10 Pirates qualify for June 6-7 finals in Columubs

By Cort Reynolds

LEXINGTON__Nine Bluffton track and field individual athletes and one relay team qualified for the state meet with strong performances at the Div. II northwest regional meet on May 29 and 31 in Lexington.

The Bluffton boys claimed the regional team crown with 60 points, beating out 40 other schools. Oak Harbor came in second with 55.5 points, followed by Ottawa-Glandorf (51).   

Five Pirate boys and four Pirate girls advanced to the 2025 OHSAA Track and Field State Tournament at Ohio State University on the Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium, June 6-7.

Hathaway Brown won the girls regional team title with 73 points. Ottawa-Glandorf finished second (57), while the Bluffton girls came in third with 32.5 points.

Pirate senior Marek Donaldson sped to first place and a regional crown in the 800-meter run.

The Bluffton boys 4x200 relay quartet also captured first place. The foursome of Carson Kruse, Tayte Giesige, Kain Wright, Kain and Griffin Stackhouse also won the 4x200 preliminary heats.

Senior sprinter Stackhouse crossed the finish line second in the 200-meter dash, and finished fourth in the 100-meter race.

Junior Kain Wright took second in the 400-meter run. Senior Noah Bricker came in second in the high jump. 

Sophomore Giesige placed fourth in the high jump.

Junior Layna Mueller led the Pirate girls with a second-place showing in the pole vault.

Freshman Maelee Miller captured third place in both the 100-meter hurdle and 400-meter races.

Sophomore Nora Matthews crossed the line fourth in the 800-meter run.

Junior Aubrey Burkholder came in fourth in the 300-meter hurdles.

A top-four finish at regionals qualifies an athlete or quartet to the state meet in Columbus.

 

Bluffton regional finishes:

Boys 800 Meter Run Finals

1 Marek Donaldson 12 Bluffton 1:53.66 

 

Boys 4x200 Meter Relay Finals

1 Bluffton 1:27.44 

 

Boys 200 Meter Dash Finals

2 Griffin Stackhouse 12 Bluffton 22.34 

 

Boys 400 Meter Dash Finals

2 Kain Wright 11 Bluffton 48.83 

 

Boys High Jump Finals

2 Noah Bricker 12 Bluffton 6-4 

 

Boys Long Jump Finals

4 Tayte Giesige 10 Bluffton 21-7.5 

6 Noah Bricker 12 Bluffton 21-4

 

Boys 100 Meter Dash Finals

4 Griffin Stackhouse 12 Bluffton 11.19 1

 

Boys 110 Meter Hurdles Finals

6 Carson Kruse 12 Bluffton 15.04 1

 

Boys 4x800 Meter Relay Finals

10 Bluffton 8:22.84  

 

Girls Pole Vault Finals

2 Alayna Mueller 11 Bluffton 11-4 

10 Kally Cotter 12 Bluffton 9-6 

 

Girls 400 Meter Dash Finals

3 Maelee Miller 9 Bluffton 56.82 

 

Girls 100 Meter Hurdles Finals

3 Maelee Miller 9 Bluffton 15.53 

9 Aubrey Burkholder 11 Bluffton 16.51  

 

Girls 800 Meter Run Finals

4 Nora Matthews 10 Bluffton 2:16.77 

 

Girls 300 Meter Hurdles Finals

4 Aubrey Burkholder 11 Bluffton 45.58

 

Girls High Jump Finals

6 Sadie Tarplee 12 Bluffton 5-0 

 

Girls 4x200 Meter Relay Prelims

11 Bluffton 1:48.07