Sports Round-Up by Paul Beitler

Norwell golfers shoot down Eagles
Norwell’s Kristen Springer took medalist honors on Tuesday at Eagle Glen golf course in Columbia City to lead the Knights to a Northeast Hoosier Conference girls’ golf meet victory.
Springer shot a 43 on the par-36 front nine. The Knights recorded a team score of 190. Cassie Herndon added a 47 and Hannah Porrata turned in a 49. Megan Evans shot a 51 and Olivia Shapley finished with a 59.
Rachel Hazelet led the Eagles with a 46 and Olivia Western shot a 49. Columbia City netted a team score of 200. Megan Yoder added a 51 and MacKenzie Smith shot a 54.
In the junior varsity match, the Eagles recorded a 248 total to beat the Knights, who had a 255. Bailey Nodine led the Knights with a 54. Haley Toliver shot a 60, Kristine Morgan a 65 and Maggie Lazzell a 76.

Bluffton boys split with Garrett, Leo
The Bluffton Tigers split a double dual Allen County Athletic Conference boys’ cross country meet on Tuesday at Bluffton.
The Tigers downed Garrett 26-31 but lost to Leo 21-35. Leo beat Garrett 19-39.
Jackson Lambert was second in the 5,000-meter race in 18:10 to lead Bluffton. Tanner Coratti was seventh in 19:21, Nick Makowski 10th in 19:38, Spencer Sumwalt 12th in 19:56, Nick Rhodes 15th in 20:11, Matthew Sturgeon 18th in 21:11 and Iszak Lambert 19th in 21:16.

Tigers’ girls divide double dual meet
The Bluffton Tigers girls’ cross country team split a double dual Allen County Athletic Conference cross country meet on Tuesday at Bluffton.
The Tigers ran past Garrett 24-34 but lost to Leo 15-40. Leo topped Garrett 18-48.
Darci Johnson led the Tigers, finishing second against Garrett and sixth against Leo. Jenae Steffen was fourth against Garrett and seventh against Leo. Nikki Blair was fifth against Garrett and eighth against Leo. Hannah Oman was sixth against Garrett and ninth against Leo. Connelly Mettler was eighth against Garrett and 10th against Leo. No times were reported.

Raider Jr. High girls top Jets
The Southern Wells Junior High School cross country teams split a meet against Adams Central on Tuesday at Monroe. The Raiders girls beat the Jets 20-56, while the Adams Central boys won 19-53.
Ivy Maddox was the winner for Southern Wells in the girls’ 3,000-meter race in 13:24. Other Raider finishers were: 2. Meghan Yencer; 4. Chloe Maddox; 6. Timber Tucker; 7. Autumn Stevens; 9. Carissa Carter; 10. Brooke Penrod; 12. Jordan Sills; 13. Ashton Prible.
Taylor Thompson was second for the Raiders in the boys’ 3,000-meter race in 11:54. Other Raider finishers were: 10. Kedrick Barr; 12. T.C. Perry; 13. Josh Markley; 16. John Harris.

Bluffton MS runners split dual meets
The Bluffton Middle School cross country teams split in a double dual meet Tuesday at Bluffton.
The Bluffton boys beat Garrett 24-34 and lost to Leo 44-44. The girls edged Garrett 26-29 and lost to Leo 15-50.
The top six finishers in the 3,000-meter race for the Bluffton boys were Josh Streveler 12:32, Jared Reckert 12:59, Blake Connelly 14:01, Collin Barker 14:02, Kevin Moser 14:19, Kobie Lucabaugh 14:20.
The top five finishers for the Bluffton girls in the 3,000-meter race were Mackenzie Park 15:08, Ashlan Bruggeman 15:27, Brynn Yonker 15:39, Jenna Starr 16:29, Krysten Mossburg 18:11.

Trio leads senior golfers
Bill Amburn, Jerry Moss and Joe Gilbert each finished with a 42 to tie for low gross honors in the Tuesday Men’s Senior Golf League at Green Valley Golf Course in Bluffton.
Amburn also was the low net winner with a 29. Members of the winning team were Stan Ellison, Harold Morgan and Bud Frauhiger. Paul Perry was the closest-to-the-pin winner. Bob Brickley made the longest putt.
The senior tournament is next Tuesday.

Kenline earns more honors
Katie Kenline, a member of the Tennessee Tech women’s volleyball team, was named to the all-tournament team at the Appalachian State Invitational this past weekend in Boone, N.C. The Norwell graduate also was the defensive player of the week for the Ohio Valley Conference.

O’Dell takes over SA softball post
BERNE — Jessie O’Dell has been named the South Adams girls’ softball coach on Tuesday, taking over for Jeff Bradtmiller, who resigned to spend more time with his family.
O’Dell, who graduated from South Adams in 1995, has been an assistant coach for three seasons after coming to South Adams from Norwell. He was head coach at Norwell for six years. He led Norwell to three sectional titles and a 102-62 record. His teams also won a regional title and a Northeast Hoosier Conference championship.
Bradtmiller was head coach for 11 years. The Starfires captured an Allen County Athletic Conference championship and a sectional title in 2009.

Tailgating fundraiser for Whitesell
The Norwell Football Club will be sponsoring a tailgating fundraiser for Connor Whitesell prior to Friday’s Homecoming football game at Norwell against Bellmont. All proceeds will go to the Whitesell family. The tailgate party is from 5:30-6:30 p.m. in the parking lot. Hamburgers, hotdogs, brats and drinks will be provided. Norwell fans are encouraged to bring a side dish to share. Everyone, including Bellmont fans, are welcome.