Bluffton's Essinger wins NWC girls CC title; Pirate boys, girls 3rd at Oct 16 league meet
The Bluffton boys and girls cross country teams each finished third at the muddy Northwest Conference championship meet Saturday morning, October 16, in Van Wert.
Lady Pirate freshman June Essinger captured first place in the girls race with a time of 21:32.086. She beat out 40 other girls to win the wet event.
Freshman Mackay Tuttle finished seventh in 23:58.789. Sophomore Amairi Painter ended up 10th in 24:39.803.
Freshman Faith Combs came in 20th in 28:06.828. Sophomore Kaelin Weissling finished 21st in 28:07.595. Sophomore Greta Kauffman came in 25th with a time of 34:47.831 to complete the Bluffton results.
Lincolnview won the NWC girls team title with 36 points. Crestview finished second with 53, followed by Bluffton (59) and Columbus Grove (65).
NWC Girls Team Scores:
1 36 points LINCOLNVIEW
2 53 CRESTVIEW
3 59 BLUFFTON
4 65 COLUMBUS GROVE
Ada, Spencerville, AE and Leipsic did not have the required minimum five girls runners to compile a team score.
Pirate junior Landon Armstrong took second in the 76-runner boys race with a time of 17:08.129, less than a second behind the winner.
Junior Erik Nygaard was close behind in fourth at 17:28.130. Classmate Sam Derstine took 21st in 19:45.140.
Sophomore Liam Jordan came in 23rd in 20:13.065. Senior Trey Boblitt ended up 25th with a time of 20:47.498.
Sophomore John Yoder was 27th in 21:14.017. Junior Jonah Rehm rounded out the Pirate lineup by finishing 32nd in 21:59.268.
Senior Hunter Sidle of Allen East finished first in the boys race in 17:07.661.
Columbus Grove captured the boys team crown with 33 points. Lincolnview was second (58), followed by Bluffton (75), Allen East (106), Crestview (125) and Spencerville (155).
NWC Boys Team Scores:
1 33 points COLUMBUS GROVE
2 58 LINCOLNVIEW
3 75 BLUFFTON
4 106 ALLEN EAST
5 125 CRESTVIEW
6 155 SPENCERVILLE
Ada, Leipsic not enough runners
Bluffton runs in the district meet at Columbus Grove Saturday, October 23. The girls compete at 10 a.m., and the boys race is at 12:40 p.m.
Stories Posted This Week
Friday, August 22, 2025
Thursday, August 21, 2025
- Cheryl Anise Pingle worked at Dayspring Church
- Lima Highway Patrol OVI checkpoint August 22
- Pirate VB sweeps Rockets
- Pirate boys drop golf tri
- Bluffton Board of Education hears neighbor comments on practice field, approves Lawn Ave. plan
- United Way of Greater Lima holds 9th annual Day of Caring on Sept. 5
- Village of Beaverdam announces committee meetings
- An amazing sign of fall 2025
- August 23 Bluffton Cars & Coffee
- If You Could Read My Mind: GLP-1s and memory
Wednesday, August 20, 2025
Tuesday, August 19, 2025
- Village of Bluffton reminder of electric aggregation provider, solicitor permit requirements
- Previews of Bluffton Senior Center trips for 2026
- English Lutheran Church to provide Community Meal, August 21
- Welcome back to Bluffton Beavers
- Pirate football reloads for run at NWC crown
- Pirate volleyball swept by Shawnee
- Pirate girls golf loss to Fort Loramie
- Pirate girls tennis edged by Spartans
- Made In Ada Wilson Football Festival kicks of season August 23