Wright sweeps sprints, Matthews dominates distance runs

By Cort Reynolds

SPENCERVILLE__The Bluffton High School girls and boys track and field teams both finished a strong second at the annual eight-team Northwest Conference championship meet on Friday, May 15.

Columbus Grove swept both team titles. The CG girls scored 202 points to finish ahead of the second-place Pirate girls, who scored 140. Lincolnview nipped Spencerville for third, 98-97.

The Grove boys finished 36 points ahead of the Bluffton boys, 164-128. Allen East came in third at 106 points, 14 ahead of fourth-place Crestview (92).

Pirate senior speedster Kain Wright won the 100, 200 and 400-meter races to pace the Bluffton boys. He cruised to the 100-meter title in 11.15, .43 ahead of second place.

Wright captured the 200 in 22.88 as junior teammate Lleyton Miller took fourth (24.22). Wright won the 400 in 48.75 by a whopping 2.07 seconds. Freshman teammate Kohen Anderson ended up fourth in the 400 (52.41).

Pirate senior Calvin Derstine crossed the line second in the 800 meters (2:03.37).

The boys 4x200 and 4x400 relay teams each finished second. Miller, Xavier Navarro, Tayte Giesige and Anderson finished with a time of 1:32.08 in the 4x200.

Anderson, Derstine, Carter Steinmetz and Ethan Sprunger crossed the 4x400 line in 3:34.01.

Giesige came in second in the long jump (20-5.75).

Junior Owen Scoles captured second in the discus (150-7), and took fourth in the shot put (44-2.5) to pace the Pirate throwers.

Senior Jonah Boisvert came in fifth in the shot put with a best toss of 41-9.5.

Bluffton junior distance ace Nora Matthews captured first in the tough 1600 (5:22.12) and 3200-meter (12:02.6) runs to top the Pirate girls.

Matthews also captured second in the 800 meters in a time of 2:20.66.

Sophomore Maelee Miller won the 400-meter run in 58.49 to pace the sprinters. She also took second in the 200 meters (26.56), and ended up third in the 100-meter dash (13.01).

In the 100 hurdles, Miller finished second in 15.36. Senior teammate Aubrey Burkholder took fifth in the 100 hurdles (16.78) and 300 hurdles (48.22).

Freshman Mallory Blackburn ended up third in the pole vault (7-0).

Sophomore Kari Diller came in fourth with a best toss of 98-3. Sophomore Xandra Gatchel finished fourth in the grueling 3200 meters (13:04.87). Freshman Liliana Fleming ended up fourth in the 300 hurdles (47.7).

Freshman Tessa Tarplee came in fifth in the 1600 meters (5:52.38). 

Senior Lizzy Suter took sixth in the shot put (32-6.5).

The 4x200 relay quartet of Gracie Warren, Liliana Fleming, Lauren Dearth and Burkholder finished second in 1:50.18.

The 4x800 relay foursome of Phoebe Edwards-Leeper, Tessa Tarplee, Chloe Nycz and Matthews crossed the line second with a time of 10:07.29.