Pirate boys 5th; Essinger 47th in girls race

By Cort Reynolds

TIFFIN--Bluffton High School boys finished a strong fifth in the 22-team Div. III regional cross country meet Saturday, October 29, at Tiffin to advance the Pirate harriers to the state meet at Obetz next Saturday. 

Ottawa Hills won the boys meet with 99 points, with Lincolnview second (159). The Pirates tied for fifth with Archbold at 235 points.

Bluffton senior Erik Nygaard took second out of 181 runners in the meet with a time of 15:54.1 to pace the Pirates. 

Riley Nixon of OH won the race in 15:49.9.

Pirate senior Landon Armstrong crossed the finish line fifth in 15:59.2.

"Erik had a great race and Landon had a nice run," said head coach Bill Theisen. "The top seven made it from our region since it was a tougher region, so we did pretty good to make state.

"Only 20 teams make it to the state meet," he added. "The guys have had a great season."

Pirate senior Sam Derstine came in 40th at 17:11.4. Teammate Liam Jordan finished 120th in 18:29.6. 

Landon Sehlhorst came in 130th in 18:36.5. Jonah Rehm was right behind him at 131st in 18:37.7. John Paul Yoder was the seventh Pirate finisher in 166th with a time of 19:59.4.

Girls cross country results
The Bluffton High School girls squad was represented at the 23-team Div. III regional meet in Tiffin by sophomore June Essinger on Saturday morning.

Essinger finished 47th among a field of 159 runners with a time of 20:33.7.

Macie Miller of Old Fort won the girls race in 18:04.9.

Minster won the 23-team meet with 76 points. Colonel Crawford took second (151), with Patrick Henry third (156).

Tiffin Div. III regional boys team standings:

Place Team Score

1 Ottawa HillsQ 99 points

2 LincolnviewQ 159

3 Columbus GroveQ 164

4 Marion LocalQ 182

5 ArchboldQ 235

5 BlufftonQ 235

7 St. PaulQ 252

8 Minster 272

9 Sherwood Fairview 281

10 Holgate 292

11 New Bremen 304

12 Gibsonburg 324

13 Old Fort 327

14 New Riegel 350

15 Milan Edison 354

16 Seneca East 360

17 Tinora 360

18 Pettisville 366

19 Huron 410

20 New London 418

21 Carey 453

22 Van Buren 457

Tiffin Regional Div. III girls team standings:

1 MinsterQ 76 points

2 Colonel CrawfordQ151

3 Patrick HenryQ 156

4 Liberty CenterQ 170

5 Ottawa HillsQ 201

6 HuronQ 230

7 Ft. RecoveryQ 265

8 Gibsonburg 271

9 St. Henry 303

10 New London 303

11 Holgate 313

12 Woodmore 317

13 Old Fort 330

14 New Bremen 334

15 Milan Edison 344

16 Pettisville 354

17 Ashland Crestview 363

18 Parkway 367

19 Archbold 387

20 Lincolnview 416

21 Margaretta 474

22 Van Buren 522

23 Hopewell-Loudon 53