By Duncan Nixon
Correspondent
The Fluvanna boys and girls indoor track and field teams traveled down Rt. 15 on Wednesday, Jan. 11, to Fork Union Military Academy (FUMA). Though it was called a mini-meet, it was a mob scene. Athletes from 14 boys teams and 13 girls teams can barely fit into the outstanding FUMA facility. Many athletes are sprawled on the infield, while others warm up, or once the meet starts, actually compete in the running track events or field events like triple jump and shot put.
The head coach for the Fluco boys and girls is Melanie Kennedy. She said that her teams are young, but have some excellent performers. At this meet, the Flucos failed to win an individual event or a relay race, yet they turned in some strong performances. The best finish for the girls team was turned in by Breeanna Miller who tied for second place in the shot put. Junior Sydney Chipperfield took fifth place in the 500-meter dash. Ruby Frazier also had a fifth-place finish in the 1000 meter run. Fifth-place was a common finish for the Fluco girls. Senior Madeline Creasy was fifth in the 1600-meter run (the metric mile), but moved up to a fourth-place finish in the 3200 meter run. Another fifth-place finish for the Fluco girls was recorded by freshman runner Kate Best who finished behind Creasy in the 3200. In the 55-meter hurdles, it was fifth place again for the Flucos by junior Alexis Perry. The Fluco girls 4X400 meter relay team took a third-place finish. The team consisted of Sophie Farley, Chipperfield, Frazier and Anna Amato, who are all underclassmen.
A good finish for the boys was turned in by sophomore Kameren Green. He was third in the 55-meter dash. The Fluco boys got their best finish of the meet when junior Ryder Petrylak finished second in the 1600-meter run. Petrylak also took fourth-place in the 3200-meter run. Another fifth-place Fluco finish was turned in by junior Elias Morris in the 500-meter dash. Morris was also sixth in the 55-meter hurdles. The Fluco boys also made a decent showing in the relays. They took fourth in the 4X400 relay and fifth in the 4X800 meter relay. The 400-meter relay team consisted of, John Glasscock, Aaron Anderson, Diver Davis and Morris. Glasscock is a senior, Anderson is a sophomore and the other two are juniors. The 800-meter relay team consisted of Ethan Dahl, Cole LaRochelle, Noah Smith and Cayden Lucas. LaRochelle is a senior. Lucas is a freshman, and the other two are juniors.
In indoor track and field, the athletes are always pointing toward achieving times and distances that qualify them in their event for district and state competitions. Team results are not that important and the service that publishes the results of meets such as the mini-invite does not even publish team scores.
