SHIPPENSBURG - Kendall Butch and Emily Chiappini held their medals up and flashed a giddy smile.

The Butler High School duo had just accomplished a rare double dip at the PIAA Track and Field Championships at Shippensburg University Saturday. They had both taken home medals in the same event with Butch placing third in the Class AAA pole vault and Chiappini eighth.

"It was a great season for both of us," Chiappini said. "And this was a great way to end it."

Butch, a junior, cleared 11 feet, 6 inches and felt nearly that tall when accepting her medal after failing to get one in the event last year. Chiappini, a senior, topped out at 10-6 to claim her first state medal after striving to get to the state championships in the event for three years before finally getting there.

"It looks great for Butler," said Golden Tornado pole vault coach C.J. Morgante.

The adversity both faced helped them, Morgante said. It was particularly helpful for Butch, who entered the state meet last year with high expectations, but suffered through a disappointing meet.

This year, Butch started strong and weathered the storm - literally.

The event was marred by gusty winds and a period of steady rain midway through the event. The weather caused a brief delay and also caused some havoc for some of the top competitors.

Easton's Lindsay Regan came into the event with a state-best mark of 13-6, but failed to clear a height.

That opened the door for Butch and Latrobe junior Caitlyn Hewitt, who won the event with a vault of 11-9.

"For whatever reason, some of the top girls fell apart," Morgante said.

By the time the poor weather conditions hit, Butch and Chiappini had maneuvered into position to medal. Butch failed on her three attempts at 11-9 to claim third place.

"I'm very excited," Butch said. "I didn't think I was going to get third because there were a lot of talented girls here."

Chiappini didn't expect to get eighth. The medal capped a career that had gone under the radar for the most part.

She mentored Butch, who just started to pole vault last season, and also competed alongside former Butler standout vaulter Melanie Buczko for two seasons.

"After four years of devotion to the pole vault, this is a nice little end to her career," Morgante said.

The medals won by Butch and Chiappini highlighted a state meet where local athletes took some lumps.But there were some pleasant surprises to go along with those bumps and bruises, though:Slippery Rock junior Abby Basta certainly earned her eighth-place finish in the Class AA 100-meter hurdles.Seeded 13th heading into the semifinals, she placed third in her heat, running in the seventh lane with a time of 16.2 seconds to earn a spot in the finals and guarantee her a medal.As track officials informed her of her finish, she uttered, "Oh my gosh" several times."That's all I wanted to do," Basta said after the semifinals. "I'm excited."That excitement turned to some tears - and probably a bruise or two - in the finals when Basta clipped the final hurdle and went tumbling to the track. She got up and finished eighth. She was running side by side with the sixth-place finisher before crashing to the track.Following the fall, Basta was upset."I kind of knew I would get eighth place," Basta said, scowling. "But I didn't want to fall to do it."Lacey Cochran wanted to defend her state title in the Class AA 400, but instead finished third. She also placed seventh in the 200 (see related story).Karns City junior Mark Ferguson - with his patriotic red-, white- and blue-striped shoes - placed fifth in the Class AA 300-meter hurdles with a time of 40.83.The race was run during a downpour and through standing water on the track."I actually like running in the rain," Ferguson said. "I felt good coming (out of the blocks)."Ferguson had another obstacle to overcome, though. He was in the inside lane and had to deal with the metal rail that separated the infield from the track."A couple of times, I thought I was going to step on it," Ferguson said.Butler freshman Amanda Malecky also had to deal with some adversity.She jumped out to a big lead in the Class AAA 800-meter run, but the race was re-started after two competitors collided around the first turn."That made me mad," Malecky said. "I got off to a great start, but we had to start again. During the wait, my legs tightened up a little bit."Despite the problems, Malecky finished sixth with a personal-best time of 2 minutes, 15.52 seconds.Grove City took home a couple of medals.Freshman Kristy Woods placed fourth in the Class AA shot put with a throw of 39 feet, 1 inch. It was more than two feet farther than her previous best and it also set a school record.Woods was barely throwing 30 feet when the season started."It was a goal of mine to get here," Woods said. "But at the beginning of the season, I didn't think I would make it. I got a lot of support from my family, coaches and teammates."Woods has been throwing since the seventh grade and won two junior high titles in the Mercer County Athletic Conference before this year.Her teammate, senior Jim Jaskowak, placed seventh in the discus with a throw of 148-10, which was also his personal best.Notes:Butler's Tara Maxwell wrapped up a tough weekend by finish 17th in the Class AAA discus. … Freeport's Shane Sarver placed seventh in the Class AA 3,200. … Butler's Junior Dunn came just one place shy of a medal in the javelin, finishing ninth in the event. … Moniteau junior Matt Schandelmeier failed to place in the Class AA discus, making him 0-for-3 for the state meet. He failed to place in the javelin and the shot put on Friday.