PHOTOS by Jamie Nygaard / CLICK gallery to enlarge and view at your own pace

6 individuals, 1 relay compete in Saturday finals 

By Cort Reynolds

COLUMBUS – Two Bluffton High School boys and one relay team advanced to Saturday finals with strong day one showings in the 2025 Div. II OHSAA Track and Field State Tournament at The Ohio State’s Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.

Senior sprinter Griffin Stackhouse crossed the finish line second in the 200-meter dash, and finished sixth in the 100-meters to advance to Saturday finals in both events.

The 100-meter finals are at 1:10 p.m., with the 200 meters at 2:40 p.m.

Junior Kain Wright took second in the 400-meter run prelims. He runs in the 400-meter finals Saturday at 2:05 p.m.

The Bluffton boys 4×200 relay quartet of Carson Kruse, Tayte Giesige, Wright and Stackhouse came in fourth place to advance to the finals at 1:25 p.m.  

Four Bluffton athletes did not compete Friday, and are in Saturday final events. Field events begin mid-morning, with running events starting at 1 p.m.

Senior Noah Bricker competes in the high jump finals Saturday at 9:30 a.m. Junior Alayna Mueller will also compete in the pole vault final Saturday at 9:30 a.m.

Pirate senior and regional champion Marek Donaldson will run in the 800-meter finals Saturday at approximately 2:30 p.m. He has the best qualifying seed time in the 18-runner field.

Sophomore Nora Matthews runs in the 800-meter finals Saturday at 2:30 p.m.

Sophomore Tayte Giesige finished 15th in the long jump finals Friday.

Two Pirate girls competed in their event prelims Friday, but did not advance to the finals Saturday.

Freshman Maelee Miller came in 13th in the 400-meter run, and finished 17th in the 100-meter hurdle race.

Junior Aubrey Burkholder ended up 14th in the 300-meter hurdle preliminary heats.

A top-nine finish in the state prelims advances a runner or team to an event finals.

Bluffton Div. II state meet day 1 results:

EVENT PLACE ATHLETE YEAR TEAM TIME WIND HEAT

Boys 200 Meter Dash Prelims

2 Griffin Stackhouse 12 Bluffton 21.64 +3.1 1

Boys 400 Meter Dash Prelims

2 Kain Wright 11 Bluffton 48.77 

Boys 4×200 Meter Relay Prelims

4 Bluffton 1:27.98 

Boys 100 Meter Dash Prelims

6 Griffin Stackhouse 12 Bluffton 10.80 -0.4 1

Girls 400 Meter Dash Prelims

13 Maelee Miller 9 Bluffton 58.36 1

Girls 300 Meter Hurdles Prelims

14 Aubrey Burkholder 11 Bluffton 46.43 1

Boys Long Jump Finals

15 Tayte Giesige 10 Bluffton 20-3  +1.6 1

Girls 100 Meter Hurdles Prelims

17 Maelee Miller 9 Bluffton 15.90 +2.5 2

In this week’s CCX Sports Spotlight, Chaz Mootz profiles Hopkins track and field senior runner Henry Risser.

Growing up Risser’s first love was always soccer, but after trying out for track his freshman year at Hopkins, Risser realized that running track gave him the best opportunity to compete in college.

Risser now holds both the 400 meter and 800 meter school records at Hopkins.

Both his 400 (47.19 seconds) and 800 (1:49.52) times rank in the top five in MSHSL boys track all-time records.

Risser will run at the University of Wisconsin next year.

Hopkins High School

Track & Field

CCX News – Daily Sportscast

AB Hernandez has been competing in track and field and volleyball at Jurupa Valley High School in Riverside County since her freshman year, but it wasn’t until this year, her junior year, people began protesting her participation because she’s transgender.

The 16-year-old athlete became the center of attention at last week’s California Track and Field Championships in Clovis. Controversy over Hernandez’s participation in girls’ sports included rule changes, federal investigations and online threats to the state of California by President Donald Trump.

| MORE | California track and field finals: Trans athlete AB Hernandez wins 2 events, shares podium

In an interview with KCRA 3’s Sarah McGrew, Hernandez said she just laughs off the hate.

“It’s definitely crazy, I get a lot of hate comments but I’m like, ‘I don’t care’,” Hernandez said. “[I’m a] 16-year-old girl with a mad attitude. You think I’m going to care?”

When she was outed as transgender by the president of the Jurupa Valley Unified School Board, she had no idea what to expect next.

