Fluvanna Sports in Review 3/8

Speech

The Speech team had an incredible Super Regionals Meet on March 2 in Waynesboro. All 18 Flucos who participated in the tournament placed and will move on to States, a new record for the team and their coach, Craig Edgerton. The following students placed in their corresponding category: senior Paul Nazari (1st in Humorous Interpretation); senior Trinity Haynes and sophomore Delaney Hammond (1st in Dramatic Duo); senior Justin Hamill and Hunter Shiflett (1st in Humorous Duo); junior Alex Pellicane (1st in Extemporaneous Speaking); sophomore Simon Skinner (1st in Storytelling); sophomore Maddie Scopelletti (1st in Poetry); senior Cameron Taylor (2nd in Dramatic Interpretation); senior Lily Dobrin and sophomore Hollyn Pleasants (2nd in Dramatic Duo); seniors Tess McCormick and Emily Sprouse (2nd in Humorous Duo); junior Danielle Sumner (2nd in Original Oratory); freshman Evie Benson (2nd in Prose); sophomore Allie Hanson (3rd in Dramatic Interpretation); sophomore Bri Ward (3rd in Poetry); freshman Caroline Fields (3rd in Impromptu).

When asked about her shared win in the Serious Duo category, sophomore Delaney Hammond said “My partner and I were working for the entire year. It felt rewarding to see all the hard work pay off.” Delaney and her fellow teammates will compete at the State tournament on March 30.

Boys’ Soccer

Under the direction of Coaches Earl Gibson and Jason Davis, the varsity team played their first game of the season, taking William Monroe on March 6 at an away match. The Flucos made an impressive start, beating their opponents 4-0, with juniors Brandon Lucas and Ford DeVault scoring two goals each.  “We’ve been rebuilding our team for a few years, so it’s nice to see that everything we’ve worked for has paid off for a win,” said Team Captain Kamden Shephard, captain of the varsity team.

Due to the cold temperatures and limited time to play, the game of the boys’ JV team (coached Chris Zema and Chris Holman) was postponed to a later date. Both teams will travel to play at Waynesboro on March 18.

Girls’ Soccer

On March 6, the varsity and JV teams played home games against William Monroe. The score for the varsity game was 1-0, with Fluvanna coming back with the win. “We’re doing really good so far this season with connecting passes. That’s something I’m personally working on, as well as working on my shots on goal,” said sophomore Kaitlin Bower. The team is being coached by former Fluco Kat Ditta, who is being assisted by Kristen Davis, Mark Engel, and Adryan Flores.

Due to weather, the girls’ JV game was also postponed to a later date. Mark Engel has returned as Head Coach, and is being assisted by Ditta, Davis, and Flores. Both teams will host Waynesboro at home on March 18.

Lacrosse

While both the varsity boys’ and girls’ teams had matches canceled due to weather on March 4, the weather cleared enough to enable boys’ varsity to play a home game on March 5 against Covenant, which has a much longer history of lacrosse as a sport. Covenant dominated the field, beating the Flucos 12-0. “We didn’t play well and we were missing many people, but we’re still working on getting better and developing as a team. Playing a hard team brought up what we need to work on,” said junior Caleb Stoltz. Varsity was scheduled to take on Powhatan on March 12, followed by a match at Patrick Hentry on March 15.

The varsity team is being coached by Steve Heritage, who is being assisted by Brian Wilberger and Eric Allen. The JV team’s coach is Eric Allen.

Girls’ varsity was scheduled for a meet against Powhatan on March 12, while both the varsity and JV teams will be hosting Patrick Henry on March 15. The varsity team is being led by Heath Hughes and Ashley Lenherr, while the JV team is being coached by Meridith Locascio.

Baseball

The varsity baseball team played a scrimmage at Madison on March 7, chalking up a strong start to the season with the Flucos winning 12-1. “I thought we hit well as a team, especially our new players, and we also pitched very well. Even though it is the first game of our season, we really came together and showed a lot of comradery,” said junior Tobias Sherman.

Planned home games on March 4 for both varsity and JV against Chancellor were postponed due to weather. They have been rescheduled to March 14.  The varsity team is being coached again by Joel Gray, with the help of Stacy Barringer, Chris Critzer, and Ryan Foster. Meanwhile, the JV team is being coached by Patrick Dieter and Josh Barringer.

Softball

Both the varsity and JV teams planned to start their season with home games against Chancellor on March, but they were postponed to March 14 due to weather. On varsity, 15 Lady Flucos are being coached by Tre Smith, Travis Bailey, and Jessica Holmes. On JV, 12 Lady Flucos are being coached by Alyssa Robbins and T. Beck.

Tennis

Under the direction of Coach Mitchell Pace and Assistant Coach Laura Chow, the boys’ team hosted a scrimmage against FUMA on March 7 where Flucos won 5-4. Of the five wins, two belong to sophomore William Ruffa. Scores of these matches were 7-5 and 6-1. “So far we’re doing really good with teamwork, but we still need to improve tactile play and groundstrokes,” said senior Eugene Chow.

The girls’ team, which is being coached by Feda Morton and Alina Ackenbom, had their first meet scheduled for March 11 at home against Waynesboro.