Blues, Wildcats Compete At Blacksburg Invitational
Parry McCluer High School junior Kebryl Chandler broke his own school record in the boys’ 800-meter run on Saturday at the Blacksburg Invitational, leading many strong performances by the PM and Rockbridge County High School athletes.
In the first meet of the outdoor season for the Fighting Blues, under the direction of 20th-year head coach Chris Poluikis, Chandler won the 800-meter run in 1:58.35, breaking his previous record of 1:58.67. Chandler had set the earlier record when he won the Region 1C title last May. Eastern Montgomery’s Grayson Welcher placed second in 1:59.82.
Chandler also won the 1600-meter run, finishing in 4:16.97, a facility record. Placing a distant second was Christiansburg’s Max Craig in 4:26.87.
It was another impressive performance for Chandler, who won the Class 1 state indoor titles in the 1600 and 3200-meter runs in early March and then competed at the Nike Indoor Nationals on March 14 at the Nike Track & Field Center in The Armory in New York City. At the Nike meet, Chandler placed 10th in the 2-mile run in 8:58.32, the fastest time by a Virginia runner.
Also competing on Saturday in the 1600-meter run for the PM boys, sophomore Caleb Cooper placed third in 4:31.98, sophomore Sebastian George finished 12th in 5:09.8, freshman Matthew Cooper came in 16th in 5:13.28, and freshman Victor Poluikis finished 25th in 6:42.12, a personal record (PR).
The Cooper brothers all set PRs in the 800-meter run. Josh Cooper placed fourth in 2:03.5, Caleb finished fifth in 2:04.36, and Matthew came in 16th in 2:16.39. Also setting PRs for the Blues were junior Sam Carpenter, placing 12th in 2:14.11, and George, finishing 15th in 2:16.08.
The PM boys placed fourth in the 4 X 400-meter relay in 3:51.79. Team members were Chandler and the three Cooper brothers.
There were three PM throwers competing. Senior Griffin Harlow led the way, winning the shot put with a toss of 48 feet, 9.5 inches and placing sixth in the discus with a throw of 129-1. PM throwing coach Danny Cole said Harlow is recuperating from a medical diagnosis on his back and has just started returning to more routine practices. Last year, Harlow placed third in the state in the shot put with a throw of 54-1.
“He continues to hurt, but the doctors are telling him that he can do what he can, so we’re hoping he can work his way back up to the distances he left off at the end of last outdoor season,” said Cole.
Also throwing for the Blues were seniors Brenden Holdren and Levi Hepler. Holdren placed seventh in the shot put (39-10) and 15th in the discus (PR 104-8), while Hepler finished 17th in the shot put (33-9) and 18th in the discus (98-7).
The Blues have no girls competing this spring.
Wildcats Do Well
For RC, it was “a very successful day,” said head coach Julie Tisone. The RC coach noted that all her runners set PRs, either because they were new runners or showed improvement. Tisone said the Wildcats didn’t have as many athletes as usual because some had left for spring break, but they were successful in the events in which they competed.
For the RC boys, freshman Jude Eichholz placed 13th in the 1600-meter run in 5:07.82 and 23rd in the 3200-meter run in 11:43.6. Other freshmen racing in the 1600-meter run for the Wildcats were Luke Eichholz (18th, 5:24.44) and Ahser Lawrie (24th, 6:32.16).
Representing the RC boys in sprints was freshman Jhordane Campbell, placing 24th in the 400-meter dash in 1:03.35 and 63rd in the 100meter dash in 13.27 seconds.
Leading the RC girls was junior Abigail Harding, placing fourth in the 100-meter hurdles in 17.44 seconds, qualifying by time for the Region 3C meet, and finishing 15th in the long jump with a leap of 14-0.75.
In the girls’ 1600-meter run, RC freshman Reagan Imler placed fifth in 6:17.93, and she was followed by senior teammates Kate Holston (ninth, 6:38.4) and Dorothy Lewis (11th, 6:52.02).
The Wildcats had a pair of freshmen in the girls’ 100meter dash, with Sarah Lewis placing ninth in 13.5 seconds and Keziah Howard finishing 29th in 14.76.
RC junior Hannah Ivins placed 17th in the 400-meter dash in 1:17.21, while junior Emily Carroll finished 13th in the long jump with a leap of 14-2.75.
The RC girls placed third in the 4 X 800-meter relay in 12:07.96 and finished fourth in the 4 X 100-meter relay in 54.53 seconds, two seconds faster than last year’s team’s best time. Team members in the shorter relay were Carroll, Harding, Howard and Lewis.
RC’s lone thrower was junior Vaelen Drake, placing 25th in the girls’ shot put with a toss of 18-6.
The Wildcats will compete in the Zack Broadaway Invitational on Saturday at Turner Ashby High School in Bridgewater.
The PM throwers will travel to Midlothian to compete in the Kellie Wells Classic at James River High School on Saturday. The runners will prepare for the Carolina Distance Carnival next Friday and Saturday, April 17 and 18, in Mathews, N.C.
