BALDWIN - Strange was the word of the day.

Odd applied, too. And so did WPIAL Class AAA champion for two local track and field athletes.

On an evening ruled by the peculiar, there was nothing out of kilter when it came to the performances of Butler's Calvin Littlejohn and Mars' Brittany Zaborowski.

Littlejohn, despite nursing a sore left hamstring, won the high jump with an effort of 6 feet, 5 inches, and Zaborowski, only a sophomore, won the 800 with a time of 2 minutes, 17.25 seconds to claim WPIAL individual titles at Baldwin High School Thursday night.

Zaborowski's time was 10 seconds faster than her best mark last season. It's no wonder then that she was one of the most shocked about her WPIAL title and ticket to the state meet next week in Shippensburg.

"I didn't even think I'd place," Zaborowski said. "I definitely didn't expect to get first. I didn't expect to get first last week at the qualifier."

But she did and in scintillating fashion.

She now enters the PIAA Track and Field Championships, which begin May 27 and conclude the next day, as a legitimate threat to win a state title.

"Well, I don't know," Zaborowski says with a coy smile when talking about the state meet. "We'll see what happens, I guess."

Littlejohn will be busy next weekend.

In addition to winning the high jump, he placed third in both the long and triple jumps to advance to the state meet.

He did it while still suffering some of the effects of a tweaked hamstring suffered at the qualifier last week.

"That had a big affect on me," Littlejohn said of the injury. "It really affected my triple jump - more than I thought it would."

The injury limited what Littlejohn thought he could do. He had designs on winning all three events.

"I got by and I am going in three events," Littlejohn said. "But it is still frustrating because I didn't get the marks I thought I could."

For Butler coach Rick Schontz, Thursday's priorities changed for Littlejohn. It was all about survival.

"All we wanted him to do was get in the top three in those events," Schontz said. "Our goal was not so much winning as it was getting him through."

Now for the strange.

Seneca Valley's Tom Dickey advanced to the state meet in the 300 hurdles, placing second with a time of 39.58 seconds. That wasn't the strange part, the fact he didn't use a block at the start of the race was.

Dickey did the unorthodox because of a recent problem getting his steps down early in the race.

"I was practicing with my friend Cody (Mellott), and I decided I would try it," Dickey said. "People were looking at me pretty strange. Did it help me? Probably not. I think it hurt me. Normally I don't hit a hurdle, but I hit the third one really hard.

"I don't think the no-block-thing is going to fly."

Seneca Valley coach Wayne Roccia didn't object to the tactic.

"He wanted to try it today," Roccia said. "Our philosophy is when they get to this point, it's their season. He's a senior. He knows what he's doing."

Sara Thiebaud and Kendall Butch will be making a rare double dip at the state meet.

Both qualified in the high jump with identical 5-2 efforts. It's unusual to see two athletes from the same school qualify for the state meet in the same event.

"I think it's great," Thiebaud said. "It's going to be really nice having her with me."

Butch, a sophomore, didn't participate in track and field last season. She also advanced in the pole vault with a 10-6 mark.

In that event, nine athletes qualified for the state meet. Technically, Sarah Earley of Peters Township didn't place, finishing ninth, yet she still qualified for Shippensburg.

Thiebaud also qualified in the triple jump for the Golden Tornado.

Bob Rummel of Knoch learned from his mistake two weeks ago at the Baldwin Invitational.

He learned to not clip the unforgiving Baldwin hurdles.Rummel finished second in the 110 hurdles with a time of 15.08 seconds."I crushed a hurdle (at the Baldwin Invitational) and that really slowed me down," Rummel said. "I had a little more confidence this time around."So did Ashley Turici of Seneca Valley in the javelin. She wasn't even a blip on the radar in the event last year, but had a toss of 136 feet, 9 inches Thursday to place second.Her best throw last season was 99 feet."I think what helped her was she got involved in other events," Roccia said. "It gave her arm a little rest."Turici's teammates on the 400-meter relay team, Nikki Bryan, Da'Lynn Mills, Carrie Wack and Ashlee Zinkhann, finished fifth with a time of 49.76 seconds, but met the qualifying standard.Wack, who qualified for the 100 and 200, scratched from both events to focus on the relay."Our goal was to get to states," Wack said. "Some of us gave up other events. Ashlee gave up her 200. I gave up the 100 and 200. Those didn't matter. This relay team mattered."Other highlights:Kim Chapman also advanced for Seneca Valley in the 300 hurdles, placing third in a photo finish.Knoch's Zach Ferraro punched his ticket to the state meet in the 300 hurdles, finishing third.Tara Maxwell placed second in the discus and fourth in the shot put to advance to state for Butler.Butler's Tyrell Sales placed second in the discus to advance to the state meet in that event for the third consecutive year.Butler's 3,200-meter relay team of John Strutt, John Galante, Ryan Edminston and Zach Vavro placed second to advance to Shippensburg.WPIAL Class AAA(Top three or those who met the qualifying standard in each event advanced to the PIAA Track and Field Championships, which will be held in Shippensburg May 28-29. Below are the local qualifiers for the state meet, their place and time or distance.)Local qualifiersBoysRunning events110-meter high hurdles:2-Bob Rummel (Knoch) 15.08;300-meter intermediate hurdles:2-Tom Dickey (SV) 39.58, 3-Zach Ferraro (Knoch)Relay events3,200-meter:2-Butler (John Strutt, John Galante, Ryan Edminston, Zach Vavro) 7:57.11Field eventsDiscus:2-Tyrell Sales (Butler) 162-9;High jump:1-Calvin Littlejohn (Butler) 6-5;Long jump:3-Littlejohn (Butler) 21-11½;Triple jump:3-Littlejohn (Butler) 47-7¼GirlsRunning events300-meter low hurdles:3-Kim Chapman (Seneca Valley) 46.39;800-meter run:1-Brittany Zaboroski (Mars) 2:17.25Relay events400-meter:5-Seneca Valley (Nikki Bryan, Da'Lynn Mills, Carrie Wack, Ashlee Zinkhann) 49.76Field eventsShot put:4-Tara Maxwell (Butler) 37-4½;Discus:2-Maxwell (Butler) 121-2;Javelin:2-Ashley Turici (SV) 136-9;Pole Vault:3-Kendall Butch (Butler) 11-0;High jump:3t-Sara Thiebaud (Butler) 5-2, 3t-Butch (Butler) 5-2;Triple jump:2-Thiebaud (Butler) 36-3