“I just tried to fly under the radar because you know trans athletes get a lot of hate,” Hernandez said.

But soon protesters were showing up to her track and field meets, following her throughout the season, including at the state championships.

“It’s just weird at this point,” she said.

While the few dozen protestors were contained outside of the stadium gates during the state championships, Hernandez found support inside the stadium that she described as intense.

“I wasn’t expecting any of it to be honest. I was just expecting to go out there and compete alone, but the support was amazing,” Hernandez said. “They really made my experience perfect. I will forever be grateful for them because they helped me get through the weekend.”

Her biggest supporter was watching from the stands.

Nereyda Hernandez, AB’s mother, was surprised when her daughter came out to her in the eighth grade, but both say it was an experience that brought them closer together.

| PREVIOUS COVERAGE | Mom of AB Hernandez shares unwavering support for daughter in midst of anti-transgender protests

“It means a lot,” AB Hernandez said. “There’s some kids out there whose parents don’t accept who they are.”

AB Hernandez won two first-place medals and a second-place medal at the track and field state championships, awards which were shared because of a rule change by the California Interscholastic Federation days before.

“I did what I wanted to do,” AB Hernandez said. “My performance was all I wanted to be good. So all this backlash… I performed my best so that’s all I cared about.”

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MONROE, CT — Masuk High’s boys volleyball team, the No. 2 seed in the Class M State Tournament, defeated No. 7 Pomperaug of Southbury 3-0 (25-13, 25-23, 28-18) in the quarterfinals on Friday.

With the win the Panthers will take on No. 3 New Canaan at neutral site Naugatuck High on Tuesday at either 4:30 or 7 p.m. The winner faces either No. 1 Joel Barlow or No. 4 Newington in the title match at Newtown High on June 12 starting at 4:30 p.m.

Owen Lafond (No. 5) and Tyler Barringer (No. 25) go up for a block in the win over Pomperaug.

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Story courtesy of The Big West

IRVINE, Calif. — Kyla Bruhn of the UC San Diego women’s water polo team will represent The Big West as a member of the NCAA Division I National Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).

The Division I National SAAC is committed to being proactive in service and representation of all 160,000 Division I student-athletes. 

 

The committee’s mission is to enhance the total student-athlete experience by protecting student-athlete well-being, fostering a positive student-athlete image and inclusive student-athlete environment, and promoting student-athlete engagement at the national, conference and local levels. The Division I Governance structure gives the Division I SAAC a seat at the table to comment and react to legislative proposals, issues of interest and actions of the Division.

Bruhn’s term on The NCAA SAAC began June 1 and will continue through June 30, 2026.

A sophomore attacker from Rancho Bernardo in San Diego County, Bruhn scored six points on three goals and three assists over the 2025 season. The Tritons advanced to the semifinal round of the Big West Championship. At Rancho Bernardo High School, she was a three-time team captain and team MVP.

Bruhn is a human development major at UC San Diego.

“As a member of the D1 NCAA SAAC, I hope to represent the Big West passionately and to advocate for the student-athlete experience.” Bruhn said. “By developing relationships with other student-athletes and administrative members across the nation, I aim to learn how to empower, unite, and protect student-athletes.” 

 

Bruhn also spoke about UC San Diego and how the experience on campus has helped prepare her for this special opportunity. 

 

“Serving as UC San Diego’s Big West Undivided representative this school year inspired me to expand my efforts to a national level to advocate for the student-athletes impacted by policies that are created in spaces where our voices are underrepresented.”  Bruhn said. “I will continue to learn from the practices, successes, and cultures reflected by the institutions in my conference, and across other conferences. I am excited to represent my team, UC San Diego, and The Big West!” 

Angie Allen, Assistant Commissioner/Compliance & Student-Athlete Engagement from The Big West, also shared enthusiasm for Bruhn representing the conference at the national level.  

“We are proud to have Kyla representing the Big West on the NCAA Division I SAAC. Her passion and leadership make her a powerful advocate for our student-athletes.” said Allen. “We are confident that she will champion their voices, stand firm in the face of challenges, and work tirelessly to advance equity, opportunity, and the future of collegiate athletics. This appointment is not only an honor—it is a call to serve, and Kyla is more than ready to answer that call.” 

——
About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program began a new era in 2020 as a member of The Big West in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 84 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have earned prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world’s preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 91 percent, one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions.