By Cort Reynolds

KALIDA – The Bluffton High School boys and girls cross country teams competed at the 21-team Wildcat Invitational in Kalida on Saturday, September 27.

The Pirate girls ended up 14th out of 17 teams with 431 points.

Bluffton finished 16th in the field of 21 boys squads with 487 points.

GIRLS RESULTS
Ottawa-Glandorf won the girls team title with 76 points. The Titans edged Napoleon (79) by three points. Van Wert was a distant third at 113.

Pirate freshman Tessa Tarplee led Bluffton with a 53rd-place finish in a time of 22:28.

Senior Lydia Tarplee finished 75th in 23:20. Senior Elizabeth Honse came in 80th in 23:42. Junior Tala Gipson ended up 11th in 25:15.

Freshman Jora Boisvert finished 164th in 31:26.

Napoleon’s Gwen Huddle won the 171-runner girls race with a time of 17:56. 

BOYS RESULTS
Crestview won the boys meet with 51 points. Columbus Grove came in second (65), followed by Liberty-Benton (70).

Pirate Toby Clevidence finished 67th in the field of 144 runners with a time of 18:52 to pace Bluffton.

Freshman Atticus Prothro came in 80th in 19:22. Sophomore Liam Moore ended up 109th in 21:01. Freshman Micah DiMarco came in 113th in 21:05.

Freshman Logan Stechschulte finished 118th in 21:40. Freshman Max Fritsch in 22:46. Sophomore Levin Essinger ended up 136th in 24:23.

Crestview’s Lincoln Smith won the boys race in a time of 15:58 to break a 37-year old school record set in 1988.

NEXT UP
Bluffton runs in the Allen County Invitational on Tuesday, Sept. 30 at Faurot Park in Lima.