By Duncan Nixon
Correspondent
In close match-up with Western Albemarle, the Fluco boys track and field team relied on an extremely strong showing in field events to top the Warriors by three points and outscore 14 other schools for the Region 3C title in a meet held on Feb. 19 at Fork Union Military Academy’s indoor facility.
Boys’ Coach Steve Szarmach notes that he believes that this is the first time the Flucos have ever finished first in a Region 3C year-end meet. Leading the way for the Flucos was multi-sport freshman athlete Jaden Ferguson. Ferguson was named outstanding male athlete for the meet, as he recorded two first place finishes and one second place. Ferguson also played on the football team and is on the basketball team. In the long jump, Ferguson sailed 21-07 to best his teammate senior Cameron Holland who finish second, by just under three inches. In the triple jump (once known as the hop-step and jump), Ferguson’s distance was 43-08 which was more than a foot better than the second-place finisher. Holland also scored points for the Flucos in this event with a fifth-place finish. In the high jump, Ferguson cleared 6-04 for a second-place finish. Fluco Trace Harris was sixth in this event.
Another top performer in a field event for the Flucos was senior Eli Hartzog whose throw in the shot put was an amazing six feet better than the second-best throw. Coach Szarmach said that Hartzog has qualified for the Nationals in this event. Also scoring points for the Flucos in field events were, Jariq Hensen and Rob Holbrook who finished third and sixth respectively in the pole vault.
While the Fluco boys, scored very well in field events, they also picked up some crucial points in the track events. Ledric Reid finished first in the 55-meter hurdles, winning by more than three tenths of a second, a solid margin in such a short event. Also, Eric White took third in the 500-meter run. The Flucos also gained points by taking third in the 4X800 relay and fourth in the 4X400 relay.
On the girls’ side of the Region 3C meet the Flucos finished a respectable fifth. First place finishers for the girls were Emily Smeds in the 3200 meter run and Shea Hart in the 55- meter hurdles. Smeds finished in 12-27.71, winning by less than a second in a two-mile run. Hart’s winning time was 9.10 to win by 0.22. Others who gained points for the Fluco girls were, Hattie Lintecum with fourth place in the high jump, Amina Wilson with fourth in the pole vault, Carmen Smith with sixth in the shot put and Evelyn DeMers wirth sixth in the 500 meter. The Fluco girls also were in the top six in two relay races.
