Seybert, Singleton bring home statewide honors
Heaping piles of paperwork clutter Butler track and field coach Mike Seybert’s coaching office.
The stacks of hand-written meet results, academic sheets, and college recruiting information are appropriate indicators of the work that the Golden Tornado’s veteran mentor puts in over the course of a season.
His dedication to the sport paid off this spring, as Butler enjoyed one of its best campaigns in school history en route to netting its first track and field state crown
As a cherry on top for guiding his team to the achievement, Seybert has been named as the Pennsylvania Track and Field Coaches Association (PTFCA) Boys Coach of the Year. This after being named the Pa. Indoor Track and Field Coach of the Year in March.
“It’s humbling when you get your name put on the top of the list,” Seybert said of his latest individual award. “Fast kids and talented athletes make coaches look really good.”
After the jumble of documents is sorted through, he’ll be able to admire the certificate that accompanies the honor. He jokes that a bulldozer may be more well-equipped to handle the task.
“You make folders and you back them up, then you say, ‘I’ll clean this out,’” said Seybert, who’s been coaching at Butler for 37 seasons. “Then the files get bigger and you say, ‘Well, I’ll need this next year, that kid is a junior.’
“The next thing you know, the next year starts and the avalanche comes.”
It doesn’t take that long for the preparation to get underway. Two days a week throughout the summer, Seybert and a few of his fellow coaches provide availability to their athletes.
“It never really stops,” Seybert said.
That includes his effort to bring new kids in.
Senior C.J. Singleton was named to the PTFCA all-state team in three events. He was a second-team selection in the mile run and a first-teamer in the 3,200 meters, while also running a leg of the 3,200 relay, which was voted to the third team.
“I hope I inspire some of the younger guys on the team to also strive for an all-state selection,” Singleton said.
As one of the program’s biggest benefactors, Singleton lauds Seybert’s ability to recruit.
“We (had) 110 kids on this track team,” Singleton said. “He’s going up to kids in school asking them to come out for track. I think, if he was a college coach, he’d be unbelievably successful in recruiting.
“He gets everything done somehow, so it’s really impressive.”
Armed with Singleton and Guinness Brown — respectively the fastest distance and sprint runners to come through the program — Seybert could count on having success in eight events.
Seniors Tristan McGarrah, Tyler Rekich, and Jacob Pomykata helped anchor the field events for the Golden Tornado. McGarrah was a PTFCA third-team all-state honoree in the pole vault.
“We wouldn’t be here without Coach Seybert,” Singleton said. “It was just kind of a collection of guys that, back in eighth grade, realized we had something special. We were like, ‘Maybe we can win the state championship in four years.’
“It’s been a long time coming.”
Along with his ultra-talented group of kids, Seybert shares credit with the experienced coaches he works with. That set is made up of John Williams, Fred Pinto, Rick Davanzati, Jerry McGarrah, Tyler Roudybush, Bill Elliott, Jackson Williams, Jeff Renwick, and Chris McGarrah.
“Coaches are organizers and motivators ... they work with these kids whenever they’re available,” he said. “Head coaches are only as good as their coaching staffs. I’m a lucky guy to have the coaching staff that we have.”
Seybert has heard a few times that — with the way this season ended — it should be his last. He’ll stay at the Golden Tornado’s forefront for at least one more go-round.
“The joy of winning titles is just awesome, but the true joy of coaching is the building of the team,” Seybert said. “Starting when a great senior class graduates and you know you have to take younger kids and introduce them.
“It’s not the end of the line that’s the fun, it’s the ride as you go.”
