The Bluffton girls cross country team competed well in the Div. III district meet at Columbus Grove Saturday, October 23.
Lady Pirate freshman June Essinger crossed the line a strong eighth in the girls race with a time of 20:19.4. She qualified for the regional meet in Tiffin next Saturday with the high finish.
Pirate sophomore Amairi Painter ended up 24th in 22:08.6.
Freshman Mackay Tuttle came home shortly after her in 26th with a time of 22:16.7.
The Bluffton boys country team competed well in the Div. III district meet at Columbus Grove Saturday, October 23. (See separate story for girls results.)
Pirate junior Landon Armstrong finished second and classmate Erik Nygaard came in third to give the Bluffton boys second place in the district meet team results.
Armstrong finished with a time of 16:42.1, with Nygaard six seconds behind at 16:48.4.
The top four teams and top 16 individuals advance to regionals.
Trent Koch of Columbus Grove won the 78-runner boys race in 16:36.6.
The Bluffton University men's and women's swim teams begin their first season of competition on Saturday, October 23 with a meet at Asbury University, Wilmore, KY.
Visiting Bluffton hung close for a while at undefeated Columbus Grove, but ultimately was shut out 31-0 by the league champions in a Northwest Conference bout Friday night, October 22, at Clymer Field.
After a scoreless first 18 minutes CG gradually pulled away after scoring two quick touchdowns, and won going away.
Bluffton fell to 5-5 overall and finished 2-5 in league play after the defeat.
CG improved to 10-0 overall and won the NWC at 7-0 with the convincing victory.
Athletic Director Alex Hanna has issued an online presentation for parents of athletes participating in winter sports at Bluffton High School (Ohio). The 2021-22 Winter Sport Player-Parent Meeting can be viewed at https://youtu.be/akF41jn8U4c.
Hanna notes: Due to such a large overlap of fall and winter sports it is difficult to find an open date. Our individual winter sport coaches will be in touch with sport specific information. They will likely have an in-person meeting or simply send information with your athlete.
