Sunday North: Butler figures to be a factor at WPIAL cross country meet

Sunday, October 07, 2007

By Rich Emert, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The Butler Area High School boys' cross country team has fallen into a routine that coach Rick Davanzati hopes will continue through the first weekend of November.

"We've done OK when we've run in section meets on Tuesdays, but then we've gone to some invitationals on Saturdays and run really well," he said. "In between, we've had hard practices on Thursdays and the guys have really done well in those."

The reason Davanzati hopes the trend continues is that the Tri-State Track Coaches Association championship is Oct. 18, a Thursday, and the WPIAL championships are Oct. 25, also a Thursday. So, running well that day of the week could pay off with a trip to Hershey.

Butler is one of a half dozen teams that figures to be in the running for a team spot in the PIAA championships Nov. 3 in Hershey. The top four teams in boys and girls in Class AAA at the WPIAL championships qualify for Hershey.

North Allegheny, which defeated Butler, 23-33, Tuesday and won the Section 3 title in the process, is favored to repeat as WPIAL champion. Seneca Valley, another Section 3 squad, is a good bet to finish second at the WPIAL meet. Should things occur according to plan, that would leave two spots open.

"It's going to be a dog fight," Davanzati said. "We're in there but so is Latrobe, Gateway, Baldwin, Canon-McMillan and North Hills with the young runners they have. It will all depend on who runs well that day."

With junior Ben Porter leading the way, Butler placed third behind Seneca Valley and North Allegheny in the Class AAA race at the Slippery Rock Invitational Sept. 15. The Golden Tornado was fourth at the Red, White & Blue Classic Sept. 8 and was second at the McDowell Invitational Sept. 1.

"I thought coming into the season we'd be pretty good even though we lost three of our top seven, including Steve Monnie and Rob Miller, our two and three guys, from last year," Davanzati said. "I knew it would be tough in the section with North Allegheny and Seneca.

"What has surprised me is the quality of the teams in the WPIAL this year. We've taken a step up in the number of very good teams [in the area]. We have a good group of kids and with the times we have been running, we should be a lock to be the fourth team [in the WPIAL] this year, but a lot of other teams have stepped up as well."

In Porter, Butler has one of the WPIAL's top runners. He was fifth at the Slippery Rock Invitational, covering the 3.1-mile course at Cooper's Lake Campground in 16 minutes, 38 seconds. He was only four seconds behind Canon-McMillan's Kyle Gibson, the first WPIAL runner to cross the line. At the Red, White & Blue Classic, Porter was ninth.

At last year's WPIAL championships, Porter was eighth and the second sophomore to finish.

"He has a ton of ability," Davanzati said. "If he doesn't peak early, he should be in the mix [for the WPIAL individual title]. He has a lot of natural endurance and deceptive speed. He's right around 2 minutes in the 800, which is pretty good."

Seniors Wayne Dailey and Logan Elias were on the varsity last season and are not too far behind Porter. Seniors J.T. Fleming and Eric Rensel are returning lettermen as is junior Matt Crawford. Sophomore Lance Dugger has been slowed by a stress fracture and is working his way back. Grant Baron, another sophomore, has also started to come on.

The deciding factor on whether the Butler team earns a trip to Hershey will be how well its fifth, sixth and seventh runners perform at the WPIAL championships. That's where Davanzati comes in.

He said the Golden Tornado has "eight or nine runners" who could step into that No. 5 spot -- the top five score team points -- by the time the WPIAL championships roll around. But teams can only enter seven runners in the final, which means there are some informed decisions that have to be made.

"It comes down to my picking the right guys to run that day," Davanzati said.

One thing he is sure of, no matter whom he selects, they will run hard. Whether they will run hard enough is another matter, but the effort will be there.

Davanzati hasn't burned his runners out by having them compete every weekend. Butler ran at the Central Catholic Invitational at Schenley Park yesterday, but has not gone to an invitational the previous two weekends.

"Our dual-meet record [4-4] isn't great, but then we're in the toughest section in the WPIAL," he said. "There are 48 teams in the WPIAL and three of the top seven or eight are in the section. But we've done well in the bigger meets and we've had some success.

"If the kids believe in winning and doing well, that's 50 percent of the battle."