Basketball runs through Shirley Craig’s family — and apparently through her veins.

Craig, 79, of Chicora claimed the $500 first-place check this year in the Butler Eagle’s annual March Madness contest despite “having no idea what I was doing.”

She topped a field of 1,160 participants in this year’s contest.

Craig had three sons, three grandsons, a daughter and two grand-daughters play high school basketball. Craig and her husband — Butler County Sports Hall of Famer Eugene “Pud” Craig — will be married 60 years in September.

“We went to all of their games. (Granddaughter and Karns City senior) Mackenzie is the last one,” Mrs. Craig said. “We have seven great-grandchildren and they’re into basketball, too.

“Hopefully, we’ll be around long enough to watch them play.”

Shirley said her son, David, got her to begin filling out a bracket for the contest. He has been doing so for a number of years.

“I owe a lot of this to him since he got me going ... but he didn’t do very well,” she said, laughing.

Her grandson, fifth-grader Jack Craig, was a different story.

“He was right there with me among the top five until last week, then he dropped off,” Mrs. Craig said. Jack is the son of former Karns City basketball standout Patrick Craig.

Shirley Craig admitted she spent little time filling out her bracket.

“I just flew right through it,” she said. “I had all four of the Final Four teams (North Carolina, Gonzaga, South Carolina and Oregon). I had never finished among the top 100 in this contest before.

“I picked North Carolina over Gonzaga in the finals, and have no idea why I picked who I did.”

Donna Montgomery of Slippery Rock got the $250 second-place prize and knows why she picked North Carolina to win.

“We vacation there every year and I love their beaches,” she said. “I’m spending this money on our next vacation there. I have to give it back to North Carolina.”

Donna and her husband, Ed, have been filling out a March Madness contest bracket for years.

“Ed helped me with mine. He encouraged me,” Mrs. Montgomery said. “I don’t know basketball at all. This is just a fun thing to do.

“I used no logic at all. No strategy ... all luck.”

Tom Kuzura, 53, of Center Township picked up the $100 third-place check.

He correctly picked Gonzaga, Oregon and North Carolina in the Final Four. His incorrect choice was Villanova.

“All four No. 1 seeds never get there,” Kuzura said. “You have to gamble on some underdog. I had Kansas and Duke losing early and it worked out.

“I just got lucky.”

Kuzura is a North Allegheny graduate and was a wrestler in high school. He runs the flea market each weekend off Route 8, just north of the Clearview Mall.

“We have a baseball card vendor there who really follows sports,” Kuzura said. “He helped guide me on some of my picks, gave me some tips. He deserves a lot of credit for this.”