Inside this issue:

FORK UNION VS. STC 2

FORK UNION VS. WFS 2

VIRGINIA MIDDLE SCHOOL 2

ALUMNI NEWS 3

ESTES CENTER - 25 YEARS 3

PHOTO GALLERY 4

FORK UNION TRACK AND FIELD NEWSLETTER

OCTOBER 2013

CHAMP TO CHAMP Julian Yescas became the second FUMA Cadet to win the Virginia Middle School Invitational. The other FUMA Champion is Peter Lomong, pictured above presenting Julian his medal.

LOMONGS THRIVE IN ELITE FIELD For the first time in four years FUMA Cross Country put a runner in the top fifteen at the always competitive Albemarle Invitational. And for the first time in six years the Blue Devils had two individuals earn top fifteen places at Panorama all thanks to the Lomong brothers, Peter and Alex. The overcast day produced near perfect conditions for the challenging course that fea-tured many of the state’s top ranked individuals. Both Alex and Peter got out well and were with the lead pack for the first two miles. The field included two sub 4:15 milers as well as several State track champions. With a little more than a 1,000 meters to go, Alex Lomong remained in the top five but yielded to several upperclassmen in the final strides to finish seventh. Mean-while, big brother Peter fought off the pack to grab 15th and improve on last year’s time by 35 seconds. The rest of the developing team took to the line in the J.V. and 9th grade divisions. Leading the way for FUMA’s 16th place was Darvy Soignet and senior Hunter Doucette. Soignet navigated the course in 19:11 while Doucette finished in 20:39, nearly one minute better than the year before. With just four meets to go things are looking up for the FUMA harriers.

ALEX & PETER LOMONG PUT FUMA BACK IN THE MONEY AT

PANORAMA FARMS

Page 2 VOLUME 8, ISSUE 2

YESCAS DELIVERS A FIRST BOYD RUNS TROUGH PAIN

FUMA FINISHES 4TH

FUMA VS. WFS The Blue Devils rested the top three and trained through the week in preparation for the last two weeks of the season. The top finisher for the team was Junior Darvy Soignet in 19:02, followed up by 8th grade standout Scott Boyd. The biggest improvement came from junior Tom Davis, who finished in 23:44. Davis started the sea-son north of 27 minutes.

WFS 15—FUMA 48

STC VS. FUMA Friday afternoon at Hardy Cross Country Course provided a beautiful start to Parents Weekend 2013. The ideal tempera-ture ignited numerous personal bests for FUMA. The meet came down to the wire with the Saints edging out a 27-30 win. The final score served as proof to the tremendous improvement the team has made. Of the 18 entrants for FUMA, seventeen claimed per-sonal bests. Up front for FUMA, the Lomong brothers worked together to claim the top two places. Peter Lomong registered his first sub 16 minute performance at Hardy and finished just a step behind brother Alex. Julian Yescas was next up for the Blue Devils with a personal best 17:25. Darvy Soignet may have only improved by a second( 17:51) but he has proven to be a consistent warrior to the 2013 cause. Scott Boyd, just an eighth grader, produced his sec-ond sub 19 minute effort as did senior Hunter Doucette. Big for FUMA is the emerging group of runners who have consistently improved during the season. Aiden Williamson, Jared Cesar, Robert Hutcheson , Liam O’Brien and Ryan McEnroe now stand on the brink of being big contributors. However, no athlete has made as bold an improvement as Charlie Westmoreland. The senior from Richmond returned to FUMA this year and has drasti-cally improved on his 27:17 personal best from two years ago with a 20:39 clocking. One of the highlights of the day was FUMA long jumper O’Niel Combs’ participation in the meet. Combs stunned all involved with a 20:16 performance. 800 maybe?

The Virginia Middle School Invitational celebrated its tenth year with an inspiring win by eighth grader Julian Yes-cas. While Julian is the second FUMA cadet to win the race, he is the first member of FUMA’s Orienteering team to take the title. Yescas took control of the race early and used a sustained drive to the finish from about 900 meters out to top the 22 school field. Scott Boyd was up front early but suffered a bit in the unseasonably warm temps. However, the Middle School Battalion Commander found the strength to hold on and grab tenth place. The combination of Cross Country athletes and Orienteers proved to be a winning combination for FUMA as the group finished fourth, just a few points off the podium. The other winner on the day for FUMA was the varsity squad, which did a flawless job putting on the meet.

THE WINGED F Page 3

ALUMNI NEWS

ON THE HORIZON

25th YEAR OF INDOOR TRACK AT ESTES CENTER Hard to believe that this will mark the silver anniversary of the trailblazing venue known as the Estes Center. While the building won’t turn 25 until next October, the upcoming Indoor Track season will be the 25th edition. The Estes indoor track was the first of its kind in Virginia and unquestionably sparked the boom of the sport in the state. First meet this season—December 12th!

Please keep Donte Brown (FUMA 06) in your prayers as he is currently deployed in Afghanistan. Donte was the all important 5th man on the 2005 VPL and State Championship Cross Coun-try teams. Hurry home!

The government shutdown has taken its toll on Jeremy Haney (FUMA 08).

Avery Martin—25:11 8k

COACH BROWN FUMA BOX 278

4744 JAMES MADISON HWY FORK UNION, VA. 23055

FUMA TRACK AND FIELD NEWSLETTER

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