Michael Butterfield, left, and Trenton Shutters will compete in the USA Track & Field Indoor National Championships this weekend at the Ocean Breeze Track & Field Facility in Staten Island. P-J photo by Scott Kindberg

A pair of Southwestern Central School athletes are preparing to compete in this weekend’s USA Track & Field Indoor National Championships.

Senior Trenton Shutters and junior Michael Butterfield will be traveling to the Ocean Breeze Track & Field Facility in Staten Island, hoping that their preparation over the last six months will pay dividends on the biggest of stages.

Their indoor coach, Ron Graham, is betting that it will.

“They are two of the most talented track athletes in all of Western New York,” he said.

During the outdoor season last spring for the Trojans, Shutters finished as the second-ranked 800-meter runner in Section VI, posting a time of 2:01.07 and he has already run 2:00.48 indoors in February.

“He’s looking to run sub-2 minutes at Ocean Breeze,” Graham said.

Meanwhile, Butterfield’s fully automatic 60-meter time converts to a 100-meter performance of 11.03 fully automated time, which is under the state super standard of 11.14.

“He, too, has one more indoor shot to run even faster,” Graham said. “Projections are just that, projections, and you still have to run the race, (but) anyone who is astute about the sport can find no reason to doubt their potential.”

Shutters and Butterfield have been training three mornings a week before school at the Lakewood YMCA — Southwestern does not have an indoor program — under Graham’s watchful eye.

They have also competed in a handful of indoor meets at Youngstown State and Kent State this winter.

“Their parents recruited me,” Graham said. “I didn’t go after these boys. They could easily settle for successful track careers at any Division III school in the country and, possibly, end up as Division III All-Americans as many Chautauqua County athletes have done, but they chose to pursue a Division I goal.”

Based on his indoor performance thus far, Shutters is a recruited walk-on to Division I Youngstown State.

“That means he’s already guaranteed a roster spot next season as a long sprinter (400 and 800 meters),” Graham said. “Youngstown is the perennial Horizon League champion each season. Youngstown seems to like our local athletes. Grant Moore from Jamestown is on the roster as a 6-foot-6 high jumper, and Miracle Baraka, another Southwestern athlete, is a red-shirt freshman sprinter. Trenton is headed to a good place.”

Graham isn’t bashful about touting Butterfield’s talents, calling him a “legit DI recruit.”

“Michael Butterfield is perhaps the best sprinter I’ve been privileged to coach, with the exception of Mitch Moore, who ran 48.40 at Jamestown and went on to win two Mid-American Conference championships at UB.

“Based on what he’s done indoors this season, he has a good chance to hit sub-11s in the 100 meters and low 22s in the 200 meters,” Graham said. “If he can stay healthy, and continues to develop at Southwestern this outdoor season and next season, he’s going to be special as a senior in 2023.”

First, though, is this weekend’s USATF Junior Nationals in Staten Island.

“My expectation is that anytime I put a kid on the track is to try and run a PR,” Graham said. “I think both are going to run PRs.”