BUTLER TWP — The band was playing. The cheerleaders were performing. The auditorium, was filled with fellow students.

While she appreciated all of the hoopla, Alyssa Eyth was humbled by it.

The Butler senior received the KDKA Extra Effort Award during an assembly Tuesday in the high school auditorium.

The award is based on academic standing, leadership in athletics and community involvement.

“I'm amazed by this,” Eyth said. “It feels strange to receive an award for doing what a high school kid is supposed to do.

“We should give our all while we're at school. Do your best. That's all I try to do.”

Eyth is a three-sport athlete at Butler, competing in volleyball during the fall, basketball in the winter, track and field in the spring. She carries a 4.43 grade point average and is headed to Mercyhurst University next school year to major in biology and play basketball.

Vice-president of the National Honor Society at Butler, Eyth also belongs to the 4-H Club, which raises animals, educates people in agriculture and brings animals in to visit nursing homes, among other activities.

She eventually wants to attend veterinary school and become a veterinarian.

Athletic director Bill Mylan said Eyth is the first Butler athlete to win the KDKA Extra Effort Award since Paige Allen claimed the honor five years ago.

“(Butler girls basketball coach) Mark Maier and I nominated her,” Mylan said. 'She meets all of the criteria and she's a great, great kid.

“But even with all of that ... This is a rare thing to win.”

KDKA gives out 22 Extra Effort Awards to high school athletes each school year. The TV station receives more than 1,200 applications a year and had 245 nominations for this week's award.

This is the 33rd year of the Extra Effort Award. Maier received the award as a Butler boys basketball player 30 years ago.

“But Alyssa has done a lot more in high school than I did,” Maier said. “I think this award has become much more difficult to achieve through the years.

“I had a 3.8 grade point and only played basketball. I worked some elementary basketball clinics and things like that ... I scored 45 points against Shaler the week before I got that award. I don't know if that had something to do with it or not.”

He described Eyth as “a selfless person who always goes above and beyond.”

Eyth thanked her school and the student body, along with KDKA, during her acceptance speech.

“There are a lot of students at Butler who deserve an award like this,” she said. “I feel privileged to be the one receiving it.”

She's also proud to receive the same award her coach once received.

“I hope I can follow in his footsteps and became the same quality adult that he turned into,” Eyth said of Maier. “He's a great coach, a great parent ... He's a great role model.”

Maier couldn't help but smile at the irony of watching one of his players receive the same award he attained.

“It's a small world, the circle of life, circle of athletics, whatever you want to call it,” he said. “I'm so proud of her.

“This is a great day for her family, for Butler High School and for our community as a whole.”