By RYAN WALKER
Like the boys, the Bluffton girls’ track team is coming off another great season as second in the Allen County Athletic Conference standings and fourth at the sectional.
12th-year head coach Brent Kunkel is feeling good about the season but understands the task at hand to replace some senior talent on last year’s team.
“Our girls’ team is coming off back-to-back runner-up finishes in the ACAC but are going to need to replace a lot of points that we lost due to graduation,” he said. We will be young in the sprints, so our success will depend on how quickly those young sprinters can contribute. We feel good about where we are right now as a team and are looking forward to getting on the track soon.”
The most significant loss from a season ago is Leslie Sprankles, who won three events at the conference meet, placed first in the 800 and 1600 at the sectional, and was sixth place in the 800 at regionals.
Ryleigh Johnson and Elsa Corkwell also competed well on the team score in the sectional for the Tigers and will be tough to replace.
This year’s group will be led by returner Lauren Reiff, who placed 17th in the discus at the state meet last year. Reiff was the only girls’ track and field athlete in Wells County to make an appearance in the state meet last season. She also placed fourth in the shot put at the regional.
Kunkel’s goal for Reiff this year is to become a three-time conference champ and to qualify plus place higher at state again. He looks for her to break the school’s discus record.
Other key returners for the Tigers include Haley Gibson in the sprinting and long jump events, Olivia and Maryn Schreiber in the 400 and 800, along with Alydia Bertsch and Lucia Corkwell in long-distance events.
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