Rittelmann

BUTLER TWP — Paige Rittelmann made a name for herself at last year's Pennsylvania Indoor Track and Field Championship.

This year, the Butler sophomore is looking to do more.

As a freshman, Rittelmann broke through with a leap of 5-foot-4 for a fifth-place finish and tied Kendall Butch's school indoor mark.

She qualified for this year's state championship in her first meet of the season in January with a 5-2 at Slippery Rock University.

"I suppose my expectations are a little higher," Rittelmann said. "It doesn't feel, to me, like there's any pressure."

Last spring, Rittelmann captured the WPIAL Class AAA championship with a winning jump of 5-5.

This year's state finals will be Saturday at Penn State University in State College.

Rittelmann will be joined by four teammates: Briana Lumley (37-9) and Amy Metrick (37-4) in the girls shot put, Evan Gomez (2 minutes, 0.11 seconds) in the boys 800 and Adam Marzullo (13-6) in the boys pole vault.

Lumley and Metrick made the finals at an SRU qualifier a month ago, Marzullo qualified at a pole vault meet at Butler, and Gomez produced his mark at the GaREAT Sports Complex in Geneva, Ohio.

"Every year we go to one meet in Akron or at Ohio State," said Butler coach Rick Schontz. "These marks carry over to Pennsylvania, too.

"We have a couple of good shots at medals at Penn State. ... Paige in the high jump has been very consistent in hitting the state mark and Bri the same in the shot put," Schontz added.

Still, as Rittelmann will attest, the difference between the indoor and outdoor meet is fairly obvious.

"The outdoor meet, there are a lot more people and it's a lot more difficult to get a high place.

"Indoor is more nerve-racking, just where we compete. ... I just wish I would have done better in indoor. There's been cancellations because of the weather, not a lot of opportunities," Rittelmann added.

For Saturday, Rittelmann is thinking big, but she also wants to be realistic.

"I'm hoping for 5-6, but I don't know if that will happen," Rittelmann noted. "I'm hoping to qualify for the (upcoming indoor) Penn Relays. That's one of my goals."

Schontz said the experience is a tremendous learning tool for the athletes.

"The Penn State meet is a one-day event," Schontz said, "but Penn State is one of the nicest meets in the country. It's not quite as big as the numbers you get as the outdoor meet, but it's definitely a big-time meet."