PM, RC Athletes Compete Against State’s Best
Several athletes from the Parry McCluer and Rockbridge County high school track and field teams performed well at the prestigious Dogwood Track Classic on Friday and Saturday at the University of Virginia’s Lannigan Field in Charlottesville.
Leading the way was PM junior Kebryl Chandler, who won the boys’ 3200-meter run in 8:55.33, about a half-second shy of the school record he’d set two weeks earlier at ASICS Carolina Distance Carnival in Matthews, N.C.
After placing ninth in the 1600meter run in 4:13.08, Chandler didn’t have a lot of time to rest and was determined to take the lead early in the 3200 because he struggled to catch up with the leaders in the 1600. Chandler hammered the pace early on, finishing the first 800 meters in 2:10 before Jamestown’s Jonathan Grimm challenged him late in the race, but Chandler held onto the lead. Grimm placed second in 8:56.85.
It was Chandler’s third time breaking nine minutes in the 3200. “That’s very impressive,” said PM head coach Chris Pouliks. “This time, too, he did it while not being completely fresh.”
Poluikis said Chandler was “a little frustrated” after the 1600, when the pace lagged and he finished about six seconds behind the winner, Gainesville’s Trent Daniels, who crossed the finish line in 4:07.01.
Sophomore teammate Caleb Cooper ran in the fast heat of the 3200 and finished in 9:59.8, struggling to keep up his pace after running the first half of the race in about 4:41.
PM sophomore Sebastian George and freshman Matthew Cooper set personal records in the 3200, with George finishing in 10:36.27 and the younger Cooper crossing the line in 10:47.04.
PM’s lone thrower, senior Griffin Harlow, tied for 21st in the shot put with a toss of 47 feet, 0.5 inches, and finished 36th in the discus with a throw of 120-3. Harlow told PM throwing coach Danny Cole afterward that he was feeling more comfortable than in the past, with his back continuing to improve.
The PM boys tied for 28th place of 78 scoring teams, tallying 10 points. Churchland won the meet with 31 points, Forest Park (28) placed second, and Fluvanna County (27) finished third. Rounding out the top five were Jamestown (26) and Patriot (25).
Representing the RC girls individually were sophomore Ariana Mitchell and freshman Sarah Lewis. In the preliminaries of the unseeded girls’ high jump, Mitchell tied for seventh place, clearing 4-10. Lewis finished 79th in the preliminaries of the 100-meter dash in a personal-record time of 13.29 seconds. “Both had an amazing experience competing against the best athletes in Virginia,” said RC head coach Julie Tisone.
The RC girls placed 19th in the sprint medley relay, finishing in 5:15.62. Team members were Lewis, Mitchell and juniors Hannah Ivins and Emily Carroll, who “got a perfect 10 on her flip during the exchange from Sarah Lewis,” said Tisone.
The RC boys placed 19th in the distance medley relay in 12:02.9. Team members were sophomores Grant Swenty and Hudson Saunders and freshmen Jude and Luke Eichholz. Swenty set a personal record in running the final 1600 meters in 4:54.
The Wildcats will face Shenandoah District teams at Waynesboro on Thursday at 5 p.m. The Blues will compete in the Blue Demon Invitational on Saturday at Christiansburg High School, starting at 10 a.m.
