This sports season in Wells County was filled with excitement, big plays and champions, and was a blast to cover this year. To help recap all of the action, I will be ranking the top five moments from the 2023-24 season.
Please keep in mind that there are plenty of worthy nominees. If something was left off of the list, it does not mean it wasn’t important. The list is meant to be some of my favorite experiences and highlight all the fun we had together.
Without further ado, we start with some honorable mentions.
• Bluffton, Norwell and Southern Wells all qualify for boys’ cross-country regional: All three of our schools finished in the top five last fall and made it to the next round for the first time ever. That was due to Southern Wells’ first time going to the regional. The Raiders were given less than a 20% shot at doing so according to online simulations based on times, but they overcame that and snuck into fifth place.
• Southern Wells girls’ basketball’s first ACAC win in four years: The girls’ basketball team at Southern Wells was winless in the Allen County Athletic Conference for quite some time. That was until the Raiders topped Heritage at the Raider Dome 36-35 in the final minute. It took an Ashlie Needler putback off of a missed free throw to take the lead along with a defensive stop to give them the victory.
• Southern Wells outscores Lakeland Christian 35-10 in the second half: The Raider Dome was hoppin’ in late January, and for good reason. The boys’ basketball team was down 20-15 at the half before drilling the poor Cougars 35-10 in the second half. It was one of the more incredible two quarters I’ve seen in my tenure as sports editor.
To begin the top-5, I’m picking Bluffton’s senior Tyler Godwin, who qualified for the state championship meet in cross country this past fall.
Godwin’s final season on the grass courses perhaps launched his name into DI territory as he signed with Purdue Fort Wayne to extend his career.
His offseason included training with another runner in Florida over the summer and a nonstop will to get to the state finals in Terre Haute.
Godwin ended up making the cut, finishing 21st in an impressive 5:15.3.
I talked with Godwin not long before for a feature, and easily gained respect for the runner. All he does is run, and it’s inspiring to see someone his age set a goal, work his tail off and achieve it. That’s what made the moment for me special to see and be a part of in my two years of seeing his progress.
That goal he set wasn’t as simple as making it to state. It’s a goal that Godwin couldn’t rely on very many people who have the experience doing it, as Bluffton hasn’t had a state qualifier since 2000. But he conquered it.
“It feels great, but it’s also more relieving because having expectations is a privilege, but also it does make you a little nervous because you’re thinking about it the whole season,” Godwin said following the regional, finding out he’s going to state. “The whole year I had a pretty good shot of going to state, and you have to work on through that stuff. It’s a great privilege to have people who will count on you to expect you to do good, but it’s still nerve-racking. So that was kind of a relief when I finally did.”
“Very few runners in Bluffton in history have made it to state, and it’s elite company that he is officially a part of,” Bluffton head coach Michael Vanderkolk said at the regional. “And that’s just a testament to the work that he’s put in on his own. The growth he’s made as a person, as a teammate, as a leader, and it’s just all really benefiting as a runner and a young man.”
Godwin has helped create a new standard for the Tigers, who have been a contender in the area in both the conference and sectional. The mark the team has made now has recent proof that they can achieve what they set their mind to.
ryan@news-banner.com
