The Butler girls' track team picked the perfect time to produce a couple of firsts.

Butler's seniors were winless against North Allegheny and Norwin in four years of head-to-head meets against the track powers. But the Golden Tornado shocked the Tigers and the four-time defending champion Knights to win the Class AAA WPIAL team track championship Thursday at West Mifflin High School.

"It was a little intimidating," coach Annessa Schnur said of competing against North Allegheny and Norwin. "We knew going into it, on paper, it was going to be really close. The girls knew if we had a good day, this would be the outcome. I'm real proud of them."

Canon-McMillan won the boys' Class AAA WPIAL team title.

Schnur said her team set personal records in nearly every event Thursday, propelling the team to victory.

"These girls knew they had the talent to do it, and today they just came out and did it," she said.

It was an exciting moment for senior Katresa Savisky, who had played on basketball and cross-country teams that came up short for WPIAL championships.

"This is my last time competing in a sport," she said, "and it was really sweet to win it."

Second- through fourth-place girls' finishers were not immediately known because the girls' pole vault had a late start.

With one event remaining to decide the boys' championship, Canon-McMillan needed its 400-meter relay team to finish ahead of Hempfield to clinch a victory.

The Big Macs' won the event, beating third-place Hempfield by more than five seconds to win the championship

Canon-McMillan coach Mike Koot said the win was special for the Big Macs because they do not have a lot of runners who will advance to the PIAA individual championships.

The Big Macs were buoyed by Nick Gibson, a strong distance runner who won the 800-meter race with a 1:59.521 and also ran a leg in the deciding 400-meter relay.

Koot held Gibson out of the 3,200-meter race, one of his stronger events, so that he could compete in the relay.

Koot also credited Canon-McMillan's jumpers, who were competing without the team's best high jumper, and their throwers.

"On paper, they weren't supposed to do well against anybody, and they got more points than we came close to expecting," Koot said of his throwers.

The WPIAL title is Canon-McMillan's second in the past three years.

The team has advanced to three WPIAL team championships in the past four years.

"We've been able to start a nice little tradition here, hopefully," he said.

Seneca Valley beat out Hempfield, 77-73, for second. Butler finished fourth.

Freeport won the boys' Class AA championship over second-place Riverside, 95-55. South Park was third and Freedom fourth.

South Park won the girls' Class AA championship, and Freeport finished second.

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