By Duncan Nixon, Correspondent
The Fluvanna high school girls and boys track and field squads traveled to Louisa County High School on May 2 for the Jefferson District meet. Fluco athletes turned in several excellent performances and the girls’ team finished in second place, while the boys team was third overall.
The girls team had 13 individual athletes and two relay teams turn in All-District performances. The girls did not win any of the events, but the team showed extraordinary d
epth to achieve a second-place finish as a team, with a team score that was nearly double that of the third place team.
Sophomore Jules Shephard was the Fluco’s most versatile performer. She took third in the high jump, fourth in the triple jump, fifth in the long jump and sixth in the 100 meter dash. Senior Saige Haney was second in the 800 meter and was also on the second place 4X800 relay team. Other runners on that relay team were Kieri Hart, Emily Smeds and Kristen Cabrera. Hart and Smeds from this relay team also were high finishers in individual running event. Hart was third in the 800 meter and Smeds was third in the 1600 meter.
Two second place finishers for the Flucos were Junior Delaney Reed in the discus and sophomore Amina Wilson in the pole vault. Reed’s throw was 99.09, two feet longer than the third place throw. Wilson’s vault was 10 feet.
Distance runner Emily Beckman turned in two top performances, finishing second in the 3200 meter (two mile) and fourth in the 1600 meter run. Others who scored points for their team and finished All-District were Hattie Lintecum with third in the 400 meter, Summer Craig with fourth in the 3200 meter, Emily Goodman with sixth in the 3200 meter, Ashley Pieno with fifth in the pole vault, Khailah Lee with fourth in the shot put and Amy Glowatch with fifth in the discus. The 4X400 relay team finished fourth. It consisted of, Hart, Smeds, Cabrera and Brianna Parker.
The Fluco boys’ team finished in third place by a wide margin over the fourth place team. The boys were led by the team’s only district champion. Junior Christian Holland soared a distance of 44.02 feet in the triple jump. This was more than a foot better than the second place finisher. Holland also grabbed second in the long jump event. Another first place finish for the boys came in the 4X100 relay race. This team consisted of Kevin Alvarenga, Holland, Colby Martin and Dante Eddings.
Holland was not the only Fluco with more than one top performance. Sophomore Eli Hartzog got off several good throws in the discus and the shot put. He finished second in the discus and third in the shot put. His discus throw was five feet longer than the third place performance. Martin combined jumping and running skills to finish third in the long jump, sixth in the triple jump and fifth in the 100 meter dash. Eddings was also good at both running and jumping. He finished second in the 100 meter dash, third in the 200 meter dash and fourth in the long jump. Hurdler Jared Newman was fifth in the 300 hurdles and sixth in the 110 hurdles. Long Distance runner Jack Rice placed sixth in both the 800 and the 1600.
Other Flucos who finished in the top six were Drew Hamshar, fourth in the 400 meter, Shane Morris, fourth in the pole vault, Ethan Yancy, fifth in the pole vault and Alden Custer sixth in the shot put.
The track and field season does not end with the Jefferson District meet. On May 11, the Flucos host the Fluvanna Invitational meet. On May 16, the Flucos host the 3A qualifier event. The regional meet will be on May 23, at Monticello High.
