Above: The Boys race at the Butler County Classic - Drew Griffith eased to the early season victory at the Butler County Classic.
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Standout Drew Griffith made his season debut at the Butler County 5K Classic on Saturday and he eased his way to the win with a 16:03 5K effort. Griffith and the Butler boys soared to the scrimmage victory, scoring a near-perfect 19 points.
"I was definitely just trying to work a tempo run today, nothing too fast just working into the season and it was nice to get the rust off," said Griffith following his race effort.
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Michael Braun (Freeport Area) finished runner-up. The junior ran a stout 16:33, forty-seconds faster than what he ran in this same meet last year.
Carter French (Knoch), Owen Dressler (Butler) and Zachary Slear (Butler) rounded out the Top Five.
On the girls side Ava Brewster (Butler) enjoyed a strong season debut. She defended her scrimmage victory from the 2022 season and opened with a 21:00 5K, despite taking an early wrong turn.
Brewster finished 47th at the PIAA Championship last year and will target improvement in her senior year.
Seneca Valley scored the scrimmage victory with 29-points and an impressive 1-5 compression of just 1:19. The squad established their presence in 2023 with a capable pack of four. They placed four runners in the Top-6; Samantha Moury, Sydney Heltzell, Paige Damico, and Drew Kirchner.
Freshmen Paige Damico and Elyse Cilik were pleasant surprises for Seneca Valley. They finished in 6th and 12th respectively. Their future development could prove instrumental for SV.