BUTLER TWP — John Williams had no illusions of winning by a large margin. Butler's girls track and field coach just wanted a win and he got it.

The Golden Tornado won five of the seven field events, including a sweep in the long jump, and defeated a gritty Seneca Valley squad 76-74 Thursday at Art Bernardi Stadium.

The victory improves Butler to 5-1 on the season.

“Seneca has a quality program with a lot of good runners,” said Williams. “We knew it was going to be a dogfight and I just credit our girls for getting the job done. This was a heck of a track meet!”

Butler also won the boys meet by a score of 99-51 over the Raiders.

The Raiders' girls (3-3) earned eight first-place finishes, including wins in the 4x800 and 4x400 relays. Emily Cekella contributed to both of those.

“It's extremely tough when you lose to a rival in a tight meet like this was,” said SV coach Ray Peaco, “but I'm proud of our kids. They wanted to show people that they are improving and they did that. After the meet, I asked all the girls who had personal-best efforts today to raise their hand and there must have been two dozen. You can't ask for anything more than that.”

Butler senior Macy Stalnaker helped Butler pull out the win, earning first place in the 100 hurdles with a time of 16 seconds.

“I'm extremely happy with my time,” she said. “This is the first year in the hurdles for me and I keep (improving my time). I went from 17.3 to 16.7 and now to 16 and that's not even the best I can do.

“I'm setting the bar high. I want to get to states, hopefully in both events (300 hurdles).”

Williams believes that is a distinct possibility.

“She ran 49.2 in the 300 today,” he said. “And her 100 (hurdles) time, she could definitely be in the running to qualify for states.”

Another key win for Butler came in the 800, where Alyssa DiPippa placed first with a time of 2:29.3.

“She usually doesn't run that event, but she is a versatile girl,” Williams said. “For her to go out and win against quality kids, that was very big for us.”

Boys Butler 99, SV 51

The Golden Tornado won going away, thanks to sweeps in the triple jump, long jump, shot put, discus and pole vault.

“The field has been our strength, but our sprinters and hurdlers also came through today,” said Tornado coach Rick Schontz.

“This win puts us at 5-0 and clinches a playoff spot,” he added. “We've got a big meet coming up at North Allegheny on Wednesday.”

Marcus McCall won both hurdle events for the Tornado and Robert Burdine did likewise in the 100 and 200 dash.

Tyler Roudybush won the long and triple jump.

One of Seneca's seven wins came in the 4x800 relay, which featured Bryce Benjamin, Tanner Quiggle, Mike Kolor and Brett Foster.

Benjamin, a junior, pulled away for a nice lead on the event's first leg.

“I had a pretty strong start,” he said. “My second lap was a bit slow, but it was a good race. We went to WPIALs last year. Our goals are to win WPIALs this year and get to states.”

The Raiders fell to 4-3 overall.

Boys

Butler 99, Seneca Valley 51

3,200 relay: Seneca Valley (Bryce Benjamin, Tanner Quiggle, Mike Kolor, Brett Foster) 8:19; 110 hurdles: Marcus McCall (B) 16.8; 100 dash: Robert Burdine (B) 11.3; 1,600 run: Mike Kolor and Brett Foster (SV) 4:37; 400 run: Brad Banks (SV) 50.9; 400 relay: Butler (Terence Cannon, Tyler Roudybush, J.C. Yannotty, Robert Burdine) 44.2; 300 hurdles: Marcus McCall (B) 43.4; 800 run: Brett Foster (SV) 2:00.0; 200 dash: Robert Burdine (B) 22.4; 3,200 run: Tanner Quiggle (SV) 10:09; 1,600 relay: Butler (Tim Vernick, Tyler Frederick, Connor Frost, Jeff Bailey) 3:42

Shot put: Derek Gengler (B) 46-3; Discus: Jared Blakely (B) 139-5; Javelin: Justin Marthaler (SV) 148-2; High jump: Matt Schallus (SV) 5-11; Long jump: Tyler Roudybush (B) 20-8.75; Triple jump: Tyler Roudybush (B) 39-11.5; Pole vault: Nikolai Peterson (B) 12-0

Girls

Butler 76, Seneca Valley 74

3,200 relay: Seneca Valley (Emily Cekella, Taryn Latsko, Isabelle Biase, Becky Paine) 10:09; 100 hurdles: Macy Stalnaker (B) 16.0; 100 dash: Emily Horstman (B) 12.9; 1,600 run: Becky Paine (SV) 5:20; 400 run: Danielle Matz (SV) 1:01.2; 400 relay: Butler (Savannah Miller, Kristen Knass, Macy Stalnaker, Emily Horstman) 51.5; 300 hurdles: Katie Gutmann (SV) 47.0; 800 run: Alyssa DiPippa (B) 2:29.3; 200 dash: Emily Horstman (B) 26.0; 3,200 run: Mariah Mack (SV) 11:37; 1,600 relay: Seneca Valley (Victoria Love, Emily Cekella, Nicole Walters, Danielle Matz) 4:10

Shot put: Rachel Ellenberger (B) 34-1.75; Discus: Kalynn Callihan (B) 96-7; Javelin: Abbie Trzeciak (SV) 99-10; High jump: Julia Baxter (B) 5-7; Long jump: Kristen Knass (B) 16-8.75; Triple jump: Katelyn Stebbins (SV) 36-7.25; Pole vault: Claire Weiland (B) 9-6