SLIPPERY ROCK — Nobody in Butler County has been faster at the girls 100-meter hurdles than Slippery Rock High’s trio of Heather Urbaniak, Aster Chmielewski and Molly Joyce.

All three were decorated with medals on Saturday at the District 10 Class AA Track and Field Championships.

One walked away with a title.

Urbaniak won the 100 hurdles with a time of 15.50 seconds in the finals. The junior posted a personal-best 15.47 in the prelims, which boosted her confidence before taking home the championship.

“That was the first time this year that I realized it’s really in my control,” Urbaniak explained. “The whole season I was thinking, ‘Maybe if this girl messes up or something.’ After getting first in prelims is when I was like, ‘Wow, it’s up to me now.’”

With fate in her hands, Urbaniak crossed the finish line 0.15 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Sophie Mazza of Mercer.

“I just couldn’t believe it. It still hasn’t really sunken in yet,” said Urbaniak. “I never thought that would be me, that I would have the chance to accomplish something like that.”

Her friends weren’t far behind.

Chmielewski, a junior, was fourth at 16.32, while Joyce, a sophomore, took 10th at 16.89. Chmielewski picked up a medal in the 300 hurdles, as well, finishing third at 47.84 — just two-tenths from the automatic state-qualifying time — while Joyce also claimed some hardware with a fifth-place showing at 48.38.

“They complement each other well and they like each other,” said Slippery Rock hurdling coach Tom Meling. “They earn what they get. They really do.”

Every hurdler must clear an initial obstacle to become successful.

“You can’t be afraid of the hurdles. That’s one thing you can’t teach,” said Chmielewski. “If you get afraid of them, that just screws you up completely. Don’t doubt yourself.”

“These are weighted hurdles. You hit them — they’re not moving, you’re moving,” said Meling. “You have to have the courage to take a hit like that.”

When the fear is eliminated, the growth can begin.

Joyce began hurdling after some bargaining with Chmielewski.

“She made me,” said Joyce, smiling. “It was if she played soccer, I would go to hurdle practice.”

During the indoor track season, Joyce decided to give it a whirl. With no track indoors to practice on, the hurdles were set up in a long hallway.

The first steps of her career weren’t so smooth.

“Whenever Molly first started, she would literally run into the wall as she hurdled,” Chmielewski recalled with a laugh. “By the end of the season, she was almost running state times. You don’t really know what you have until you do it.”

“If you want to try, try it,” said Joyce. “Never doubt yourself because you never know what it can turn into. It’s always worth a try.”

Despite a lingering injury from volleyball season, Urbaniak never stopped trying.

A bothersome hamstring at one point sent Urbaniak to physical therapy three times per week. Her practice time has been significantly hampered all season.

“She’s done what she’s done with only one practice a week,” said Meling. “She’d be running low 15s if she got to practice all the time.”

Urbaniak’s perseverance has earned the admiration of her teammates.

“She doesn’t need practice to be so amazing,” said Joyce. “She always comes back and runs a better time than she has.”

“It’s like she goes with the natural progression of a season without actually being in season,” Chmielewski said. “I don’t know how she does it.”

With different personalities and strengths on the track, one common denominator is Meling and the girls appreciate his work to help their improvement.

“I just want to stress how much Coach Meling has done for me and how educated of a coach he is,” said Urbaniak. “I could not have done anything like this without his support and patience.”

“He knows how each of us work,” said Joyce. “He knows our personalities and uses it to make us get better.”

“It’s kind of like mind games, but in a good way,” Chmielewski added.

Meling says the standouts possess different advantages.

“All three are very different hurdlers,” he said. “Molly is the tallest one, so in a sense she has it a little bit easier because of her height. Aster at 300 is the most consistent. You can always count on her.

“Heather having a volleyball background has powerful, powerful thighs. She probably has the best lead leg of the group,” Meling continued. “That helps her in the 100 meters to be as quick as she is.”

Urbaniak will seek redemption at the state meet after a costly stumble last year.

“I work a little bit harder in practice every day now because I know what could happen and I know how important technique is when it comes to hurdling,” she said. “I think it helped me out a lot.”

So has the presence of her teammates.

“Because they’re all together, they can learn visually as well as through hearing because they can see each other doing it,” Meling explained.

And no matter who finishes first, they celebrate together.

“Sometimes it surprises me how much they support me because I think they want to beat me,” said Urbaniak. “But I think that just says something about how close we are, that they get so happy for me when I win.”