BUTLER TWP — For those of a superstitious bent, Friday the 13th is a day of bad luck.

For Andy Strutt last fall, the misfortune was very real — and very painful.

The senior Butler wide receiver suffered a dislocated hip in a football game at North Hills last Oct. 13 that ended his career in the sport prematurely.

His pole vaulting career remained intact. Or so he thought.

"When it first happened, I figured I'd be OK," Strutt said. "But a couple of weeks into physical therapy, I was kinda doubting it.

"My therapy wasn't going all that great. Riding the (stationary) bike, leg flexing and curling were hard to do. It was hard work, not very fun."

And returning to compete in the pole vault seemed so far away — especially after Strutt hit 14 feet, 6 inches as a junior and placed eighth at the PIAA meet.

"After two weeks of physical therapy, things got better," Strutt said. "I began making progress and that made me work harder."

Strutt missed the bulk of the indoor track season and didn't compete in the pole vault until February.

This spring, he reached 14 feet, but failed to qualify for a return trip to this weekend's state meet.

He's picked up a nice consolation prize, however: an opportunity to pole vault for the University of Pittsburgh.

"Andy was able to attain that through hard work, period," said Butler athletic director and former Pitt pole vault coach Curt Phillips. "He overcame the adversity of a serious injury to regain his form. It's pretty amazing, really."

Butler pole vault coach Annessa Schnur said the event demands more athleticism than any other.

"People who can run forever run distance events," Schnur said. "If you can run fast, you run the sprints. The pole vault requires a combination of coordination, strength, balance and speed.

"Only the very best athletes can do this."

While Strutt denies his hip injury affected his outdoor track season, Schnur disagrees.

"It's a gradual thing, reaching new heights, and Andy lost a lot of time early," she said. "He came on strong late, though."

Strutt admitted football was his sport of choice for college until last spring.

"I messed around with the pole vault a little bit as a freshman and got serious about it my sophomore year," he said. "Once I hit 14 feet last year, the colleges began paying attention to me. If you can hit that height in high school, they know the potential is there.

"I wanted to go to a Division I school and I realized the pole vault could get me there."

Strutt also considered Akron Kent State and Robert Morris before deciding on Pitt. He will receive no scholarship money at the outset.

"But I've got a chance to get some later," he said. "I'm hoping to get to 17 feet in college. The national qualifying standards are 17-3 or 17-4, so that would put me right there."

Phillips won't bet against him.

"Andy has some real ability, and once he hits college, he'll be focusing on the pole vault year round," Phillips said. "It's a long season and I know how hard he works at it."