By Donald Heath
Special for the Effingham Herald
GUYTON – As a senior, South Effingham’s Ben Fluegel has begun to flourish as a long-distance runner.
Once running in the shadows of top Mustang runners, Fluegel’s personal-best time of 16:30.50 at the Three Rivers Cross Country Classic at Toombs County High School on Oct. 17 suggests he’s among the area’s best cross-country athletes.
Now Fluegel will line up again on the same course in Lyons on Saturday, hoping to turn in another good showing at the Class 5A Sectional 1 Cross Country Championships.
“We knew Ben could run faster but he didn’t have that sort of realization in himself,” SEHS cross country coach Brandon Howard said. “This year, he has really stepped up. Once he realized he could go faster, he kept going and didn’t look back.”
As the end of the cross-country season nears the finish line, Fluegel is the perfect example of a runner peaking at just the right time. His time in Lyons was 17 seconds faster than his previous best time in a 5-kilometer event this season.
Howard said the improvement came in part after running tough courses at Bleckley County and Statesboro. But ideal conditions and weather at Toombs County made for low times.
“Ben ran really well and the entire team set personal records, one runner had a season best. It was a phenomenal day,” Howard said.
The top 20 runners at Sectionals (which includes 30 teams from Region 1, 2, 4, 8) will earn a spot at the Class 5A cross country state championship in Carrollton on Nov. 8.
A runner can also qualify for state if his team places among the top 12 teams at Sectionals.
Also, the Sectional race serves as championships for the four competing regions. In Region 1, a competitive local matchup between Fluegel and Effingham County elite runners Theron Claridge and Joseph Esco is expected to unfold.
Claridge and Esco set their personal-best marks at Toombs as well. Claridge’s time of 16:33.1 broke the Rebels’ school record. Esco wasn’t far behind at 16:39.9.
In the girls’ portion of the race, ECHS’ Chloe Adkins, who ran a personal-best 19:08.2 in Lyons, could be destined for a high placement at Sectionals.
Freshman Natalia Melegari, SEHS top female runner, was ranked 16th in the Sectional. She ran a 20:10.08 at Toombs County.
Howard said the Mustang girls team, with three freshmen, a sophomore and a junior among its top scorers, will be hoping to advance as a team. Howard said he was encouraged by his girls after they scored a perfect team score of 15 points after placing runners 1-5 in a race at Wayne County last Thursday.
Saturday’s Sectional begins with the boys’ race at 8 a.m. followed by the girls at 8:45. Region awards will be presented at 9:30.
