Volleyball

The Fluvanna County varsity volleyball team completed their run at a perfect regular season on Oct. 30, finishing with an outstanding record of 21-0, a feat which has never been accomplished in the history of Fluvanna volleyball.  The Flucos came into the final week of Jefferson District play with a record of 19-0 and their eyes set on beating Charlottesville and Western.  Their first game, on Oct. 28 against Charlottesville, doubled as Senior Night and featured seniors Maddy Kline, Leslie Walters, Tiffani Shaheen, and Kylee Dixon walking across the court for their final regular season home game.

“I felt really emotional because it hit me that I was a senior and that I don’t have much longer with such a great group of girls,” said Shaheen.

The Flucos took care of business quickly, beating Charlottesville in three sets and raising the excitement to a whole new level.  “We didn’t know we were making history. We just knew we were playing another game and having fun,” said senior Leslie Walters.  Two nights later, the girls came out strong against Western, taking it easy in the first set, but then coming back for seven straight points to win the second.  They didn’t look back in the last set, and finally celebrated perfection in the District.

“It feels wonderful.  The girls worked hard all season for it,” said Coach Christi Garrett.  The Flucos now have to prepare for the next step in their unbelievable season, which is winning States.  To win a state championship means to be physically and mentally better than the opposing team, and that’s exactly what Fluvanna will be working toward.  “We’re preparing to play our game no matter what,” said Garrett.

Fluvanna will host the winner of Harrisonburg and Louisa for the Conference 23 semifinals on Nov. 5. Should they win that game, they’ll play at home on Nov. 6.  The volleyball team has great support and the fans will be supporting them until the end as they try to make history and a memorable season complete.

While not in the same spotlight as varsity, the JV volleyball team concluded their own successful season last week, beating Charlottesville and losing against Western to finish 18-5 on the year.

Football

With the season winding down, the Fluvanna County football team traveled to Charlottesville High School on Halloween.  The Flucos came into the game with a 1-7 record (0-6) but hoping to end their season on a positive note.  “We were looking to get our first District win,” said sophomore running back Mark Grooms.

The game started out with a competitive edge, with Charlottesville leading after the first quarter 12-7 thanks to a pair of touchdowns for CHS and Fluco Alec Turley’s 35-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown.  The Flucos went down 18-7 at the half and 27-7 in the fourth quarter before Markyll Bland returned a fumble for 80 yards to the house.  That put Fluvanna at 1-8 and in last place in the District, a fact that won’t stop them from preparing hard for their Nov. 7 season finale with the Western Warriors, who are 7-2 and looking for high rankings in the post-season.

Nevertheless, Fluvanna is hoping to spoil that goal for the Warriors. “We’ll try to contain Sam Hearn and their explosive offense and hopefully pull off the upset,” said Grooms.  In addition to it being Senior Night, the Nov. 7 is a good night to keep your eyes on Macen Dahl, the leading receiver in the region, who is chasing a record of 1000 yards which will require a big 143-yard game to reach.

As for the JV team, they played to a 12-8 loss against Charlottesville on Oct. 29, followed by their final game against Western.

Theatre

The Fluco Theatre cast began their competitive season on Oct. 24-25 as they traveled to Virginia Beach to attend the Virginia Theatre Association (VTA) competition.  Performing Shakespeare’s “Midsummer Night’s Dream,” the Flucos received an Honorable Mention, a “Best Mechanicals” ensemble award, and an “All Star State Cast” medal for senior Zach Dobrin.  “It was our first time participating in VTA,” said Theatre teacher Craig Edgerton.  “There were over 2800 people in attendance, and over 60 high schools performed.  There were 6 State Finalists and 8 Honorable Mentions awarded,” he added. The cast also performed at the VHSL Conference 23 Festival on Nov 1 at FCHS.

Boys’ Cross Country

The strong season continued for the boys’ cross country team at the Conference 23 meet on Oct. 29 at Kernstown Battle Park in Winchester, VA. The team had two top finishers: Travis Moe came in 3^rd place, while Andy Guess came in 13^th. “The hardest part of the race was when we went up a huge hill twice,” said Moe. Meanwhile, Guess had his own complications to deal with. “During the end of the race, my shoe came off and I had to run without a shoe,” he said. Overall, the team did well, giving Coach Casto high hopes that at least some team member will move beyond Regionals. “We should get one [runner] to State, maybe two, but I don’t think the whole team will,” he said. The cross country team will move on to the Region 4A north championship meet on Nov. 6 in Winchester.

Girls’ Cross Country

Capping off an impressive regular season, the girls’ cross country team came in 1^st at the Conference 23 championship on Oct. 29. The team had six top finishers making All-District: Peyton Olinger (11^th place), Sarah Spitler (9^thplace), Saige Haney (8^thplace), Haley Kennedy (5^thplace), Hayley Kline (3^rd place), and Kristen Cabrera (1^st place). Like the boys, many of the girls found the hills on the course highly challenging. “Going up the mountain was the most difficult part of the race,” said freshman Sarah Spitler, “but I got a time of 21:14, which was really good.” Kristen Cabrera, who has had a spectacular season on the team, said that “the mountain was the worst part of the race. Going up twice was a challenge.” She added that “It was a hard race [but] I’m proud of the whole team. We look forward to Regionals.” The girls will be at Regionals on Nov 6. in Winchester.