Rob Miller did not know that Butler-area runners have practically laid claim to the Butler Road Race's 2K run — not that he minds being in select company.

Since the inception of the 2K in 2001, a Butler High School runner or recent graduate has claimed first while a slew of others have placed in the top five.

Count Miller, 18, among those champions as he was clocked with a time of 6 minutes, 33 seconds on Saturday, just ahead of Evan Miller, 15, of New Castle (6:43).

Ashley King, 16, who will be a junior at Butler, won the women's race with a time of 8:17.

The men's winners from the previous six years were Erinn Otterson (2001-02), Ryan Edmiston (2003, 05), Zach Vavro (2004) and Steve Banks (2006).

"I had no idea," said Miller, "but the past three years I knew they'd won."

Miller, who placed fourth at the WPIALClass AAA championship in the 1,600-meter run this past spring and advanced to the state championship meet, figured he would set the pace early.

"I thought, 'Hey, if I go out and run my race, I think I have a good chance to win it.'

"It was pretty close around the turnaround, so I thought I'd get some advantage,"Miller added.

Miller went on to the 10-second win, while Matthew Puleio, 25, of Meadville was third (6:47), Sergei Dines, 16, of Freeport was fourth (7:03) and Mitch Radella, 42, of Cranberry Township (7:08) rounded out the top five finishers.

"This is my kind of weather," said Miller. "I like it when it's cool. I like running in the mornings."

Miller will not run in college — he'll be attending Pittsburgh Technical Institute in the fall — but will continue to hit the streets.

"I'll still run in my free time, like a hobby, and I'll still run races," he said.

While Miller wasn't sure of Butler's dominance in the 2K, King wasn't sure about what she could do and didn't even know she had won.

"I really didn't know at all what to expect," said King. "I was just going to run it. This was my first time running this race."

She appeared to have little trouble, defeating runner-up Jessica Glas, 15, of Cranberry Township. Glas was second overall with a time of 8:38.

When King approached the finish line, she was a little surprised at what she saw.

"I didn't think I'd won," said King. "I knew the person holding the finish line (banner) and I thought she was joking. I thought she was just being nice."