In only its second year as a swim team with the Ohio High School Athletic Association, the Bluffton High School swim team has nine individual qualifiers and five relay teams moving onto the OHSAA Northwest District Division II competition February 18-20, 2022 at Bowling Green State University.
The Pirates were one of 16 teams competing at the 2022 Lima D-2 Northwest Sectional meet February 12 at the Lima YMCA. The results from that meet were combined with the results from five other D-2 sectional sites, with the top 32 swimmers in individual events and the top 24 relays from the sectionals qualifying to move on to districts.
Bluffton High School girl qualifiers:
Ella Armstrong, sophomore, 50 free, seeded 29
Allison Diller, junior, 100 breast, seeded 7
June Essinger, freshman, 100 breast, seeded 26 and 100 butterfly, seeded 14
Izzy Stechschulte, junior, 200 free, seeded 31
Rory Youngpeter, freshman, 200 IM, seeded 30
200 free relay: Stechschulte, Diller, Essinger and Armstrong
400 free relay: Stechschulte, Essinger, Armstrong, Diller
200 medley relay: Stechsculte, Youngpeter, Armstrong, Diller
Bluffton high school boy qualifiers:
Landon Armstrong, junior, 200 IM, seeded 32
Xavier Diller, freshman, 500 free, seeded 20
Charles Wright, freshman, 100 butterfly, seeded 30
Riley Verb, junior, 100 breast, seeded 3 and 200 IM seeded 2
200 Medley Relay: Verb, Armstorng, Diller, Wright
400 Free Relay: Armstrong, Tyler Cupples, Diller, Verb
The Pirate swim team is coached by head coach Rachel Diller and assistant coaches Bob Verb and Stephanie McMahon.
At districts, the top two finishers in each event will receive an automatic ticket to the state tournament and the top 16 by finish times will receive at large invitations. The OHSAA state swim and dive tournament will be held Feb. 23-26 in Canton, Ohio at Canton McKinley High School in the C.T. Branin Natatorium.
