By Duncan Nixon
Correspondent
The Fluco girls were first and the boys were second at the Monticello High Quad meet held on Oct. 11 on a 5K course laid out behind the Monticello High School. This was the last scheduled meet of the season for the Flucos. The Fluco girls won the meet easily. Sophomore Ruby Frazier was the first-place finisher, followed by teammates Sophie Farley and Ana Amato who finished virtually together. Frazier’s time was 20:19.9. Farley came in at 20:40.4, a mere two seconds ahead of Amato. The Fluco team score of 25 was far ahead of the second-place team which came in at 53.
In cross country, in the team competition, the top five finishers count and the team score is determined by adding the finishing position of the top five runners on each team. Therefore, a team that takes the first three spots is not guaranteed to win the team competition. If that teams’ fourth and fifth finishers are far back in the pack, a team with five finishers in the top fifteen could have a lower team score than the team with the top three finishers. That was decidedly not the case in this meet, as the Flucos had two more top fifteen finishers, seniors Ariana Nolte and Kayla Kozella rounded out the top five for the Fluvanna girls, with sophomore Kate Best just behind Kozella.
In the boys race, the Flucos were beaten by the Black Knights from Charlottesville High. It was close, as both teams had five runners finish in the top 15. Fluvanna’s top five were recorded as 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10. Senior Ryder Petrylak was the first Fluco to finish. His time was 18:32.5. Sophomore Jack Jefferies was only three seconds behind Petrylak. The next three finishers for Fluvanna were seniors Zachery Butler and Jesse Woolstenhulme, who were followed by freshman Chase La Rochelle.
Coach Melanie Kennedy, who coaches both teams, advises that her runners are steadily improving with consistently better times. She is hoping that both the girls and the boys teams will qualify to run in the Region meet, something that has not happened in quite a while. The top three teams at the Jefferson District meet qualify for the Region meet. If a team does not qualify, some of its best runners may qualify to compete individually.
The Jefferson District meet is scheduled for Oct. 24 here in Fluvanna County at Pleasant Grove. Kennedy is hopeful that the girls and boys teams will both qualify for the Region meet on Nov. 1 that will also be held at Pleasant Grove. The Jefferson District meet will be a real mob scene.
