Six Parry McCluer High School individuals and two relay teams are headed to the Class 1 state track and field meet this weekend.
The Fighting Blues advanced by placing in the top four at the Region 1C meet on Tuesday of last week at Eastern Montgomery High School in Elliston, or by qualifying by time or throwing distance.
In the team standings, the PM boys placed fourth of 12 scoring teams, tallying 62 points. Auburn, the top contender for the state team title, won the meet with 221 points. Eastern Montgomery (120) placed second, and Narrows (64) finished third. Rounding out the top five were PM and George Wythe (40).
PM senior thrower Griffin Harlow advanced in both the boys’ shot put and discus. He placed third in the shot put with a toss of 51 feet, 5 inches, trailing only Auburn’s Kobi Bonds (62-1), a Virginia Tech signee, and Realigh Brown (53-4). In the discus, Harlow placed fifth with a personal-record (PR) throw of 142-2. Bonds also won the discus, with a heave of 166.
PM throwing coach Danny Cole said that with a great day Harlow can place second in the shot put at the state meet, behind Bonds. At last year’s state meet, Harlow placed third in the shot put and eighth in the discus. Harlow has battled a back injury all season and has to take days off during the week to rest and do rehabilitation stretches with the Blues’ trainer, but Cole said, “He is making progress and at the right time. Hopefully, his determination to succeed will pay off.”
Wrapping up his throwing career was PM senior Brenden Holdren, who placed seventh in the shot put with a PR toss of 439.5. “Unfortunately for Brenden, our region is stacked with what probably will be the top four or five throwers in the state,” said Cole. “If not for that and if we were in any other region, there’s no doubt in my mind that Brenden would be in the state meet.”
Leading the PM runners was junior Kebryl Chandler, who won the boys’ 800-meter run in 1:56.7, breaking his own school record of 1:58.35, which he set in late March at the Blacksburg Invitational. Eastern Montgomery’s Grayson Welcher placed second in 1:57.47.
Also stepping up in the 800meter run was PM senior Josh Cooper, placing third in a PR time of 2:00.38. Sophomore Caleb Cooper, Josh’s younger brother, finished seventh in 2:09.11.
PM senior Logan Wheelock continued his strong recovery after suffering a stress fracture in his foot in the Blues’ winning 4X 800-meter relay at the Class 1 state indoor meet in early March. At the regional meet, Wheelock placed third in the 1500-meter run in 4:36.04 and fifth in the 800-meter run in 2:04.38. PM head coach Chris Poluikis said Wheelock’s recovery “is going much better than we anticipated. He’s doing phenomenally.”
Representing the PM boys in the 3200-meter run was junior Sam Carpenter, who placed second in 10:49.99, just two seconds shy of his PR. EM’s Spencer Sisson won in 10:19.02, and Giles runner Jaxon Mayer finished third in 10:52.2. Praising Carpenter, Poluikis said, “He ran a great race.” The conditions, he said, were “unbelievably humid” and that Carpenter would’ve run a PR if that hadn’t been the case. The PM coach added that Carpenter’s finishing kick was impressive. “I thought that was the best race Sam’s ever had,” he said.
The Blues placed fourth in the boys’ 4 X 400-meter relay in 3:41.07. Team members were Chandler, Wheelock and Josh and Caleb Cooper. At the state meet, sophomore Sebastian George will team up with Carpenter, Josh Cooper and freshman Matt Cooper in the relay.
The PM boys had already qualified by time for the state meet in the 4 X 800-meter relay, so they didn’t compete in that race at the regional meet. Team members will be Chandler, Wheelock and Josh and Caleb Cooper.
Chandler, Wheelock, and Caleb Cooper will also compete in the 1600 and 3200-meter runs, while Josh Cooper will race in the 800-meter run.
Poluikis said that while Auburn’s deep team will be tough to compete against, the PM boys, who placed fourth at the state meet last year, are a strong contender for second place.
The state meet will take place on Friday and Saturday at the James Madison University Track and Field Complex in Harrisonburg. The PM boys will race in the 4 X 800-meter relay early Friday afternoon, just after the girls’ 4 X 800meter relay at 12:30 p.m., and Harlow will compete in the boys’ shot put. Saturday’s action will start with the 3200-meter races, with the boys’ race following the 9 a.m. girls’ race. In the second round of field events on Saturday morning, possibly going into the afternoon, Harlow will compete in the discus. The rest of the PM’s races will be on Saturday afternoon. The 1600-meter run will follow the 100-meter dash and 110-meter hurdles.
