Swimming  

The Fluvanna County High School Swim and Dive team competed in their first meet of the season on Dec. 5 at Fork Union Military Academy. This meet was only a swim meet with no diving competition. The team competed against Orange, Louisa, Monticello, FUMA, and Goochland. The girls’ team came in first place with a total of 427 points. They beat Orange, the second place team, by 25 points. The boys’ team team came in second place behind FUMA.

One standout was junior Lydia Reynard, who placed first overall in the 50 freestyle and second place in the 100 butterfly. “My 50 freestyle felt really fast and I was really happy with my performance. I’m hoping to get a state cut for this event,” said Reynard. Reynard is also one of the top Fluco divers and is hoping to go to States for both swimming and diving. Next up for the Flucos will be a second meet at FUMA on Dec. 12.

Track

The indoor track team competed at their first meet of the season which was a “polar bear” mini meet hosted by the Flucos and involving Fluvanna, Orange and Powhatan. The girls’ team came in first place, with a couple of athletes already qualifying for States, including the 4 x 8 relay team–consisting of Saige Haney, Bridget Bossong, Jackie Rodriguez, and Bridget Bossong– and Matasha Martin in hurdles and long jump.

“It was relieving to qualify so quickly in the season because we don’t have to stress about it for the rest of the season and it allows us to have more time to focus on qualifying for individual events,” said Bossong. The team also had a lot of success in other events, including sophomore Haley Kennedy placing first place in the mile. “It was a nice and easy way to start the season,” said Kennedy.

The boys’ team did not have as much luck as the girls, coming in last place, but they are still looking forward to the rest of the season and hoping to make improvements. One standout was junior Jake Morris, who got second place overall in shot put. “I plan on training hard by getting stronger and working on my form,” said Morris after the event. The next meet was away at FUMA on Dec. 8.

Ace

On Dec. 2, the Fluco ACE team traveled to Louisa where they competed against Western, Albemarle, and Charlottesville. The Flucos beat Charlottesville and Western but lost to Albemarle. Currently, the Flucos are second in the district. “We have a very strong team and we are looking forward to conference after break, hoping to do very well,” said Coach Jimmy Small. Their next event is Dec. 9 at home.

Basketball

The Fluvanna boys’ varsity basketball team kicked off their season Dec. 1 home against Turner Ashby. Seniors Nick and Chris Washington, Gavin Patrick, and Tyler Marshall were the captains for the evening. Although the Flucos dropped the game with a  score of 51-36, Nick Washington and Antonio Pelham led the Flucos offensively with 14 points apiece on four three’s coming from Washington. The two players accounted for 80% of the team’s points (28 of 35).”It didn’t go as planned. We struggled on offense. We didn’t play fundamentally sound and need more effort to compete,” said senior Kaleb James.

The Flucos returned to the court Dec. 4 at Turner Ashby for a rematch, but lost 42-33. The game was a nail-biter until the very end, with Nick Washington once again leading the Flucos on offense with 13 points.

The Flucos were back in action on back-to-back nights for the first time this year as they returned home against Fort Defiance on Dec 5. Once again, it was a disappointing evening for the Flucos, as they lost the game 52-33. Although a close game at halftime, the match turned when the Fort Defiance Indians turned up the pressure in the second half and outscored the Flucos. The boys will be back in action Dec. 8 at home against the Albemarle Patriots. They go into the game with a 0-3 record.

Meanwhile, the Fluco girls’ varsity basketball team played their first season game at Turner Ashby on Dec. 1, losing by a score of 38-22. “ We beat ourselves. If we stuck to how we play, we would’ve been alright. But for an opening game, we did alright,” said senior Tamara Lewis. The girls were back at it Dec. 5 at home against Fort Defiance. In a close game, the Flucos came out victorious for the first time this year to improve their record to 1-1.

Wrestling

The Fluco wrestling team had their first match of the season on Dec. 1 at Heritage, but were unable to come out victorious. “We did alright but we need to work harder in practice, pin hard and get things done,” said sophomore Cody Childs. According to Coach Jordan Divine, the best all-around performance came from freshman Ethan Vernatter.

On Dec. 5, the team traveled to Henrico High School for the 3rd annual Warrior Stampede, placing third out of 10 teams. In fourth place in their respective weight classes were Flucos Joe Pace, Caleb Staff, John Bland, and Mason Justus. Hunter Wiersma and John Russo came in third, while Esa Mayo-Pitts, Ian Dillon, and Jimmy Dillahunt placed second. Those interested in cheering on the Fluco wrestlers at home should mark the date of Dec. 16 on their calendars, as it will be the Flucos’ only home match.