Butler girls repeat as WPIAL champs

By Sam TallaricoEagle Staff Writer

WEST MIFFLIN — Butler coach Annessa Steele seems to have cornered the market when it comes to WPIAL championships, but it's not as easy as it seems.
The Tornado girls team needed a 1-2 finish against Hempfield to claim its second consecutive Class AAA girls track and field title.
Thanks to Christy Monnie and Danica Snyder, that's just what they got.
The duo finished third and fourth overall, respectively, in the race, but they finished ahead of the Spartans' top runner and went on to grab an 81-60 victory.
Butler also downed Norwin 84-57 and Mt. Lebanon 108-33 to win the title at West Mifflin High School.
“This means so much, being our last year and being our last memory,” said Snyder, a senior. “This is the best team. We are a family.”
Steele has won two WPIAL crowns in her two years as head coach and also won four as an athlete from 1997-2000.
“Both titles are sweet, but this one was a little more stressful,” said Steele. “We had two workhorses out (Alexis Swiergol and Jasmine Bailey, although the latter did run, but not at 100 percent).
“With Alexis, that's why the 3,200 was so big. We put all the pressure on the seniors and they responded,” Steele added.
“You never figure the meet is going to come down to the 2-mile,” said Monnie. We knew we had to go 1-2.”
“It was all about place,” said Snyder. “We knew who our biggest competition was and we had to stay ahead of them.”
Meghan Studds was a big double winner for the Tornado, pulling in victories in the long (17-1C\v) and the triple (35-7) jumps.
In fact, the Tornado swept the triple jump with Lexis Frost and Hannah Williams following Studds. Kennedy Evans also placed second behind Studds in the long jump.
“Our ultimate goal is to go into every meet and sweep the jumps,” said Studds. “All of us set these goals.”
“That's what we aim for,” said Williams, who failed to qualify for the long and triple jumps at last week's Northern Qualifier. “I felt like there was unfinished business. I'm glad to end my high school career on a high note.”

 

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Lexis Frost
Anchors the 4x100 meter relay unit for Butler during WPIAL team finals
DAVE PRELOSKY/BUTLER EAGLE