LIMA – The Bluffton High School wrestling team finished a strong second at the 12-team Allen County Invitational meet on December 21 that was hosted by Shawnee High School.
Allen East beat out the Pirates 249.5 points to 206.5 to win the team title.
Bluffton’s Mason Shank won the heavyweight division championship with a perfect 5-0 mark on the day.
Shank went 4-0 in pool play with three pins. He then decisioned Bath’s Kyle Slaght 9-4 in the bracket championship match to win the crown.
Freshman Ronald Kaufman went 3-0 in the 106 lbs. bracket and beat Lima Senior’s Corbin Phillips 15-2 in a majority decision for first place.
Junior Evan Grothause took second in the tough 190 lbs. division. He went 2-0 in pool play with two pins. He then pinned two more foes in the quarterfinals and semifinals to reach the title bout.
LIMA – The Bluffton High School boys basketball team used a big fourth period to pull away and defeat Linden-McKinley STEM Academy (Columbus) 62-45 in the opener of the Kewpee Holiday Classic doubleheader at Lima Senior on Saturday, December 21.
The Pirates improved to 5-0 with the victory. Bluffton has won its four games by a combined total of 165 points (33 ppg).
Linden-McKinley fell to 0-5 after the defeat.
The Pirates led 17-11 after the first quarter, and held a 31-26 advantage at halftime. The Pirates led 42-34 heading to the final quarter.
Bluffton outscored L-M 31-19 after intermission, including 20-11 in the fourth period, to win by 17.
Senior Blake Sommers tallied 21 points to pace the victors. He scored 12 points in the first half, including seven in the opening stanza.
BLUFFTON – The Bluffton High School boys basketball team rode a big third quarter to a 73-52 win over visiting Riverdale in a non-league game on Friday night, December 20.
The Pirates broke away from a four-point halftime lead by outscoring the Falcons 19-6 in the decisive third stanza. The hosts outscored Riverdale by four in the final period to win by a comfortable 21-point margin.
The Pirates improved to 4-0 with the victory. Bluffton has won its four games by a combined total of 148 points (37 ppg).
The Pandora-Gilboa High School boys basketball team went on the road on December 20 to battle BVC rival Leipsic. The Rockets led throughout the middle two quarters but were outscored 18-14 over the final eight minutes of the contest. They lost a close one, 61-58.
