Ten Individuals, Boys’ Relay Team Advance To State Meet
The Parry McCluer High School boys track and field team placed third of 10 scoring teams at the Region 1C meet on Monday of last week in Pearisburg, while the PM girls finished seventh of 12 teams. Nine PM boys advanced individually to the Class 1 state meet, while PM senior thrower Kamilah Richardson advanced for the girls.
The meet took place mostly in the rain at Giles High School.
The top four individuals and relay teams, as well as those qualified by time, distance or height, advanced to the Class 1 state meet.
PM sophomore Kebryl Chandler won the boys’ 800-meter run in 1:58.67, breaking his previous school record of 2:00.16, which he set in winning the state title last June. He took the lead from the start, with the help of junior teammate Josh Cooper, who entered the race just to pace Chandler in the first lap. Chandler won comfortably, with Eastern Montgomery’s Grayson Welcher placing second in 2:03.57.
Pleased with Chandler’s performance, PM head coach Chris Poluikis said, “We’ve been waiting for that kind of race for a while in the 800. About a week earlier, we prepped a little bit better for it.”
Also competing in the 800-meter run for the PM boys was freshman Hinckley Lovelace, finishing seventh in 2:17.59.
Before pacing Chandler in the 800, Cooper won the 1600-meter run in 4:37.9. The Blues took four of the top five spots in the race. Junior Logan Wheelock placed second in 4:40.62, while freshman Caleb Cooper, Josh’s younger brother, finished third in 4:40.79. Eastern Montgomery’s Spencer Sisson placed fourth in 4:42.06, and Lovelace came in fifth in 4:52.
The PM boys won the 4 X 400-meter run in 3:48.06, while Highland County placed second in 3:50.18. PM team members were Chandler, the Cooper brothers, and Wheelock. Instead of racing in the shorter relay, the PM boys will attempt to defend their state title in the 4 X 800-meter relay at the state meet.
In the boys’ 3200-meter run, PM freshman Sebastian George advanced to the state meet by placing fourth in 10:55.11, a personal record (PR). Battling illness, sophomore teammate Sam Carpenter missed the state meet by one spot, but he still ran a PR time of 11:01.4, finishing fifth.
PM sophomore Henry Lovelace placed second in the 110-meter hurdles, finishing in 18.28 seconds, despite falling at the end of the race. Auburn’s Isayah Hamann won in 16.85, and Giles runner Ryan French finished third in 18.92.
Leading the PM boys’ throwers was junior Griffin Harlow, placing second in the shot put with a toss of 51 feet, 8 inches, trailing only the winner, Auburn’s Kobi Bonds, whose top throw went 56 feet. Bonds won the discus with a heave of 1568, while Harlow finished fifth with a throw of 132-9.
Also advancing for the PM boys was senior Rayshan Richardson, placing sixth in the discus with a throw of 125-3. Richardson, who didn’t get a mark in the shot put, had already qualified for the state meet in the discus.
PM junior Brendan Holdren wrapped up a solid season by tying for ninth place in the shot put with a toss of 39-9 and finished 15th in the discus with a PR throw of 100-3. Junior teammate Levi Hepler came in 20th in the discus with a throw of 88-4.
For the PM girls, senior Kamilah Richardson won the shut put with a toss of 37-5, comfortably defeating the runner-up, Auburn’s Allyson Harrison, whose top throw went 34-4. Richardson placed second in the discus with a heave of 89-2 to qualify for the state meet for the first time, only trailing Harrison’s top throw of 105-7.
PM throwing coach Danny Cole said Richardson “once again had a strong showing” in the shot put. “Her surprise was finishing second in the discus.” Richardson won the state indoor title in the shot put in March.
Three other girls also threw for the Blues, but did not advance. Senior Keeli Wheeler tied for 13th place in the shot put with a toss of 24 feet and finished 15th in the discus with a heave of 61-4. “Her willingness to work and practice hard has been awesome, and I will miss her,” said Cole.
PM senior Presley Austin placed 13th in the discus with a heave of 64 feet and finished 18th in the shot put with a toss of 23-4. “Presley remained consistent throughout the year and, with some offseason work, she should begin seeing some finals her senior year,” said Cole.
Sophomore Phoebe Wood, who balanced throwing with playing tennis this spring, placed 16th in the discus with a throw of 61-2 and came in 22nd in the shot put with a PR toss of 22-9.
In the team standings, the PM boys scored 82 points, trailing only winner Auburn (194) and runner-up Narrows (136.5). Rounding out the top seven were Eastern Montgomery (81), George Wythe (46), Giles (36) and Craig County (34.5).
With just four girls competing, the Blues scored 18 points to place seventh, a spot ahead of Fort Chiswell (16). Auburn won the girls’ meet with 203 points, Narrows (105) placed second, and GW (86) finished third. Completing the top six were Giles (81), Grayson County (53) and EM (36).
The Class 1 state meet will take place on Friday and Saturday at the James Madison University Track and Field Complex in Harrisonburg. Races and field events will start at 12:30 p.m. on Friday and at 9 a.m. on Saturday. Last year, the PM boys had their highest finish in program history, placing second, while the PM girls finished 24th, with just three individuals competing.
The PM boys will compete in the 4 X 800-meter run on Friday afternoon, and Henry Lovelace will race in the 110-meter hurdles. Also competing on Friday afternoon will be Harlow in the boys’ shot put and Kamilah Richardson in the girls’ discus.
In the second race on Saturday morning, after the girls’ 3200-meter run, Wheelock, George, Caleb Cooper and Hinckley Lovelace will compete in the 3200-meter run. Harlow and Rayshan Richardson will compete in the boys’ discus, and Kamilah Richardson will throw in the girls’ shot put.
In addition to racing in the boys’ 800-meter run, Chandler will join Wheelock and the Cooper brothers in the 1600-meter run. Josh Cooper will also race in the 800-meter run.
