By RYAN WALKER
Bluffton’s cross country prestige went sky-high on Saturday.
Senior Jude Baumgartner and freshman Abigail Ramseyer qualified for the state meet with their performances at the regional at Huntington University.
With a time of 16:35.0 and a 25th-place finish, Baumgartner becomes the second Tiger in back-to-back seasons to reach the state level following Tyler Godwin’s appearance in 2023. He joins five other members in school history for the boys to make it to the state competition.
Ramseyer finished 29th with a new school record time of 19:29.0. The state qualification puts her in company with Susan Barth and Tamara Caston as the only members to reach the state meet in school history for the girls.
Both runners shared identical stories that put the feat in doubt at the end of the race.
“First off, I want to give all thanks and praise to God, because he gave me the ability to run and I wouldn’t be here without him,” Baumgartner said. “It was a mix of emotions after the race not knowing if I made it or not. When hearing my name, it was all excitement for me.”
Ramseyer said that she knew she had beaten the school record when she glanced at her final time crossing the finish line but was unsure of placement for state. Her teammate, Addison Sonnigsen, told her to keep her head up and provided positivity. Then, Ramseyer’s name was called to the podium and it was also all excitement for her.
Both gave credit to their coaches: Michael Vanderkolk, Bob Dahl and Laurie Baumgartner for their training programs and peaking at the right times.
“I felt that the workouts given to us this season really prepared us for this race,” Ramseyer said. “Even if I didn’t like every single workout, I pushed through because I wanted to become the best version of myself.”
“She puts in the work, she puts in the effort, and it’s going be great to just get that opportunity and hope that she can kind of build off of it,” Vanderkolk said of Ramseyer.
“It’s going to be exciting to be able to see (Baumgartner) go into state and just kind of loose, relax and have a good race,” he commented on Baumgartner.
Their training has been critical to their success. Baumgartner finished in 110th in his junior season with a time of 17:42.8. He’s chased that down by over a minute and eclipsed the mountain top of the state’s final meet in his senior season.
For Ramseyer, it was a different type of hill to climb. At the start of the year, she finished the Norwell’s Bob Dahl Invitational with a time of 22:10.0. A lower-body injury forced her into a walking boot for a few weeks. But not long after, she picked herself right back up and ended the season breaking the school record.
“I would have never believed you if you told me I went from a boot to now qualifying for the state meet,” Ramseyer said.
The only unfortunate news for Bluffton on Saturday was its top runner all season, Levi Johns, collapsed toward the end of the race. He was unable to finish, but was able to get up and leave the course safely. His pace was set for him to qualify for state without a doubt.
“My heart just absolutely breaks for Levi,” Vanderkolk said. “He’s just one of the hardest working athletes in the entire school — probably in school history, and to see his cross country career, and the way it did today, again, my heart just breaks.”
As a result, the Tigers finished 15th at the regional. The team thought it had an outside shot at making state as a unit, but Vanderkolk also said that it wasn’t all due to the injury, but it would have needed an all-out team effort outside of Johns to make it.
Three other teams and Kelton Barr for Southern Wells also participated in the race.
Norwell’s girls won the sectional last week and finished the regional at 14th. The boys for the Knights placed 22nd.
The Tiger girls placed 20th.
Barr finished with a time of 21:26.2.
The state meet will take place at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course. The girls’ race starts at 12 p.m. and the boys begin at 2:30 p.m.
ryan@news-banner.com
Individual results
Boys
Bluffton: Jude Baumgartner finished 25th with a time 16:35.0, Jackson Rockwell 81st (17:42.6), Aidan Graves 113th (18:04.5), Griffin Linderwell 140th (18:23.4), Ryan Schlagenhauf 159th (18:33.17) and Owen Lesh 165th (18:40.2).
Norwell: Caiden Petrie finished 69th with a time of 17:30.3, Gavin Threewits 103rd (17:55.2), Kayden Robbins 148th (18:26.5), John Baxter 177th (18:51.6), Elijah Jacob 224th (20:06.2), James Sprginer 225th (20:06.9) and Parker McCartney 228th (20:19.6).
Southern Wells: Kelto Barr finished 241st with a time of 21:26.2.
Girls
Bluffton: Abigail Ramseyer finished 29th with a time of 19:20.0, Cora Kunkel (20:41.2), Reagan Harris 185th (23:12.8), Briana Ortiz 202nd (23:49.8), Amarah Robles 223rd (25:01.1), Kierstynn Reed 232nd (26:03.2) and Addison Sonnigsen 233rd (26:20.8).
Norwell: Ashley Tucker finished 64th with a time of 20:46.7, Mia Kurtz 74th (21:04.9), Macy Oatess 108th (21:40.1), Brooklyn Meyer 120th (21:51.9), Ashley Waldman 141st (22:09.3), Mya Oatess 147th (22:17.7) and Mariah Kline 179th (22:58.2).
Team results
Boys: 1. Homestead (65 team scores, qualifies for state), 2. Warsaw (122, qualifies for state), 3. Wabash (144, qualifies for state), 4. Concordia (149, qualifies for state), 5. Carroll (158, qualifies for state), 6. Yorktown (189), 7. Columbia City (201), 8. Angola (273), 9. Manchester (318), 10. West Noble (326), 11. Bishop Dwenger (357), 12. Wapahani (367), 13. New Haven (385), 14. Marion (392), 15. Bluffton (395), 16. Lakewood Park Christian (431), 17. Oak Hill (449), 18. Bellmont (454), 19. Northrop (477), 20. Central Noble (477), 21. Culver Academies (525), 22. Norwell (528), 23. South Adams (532), 24. Muncie Central (583) and 25. Wes-Del (617).
Girls: 1. Concordia (39 team points, qualifies for state), 2. Homestead (70, qualifies for state), 3. Columbia City (123, qualifies for state), 4. Warsaw (190, qualifies for state), 5. Carroll (200, qualifies for state), 6. East Noble (218), 7. Northrop (245), 8. Bishop Dwenger (261), 9. Prairie Heights (320), 10. Huntington North (335), 11. West Noble (337), 12. Plymouth (366), 13. Jay County (370), 14. Norwell (399), 15. Manchester (406), 16. Leo (442), 17. Yorktown (446), 18. Wapahani (461), 19. Adams Central (487), 20. Bluffton (490), 21. Snider (503), 22. Marion (547), 23. Frankton (618) amd 24. Mississinewa (704).
