BUTLER TWP — When it comes to throwing the discus and and shot put, it’s in the genes for Ava Bonetti.

The Butler senior will make her third consecutive trip to the Pennsylvania Track & Field Coaches Association State Indoor Championships this Saturday at Penn State University.

Competing in the shot put, Bonetti placed 15h as a sophomore and 11th as a junior at the PTFCA state meet. She is seeded eighth this year and is coming off a season-best throw of 38 feet, 7.5 inches last week.

“My goal is to finish in the top three or four,” Bonetti said of the state meet. “I know it’s in me.”

Bonetti has been competing in discus and/or shot put since fifth grade. Her father, Clint Bonetti, ranks second on Butler’s all-time shot put list with a toss of 55-9.5. He competed for the Golden Tornado in the late 1980’s.

Her mother, Marianne Cepec Bonetti, threw the discus for Slippery Rock High School.

“Ava is way ahead of me at that age,” her father said. “I never got to states until my senior year. She’s been there twice already.

“She’s put a lot of time and effort into it. She’s worked hard to come back.”

Bonetti practices three days a week, throwing for an hour each day. And she’s benefited from her father’s expertise in the event.

“He works with me on my steps and technique all the time,” Bonetti said. “He’s been very helpful.”

Bonetti injured her shoulder as a sophomore. She qualified for the PIAA outdoor meet in the discus the past two years, but has not placed.

Mr. Bonetti said her shoulder “is at 95 percent right now and she’s working through it.”

“She’s been dealing with rest and physical therapy,” he said.

The injury has not sidelined Bonetti and her competing poses no threat to further damage.

“It does get sore and makes it harder to throw,” she said. “By spring, I expect it to be 100 percent. My goal is to place among the top eight in the shot and discus at the state meet.”

Butler senior sprinter Paige Allen and senior long jumper Kennedy Evans have also qualified for the indoor state competition.

Allen placed third at the recent Tri-State Track & Field Coaches Association Championships with a school record time of 7.97 seconds. She is seeded 17th in the 60-meter dash.

Allen is a two-time qualifier for the PIAA Outdoor Championships as a member of the Tornado’s 4x100 meter relay team.

Evans placed fourth at at the TSTCA Championships with a jump of 17-1.5. Her season-best jump of 17-8 has her seeded seventh on Saturday.

Suffering a left foot injury last week, Evans is hopeful of a quick recovery so she can compete this weekend. She was a PIAA qualifier in the 300-meter hurdles last spring.