By Cort Reynolds

VAN WERT – The Bluffton cross country teams competed at the Van Wert Health Invitational meet Saturday at the VW Reservoir Course.

Ottawa-Glandorf won the girls team title with 41 points. Lincolnview finished a distant second with 83 points, followed by Parkway (127) in third.

GIRLS 5,000M

Anna senior Paige Steinke won the 129-runner girls race in 18:47.2.

The Pirate girls finished 10th out of 14 teams with 231 points. Bluffton finished ahead of Waynesfield, Crestview, Elida and Wayne Trace.

Junior June Essinger posted the top Bluffton finish, coming home in 16th place with a time of 21:11.14.

Teammate Ella Armstrong took 38th in 22:32.05.

Pirate seventh-grader Ciara Keysor took 44th in 22:40.92. 

Senior Amairi Painter crossed the line 67th in 24:46.52.

Senior Kaelin Weissling finished 85th in 26:27.17. 

Junior Sadie Tarplee came in 108th in 28:44.69.

BOYS 5,000M

On the boys side, Bluffton was two runners shy of the five needed to field a team score.

Junior Levi Fenzl took 23rd out of 183 runners in a time of 17:46.26 to pace the Pirates. 

Freshman Owen Shoemaker finished 108th in 20:10.

 Freshman Adam Fritsch came in 144th with a time of 21:58.75.

Senior Noah Williams of Shawnee won the boys race in 15:53.53.

Columbus Grove finished first out of 17 boys teams with 70 points. Lincolnview was second (78), followed by Van Wert (85). 

Bluffton is scheduled to run in the Kalida Wildcat Invitational September 30, and then at the Allen County Invite October 3.