Bluffton boys, Grove girls first at Pat Wagner Invitational

FINDLAY – Some new champions were crowned, and some reigning champions defended their titles when several area track teams gathered at Liberty-Benton on a damp and overcast Saturday for the annual Pat Wagner Invitational.There were two new team champions, with Bluffton outpointing the host L-B Eagles 122-105 for the boys title. Oak Harbor, looking to claim a third straight crown, was third this year (85). Columbus Grove was fourth (70), Arlington sixth (59), Carey seventh (56), McComb eighth (33) and Hardin Northern ninth (17).Ottawa-Glandorf had won three straight L-B Invitational girls titles. This year O-G opted to compete in a large 50-school meet at Wayne this past week, and Columbus Grove stepped up to score 144 points and put its name on the L-B Invitational trophy.Bluffton needed to finish within one spot (or better) of Oak Harbor in the final event and the Pirates did that, placing fifth in the 1,600-meter relay to edge the Rockets by one point – 119-118 – for runner-up honors. Among area schools in the girls meet, Carey was fifth (37.5), Liberty-Benton sixth (36), Arlington eighth (26), Arcadia ninth (19) and McComb tenth (4).Depth and balance was pivotal in Bluffton stockpiling enough points to win the boys championship.In the sprints, Griffin Stackhouse won the 200 (22.36) and was second in the 100 (11.44). Bluffton also got firsts from Kain Wright in the 400 (50.46) and Marek Donaldson in the 800 (1:59.32), and a second from Carson Kruse in the 110 hurdles (16.0).Stackhouse, Kruse and Wright then teamed with Donaldson to win the 1,600 relay (3:27.39) and with Tayte Giesige in winning 800 relay (1:29.69).Donaldson, Calvin Derstine, Landon Selhorst and Levi Fenzl were third in the 3,200 relay (8:34.12), and the Pirates got second-place points in the field events from Giesige in the long jump (20-5½) and Noah Bicker in the high jump (6-0). Bricker was also third in the long jump (20-1).Led by Jackson Hochstetler, Aiden Lee and Cohen Levenhagen, Liberty-Benton made a strong showing in the boys distance events.Hochstetler was second in both the 800 (1:59.51) and 1,600 (4:39.70) and anchored the winning 3,200 relay (8:16.39) that included Evan Makowski, Lane Fannin and Hudson Day.Lee (4:39.28) edged Hochstettler by .32 of a second in L-B's 1-2 finish in the 1,600 and Levenhagen was second (10:08.64) in the 3,200.L-B's foursome of Jonas Frederick, Karson Griffin, Jaxon Rath and Braden Bell finished second in the 400 relay (44.67) and third in the 800 (1:33.23).In the field events, Tyler Grose won the discus with a throw of 147-3 and Will Granger was second in the shot (52-4).Columbus Grove also scored well in the distance events, especially the 3,200 where Caiden Squillante was first (10:02.95) and Zack Bryan third (10:26.64).Carey's Tripp Phoenix factored in 28 of the Blue Devils 56 team points with third-place finishes in the 100 (11.71), high jump (6-0) and 400 relay (45.59) with Hunter Row, Eli Steen and Dalen Walter. Phoenix, Walter, Steen and Bryce Puckett also placed second in the 800 relay (1:32.74). Brody Baker was runner-up in the 300 hurdles (40.83).Arlington's Calvin Willow won the high jump with a leap of 6-2 and next year will have the opportunity to be a rare four-time meet champion. The 6-foot-10 junior, who won the Division III state high jump title last spring, has won the event at the Pat Wagner/Liberty-Benton Invitational as a freshman, sophomore and again this year.Trenton Heacock also placed well for Arlington, finishing second in the long jump (20-1¼), third in the 300 hurdles (41.79) and third in the 1,600 relay (3:37.60) with Cuyler Rausch, Hunter Rausch and Lukas McIlroy.McComb's Elijah Gibbs doubled up in the throws, winning the shot with a mark of 53-3 and placing second in the discus (145-11). The Panthers Carter Frater was third (16.21) in the 110 hurdles.Riley Newton led Hardin Northern with third-place finishes in the 200 (23.58) and 400 (51.68).In the girls meet, Lauryn Auchmuty was a three-event champion and Allison Thompson figured in two firsts and two seconds in helping Columbus Grove claim the team title.Auchmuty, already an all-Ohio selection this year in soccer and basketball, was first (27.99) and Thompson second (28.43) in the 200-meter dash. Grove also had a 1-2 finish in the 100 with Thompson first (13.60) and Aubrey Schroeder right behind her (13.74).Auchmuty also defended her L-B Invitational tile in the long jump (16-9¾), and joined Thompson, Schroeder and Jade Roeder on the winning 800 relay team (1:47.57).Schroeder, Roeder, Bree Closson and Devanie Pingle edged Lima Bath by half a second to win the 1,600 relay (4:16.01), and Thompson, Closson, Roeder and Kendal Palte were second in the 400 relay (52.59). Grove's 3,200 relay of Pingle, Lily Montgomery, Sarah Kamphaus and Lia Witteborg also was second (10:19.58).Montgomery was second in the 1,600 (5:47.61), Pingle was third in the 400 (1:02.75), and Kamphaus added a third in the 3,200 (12:46.68).Grove's Nicole Nesby won the shot (37-0).Bluffton doubled up in two of the field events, with Sadie Tarplee first (5-0) and Maelee Miller second (5-0) in the high jump, and Tarplee second (15-7¼) and Lauren Dearth third (14-4) in the long jump.On the track, Miller, a freshman, won the 100 hurdles (16.62) and was second in the 400 (1:02.45), Nora Matthews was first in the 800 (2:24.01) and Aubrey Burkholder was second to Miller in the 100 hurdles (17.27) and third in the 300s (48.38).Burkholder also teamed with Tarplee, Miller and Jordan Schweingruber on the second place 800 relay (1:51.70) and with Gracie Yarnell, Schweingruber and Gracie Warren on the third place 400 relay (54.02).Carey's Addison Baldridge, Bella Phoenix, Elysa Holsinger and Grier Blankemeyer placed third in the 1,600 relay (4:27.21), and Liberty-Benton's 3,200 relay team of Claire McDaniel, Maddi Gaerke, Piper Ogden and Lindsay May also earned third place points (10:26.33).Arcadia's Shia Watkins doubled up in the throws, winning the girls discus with a mark of 117-11 and placing third in the shot (35-1).Liberty-Benton's Emily Eyink was second in the shot (36-8), and Arlington's Alyssa Launder was third in the high jump (4-10).