Thanks for information from Mike Hilty, the Icon can update more of Bluffton High School’s cross country state meet history.
Hilty was in fact Bluffton’s first athlete to qualify for the state meet. He qualified two years in a row in the Class A division (there were only two divisions at that time and the cross country course was 2 miles).
Hilty's personal best time in the 2-mile was 9:45 in a dual meet in Michigan.
Lots of photos at bottom of story -
Forty-nine cross country seasons ago, Bluffton High School boys’ track team qualified for the Class A state cross country meet. That state qualification was a first for the Pirates.
One of the runners on that team, Tim Boehr, set the school record of 10:09 in what was then a 2-mile event.
He finished as the 16th runner in the race at state in a time of 10:40, is a competition with only two divisions, A and AA. Bluffton was in Class A.
The Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) continues to showcase members of the Heartland family with the video series Heartland Kids Corner, featuring student athletes interviewed by the children of their coaches.
Episode six features the Mount St. Joseph University men’s and women’s golf programs, with head coach Joe Sparhawk’s kids asking the tough questions. Jon, Ryann and Harper Sparhawk have the Lions in the hot seat, including men’s players Matt Lewis and Matt Zinser, and women’s golfers Isabella Olthausand Patricia Windholtz.
Icon seeks list of BHS runners who have advanced to state cross country meet - see details at bottom of this story -
By Cort Reynolds
TIFFIN - The Bluffton boys cross country team finished 13th at the unseasonably cold Div. III regional race Saturday morning in Tiffin's Hedges Boyer Park.
Bluffton sophomore ace Erik Nygaard finished 25th in the large field of 189 runners to post the top Pirate showing with a time of 17:03.7.
Story by Cort Reynolds
Photos by Rae Staton
TIFFIN - Previously-unbeaten Bluffton suffered its first loss of the season to Riverdale 1-0 in the Div. III boys soccer district finals on a cold late Saturday morning at Tiffin Columbian's Frost-Kalnow Stadium.
The upset defeat dropped the top-seeded Pirate boys record to 16-1-2 as their dream season came to an abrupt end. Defending state runner-up Bluffton came into the match ranked first in the northwest district and second in the state.
By Cort Reynolds
BLUFFTON - The host Bluffton girls soccer team fell to top seed Liberty-Benton 8-1 in Div. III district final action Saturday afternoon at Steinmetz Field.
Lady Eagle Maya Rickle netted four goals to pace the victors, including three in the first half, as they raced to a commanding 6-0 intermission lead.
The Pirate girls finished the season 15-3-1 as the defeat brought an end to their 14-match victory streak, and a 15-match unbeaten string.
