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Saturday, Oct. 16, marked an important day for the Bluffton cross country teams. It was the Northwest Conference Championship race: the last and most important regular-season meet.

Two Pirates earned All-Conference honors for Bluffton: Matthew Herron and Hannah Chappell-Dick, each placing 2nd overall.

The NWC race took place at Lincolnview, whose home course is in Van Wert. This was the same course as the Van Wert County Hospital Invitational. It was an early, cold morning, and the reservoir that competitors circle was blanketed in heavy fog. As the sun rose higher in the sky and the race began, the fog burned slowly and beautifully away.

Bluffton Girls- NWC Runners-Up

In 2009, the Spencerville girls swept the scoreboard, capturing 6 of the top 7 individual spots and earning a perfect 15 points.

In 2010, however, they didn't win without a fight. Spencerville still captured the title with 24 points, but Bluffton was close behind with 43. Lincolnview was a distant third, scoring 82 points.

Hannah Chappell-Dick finished 2nd in 20:07 between two Spencerville runners: Kelli Ley, the winner in 20:01, and Claire McConnell, who placed third in 20:15.

The next four Bluffton runners fended off the competition and packed tightly together: within 11 seconds of each other. They were led by Lydia Guagenti, who powered her way to a PR and finished 9th in 21:31. Julie Althaus finished 10th in 21:31. Evania Bonifaz shattered her previous best of 22:13, placing 12th in 21:36. Morgan Humphreys was 14th in 21:42.

Audrey Marshall placed 31st for Bluffton with a time of 23:23. Delaney Reineke was 35th in 23:42. Morgan Shroeder was 52nd in 25:02, and Courtney Barnett was 53rd in 25:18.

Jene Sommers was 55th in 25:39. Andrea Spallinger broke 28 for the first time, finishing 68th in 27:48. Amber Bewsey was 69th in 28:02, and Brittany Brown was 71st in 28:45.

Bluffton Boys- 5th of 8
Matthew Herron continued his impressive season and earned all-conference honors for the boys' team, placing second in 16:42. Kevin Lenhart of Spencerville was first in 16:28, and Grove sophomore Jake Graham was 3rd in 16:48. Overall the boys' team finished 5 of the 8 teams in attendance with 121 points. Columbus Grove won with 51.

Second for the boys was Dustin Brinkman, who placed 22nd in 18:41. Jonathan Nisly broke 19 minutes for the second time with 18:45 and came in 26th, one place short of a ribbon. Jared Staley was next in 19:22, which earned him 37th place. David Moser cruised in 42nd in 19:35.

Not even a lost shoe could stop Stefan Stechschulte, who crossed the line 85th in one socked foot. His time was 26:45.

District Meet Information
The Pirates will compete next week in the District Race-I at Ottawa Park on Oct. 23. There are two ways to advance to the regional meet in Tiffin on Oct. 30: by qualifying as a team (of 7) in the top 4 or individually placing in the top 16.
The Bluffton girls' team is currently seeded 2nd in the district behind Liberty Center. Kalida and Pettisville are also in the top four.

Competing will be Hannah Chappell-Dick, Morgan Humphreys, Lydia Guagenti, Julie Althaus, Evania Bonifaz, Audrey Marshall, and Delaney Reineke. Individually, Chappell-Dick is seeded 5th and Humphreys 20th.

The boys' team is ranked 14th of 27 teams. It will consist of Matthew Herron, Dustin Brinkman, Jonathan Nisly, Jared Staley, Jordan Brinkman, and Stefan Stechschulte. Herron is seeded 3rd individually.