BUTLER TWP - Don't be surprised if some athletes were looking to do more than qualify for the WPIAL Track and Field Championships.

Some look at winning events in Tuesday's Class AAA Northern Qualifier at Butler High School as a pretty big deal.

Several athletes from Butler County grabbed the top spot in their respective events, with some setting school records in the process.

"Today's times equate to seeds next week (at the WPIAL Championships)," said Seneca Valley coach Wayne Roccia. "This is when you have to get ready."

The top eight in each event qualified for the WPIAL finals next Thursday.

In all, 10 first-place finishes in the boys and girls events went to area athletes, and Butler County will be well represented.

Butler's Calvin Littlejohn won the boys high jump (6 feet, 1 inch) and Tyrell Sales took the discus (166-0). Seneca Valley's Tom Dickey set the school record for the third time this season in the 300 hurdles (39.30 seconds) and Knoch's Bob Rummel won the 110 hurdles (a school-record 14.6).

On the girls side, Butler's Tara Maxwell won both the shot put (36-11½) and discus (113-2) while teammates Kendall Butch won the pole vault (11-6, two feet better than her previous best) and Sarah Thiebaud won the triple jump (36-9).

Seneca Valley's Kim Chapman set a school record in the 300 hurdles (46.3) while Mars' Brittany Zaborowski won the 800 (2:20.4).

Sales qualified in all three throwing events after grabbing second place in the javelin and third in the shot put, while Littlejohn qualified for all three jumping events.

"Calvin came up big," said Butler boys coach Rick Schontz. "He had two fouls in the triple jump and was limping (due to a strained hamstring). He ran the 400 relay, qualified there, was limping more and came back and jumped 44-3 to qualify."

Another impressive showing by Knoch was in the 800, where sophomore Kyle Reeping placed second with a time of 1:57.64, breaking a school mark that stood since 1977.

Like Butler, Knoch qualified all three of its relays and had a strong showing from top to bottom.

"We have 10 guys going to the WPIAL finals and made it legitimately," said Knights boys coach Wess Brahler.

Dickey's and Rummel's wins in the hurdles events showed Butler County could be a force at the WPIAL finals.

Dickey, Rummel and Zach Ferraro all placed in the top four in both events, while Seneca Valley's Cody Mellott had a pair of top-six finishes.

Roccia was also pleased by the performance of Jason Spudic, who was fourth in the pole vault with a personal-best 13-0, which tied for the second-best height in the event Tuesday.

Maxwell's double win should help her confidence next week, even though she might not have been thrilled with the results.

"She might not have been pleased, but I'm pleased," said Butler girls coach Rod Harris. "To place first in two events at the Northern Qualifier, that's an accomplishment."

Thiebaud and Butch qualified in three events as well, the former in all three jumps, the latter in pole vault, triple jump and high jump.

Another school-record breaker for the Raiders was the 400-relay team, which tied for second place with Oakland Catholic with a time of 49.7, breaking the school record set 10 years ago.

Seneca Valley's girls will be taking part in this Thursday's WPIAL Team Championships, but Roccia didn't expect his team to simply go through the motions Tuesday.

"The girls are still in the team competition, but this is an individual event," said Roccia on the qualifier. "They're making the decisions."

In only its second year at the Class AAA level, Mars is showing it belongs, especially with a large group of talented underclassmen.

"These are really young girls," said Mars coach Tim Tyler. "Half of them, it's their first year here; the other half, it's their second year here."

Three members of its third-place 1,600-relay team are sophomores (Zaborowski, Julie Utz and Heather Carpenter) and one is a freshman (Megan Eidenshink).

Knoch had four girls advance to finals, headed by Sarah Cooper and Lindsey Wiefling, who placed fourth and sixth, respectively, in the discus.