BUTLER TWP - Shake it off.

Butler's 3,200-meter relay quartet have done more than follow that phrase. They've lived it.

They had to shake off the disappointment of finishing 13th during qualifying for the PIAA Finals - when only the top 12 advance.

Jon Galante had to shake off 20-plus pounds this spring to get fast enough to keep the unit effective.

Ryan Edmiston had to shake off nagging illnesses, including an ear infection and strep throat, since February to keep training and to stay in condition for the late-season push.

Zach Vavro has had to shake off the pain of a season-long hamstring injury to run the anchor leg for the foursome.

These three seniors, along with junior John Strutt, shook off enough to run a time of 7 minutes, 57.11 seconds at the WPIAL individual finals last week in Baldwin. That time was good enough for second in the WPIAL, eighth fastest in the state this year and fifth fastest in Butler County history.

And it shaved 11 seconds off the foursome's previous best time of 8:08.83 as they into this weekend's PIAA meet at Shippensburg University.

"The biggest opponent you have on the track is yourself, not the teams you're running against," said Butler relays coach Larry Young. "The only one who can put limits on what you can do is you.

"That's the mental approach we want our kids to have," he added.

Such an approach worked wonders for the Golden Tornado 3,200-relay unit of Adam Voll, Kregg Kozik, Erinn Otterson and John McGee three years ago. They won the state meet in 2001 with a Butler County-record time of 7:40.22, narrowly missing the national high school record.

Galante, Edmiston and Vavro were freshmen that year.

"Their success has been a huge factor for us," Edmiston said. "We want to live up to them. They gave us the right mentality, showed us how it could be done."

"They set the bar really high," Vavro said. "They made Butler known as the 4x800 school in track circles. We want to keep it that way."

Vavro is so intent on doing so that he voluntarily bowed out of the 800 meters at Baldwin so he could expend all of his energy with the relay.

"I would have done OK in the 800, but that's not good enough," Vavro said. "I'm not going to risk aggravating my hamstring there. It wouldn't be fair to the rest of the relay."

And it's a relay peaking at the right time. All four members shaved seconds off their split during the WPIAL finals.

Galante runs the first leg of the relay and has been doing so with Edmiston and Vavro for three years. Two younger teammates were challenging for his spot this year, however.

A three-sport athlete who also played football and basketball at Butler while maintaining a 4.06 grade point average, Galante weighed 175 at the conclusion of basketball in March. He weighs 148 now.

"Honestly, I thought one of the younger kids would beat him out of that spot," Young said. "But they didn't get it done. … Jon wouldn't let them get it done."

Galante runs 25 miles a week, as well as spending time in the weight room .

"I had to turn my fat into muscle," he said. "This is my senior year and I knew what our relay could be capable of. I wanted to be part of our final shot at state. I wanted it bad."

So did Edmiston, but he was limited to lighter workouts since February while recovering from various illnesses.

"I'd get over one and I'd get another," he said. "It was frustrating. I've run 15 or 20 miles a week. I've tried to keep up, but I've only been completely healthy for about 10 days."

"Ryan was caught between a rock and a hard place," Young said. "He couldn't train hard because if you do that when you're sick, you only make it worse. But if you rest too much, it sets back your training."

Edmiston will compete in track and cross country at Penn State-Behrend next year. Galante will play football and run track at Grove City College. Vavro will run track at the University of Connecticut.

Strutt will be the only returnee to Butler's 3,200 relay next year. Only he's not thinking that way yet.

"This weekend is the moment for these guys," Strutt said. "I have to hold up my end for us to succeed.

"I think we'll run even faster. The adrenaline is going to be flowing out there."

"They can definitely run faster," Young said. "It's all about attitude and confidence now."