By Duncan Nixon, correspondent
The Fluco girls’ and boys’ track and field teams both scored complete runaway victories at home Wednesday (April 24). The two teams were indeed “flying” Flucos. The boys’ squad outscored Orange County by 111-15, and the girls’ squad was even better, winning 114-12.
The Fluco boys’ squad consistently took first and second in event after event against Orange County. In the 110-meter hurdles, Ledric Reid won for the Flucos with Fluco teammate Jared Newman in extremely close pursuit. They finished in 16:11 and 16:13 respectively. The Orange County hurdlers were far behind. In the 100-meter dash, Fluco sprinters Darius Grier and Kaiden Posati were first and second. Again it was a close finish as only 0.07 seconds divided the two.
Photo by Fluvanna Sports Photography
In the boys’ 400-meter dash, Fluco Jariq Hensen was the winner in 58.90. In the boys’ 300-meter hurdles, Newman was first and Eric White was second for Fluvanna. In the 800-meter run the finish was exceedingly tight, as Fluco Nathan Valentine was timed at 2:18.14 and his teammate, Rocco Calderone, was timed at 2:18.15. In the boys’ 200-meter dash, it was two top Fluco sprinters in first and second. Dante Eddings was the winner with Cameron Holland in second. In the 3,200-meter race (the metric two mile), Matthew Moore won for Fluvanna with a time of 12:12.09. His teammate, Troy Stephens, was second.
In the boys’ high jump, Orange finally got a win and Fluco Reid was second. In the boys’ pole vault Hensen was first and the only vaulter to post a height. In the long jump, Flucos Christian and Cameron Holland were first and second with Christian winning by just less than one foot. In the triple jump, it was Fluco Colby Martin winning easily with Cameron Holland taking second.
In the throwing events Fluco Eli Hartzog was far and away the best in the field. He won the discus and the shot put by extremely wide margins. In the discus, he beat teammate Alden Custer by almost 23 feet, and Custer’s second place toss was far ahead of any throw by Orange County. In the shot put, Hartzog was eight feet ahead of teammate and second place finisher Josh Elliott, and here too Elliott was well ahead of any Orange County athlete.
Photo by Fluvanna Sports Photography
In the girls’ meet, Makiah White was first in the 100-meter hurdles. Fluvanna then took first and second in the 100-meter dash, with R’Tia Payne winning and Alexis Allen coming in second. Payne was under 14 seconds with a time of 13.94. In the 1,600-meter race (the metric mile), the Flucos again were first and second. Emily Beckman broke six minutes with a time of 5:51.16. Hattie Lintecum was second.
In the 400-meter dash, it was one and two again for the Fluco girls. Skylar Solga was first and Summer Craig was second. In the 300-meter hurdles, Payne scored her second win, finishing five seconds ahead of the Orange County second place runner. In the girls’ 800-meter race, the Flucos again were first and second. Maggie Sites won by a large margin with a time of 2:49.49. Justine Rodriguez was second for the Flucos. In the girls’ 200-meter dash, Kieri Hart was the easy winner with a time of 29.09. Tallon Solga was second, with Orange County far behind.
The Fluco girls were equally successful in the field events. In the high jump Amina Wilson took first place and Orange County squeezed out a second place. In the pole vault, the Flucos were one and two, with Jules Shepherd in first, and Olivia Farrugio in second. In the long jump, the Flucos were first and second with two of their successful runners topping the field. Lintecum was first and Payne was second. In the triple jump it was Allen in first with a distance of 32:00.00. Nevaeh Hill was second.
In the discus throw, Fluco Delaney Reed was way out in front. Her throw of 97-05.50 was huge. Second place went to Fluco Khariah Davis, who out threw the Orange competitors by a wide margin. In the shot put, it was Fluvanna in first and second again. Davis took first by a solid margin with a throw of 32-11.00, while Elle Dudzic took second. Not surprisingly, the Fluco girls won both relay races.
Coaches Steve Szarmach and Rose Brogan said, as would be expected, that they have a number of athletes who have posted performances that are State qualifying. On the boys’ side, Hartzog has State-qualifying throws in discus and shot. Reid has a State-qualifying time in the 110-meter hurdles. Ethan Yancey is State-qualified in the pole vault, while Cameron Holland is qualified in long jump. The 4X100 relay team of Prophett Harris, Christian Holland, Martin and Eddings is State-qualified as well. For the girls, Wilson and Ashlee Pieno are both State-qualified in pole vault.
