(Butler, PA) A trio of medal winners in Butler County Community College’s 2025 Pioneer Pursuit 5K race are among residents of Allegheny, Butler and Mercer counties who have registered early to compete Sept. 12 during the event that raises funds to support the college’s intercollegiate athletics programs.

BC3’s fourth Pioneer Pursuit will begin at 10 a.m. with a 5K race that includes three laps of the Shaffer Walking Trail that meanders inside BC3’s 330-acre main campus in Butler Township. A 1-mile walk starts at 10:30 a.m. and will include one lap of the trail. A 100-meter kids’ dash for children age 14 or under begins at 11 a.m.

The three events in 2026 will end in the college’s central oak grove, where a Finish Line Festival will debut and feature a kids’ zone, basket raffle, medals ceremony and a staffed Butler County Sports Hall of Fame tent.

Guests can register for the 5K race, the 1-mile walk or the 100-meter kids’ dash from 9 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. Sept. 12 at a check-in tent near Founders Hall. Those who wish to participate can also register early at https://runsignup.com/Race/PA/Butler/PioneerPursuit

Each participant will receive a Pioneer Pursuit T-shirt at check-in.

 

 

Pioneer Pursuit medals will be awarded to the three males and three females with the lowest times in the 5K race, the top three male and female 5K finishers in age groups of 18 and under, 19 to 29, 30 to 39, 40 to 49 and 50 and over; and to all 100-meter kids’ dash participants. Medal presentations will begin at 11:30 a.m.

BC3’s first Pioneer Pursuit, held in 2022, raised $16,000 for scholarships that included those in memory of nursing graduates who died at age 23 in 2019 and at age 26 in 2020.

The 2024 and 2025 events have generated nearly $25,000 to benefit BC3 intercollegiate athletic programs that have won 60 conference and 30 regional titles and that have qualified for national championship tournaments 14 times.

BC3’s intercollegiate athletics squads in the past year have competed in national championship tournaments in Chautauqua, N.Y., and in Cedar Rapids, Iowa; and in regular-season games or matches in Buffalo, N.Y., Cleveland; Columbia, Md.; Jamestown, N.Y.; Keyser, W.Va.; and across western Pennsylvania.

Proceeds from Pioneer Pursuit, said Tricia Pritchard, director of donor and community engagement with the BC3 Education Foundation, “provide assistance to BC3 intercollegiate athletics by helping fund team transportation and meals. As BC3’s athletic programs continue to grow and achieve success, teams have more opportunities to compete, travel and represent the college.”

The college’s student-athletes will again participate in the Pioneer Pursuit by cheering on 5K competitors and “creating an encouraging and energetic race-day experience,” Pritchard said. Some will be stationed in blue cheer tents along the course and direct runners toward the finish line, Pritchard said.

 

Nick Coval, Anthony Sunseri and Katherine Metcalfe, medal winners in their age groups in 2025, are among early registrants for the 2026 Pioneer Pursuit 5K race.

Coval, of Valencia, is scheduled to compete in the male 40 to 49 age group that he won in 2025 with a time of 25:10.29.

Sunseri, of Grove City, is scheduled to return in the male 70 and over age group that he won with a time of 32:50.10 in 2025.

Katherine Metcalfe, of Mars, is scheduled to compete in the female 50 to 59 age group in which she finished second in 2025 with a time of 48:09.49.

Record times for the Pioneer Pursuit 5K are 18 minutes, 15.15 seconds for males and 19:52.80 for females.

NexTier Bank is the title sponsor of the 2026 Pioneer Pursuit.