PITTSBURGH — Time was running out on Butler's Jillian McElhaney.

The senior swam on a relay team at the state meet as a freshman, but a trip as an individual has eluded her ever since.

After placing 15th in the 50-yard freestyle on Thursday, her chances came down to her performance in Friday's backstroke event at the WPIAL Class AAA championship meet at the University of Pittsburgh's Trees Pool.

McElhaney trimmed 2.83 seconds from her seed time and moved up five spots to place sixth with a time of 58.31.

Though only the top three finishers in Class AAA are guaranteed a berth into the state meet, Butler coach Dave Bocci is confident McElhaney will make the secondary cut.

“It's probably going to be good enough for states,” he said. “Very rarely am I shocked in this sport, but I am shocked at this. I always thought Jillian's best shot was in the 50 (free). This was simply a case of her saying, 'I'm going for it.'”

Even McElhaney admitted she surprised herself.

“I was just hoping to break a minute,” she said. “I did more than I expected.

“I just got into it (backstroke) this year and I knew I had to step up,” she added. “This is the best feeling ever. Nothing beats it.”

Seneca Valley's Sophia Gaguzis closed out a strong WPIAL meet. She was sixth in Thursday's 200 freestyle and finished fourth in the 100 freestyle on Friday.

“I wasn't expecting to medal in either event,” she said. “I started swimming the 100 last year and by the end of the season, it was my best event. I focused on my training really hard this year.”

Gaguzis, Abby Parsons, Hannah Fernandes and Kassi Grumski earned the Raiders a fifth-place medal in the 400 freestyle relay.

Parsons placed eighth in the backstroke.

Butler's Tukker Uniatowski took home a lot more than sixth place in the boys breaststroke. The senior managed 58.54 in the event, breaking his own school record, set here last year.

“I worked so hard and I wanted to improve my time,” he said. “I did what I needed to do and listened to my coach. Everything worked out perfectly.”

“Tukker kept going at it,” said Bocci. “Swimming is a tough sport. There's a lot of ups and downs, but he remained sure and steady all four years.”

Uniatowski will find out Sunday if his effort is good enough for the state meet, but he has a very good shot.

His latest performance is over a second faster than his 59.61 from last year and that earned him a trip to states as a junior.

Seneca Valley's Spencer Tretter placed sixth in the 500 freestyle.