Fluco track and field teams excel

By Duncan Nixon, Correspondent

The Fluvanna County High School boys’ and girls’ indoor track and field teams traveled to Lynchburg Dec. 8 to compete in a huge 26-school meet hosted by Heritage High.

The meet, which is held annually at the start of the indoor season, is known as the Wally Gilbert Invitational and is named for a highly successful former track and field coach at Heritage High.

The Fluco teams were extraordinarily successful. The boys’ team finished first and the girls’ team took second place. The girls’ team under Coach Rose Brogan had a number of athletes score points, and most were underclassmen.

The only first place finisher for the girls was sophomore Emily Beckman who won the 3,200-meter run by a wide margin. She finished in 13:03.47. The second place finisher in the race was 32 seconds behind. The only individual to finish in second place for the girls’ team was junior Amina Wilson in the pole vault. She vaulted over the bar at 10 feet.

Two Fluco relay teams also garnered second place finishes. The 4X800 team of Beckman, Brianna Parker, Hattie Lintecum and Emily Smeds, and the 4X400 team of Kieri Hart, Lintecum, Skylar Solga and Shea Hart were both second best.

Other top performers for the girls were sophomores Summer Craig, third in the 3,200-meter run; Anja Vernatter, fourth in the 1,000-meter run; Kailin Bower, fourth in the long jump; and freshman Olivia Farruggio, fourth in the pole vault. The Flucos finished in second by a wide margin. They accumulated 63 points while the third place finishers had 48.

The Fluco boys’ team under Coach Steve Szarmach turned in an amazing performance, scoring 91.5 points, while the second place finishers had only 61.0. The boys’ team did well in the track events and extremely well in the field competitions.

Senior Christian Holland was the winner of the triple jump competition by a mere three-quarters of an inch. Junior Ethan Yancy won in the pole vault with a vault that was best by a foot and a half. The Flucos were especially impressive in the triple jump. In addition to Christian Holland’s win, Colby Martin was third and Cameron Holland was fifth.

Martin was also second in long jump. Another second place finish in a field event was recorded by junior Eli Hartzog in the shot put. In the track events, the Flucos were extremely strong in the 55-meter hurdles. Ledric Reid was second, Jared Newman was third and Martin was fourth. Sophomore Troy Stephens took third place in the 3,200-meter run. Freshman Eric White was third in the 500-meter and senior Dante Eddings was fourth in the 55-meter dash.

With a huge number of schools competing, the Flucos posted high finishes in an amazing number of events.

The Fluco track and field squads will be back in action in January. They will participate in the Fred Hardy meet, another multi-school event, on Jan. 12. They will compete at Woodberry Forest Jan.18 and at Fork Union Military Academy Jan.22.