WPIAL team track and field championships: Butler boys, girls fall short of crowns
WEST MIFFLIN — Mere seconds or inches, that’s what kept Butler’s boys track and field squad from capturing a fourth WPIAL team title in five years.
The Golden Tornado showed up at West Mifflin High School on Tuesday looking to defend their Class 3A crown from a year ago, and they came painfully close to doing so.
Dropping tight meets to Norwin (77-73) and North Allegheny (76-74), Butler settled for third place after claiming a 115.33-34.66 victory against Mt. Lebanon.
Norwin emerged as the champion.
“Had we ended up tied with Norwin or NA, we had the tiebreaker (number of first places) against both of them,” Butler coach Mike Seybert said. “Four really good teams getting after it and three of us score in the 70s against each other. That’s a really good meet!”
Butler’s girls also finished third, dropping decisions to champion Norwin (92.5-57.5) and North Allegheny (99.5-50.5) while defeating South Fayette (92.5-57.5).
Sophomore sprinter Kevin Shriver was part of three victories in Butler’s boys effort, winning the 100 and 200 dash and running a leg of the top 4x100 relay team.
The Tornado’s other overall winners were in the 4x400 relay, Eli Campbell in the triple jump and Nicco Baggetta in the javelin.
Much of the meet was held in a stiff wind and rain.
“It was weird competing in these conditions in such a big meet,” Seybert said. “But our guys coming out and giving it their all and a couple of teams doing just a bit better, I’ll never be disappointed in that. I’m proud of them.”
Shriver ran a personal-best of 10.92 seconds in the 100. His progression this season is due in part to the competition he receives from fellow Tornado sprinters Jace Gratzmiller and Chris Rubcic.
“It’s a friendly competition, but we definitely push each other,” Shriver said. “As a freshman last year, I remember seeing Guinness Brown’s school records in the 100 and 200 and thought I want to be like that one day. I think I’ve done a lot this season toward getting there.”
Adraya Baxter won the 300 hurdles and Aubrey Rock the long jump for the Tornado girls.
Rock, a senior, will now focus on qualifying for the state meet. She will compete in the long jump, pole vault and 4x100 relay at next Wednesday’s WPIAL individual championships at Slippery Rock University.
“We made it here (to the team finals) my freshman year, but missed it the last two seasons,” she said. “To get back, it was a great opportunity for us. This senior class of girls, it’s been awesome to watch the growth. We have some extremely competitive girls and we’re doing really well.”
Butler still owns the most girls track and field team titles in WPIAL history with 15. They earned their most recent crown in 2021.
“You’re never satisfied when you don’t win,” Butler girls coach John Williams said. “Fifty-seven teams in the WPIAL start the season and to end up here and place third in the district, that’s still pretty good and our girls earned it.”
Boys
Norwin 78, North Allegheny 72
Norwin 77, Butler 73
Norwin 118.33, Mt. Lebanon 31.66
North Allegheny 76, Butler 74
North Allegheny 109.66, Mt. Lebanon 40.33
Butler 115.33, Mt. Lebanon 34.66
3,200 relay: North Allegheny 7:58.94; 110 hurdles: Schiller (N) 14.13; 100 dash: Kevin Shriver (B) 10.92; 1,600 run: Bertram (NA) 4:21.51; 400 run: Machado (ML) 49.79; 400 relay: Butler (Logan Ekas, Kevin Shriver, Grayden Brown, Chris Rubcic) 42.52; 300 hurdles: Schiller (N) 38.84; 800 run: Simpson (N) 1:58.99; 200 dash: Kevin Shriver (B) 22.30; 3,200 run: Bertram (NA) 9:24.34; 1,600 relay: Butler (Regan Peth, Aaron Stebick, Isaac Miller, Carter Ekas) 3:21.14
Shot put: Yatchenko (NA) 47-6; Discus: Petrarco (N) 131-0; Javelin: Nicco Baggetta (B) 182-9; High jump: Langdon (NA) 6-0.5; Long jump: Bognar (N) 22-2; Triple jump: Eli Campbell (B) 43-0; Pole vault: Puskar (N) 14-3
Girls
Norwin 107, South Fayette 43
Norwin 83, North Allegheny 67
Norwin 92.5, Butler 57.5
North Allegheny 99.5, Butler 50.5
North Allegheny 107, South Fayette 43
Butler 92.5, South Fayette 57.5
3,200 relay: South Fayette 9:23.39; 110 hurdles: Brozeski (N) 14.42; 100 dash: Schmidt (N) 12.31; 1,600 run: Czajkowski (N) 5:06; 400 run: Schmidt (N) 56.73; 400 relay: North Allegheny 50.96; 300 hurdles: Adraya Baxter (B) 46.47; 800 run: Czajkowski (N) 2:20.70; 200 dash: Schmidt (N) 25.41; 3,200 run: Zeng (SF) 11:06.25; 1,600 relay: Norwin 4:01.89
Shot put: Neese (NA) 36-0; Discus: Maxwell (NA) 111-8; Javelin: Neese (NA) 114-7; High jump: Brozeski (N) 5-2.5; Long jump: Aubrey Rock (B) 17-10; Triple jump: Brozeski (N) 37-1; Pole vault: Breneman (NA) 11-1
