The Fluco girls’ cross country team made a very strong showing on Saturday, Oct. 14 at the Albemarle Invitational. A total of 29 teams ran in the girls’ varsity event. The Flucos finished in fourth place. The Flucos were led by freshman Emily Smeds who finished in fourth place overall. She completed the course in a very impressive time of 19:09.
Also turning in excellent times for the Fluco girls were Saige Haney, Emily Beckman and Hattie Lintecum, who all finished in under 21 minutes. The other varsity runners for the Flucos were Kristen Cabrera, Brianna Parker and Anja Vernatter. This was the last regularly scheduled event of the Fluco season. The District meet is scheduled for Oct. 25, while the Regional meet will be held Nov. 1.
Girls’ Coach Rose Brogan said that in their Oct. 6 meet at Pocahantas State Park, the girls’ team finished in second place and that Smeds set a school record in the 5K, running the cross country distance of approximately three miles in under 19 minutes.
The future looks especially promising for the Fluco girls, based on the performance of the JV team and the middle school team at the Albemarle Invitational. The JV team was sixth out of 17 teams at the Invitational. Maryann
Chittenden led the way for the JV team with a 19th place finish. The middle school team finished first, with five runners in the top 15. Ellie Kennedy finished second for the middle schoolers.
Coach Tom Casto said that the Fluco boys’ varsity squad did not compete at the Albemarle Invitational. However, the Fluvanna middle school boys’ team turned in a stellar performance, taking second place. The team had five runners finish in the top 25. James White led the way, finishing second. Casto said that virtually every middle school runner had a season best time in the two-mile middle school event.
