Bluffton's cross country star, Matthew Herron, didn't disappoint on Saturday, coming close once again to his PR. He punched his ticket to Columbus by placing 7th in 16:24.10. He will be competing at Scioto Downs at 11:05 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 6.
Herron was beat to the line by district rivals K.J. Abair and Colin Fisher, both from Delta. Fisher won the race in 15:48.47. Herron outran NWC opponent, Jake Graham, from Columbus Grove, who placed 12th in 16:38.60. State Qualifying times ranged from 16:24.10 to 16:46.64.
Also notable on Saturday was Bay Village senior Michael Brajdic's performance. He won the Division II Regional Finals at Tiffin with a lightning fast time of 14:57.74, averaging just 4:49 per mile. His PR of 14:54.89 is the fastest in the state, with no other high school boys breaking fifteen minutes.
Bluffton Girls- 7th of 16 at Regionals
The Bluffton girls' last race was bittersweet. Though not everything went as expected, the girls still finished seventh of the sixteen with 230 points.
They beat District rivals Kalida (10th) and Pettisville (12th). Winning the Girls' Division III Tiffin Regional was Liberty Center with 54 points. State Qualifying times ranged from 19:09.67 to 20:05.46. Ottoville Senior Shayla Siefker won the individual title.
Sophomore Julie Althaus, who qualified for Regionals individually as well as with the team, knew her teammates were struggling and stepped up to the challenge. She ran hard and led the Pirates to their 7th place Regional finish, placing 32nd in 20:45.06, a much deserved PR.
Hannah Chappell-Dick, not yet recovered from illness, made it over the line next for Bluffton, placing 54th with 21:21.17: a hard blow after her 4th place District finish in 19:50.50.
Lydia Guagenti earned a PR- even after losing a shoe and helping a fallen teammate. Her left shoe, luckily not the shoe with the timing chip, came off less than half a mile into the race- leaving 2.5 miles for her to run wearing only one spike. When teammate Morgan Humphreys collapsed beside her, she attempted to help her up, knowing that teammates are more important than placement. Humphreys insisted that Lydia keep running. Guagenti still crossed the finish line 58th in 21:29.70.
Humphreys tried to get up, but was unable to at first; her leg had given out. She soon found the strength to pull herself up and finished the race for the team. She finished 118th in 25:02.82 and was cared for in the medical tent. Humphreys is a brave and talented runner who will no doubt go very far for Bluffton in the next three years.
Senior Evania Bonifaz ran for Bluffton cross country for the last time on Saturday with a strong performance of 21:48.24. She placed 70th. Her friendship, kindness, optimism, leadership, and of course speed will be greatly missed next year.
The pressure was on for Delaney Reineke, who, for the first time, would be in the top five and scoring for Bluffton. Even though she was sick, she cracked the top 100 in the Region, placing 99th in 22:57.86.
Audrey Marshall ran hard, despite knee and shin injuries. Marshall finished 108th in 23:25.60.
Pandora-Gilboa Girls- 18th and 38th individually
P-G qualifiers ended their successful seasons with solid performances. Senior Sarah Flickinger narrowly missed the cutoff, placing 18th in 20:10.25, and freshman Vanessa McCullough finished 38th in 20:50.29.
