Sports Round-Up by Paul Beitler

Knights down Starfire golfers
Kristen Springer matched her score from Wednesday to lead the Norwell girls’ golf team to victory over South Adams at Timber Ridge Golf Club in Bluffton on Thursday afternoon.
Springer shot a 4-over-par 40 on the front nine and the Knights beat the Starfires 180-232. Hannah Porrata added a 44, while Megan Evans shot a 46. Cassie Herndon finished with a 50 and Kristine Morgan posted a 54.
Abbie Fisher topped the Starfires with a 52. Kristal All added a 56, Kristen Lehman a 58 and Sam Swartz a 66. Adrienne Pursley had a 74.
Norwell hosts the IHSAA sectional Saturday at 9 a.m. at Timber Ridge.

Norwell golfers win three-way meet
Kristen Springer and her Norwell teammates had a good tuneup for the girls’ golf sectional on Wednesday at Timber Ridge Golf Club.
Springer shot a 40 to lead the Knights to victory over Fort Wayne Bishop Luers and Fort Wayne North Side. Norwell finished with a team score of 182. Bishop Luers was next with 208 and North Side finished with a 232.
Megan Evans and Hannah Porrata each posted a 45 and Cassie Herndon shot a 52. Kristine Morgan also had a 58.
Bishop Luers was led by Alex Eagleson and Lexy Hamel each with a 49. Ashlyn Adams had a 51 for North Side.

Bluffton netmen tripped by SA
South Adams tripped the Bluffton Tigers 3-2 in Allen County Athletic Conference boys’ varsity tennis on Thursday.
Jackson Bates was a winner at No. 2 singles for the Tigers, while Chandler Okey and Michael Vanderkolk won at No. 1 doubles. Bluffton won the junior varsity match 6-4.

SOUTH ADAMS 3, BLUFFTON 2
At Bluffton
VARSITY SINGLES: Alex Huber (SA) d. Damon Kuhlenbeck 6-1, 6-2; Jackson Bates (B) d. Scott Hoeppner 6-4, 6-1; Mark Muselman (SA) d. Brendan Baumgartner 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-4).
VARSITY DOUBLES: Chandler Okey/Michael Vanderkolk (B) d. Kegan Sprunger/Reid Zurcher 6-1, 6-2; Ian Frank/Derek Schwartz (SA) def. Zach Mezera/Alex Penrod 6-4, 6-4.
BLUFFTON 6, SOUTH ADAMS 4
JV SINGLES: Jon Steffen (SA) d. Nathaniel Clark 6-2; Matt Dann (B) d. Landon Lehman 6-3; Brayden Myers (SA) d. Alex Miller 6-0; Jake Garrett (B) d. Jon Steffen 6-1; Jackson Lambert (B) d. Landon Lehman 6-1; Trey Mettler (B) d. Brayden Myers 6-0.
JV DOUBLES: JD Tarr/Jared Rife (SA) d. Austin Okey/Carson Addington 6-4; Dylan Pierce/William Hicks (SA) d. Keith Cochran/Pavlos Panagiotidis 6-0; Luke Bertsch/Josh Buckland (B) d. Tarr/Rife 6-1; Jacob Antrim/Stephen Vanderkolk (B) d. Pierce/Hicks 6-4.

East Noble nips Norwell netmen
East Noble edged Norwell 3-2 in Northeast Hoosier Conference boys’ tennis Thursday at Kendallville to give Norwell its first conference loss.
Ross Mathews and Kyle Fillman remained undefeated at No. 1 doubles for Norwell. Tanner Bowen was a No. 3 singles winner for Norwell.
Norwell (12-2) is 4-1 in league matches. Norwell won the junior varsity match 5-0 to improve to 13-2.

EAST NOBLE 3, NORWELL 2
At Kendallville
VARSITY SINGLES: Kyle Johnson (EN) d. Reid Imel 7-5, 6-2; Matt Stallman (EN) d. Kyle Isch 6-2, 6-2; Tanner Bowen (N) d. Devin Wolf 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 6-0.
VARSITY DOUBLES: Ross Mathews/Kyle Fillman (N) d. Jeremy Mertz/Quinton Howell 6-3, 6-1; Chris Doyle/Grant Manon (EN) d. Tanner Mathews/Brandon Taylor 2-6, 6-3, 6-3.
NORWELL 5, EAST NOBLE 0
JV SINGLES: Mitchell Wilson (N) d. Nathan Gerardot 8-6; Tyler Smith (N) d. Carl Kramer 8-3; Drew Shively (N) d. Aaron Dills 8-3.
JV DOUBLES: Jake Price/Damon Gerber (N) d. Ethan Wyatt/Nathan Manns 8-5; Luke Hunter/Jordan Dickey (N) d. David Mazzola/Josh Toles 8-3.

