Fluvanna Sports in Review: March 3-7

Courtesy+to+Lifetouch

Courtesy to Lifetouch

Boys’ Soccer

Last season, the boys’ soccer team fell just short of advancing to Regionals, losing 2-1 against Charlottesville in the Conference Semi-Finals. However, many feel that this season could be one of Fluvanna soccer’s best in program history, as the Flucos have seven starters as well as their entire bench returning. Adding on to that are two very impressive freshmen, Ethan Allbaugh and Camden Shepherd, who are expected to make an impact immediately for the team.
“Last year, I knew we were going to be good, but I didn’t know how good we were going to be, winning 11 games. I was surprised, but now this year I’m only expecting better than what we have accomplished from last season,” said Head Coach Earl Gibson. Like all FCHS sports, the soccer team dropped from 4A to 3A and moved from Conference 23 to Conference 29 this year. Although they dropped down a division, the conference they are now in is only more competitive.
“Western is returning a lot of people from last season that are very good and Waynesboro has a player playing at Virginia Tech next year, but I believe we are right in-line with those teams. Last year we proved that we can beat anyone and win on a consistent basis, and we have nine seniors on the team and a lot of us have played together since elementary school,”, said Senior Captain Carter Allbaugh. “This is our last year together, so I know we are going to work hard and make the most of it and hopefully it pays off with a conference championship and further on,” said Allbaugh, who has committed to play soccer at JMU next year. The Flucos have a scrimmage at William Monroe on March 8, and their first home game will be against Spotswood on March 22.

Girls’ Soccer
Along with the varsity boys’ soccer team, the varsity girls’ soccer team has high expectations this year, looking to head to Regionals for their 3rd consecutive season. They returned nine starters and all of their substitutes from last season. “I’m so excited for this season. This is my 3rd year on the varsity team playing center mid, and I have advanced to Regionals the previous two years. I don’t plan on anything different for this season,” said Junior Lindsay Price.
Although they are returning the majority of their team, they did lose their starting goalie of four years, Morgan Symmers, who has furthered her soccer career at George Mason University. The role of goalie has now one to Sophomore Julian Stutz who played her two previous seasons on the junior varsity team. “I think we have potential to have an outstanding season. We are all familiar with how each individual plays since the majority of us are returning,” said Senior Katie Stutz. They have a scrimmage against William Monroe on March 11 and will host their first game on March 18 against Spotswood.

Indoor Track/Outdoor Track
The Fluvanna indoor track team just completed an impressive season, bringing eight people to States at Liberty University. At States, the relay team– consisting of Bridget Bossong, Jackie Rodriguez, Kristen Cabrera and Saige Haney– placed 5th. “As a senior and this being my last indoor meet ever, I was very satisfied with how we went out and [were] named All-States. I had so much fun being with my teammates and getting better over the season. I will miss all of them a great amount,” said Bossong. Avery Haislip and Erin Blackburn placed 4th and 5th at States in Pole Vault while Keegan Campanelli placed 4th for Pole Vault. Matasha Martin had a very eventful weekend, placing 2nd in hurdles, 3rd in long jump and 4th in high jump. Kristen Cabrera placed 6th in the 1600 and both Cabrera and Martin were named All-State in their events.
Now that indoor track is finished, everyone is moving to outdoor track, except for Campanell who will be playing tennis. “We always have a lot more people coming out for outdoor track, so it’s more competitive. I’m really looking forward to it,”, said Cabrera. With great new additions in Alex Daniels and Autumn Shepard, the Flucos are looking to bring more people to States and will begin their outdoor season on March 21 at Battlefield High School.

