By Hannah Chappell-Dick

(P-G girls results at bottom)

On Sept. 30, the Bluffton cross country team walked out of the school and onto the bus. They drove to the Riverdale Invitational: an unusually large Thursday meet of about 10 schools.

In year's past, the course, while fast, has been hard and uneven. This year, however, two days of rain softened the ground and made it much more pleasant to race on. The flat course, beautiful fall weather, and the high number of competitors helped many Pirates lower their times.Bluffton

Girls
The Bluffton Girls took first prize at the meet, beating Carey 37-53. Bluffton grabbed both individual wins from Hannah Chappell-Dick and Matt Herron. The boys' team placed third with 87 points after Carey and Van Buren.

Hannah Chappell-Dick and Pandora-Gilboa's Sarah Flickinger raced side by side, hitting the mile mark in under six minutes. Chappell-Dick pulled ahead in the last mile and finished in 19:56.93, with Flickinger a close second in 20:07.14.

Next across the line for Bluffton was Morgan Humphreys. She came in fifth with a solid performance of 21:38.16. Lydia Guagenti came in eighth in 21:46.75. Julie Althaus posted a time of 22:20.67 and placed 11th in the race.

Rounding out the scoring was Evania Bonifaz, who placed 16th with 22:33.61.Audrey Marshall was Bluffton's number six, coming in 20th in 23:11. Delaney Reineke was close behind in 22 place (23:31). Morgan Schroeder and Casey Demellweek came in 33rd and 34th, their respective times being 24:24 and 24:33. Jene Sommers placed 39th with 25:05 and Amber Bewsey was 55th in 27:29.

Andrea Spallinger and Pandora Gilboa's Marissa Schutz had an exciting finish, both girls sprinting and smiling. Andrea Spallinger ran a 28:22.02 and placed 67, just edging Schutz who came in 68th in 28:22.36.

Bluffton's Brittany Brown can now run again after a concussion left her unable to compete. She broke the big 3-0 for the first time, placing 74th in 29:53.

Bluffton Boys
Matthew Herron led the way to the boy's third place finish Thursday with an easy victory in 16:47.72. Van Buren's Eric Wymer was a distant second, with a time of 17:22.52.

Dustin Brinkman placed 10th overall with a time of 18:27.Bluffton sophomore Jonathan Nisly continues to improve and placed 11th. He shattered his PR by almost 50 seconds and ran an 18:31.37. Jared Staley placed 26th in 19:48.94. Stefan Stechschulte was fifth for Bluffton. He placed 64th with a 25:20 effort.

The third place finish was impressive, especially since Bluffton was missing 2 varsity boys to injury and illness.

Pandora-Gilboa
The Pandora Girls had a good showing at Riverdale this year, placing third with 71 points.

They were led on the field by senior Sarah Flickinger, who placed second with a solid performance of 20:07.14. Vanessa McCullough wasn't far behind, grabbing third overall in a time of 20:36.91. Audrey Sprunger was third for P-G, placing 7th in 21:46.43.

The next Rocket across the line was Megan Schneck, who placed 21st in 23:26.71. Candance Vance ran a 27:04.26 which was good for 54th place. Marissa Schutz placed 68th in 28:22.36.

Cross country schedule:

Tues, Oct 5: Allen County Meet
Sat, Oct 9: Fostoria Invitational
Sat, Oct 16: NWC Meet
Sat, Oct 23: District Meet
Sat, Oct 30: Regional Meet
Sat, Nov 6: State Meet