By Ryan Schadewald
Tuesday, April 10 was a tough weather day for the track and field athletes of Bluffton and Pandora-Gilboa High Schools. Temperatures that hovered around 40 degrees with 15 mile per hour winds made the going tough for both sides at the Bluffton University track, where the Pirates were able to earn victories on both the boy's and girl's side.
Leading the Pirates on the girl's side on the track was Hannah Chappell-Dick, Jill Steinmeitz, and Delaney Reinecke, with all of them winning two events.
Chappell-Dick was able to win both the 200-meter dash (28.1) and the 3200 meter run (12:39.7), while Steinmeitz was able to win both the 800-meter (2:47.8) and the 1600-meter (6:08.8) runs, and Reinecke won the 100-meter (18.6) and 300-meter (56.9) hurdles.
Lydia Guagenti also was able to pick up a win in the 400-meter dash (1:07.4). The girls also won the 4x200-, 4x400-, and 4x800-meter relays over Pandora-Gilboa.
In the field events, the Lady Pirates were also able to pick up a win from Guagenti, who was victorious in the high jump with a jump of 4'10.
In the end, the Lady Pirates were victorious over Pandora-Gilboa 60-29.
The Pirates were able to pull off an even more impressive effort on the boy's side, defeating the Rockets 70-19. They were also led by a trio of athletes who were able to win two events.
Sophomore Isaac Little was able to win both the 100-meter (11.5) and 200-meter (24.1) dashes, junior Jonathon Nisly was able to get the wins in both the 1600-meter (5:05.4) and the 3200-meter (11:45.8) runs, and freshman Eli Runk was able to win both the 110-meter (18.3) and 300-meter (50.2) hurdles.
Also winning for the Pirates was sophomore Noah Stratton in the 400-meter dash with a time of 54.3 seconds, and sophomore Stephen Tatarkov in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:22.5 seconds.
The Pirates also won in the 4x100-, 4x200-, and 4x800-meter relays. In the field, events, the Pirates got wins from senior RJ Stratton in the high jump (5'6), senior Chase Wilson in the pole vault (12') and senior Kyle Risner in the shot put (42'4).
The Pirates will return to action on Saturday, April 14 as they compete in the Ottawa-Glandorf Gold Medal Invitational, followed by a quad meet at Upper Scioto Valley on Tuesday, April 17.
Ryan Schadewald is a 2015 sports management major from Lima, Ohio and a student in the Broadcasting and Journalism program at Bluffton University.
