday with temperatures in the 60s, so we're looking for some pretty good performances.”

Butler girls coach Annessa Steele agreed, particularly on how her team feels about returning as the defending champions.

“They're really excited,” said Steele. “We talked about the meet (Tuesday) and the girls want to win and reclaim the title.

“It's finally going to be a good day. It's at our track. We've been away all season. It's kind of a relief. We've been training all these weeks. At this point, it's nice to see all the training pay off,” Steele added.

“It's a home meet for our athletes,” Schontz said. “Other than qualifying for the state meet or winning the WPIAL championship, it's one of our biggest meets.”

Many Quad A teams will highlight the meet as well as a few strong smaller schools plus teams from the City League.

“It's a real diverse group,” Schontz noted.

Most track squads are about halfway through their dual meet season, so taking part in a large invitational will change the dynamics drastically.

“We had one invite really early (the Tri-State Invitational),” said Steele, “but with the weather we were more focused on our training and conditioning.

“Now, the training and the weather have come together and we'll have some pretty good competition.”