Carroll beats Norwell spikers
The Carroll Chargers defeated Norwell 3-0 in Northeast Hoosier Conference girls’ volleyball at Fort Wayne.
Carroll won the games 25-17, 25-14, 25-21. Lauren Prachar and Bree Anderson led the Chargers with 11 and 9 kills, respectively. Jenna Spadafora had 16 assists and Copeleigh Ortiz 12.
Jessica Louison had five kills and Olivia Geiger four. Amanda McAfee and Lauren Klansek each had three kills. Laken Chaney had 10 assists and Elizabeth Ault eight digs.
Carroll is 14-2 and 1-0 in the NHC. Norwell is 11-5 and 0-1.

Norwell falls in girls’ soccer
Bishop Luers defeated the Norwell girls’ soccer team 5-0 on Thursday at Norwell.
Mayson Whitman led Bishop Luers with two goals. Annie Whitman, Anna McNamara and Jennifer Lee each had one goal.
Norwell’s record slipped to 2-6-2.

Tailgate party before Bluffton game
Bluffton football fans are invited to a tailgate party before Friday’s game against Garrett at Fred F. Park Field. The party will be located in the parking lot near the practice field, starting at 5:45 p.m. Meat and table service will be provided. Fans should bring a dish to share.

Norwell tailgate party slated
Norwell football fans are invited to tailgate before Friday’s Homecoming game against New Haven from 5:30-6:30 p.m. Meat and table service will be provided. Money donations will be accepted. Please bring a dish to share.

8th-grade Crusaders lose 38-14
The Norwell 8th-grade football team lost 38-14 to Maple Creek on Tuesday at the Courtyard.
The Crusaders (2-1) got touchdowns from Jake Aschliman and Adam Nahrwold, while Jeremy Davis converted a PAT kick. Reggie Hayes completed eight passes to Piercen Harnish to spark the offense. Harnish also threw a 40-yard pass to Davis.
On defense, Nahrwold recovered a big fumble in the first half. Other outstanding plays on defense came from Nathan Allison, Anthony Richard, Andrew Oakes, Ashton McCune, Jace Geiger, Davis and Harnish.

Tigers, Raiders split in MS volleyball
Bluffton and Southern Wells split their volleyball matches Thursday. The Southern Wells 7th-graders won in three games 21-25, 25-21, 15-5, while the Bluffton 8th-graders won in three 25-13, 21-25, 15-13.
Morgan Corle and Emma Thompson each had two kills for the 8th-grade Tigers. Erin McKinley, Lauren Stauffer and Autumn Kelgone each had one kill. Corle also had three aces. Ashton Perry had two aces, while Thompson and Stauffer each had one ace.
Kaytlin Hart had two aces for the Bluffton 7th-graders. Sydney Longenberger had one ace and Sara Baumgartner had one kill.

Middle School Cross Country
BOYS
3,000 Meters
ADAMS CENTRAL 19, BLUFFTON 39, WOODLAN Incomplete
1. Gavin Kaehr (AC) 10:56; 2. Jared Reckard (B) 11:47; 3. Calvin Isch (AC) 11:52; 4. Tucker Miller (AC) 12:22; 5. Andy Oliver (AC) 12:39; 6. Aaron Kaehr (AC) 12:47; 7. Chance Anderson (B) 12:50; 8. Austin Roemer (W) 13:08; 9. Kevin Moser (B) 13:23; 10. Tad Makowski (B) 13:25; 11. Eli Kitt (B) 13:49; 12. Colton Anderson (B) 13:57; 13. Logan Hanni (AC) 14:17; 14. Bailey Coyne (AC) 14:42; 15. Justin Chamberlin (AC) 15:01; 16. Tyler Kitson (W) 16:25.

GIRLS
3,000 Meters
BLUFFTON 25, ADAMS CENTRAL Incomplete, WOODLAN Incomplete
1. Ashley Smith (B) 15:07; 2. Morgan Huffman (B) 15:22; 3. Baily Liter (AC) 15:32; 4. Brynn Yonker (B) 15:41; 5. Olivia Funk (W) 16:12; 6. Josie Jeannotti (W) 16:14; 7. Randi Bebout (AC) 17:01; 8. Haley Craig (B) 17:06; 9. McKenzie Barger (AC) 17:58; 10. Danielle Lambert (B) 21:00; 11. Zoe Lowden (W) 21:28; 12. Madie McSwain (AC) 22:53; 13. Chelsea Dove (B) 23:43; 14. Kayla Reidenbach (W) 24:42.