BUTLER TWP - Calvin Littlejohn didn't start competing in the triple jump and long jump until this season.

Better late than never.

At Friday's 40th annual Butler Boys Track and Field Invitational, Littlejohn set school records in winning both events, placed second in the high jump and was a member of the fourth-place 400-meter relay squad.

Those performances helped Butler to grab team title, edging West Mifflin 59-57.

Littlejohn's leap of 22 feet, 10½ inches in the long jump broke Chris Ammon's 1991 record of 22-3, and his 46-5 broke Brian Hanford's 1989 triple-jump mark of 45-10.

Hanford was on hand to present Littlejohn with his first-place medal in that event.

"I knew I was close to the long jump record and, with the nice weather, I thought I could get it," said Littlejohn, who shared Field MVP honors with Sharon's Auston Papay, who set meet records in both the shot put and discus.

The last season Littlejohn competed in either event was in eighth grade. He has been used primarily in the sprints, relays and high jump as a member of the varsity team.

"We took a look at the needs and abilities of this team," said Butler boys coach Rich Schontz. "We had a lot of nice jumpers. We graduated three good ones, so we decided to train Calvin in five or six different events.

"He did so well in the first two meets, plus the 400-meter relay team has been coming along.

"He's been such a tremendous competitor. No matter what meet, he has risen to that level," Schontz added.

"It was easy to pick up," Littlejohn said. "Coach pestered me that if I wanted to go to states, I should try it. I'd have a good chance.

"I'm satisfied with the way things are going now. The high jump, I can see myself getting a bit better, but in the long and triple jumps, there's no telling what I could do," he added.

In the high jump Friday, Littlejohn equaled the height of winner Josh Jones of New Castle, 6-4, but Jones won because he cleared that height first.

The 400-relay team of Littlejohn, Adam Monday, Luke Renwick and Clemens Sommerfield recorded a time of a 44.89 seconds for fourth place.

Littlejohn's teammate, Tyrell Sales, won three medals, including second place in the discus.

His throw of 161-1 was behind Sharon's Austin Papay (169-9). He also placed fifth in the shot put (51-2) and sixth in the javelin (170-4).

"Places are important, but the way you're throwing is more important," said Sales. "Any time you throw the discus over 160 feet, that's a good throw. The javelin, I only started throwing it (Thursday), following through."

"He really wanted to win the discus," said Schontz. "The throw he had today was an excellent throw. Anytime you throw a 160 here, it's tremendous. This is not a discus-friendly area."

Sales knows his specialties are the shot put and discus, but he doesn't mind throwing the javelin for the time being.

"I probably won't throw it in any more invitationals, just for dual meets for the points," said Sales. "I can keep going, but it takes extra time. It's not really a problem. Dropping it won't hurt, but it'll help."

Tom Dickey of Seneca Valley was the area's other winner, grabbing the 300-hurdles crown with a school-record time of 39.6, although he almost didn't get the chance to compete.

A mix up between the Raiders' hurdlers almost kept Dickey out of the race. But the event was re-seeded and Dickey was placed in the fast heat, where he belonged.

He proved it by his performance, but he said he can keep improving.

"I was shooting for the 38s," said Dickey, who broke his own record (39.74), which he set last week in a meet against Knoch. "I thought the first 100 would be 13 seconds, the second 100 13 seconds and the third 12 seconds.

"I'm trying to get to states. I think I'm capable of getting in the 37s, but that's a big step," he added.

Dickey would have run no matter which heat he was placed in, but he had the best time coming into the meet. He knew the competition would help him along the way.

"Normally, I would have said no to the re-seeding, but seeing those two kids ahead of me around the final corner really helped me run faster and get the record," he said.

Dickey wasn't alone in the hurdling events as Butler County put its stamp on the two events. Four of the top seven award winners hail from the area.

Joining Dickey in the 300 hurdles were Knoch's Zach Ferraro and Bob Rummel and Karns City's Mark Ferguson, who grabbed the No. 4 through 6 spots, respectively.

In the 110 high hurdles, Rummel was third, Ferraro fifth, Dickey sixth and Ferguson seventh.

Knoch also saw its 1,600-relay team of Rummel, Tyler Park, Ferraro and Kyle Reeping place fifth with a time of 3:34.4, one place ahead of Butler (Ryan Edmiston, Bobby Ridley, John Strutt and Adam Tilko).

"We were very pleased with these guys," said Knoch boys coach Wess Brahler. "They are starting to perform well."

Other top performers included the Gremlins' Jake Sweeney, who was third in the pole vault while Seneca Valley's Gabe Delerme was third in the long jump, Mark Rudolph was fourth in the 200 and Matt Gaudet was fifth in the 1,600.

Butler's Ryan Edmiston was fourth in the 800 and helped the 3,200-relay team, along with Jon Galante, John Strutt and Zach Vavro, to grab second place.

Butler would need every place it got to hold of West Mifflin. The crown was Butler's first since 2001, when it had won its fourth consecutive title.