TOUGH
TEST
Butler boys prevail in critical meet at NA
April 13, 2023 Last Updated: April
12, 2023 10:43 PM Sports
WEXFORD — Mike Seybert knew his Butler boys track
and field team was in for a stiff test when it visited North Allegheny, but he
wasn’t expecting to be in a 21-point hole.
That’s where the
Golden Tornado found themselves early in the meet,
which began with the 4x800 team falling over a second short of the Tigers, who
also swept the 110-meter hurdles for a quick 14-0 edge.
But Butler, two-time
defending WPIAL champion, stormed back. Landon Lacey won the 400 and 200, Drew
Griffith the 1,600 and 3,200 and the Tornado outscored NA 23-4 in the three
jumping events to prevail 79-71.
The top two teams from
each section will qualify for next month’s WPIAL team playoffs, but Butler
(4-0) had more than enough motivation to win this meeting of district
heavyweights in mid-April.
“We haven’t lost a
meet since 2019 and these guys want to win the section title,” said Seybert. “We did not begin the meet well on the track or in
the field. It took a total team effort to bring us back.”
Prior to the 4x400 relay,
the last event on the track, Butler had amassed 71 points, meaning first place
in the event would clinch the team victory. The quartet of Chris Rubcic, Aaron Stebick, Drew
Knight and Lacey came through, finishing 6.1 seconds ahead of the Tigers.
Knight had already run
the 4x800 and won the 800 earlier in the meet.
“My legs didn’t feel
great before the 4x4,” he said, “but we wanted to beat NA so bad.
“I’m a junior, but
this is my first year of track and I love it. It’s a sport where your hard work
really pays off in competitions.”
Stebick began the season dealing with shin splints.
“It’s a process that
takes time,” he said. “They’re getting better and I’ve been setting (personal
records) in my events.”
The Tigers dropped to
2-1 with the loss.
“It’s always a big
meet when we get together with Butler,” said NA coach John Neff. “They are very
talented and always come at us with a lot of intensity and today was no
different.”
Girls
North Allegheny 107,
Butler 43
The Golden Tornado
(3-1) suffered their first loss, despite receiving wins from Adraya Baxter (100 hurdles), Lauren Bowden (300 hurdles), Carlie Baker (discus), Grace Nichols (high jump) and Megan Baggetta (triple jump).
“Hats off to NA (3-0),
they’re a really good team,” said Butler coach John Williams. “We saw a lot of
good things, went 1-2 in the high jump and triple jump. We have a lot of talent
on this team, a lot of young talent.
“We beat NA five
straight years, now they’ve gotten us two years in a row. We don’t want that to
become a trend.”
Both Butler teams will
compete at the Tri-State Track Coaches Association meet Saturday at West
Mifflin.
Boys
Butler 79, North Allegheny 71
3,200 relay: North
Allegheny 8:07.37; 110 hurdles: Curran
(NA) 16.23; 100 dash: Boyd
(NA) 11.22; 1,600 run: Drew
Griffith (B) 4:31.75; 400 run: Landon
Lacey (B) 50.81; 400 relay: Butler
(DaShawn Cox, Grayden
Brown, David Graef, Declan Dobson) 43.04; 300 hurdles: Foulk (NA)
42.02; 800 run: Drew
Knight (B) 2:05.52; 200 dash: Landon
Lacey (B) 23.33; 3,200 run: Drew
Griffith (B) 9:52.36; 1,600 relay: Butler
(Chris Rubcic, Aaron Stebick,
Drew Knight, Landon Lacey) 3:28.87
Shot put: Yachenko (NA) 45-4; Discus: Velasquez (NA) 127-9; Javelin: Gavlik (NA)
143-6; High jump: Braylon Littlejohn (B) 6-0; Long jump: Luke Campbell (B) 21-5; Triple jump: Giovanni Fout
(B) 42-.5; Pole vault: Handron (NA) 13-8