For high school students, Saturdays usually mean sleeping in.  However, for the Flucos of the Swim and Dive team, there’s no such luck.  Their Jan. 11 meet at FUMA required them to be on deck and ready to compete at 8 am.  Despite the early rising, the Flucos earned some exceptional accomplishments.

For over four years in a row the girls’ 200 Meter Freestyle Relay has made it to States. So it wasn’t a shock when this year’s team qualified again.  The members of the relay team include senior and team Captain Alyssa McIver, junior Lauren Cabrera, sophomore Maddie Messier, and freshman Stephanie Nardone, who just joined the team and has already proven to be an excellent swimmer in all strokes. “Going to States my freshmen year is pretty exciting, especially with other teammates,” said Nardone.  She practices every day, with multiple practices twice a week.

As usual, the girls did their best to set the scene for successful race.  “We have a group huddle before the race and just encourage everyone to do their best,” said Cabrera.  “We give everyone tips on how to improve our race,” she added.  McIver was the lead for the relay, followed by Cabrera and Messier.  Nardone held the position of anchor and was responsible for bringing the relay to a strong finish and to recover lost ground if needed.  The girls’ plowed into the walls with a final time of 1:59.28, with .77 to spare for the state cut time of 1:59.99.  “The girls shaved about four seconds off of their 200 Free Relay—which is amazing—considering each girl needs to swim a 50 and it’s extremely difficult to drop time on that,” said Coach Connie Banton.  They also landed a spot to participate in the Virginia High School League State Championships which will take place Feb. 20-22 at Virginia Tech.

With a month until States, the girls’ have looked at possibilities for other races to swim in as well.  “We’re working on the medley relay,” said Cabrera, “and we’re four seconds away from it.”  Unlike the Freestyle Relay, the 200 Meter Medley Relay involves all four strokes (backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, and freestyle) with each member swimming 50 meters of one stroke in that order.  With all four girls being accomplished in each stroke, they are now trying to evaluate which stroke combined with which girl will give them a time that will qualify for another race at States.  “Now that we’ve already qualified in the free relay, we’re less focused on it and now we’re trying to get the medley,” said McIver.  For these girls, a quick four seconds is all that stands between them and another race at states.

“I couldn’t be more proud of them,” said Banton.  With each girl swimming sometimes multiple practices a day, with a combined total of 40 hours a week, and an impressed coach, they are sure to reach their goal.