Speech Team
The Fluco Speech team won the VHSL 3A West Regionals on March 5 at Hidden Valley, while Hidden Valley placed 2nd and Rockbridge placed 3rd. The following FCHS students are headed to States: Jonathan Corbin, 1st in Extemp; Madison Stafford, 1st in Storytelling; Jeremy Swartz, 1st in Humorous; Savannah Forren and Savannah Nelson, 2nd in Serious Duo; Kate Moncure, 2nd in Storytelling; Andrew Guess, 2nd in Original; Thao Nguyen, 3rd in Original; Nikola Bajs, 3rd in Impromptu; Dominique Smith, 3rd in Dramatic; Anthony Cruz, 4th in Humorous; Caitlin Taylor, 4th in Poetry; and Alex Logan and Caden Koslowski, 4th in Humorous.
“Not only advancing to Regionals was awesome but winning Regionals as a team couldn’t have made me anymore satisfied then I was. I’m looking forward to States and hope we find the same results there as well,” said Sophomore Caden Koslowski. Corbin was one of two students with a perfect score out of 10 categories and 80 students. States will be on April 2 at Clover Hill High School.

Baseball

The 2016 boys’ baseball team kicked off their season with a scrimmage on March 8 at FCHS. Last year’s team made it to the Conference semifinals, then lost to Amherst. The 2015 ball club lost nine seniors and most importantly, a catcher, a key loss since a catcher makes everything run smoothly on the diamond.
But what this year’s team will lack in experience, Coach Bryan Searcy says he will look for improvement. “We just want to get better everyday and put ourselves in a position to win. If we do that enough, we’ll take care of the goals for the team, such as winning the championships,” said Searcy.
Meanwhile, the JV boys’ baseball team– under the direction of Coach Joel Gray who is in his second year as JV head coach– is looking very promising this season since the players coming up from the middle school didn’t lose a single game last year.

Softball
The varsity softball team started off their season with a scrimmage at home on March 8 against Goochland. They are coming off a successful 2015 season with 20-plus wins and being just one win away from States. Since then, they have lost 10 seniors and junior Analiese Kennedy, who was pitcher of the year in their conference, but left a year early to play D1 softball.
As a result, the 2016 ball club has their work cut out for them this year. “At first I was a little nervous because of how many seniors we lost, but the team looks really strong this year and I’m really excited for the season,” said junior outfielder/pitcher Cassie Kingsley. They will be coached by Darren McCauley and Chris Birckhead.
The JV girls, under the direction of Coaches John Smith and Erika Whitten, also started their season playing at Goochland in a preseason scrimmage.

Boys’ Lacrosse
Under the direction of new head coach Steve Heritage, the boys’ lacrosse team started their season with a scrimmage at Tandem on March. 8. The Flucos struggled last year, only winning one game, but they do have star attacker Joel Kesterson, who will be playing lacrosse at Randolph Macon next year. “ I’m really excited for the team we have and a new coach. Our hard work will keep us in games this year,” said Kesterson. Their first in-season game will be March 18 against FUMA.

Girls’ Lacrosse
Coached by returning coaches Heath Hughes and Craig Conner, the varsity girls’ lacrosse will also play Tandem at home on March. 8. The Flucos are coming off an up-and-down 2015 season with a 1-11 record. One positive is that leading scorer Courtney Ott will be returning for her senior season. “I look forward to watching us develop as a team and I’m really excited for the talent we have to offer,” said Ott.
As for JV, they started the season with a game at E.C Glass on March 10. The JV girls had a decent season record last year, but are looking to improve. The JV team will also be coached by Craig Conner and Heath Hughes.

Tennis
Hoping to continue their successful ways from last year, the boys’ and girls’ tennis teams will return to the courts on Feb. 22. The boys will be competing under the tutelage of coaches Jason Barnett and Mitchell Pace. They are pleased to have retained their top two seeds from 2015, junior Nikola Bajs and senior Keegan Campanelli. They do have some new faces on the team this year, including a transfer from California, freshman Eugene Chow. Long-time Fluco resident Chris Kidd has also joined the team this year. “With the new additions to our team, I think we will be more consistent as the year plays out to stay in matches. This will help take pressure off the higher seeds,” said Pace. The first match will be home on March. 22 against Spotswood.
As for the girls, who will hope to have another positive season under Coach Feda Morton, they will also launch their 2016 season with a match at Spotswood on March 22.