Then, after what seemed like an eternity of waiting, a miracle happened. The girls looked up in disbelief as the announcer stated that the Lady Flucos had finished in fourth place, and thus clinched a spot in the state final.
“It was definitely unexpected,” said senior Stephanie Bossong who thought her high school cross country career was over. “When they announced that we finished fourth, everyone freaked out. It’s a great way to end my last season of cross country.”
“First of all this is historic. We’ve never taken a team to states and they are the beginning of a new tradition for Fluvanna cross country,” said Coach Rose Brogan.
The team cannot wait for their chance to run at the state meet at Great Meadows on Nov. 10. “I’m just going to enjoy the moment with my team and trust my training from the season,” said junior Nicole Douma, who was the team’s top runner.
The boys’ cross country team will also be represented at the state championship, as senior Chris Markham advanced from regionals. “It’s been an amazing season, I wouldn’t want to go out any other way,” said Markham, who set a personal record at the regional championship.
While it may seem like a longshot for either group to place at the state championship, it’s already been proven that for this year’s Fluco cross country team, anything is possible.
Volleyball
High hopes came along with the Fluco varsity volleyball team going into the season. With the new school, new gym, and new team, the Flucos looked to keep the old tradition of winning–and they did just that. The Flucos started the season with an almost perfect record going 5-1 in their first six games, finishing the season with a phenomenal 15-3 record. In all games, the Flucos played hard all throughout the season, but even harder in the post-season.
In the Fluco’ first match-up of the Jefferson District on Oct. 31 the team faced Monticello, who they had beaten in the regular season. Nothing changed in district play, as the Flucos cruised to a victory over the Mustangs 3-0, advancing to the finals against Powhatan which had defeated Western Albemarle to advance.
“We treated the game like any other, doing our normal routine,” said senior Emily Shareff. But as the games crept closer, the girls’ nerves started to jump. “There is always some doubt going into a game, but we were confident since we beat them earlier in the year,” Shareff said.
As the match began, the Flucos started strong, but so did the Indians. Hannah Miller led the way in points in a tense, back and forth battle. At the end of four sets the score was knotted 2-2. The final set was the most important set of the season with all the hours spent in practice and all the high hopes come to the breaking point. Unfortunately, in the end the Flucos could not pull out the win, losing 3-2.
“I’m going to miss playing with all my teammates and best friends. I love them,” said Miller, who is graduating this year. Although the season ended and star seniors are graduating, hopes are higher than ever before with all the upcoming talent showing great promise for next year’s team.
All-district honors
On Nov. 4, coaches from throughout the Jefferson District gathered together to vote on which fall athletes would be named to the all-district teams. Congratulations to the following Flucos for earning these honors:
First team
Senior Hannah Miller, volleyball
Sophomore Maddy Kline, volleyball
Senior Devin Goode, football, LB, defensive player of the year
Sophomore Jalen Harrison, football, TE
Second team
Junior Emily Haden, volleyball
Freshman Kate Stutz, volleyball
Senior Jovan Burton, football, RB
Junior Josh Wheaton, football, OL
Senior Cody Childers, football, DL
Senior Joey Shaheen, football, DB
Sophomore RyQuane Washington, football, RS
