Tornado get it done
JACKSON TWP — In whipping wind and temperatures that made the teams wonder what happened to the sunny, blue skies of the past weekend, Butler’s boys and girls track and field teams both found something at NexTier Stadium Tuesday afternoon.
For the Golden Tornado girls, it might have been the rediscovery of the confidence they needed after a frustrating loss to North Allegheny last week. In the process, they secured a WPIAL playoff spot with a 94-56 win over the Raiders.
“It was one of those challenging days,” Butler girls coach John Williams said. “It’s a county rival that we’re always excited about running (against).
“To come back against these guys (Seneca Valley), we knew we were in for a battle.”
Senior Jen Cicha won the mile run and helped her team win the relay of the same distance. Alli Morrow came out on top of the 100- and 200-meter races, along with running a leg of the 400-meter relay and claiming the long jump.
Megan Penrod, Abby Kitchen, and Celia Ray took all nine points in the shot put for Butler (5-1, 4-1). With a throw of 99-6, Carlie Baker joined the latter two in placing in the discus.
“It was great the way they stepped up for the (Butler) Invitational,” Williams said of his group. “Everybody did so well. Then we’ve got to come right back at it ... (with) no real practice time in between. We came out today and we had some real leaders.”
On the boys side, Butler coach Mike Seybert said a good deal of younger kids will get a chance to fill holes because of the balance the team has. There might be no better example of this than Landon Lacey’s showing in the 1,600-meter relay.
“Our No. 1 mile relay team wasn’t going to be running today,” Seybert said. “We have a lot of talented runners, so we put together a decent mile relay team.”
That grouping didn’t go according to his plan.
David Graef wasn’t feeling well and asked out. Lacey, who’d never run the event before, stepped up and finished his lap in a scorching 0:50.
“It felt good through the first 200 (meters),” Lacey said. “Then it just hit me why everybody hates it. It felt good getting up the 300-meter mark. I was just trying to hang on.”
“He was a fill-in for somebody else and he runs a time that could put him on a leg of the 4x4 relay team on our A team,” Seybert said. “He’s a very fast sprinter, but didn’t know that he could hold himself through a whole 400 meters. He ran the whole way from start to finish. Incredible effort.”
Lacey is yet another addition to a rich stable of Golden Tornado runners.
“The kids take pride in being able to cover every single event — and not just the top kid,” Seybert said. “The second and third kid and stepping up and helping each other out.
“Everyone’s getting better and the thing that I’m really excited about is that we’re very healthy. There’s no nagging injuries. We’re pretty excited going forward.”
Presley Ornelas came first in the 110-meter hurdles and the 300-meter hurdles as Butler nearly swept the track events on the day. They won, 101-49.
Zoe Simpson won the 800-meter run and was part of the Raiders’ 3,200-meter relay-winning quartet.
“You have to have your ‘A’ game and be ready to go, and I think our kids did,” Seneca Valley coach Ray Peaco said. “But they (Butler) had better performances today.”
Boys
Butler 101, Seneca Valley 49
3,200 relay: Butler 8:11.65; 110 hurdles: Presley Ornelas (B) 15.96; 100 dash: Guinness Brown (B) 11.7; 1,600 run: Drew Griffith (B) 4:44.68; 400 run: Lazaro Correa (SV) 51.76; 400 relay: Butler 43.92; 300 hurdles: Presley Ornelas (B) 42.32; 800 run: Ryder Kriley (B) 2:04.71; 200 dash: Brayden Young (B) 23.76; 3,200 run: CJ Singleton (B) 9:55; 1,600 relay: Seneca Valley (Lazaro Correa, Justin Rich, Jason Rich, Luke Simpson) 3:56.29
Shot put: Tyler Rekich (B) 42-10; Discus: Jacob Pomykata (B) 143-3; Javelin: Eric Ristey (SV) 162-0; High jump: Ryan Porch (B) 5-8; Long jump: Jon Price (SV) 19-10; Triple jump: Jon Price (SV) 43-0; Pole vault: Tristan McGarrah (B)
Girls
Butler 96, Seneca Valley 54
3,200 relay: Seneca Valley (Zoe Simpson, Karsyn Spears, Clair Riehl, Sara Vescio) 10:10.50; 100 hurdles: Maddy Berger (SV) 15.99; 100 dash: Alli Morrow (B) 13.20; 1,600 run: Jen Cichra (B) 5:37.95; 400 run: Zoe Simpson (SV) 1:01.99; 400 relay: Butler (Chloe Weiland, Alli Morrow, Justine Forbes, Aubrey Rock) 52.05; 300 hurdles: Emma Lehman (B) 47.25; 800 run: Zoe Simpson (SV) 2:28.13; 200 dash: Alli Morrow (B) 29.44; 3,200 run: Ruthie Hughes (SV) 11:47.52; 1,600 relay: Butler (Ella Reckich, Adrya Baxter, Emma Lehman, Jen Cichra)
Shot put: Megan Penrod (B) 32-7; Discus: Carlie Baker (B) 99-6; Javelin: Megan Penrod (B) 114-6; High jump: Grace Nichols (B) 5-0; Long jump: Alli Morrow (B) 16-5½; Triple jump: Megan Baggetta (B); Pole vault: Madison Monahan (SV) 11-0
