Seniors Kyler Kinn and Trenton Donley of Bluffton's Northwest Conference champion team were each named first team all-league in voting recently conducted by the league coaches.
Donley and Kinn led the Pirates in scoring this season.
Senior three-point specialist Trey Boblitt was named honorable mention all-league.
The veteran trio led Bluffton to a sparkling 20-2 regular season record.
Photographer Jamie Nygaard had a perfect (if damp) poolside perspective on Bluffton High School swim team performances at the Ohio High School Athletic Association Northwest Division II district championship swim meet at Bowlng Green State University.
Junior Riley Verb advances to the OHSAA Ohio State High School Division II Swimming and Diving Championship, Feb. 23-26 in Canton, Ohio. He qualified in the 200 individual medley (IM) and 100 breaststroke events.
The Bluffton High School girls basketball team lost to Kalida 41-36 in girls Div. IV sectional final action on the campus of Bluffton University Monday, February 21.
The Lady Pirates mustered just 12 combined points in the second and third quarters to see their season come to an end.
Bluffton ended up with a 16-7 record after the loss, while Kalida improved to 13-11 with the victory. The victors advanced to the Van Wert district semifinals Thursday, Feb. 24 against Columbus Grove (16-6).
A trio of seniors led Bluffton in their final game for the Pirates.
Photographer Marvin Foster provides a front-row seat perspective--or better--at the February 19 Northwest Conference championship meet at Bluffton High School.
Wrestlers in these photos:
Pirate senior Kaden Basil captured the 175 lbs. NWC crown with a record of 3-0 on the strength of three pins.
Freshman Jett Blackburn won the 132 lbs. league title with a 5-0 record. He recorded two pins and three decision victories.
Pirate sophomore Kyle Basil authored a 4-1 record with four pins at 157 lbs. to finish second.
Riley Verb, a junior at Bluffton High School, qualified for the 200 individual medley (IM) and the 100 breaststroke events at the OHSAA Ohio State High School Division II Swimming and Diving Championship. The event will be held Feb. 23-26 in Canton, Ohio at Canton McKinley High School's C.T. Branin Natatorium.
At the district meet in Bowlng Green, Verb finished second in the 200 IM with a time of 2:00:74 which is a personal record, dropping 2:54 seconds from his seed time. A second-place finish in the event resulted in an automatic ticket for Verb to the state tournament. At the state tournament, he is seeded 12 out of the 24 swimmers who qualified for the 200 IM.
The Bluffton University men's basketball team was unable to seal the deal on a rare Friday night of hoops in the Sommer Center. Rival Defiance clinched the #3 seed in the upcoming HCAC Tournament with a 67-62 win over the Beavers.
Bluffton cashed out with a 6-17 mark overall and 2-13 in the Heartland Conference, while Defiance improved to 11-11 and 9-6 in the HCAC. Defiance will host #6 seed Franklin College on Sunday, Feb. 20.
