Butler boys claim 2nd straight WPIAL title
May 12, 2022 Last Updated: May 12,
2022 07:23 PM High School
Butler’s Sage Vavro takes
the lead in the boys 3,200-meter race during the WPIAL Class AAA track and
field championship meet on Wednesday in West Mifflin. Joseph Ressler/Butler
Eagle
WEST MIFFLIN — Mike
Seybert felt good about his Butler boys track and field team’s mindset long
before Wednesday’s WPIAL Class 3A team championship meet began.
“When the bus pulled
into the parking lot, I could tell,” Seybert said. “They just had this look
about them. It was like: ‘We got this’.”
The Golden Tornado
took care of business at West Mifflin High School, defeating North Allegheny
(97-53), Norwin (115-35) and Mt. Lebanon (117-33) to capture their second
straight district title.
The Butler girls had
their string of WPIAL championships halted at four. The Tornado lost decisions
to South Fayette (80.5-69.5), Norwin (83-67) and champion North Allegheny
(98-52).
Butler’s boys earned
first place overall in 12 of the 18 events, including Presley Ornelas’ wins in
both hurdle events. His time of 15.19 seconds in the 110-meter event is a
personal-best.
“I’ve been dealing
with a right ankle injury, but I’m getting back into it,” he said. “I ran a
15.22 early in the season and it feels good to know I’m running better now. I
can’t wait for the WPIAL (individual) meet. I’m always looking to get better.”
Another personal-record
came from senior Jake Pomykata, who won the discus with a heave of 150 feet,
three inches.
“I also competed in
the shot put, but the discus is my favorite event,” he said. “A lot of people
think it’s just about muscle and strength, but there’s a lot of technique to
it.”
Pomykata relishes the
opportunity to practice and improve with so many talented teammates.
“It really pushes you
and makes you become a better athlete,” he said. “You get to this meet and you
just want to do everything you can to help the team win.”
Tyler Rekich knows all
about that. The senior competed in four events Wednesday - long jump, triple
jump, javelin and shot put - and placed no worse than third overall in any of
them.
“I was looking forward
to coming here,” he said. “I enjoy the team aspect of track more than the
individual side of it.”
Other
double-individual winners for the Tornado included Guinness Brown (100, 200)
and CJ Singleton (1,600, 800).
Butler now has nine
WPIAL track and field team titles to its credit. Seybert said after last year’s
win that it was the best boys team Butler had ever had.
“This one is even
better,” he said. “This is what happens when you put great athletes together
with a very talented coaching staff. We have great coaches and it makes my job
easy.
“We’ve had some very
balanced teams in the past, won four straight boys titles (1997-2000), but we
have 20-some seniors this year and they’re peaking at the same time. I feel
lucky to have them all on the same team.”
Junior Megan Baggetta
produced the biggest highlight for Butler’s girls, winning the triple jump with
a school-record distance of 39-3/4. Her previous standard was 38-5 1/2.
“Teams that make it
here can find your weaknesses,” said Butler girls coach John Williams.
“Obviously, you want to end up on top, but get to the final four in this sport,
it’s been an outstanding season.”
The WPIAL individual
championship meet is scheduled for Wednesday at Slippery Rock University.
Following are results
from Wednesday’s WPIAL Class 3A Track and Field team championship meets, held
at West Mifflin High School.
Boys
Butler 115, Norwin 35
Butler 97, North Allegheny 53
Butler 117, Mt. Lebanon 33
3,200 relay: Butler
(Kriley, Gratzmiller, Singleton, Knight) 7:59.35; 110 hurdles: Presley Ornelas (B) 15.19; 100 dash: Guinness Brown (B) 11.06; 1,600 run: CJ Singleton (B) 4:19.41; 400 run: Anderson (ML) 51.56; 400 relay: Butler (Lacey, Brown, Young, Slear)
42.51; 300 hurdles: Presley Ornelas (B) 40.44; 800 run: CJ Singleton (B) 1:54.69; 200 dash: Guinness Brown (B) 22.32; 3,200 run: Sage Vavro (B) 9:36.39; 1,600 relay: Butler (Kriley, Knight, Brown, Lacey)
Shot put: Petrulo (NO); Discus: Jake Pomykata (B) 150-3; Javelin: Schmook (NO); High jump: Curran (NA) 6-2; Long jump: Dinkins (NA) 22-6; Triple jump: Taylor (NA) 45-2˝; Pole vault: Tristan McGarrah (B) 14-9