Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) handed out its first team trophies of the 2024 spring season on Tuesday evening at the WPIAL/UPMC Sports Medicine Boys’ Track & Field Team Championships, held at West Mifflin High School and Confluence Financial Partners Stadium on the campus of Peters Township Middle School. In Class 3A, Butler won its third championship in four seasons, while Quaker Valley snapped a 27-year drought at Class 2A.
Butler now has 11 WPIAL team titles in boys’ track & field, which ranks second all-time behind North Allegheny’s 14. The Golden Tornado previously won in 1988, 1989, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2007, 2021, and 2022.
Quaker Valley’s victory gives it four WPIAL boys’ track & field team championships, which ties it with Freeport for seventh-most in league history. The Quakers previously completed a three-peat in 1995, 1996, and 1997.
CLASS 3A RECAP
Butler returned to the top of the WPIAL boys’ track & field team leaderboard after a one-year absence, defeating Norwin (92-58), North Allegheny (97-53), and Penn-Trafford (98-52) for the Class 3A title at West Mifflin High School. The Golden Tornado produced the top finisher in 10 of 18 events and had six second-place finishers.
Butler (12-0, 6-0 Section III) opened the day with a win in the 4x800-meter relay, finishing with a time of 7:57.88. Landon Lacey and David Graef then produced a 1-2 finish in the 100-meter dash, crossing the line in 11.00 and 11.04 seconds, respectively. The Golden Tornado also triumphed in the 4x100-meter relay with a mark of 42.43 seconds, and Graef and Kevin Shriver went 1-2 in the 200-meter dash with respective times of 22.16 and 22.41 seconds.
Drew Griffith collected three individual wins in the 1,600, 800, and 3,200-meter runs. He finished the 1,600-meter in 4:17.88 and the 800-meter in 1:58.19, then led an all-Butler top three in the 3,200-meter with Owen Dressler (9:47.00) and Brendan Eicher (9:56.73) after clocking in at 9:40.74.
Butler swept the long, triple, and high jumps, with a pair of 1-2 finishes in the long and high. Ayden Davis took the triple with a leap of 43-06.50, and he finished second in the long jump to Orein McBride-Cager’s winning mark of 21-06.00. McBride-Cager also was victorious in the high jump after clearing 6-02.50, with teammate Braylon Littlejohn behind him at 6-00.50.
Norwin (10-1, 5-0 Section I) finished runner-up with dual meet wins over North Allegheny (91-59) and Penn-Trafford (108-42). The Knights won four events, beginning with Ryan Schiller’s 14.74-second time in the 110-meter high hurdles. Schiller also took first in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 39.66 seconds, besting teammate Tyler Beck’s 40.04. In the 400-meter dash, Luke Denny crossed the line first with a time of 50.15 seconds, and Norwin won the 4x400-meter relay by finishing in 3:24.72.
Reigning champion North Allegheny (10-3, 5-1 Section III) claimed a dual meet victory over Penn-Trafford (98.5-51.5) thanks to wins in the pole vault and shot put. Zach Duckworth was victorious in the pole vault after clearing 14-00.00, while Jack Yatchenko hit a mark of 52-01.50 to best the shot put field.
Penn-Trafford (7-4, 4-1 Section I) had the top finisher in the discus and javelin. Matthew Sarnowski won the discus with a toss of 151-11.00, while Logan Kerstetter took first in the javelin with a mark of 166-08.00.
CLASS 2A RECAP
Quaker Valley ended a 27-year wait between WPIAL boys’ track & field team championships, winning the Class 2A title over Greensburg Central Catholic (84-66), Ellwood City (112-38), and Hopewell (113-37) at Confluence Financial Partners Stadium on the campus of Peters Township Middle School. The Quakers won 10 of the 18 events, including a top-three sweep in the 800-meter dash.
Quaker Valley (15-0, 7-0 Section III) had three student-athletes win multiple individual events in Davin Gartley, Clark LaLomia, and Aiden Dwyer. Gartley took the 110-meter high hurdles and 300-meter hurdles with respective times of 15.33 and 38.99 seconds, and Dwyer took the triple jump (42-10.00) and tied in the high jump (6-02.00) with teammate Winston Clifford. LaLomia’s wins came in the 1,600-meter run (4:30.11) and 800-meter run (2:02.16), with River Capek (2:02.52) and Jackson Pethel (2:02.66) following him in the latter.
The Quakers also picked up wins in the 3,200-meter run with Jonah Montagnese (10:08.22), 4x400-meter relay (3:27.13), javelin with Nicholas Winnowski (135-01.00), and discus with Reese Fatur (123-02.00).
Reigning champion Greensburg Central Catholic (12-1, 7-0 Section VIII) scored wins in seven events to defeat Ellwood City (93-57) and Hopewell (118-32) in dual meets. Jerry Davis and Aidan Allison both won two events, as Davis took the 400-meter and 200-meter dashes with respective times of 50.52 and 23.31 seconds, and Allison topped the field in the 100-meter dash (11.37) and long jump (20-10.00). The Centurions also finished first in the 4x100-meter relay (43.28), shot put with Jonah Schneider (43-08.50), and pole vault with Grant Brewer (11-10.00).
Ellwood City (11-3, 6-1 Section I) earned a dual meet victory over Hopewell (79-70) thanks to a victory in the 4x800-meter relay, as the Wolverines opened the day with a time of 8:25.48.
The top individual finish on the day for Hopewell (12-5, 7-0 Section II) was in the 400-meter dash, as Zach Kovell’s time of 51.08 seconds was good for second.
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