PM’s Chandler Places Third In Knights Crossing
Taking on tough competition from several states, the Rockbridge County and Parry McCluer high school cross country teams competed well at the Knights Crossing Invitational on Saturday at Green Hill Park in Salem.
The RC boys had teams in two races, with the Wildcats placing seventh of 49 teams in the more competitive Red race. In the White race, the RC boys finished 14th of 20 teams. The PM boys placed 20th in the Red race, and the RC girls finished 36th of 38 teams in the Red race.
The flat 5-kilometer course is the location for the state meet. The PM boys won their third consecutive Class 1 state title there, while the RC boys placed second in the Class 3 state meet.
Many runners set personal records (PRs) at the meet, with the Wildcats setting 15 PRs. “Everyone had a really good meet,” said RC head coach Julie Tisone. “Knights Crossing is such a big, exciting meet. All of the runners are inspired to run their best times in that setting.”
In the boys’ Red race, the winning team was Cardinal Gibbons with 73 points. Blacksburg (93) placed second, Daniel Boone (118) finished third and John Handley (198) came in fourth. Rounding out the top 10 were Broadway (234), Dobyns Bennett (250), RC (317), Grafton (328), Christiansburg (332) and Riverbend (343). PM scored 546 points to crack the top 20.
The individual winner was Blacksburg’s Rivers Matthews, finishing in an impressive time of 14 minutes, 57.6 seconds.
Sammy Eastwood led the Wildcats, placing 40th of 409 harriers in 16:18.5. RC’s second runner was Leif Guse, finishing 47th in 16:23, and teammate Tyler Ludtke followed in 61st in 16:34.3. Wildcats after Ludtke were Grant Swenty (88th, 17:08.3), Lincoln Steele (91st, 17:11.3), Bede Eichholz (149th, 17:54.6) and Hudson Saunders (154th, 17:56.6).
Kebryl Chandler, the defending Class 1 boys’ state champion, led the Blues, placing third in 15:21.4. “Kebryl had a bit of a rough race,” said PM head coach Chris Poluikis. “He ran into some struggles at about the two-and-a-quarter mile.”
Fighting Blues Caleb Cooper (17:03.4) and Sebastian George (17:08) came in 82nd and 87th place, respectively. Poluikis offered high praise for both runners. “Seb had the race of his life,” said Poluikis. “He told me before the race he wanted to beat 17:30. I thought it was ambitious, but he smashed it. It was also Caleb’s first race back, and we wanted him to pace Sebastian, and he did an incredible job.”
Similar to Caleb Cooper and George, Mathew Cooper (PR 18:49) and Sam Carpenter (18:51) finished close together in 206th and 208th place, respectively. PM’s Victor Poluikis finished 373rd in a PR time of 23:12.9. The Blues’ final runner was Seven Medina, coming in 397th in 25:41.3.
In the White race, the RC boys scored 434 points to place 14th of 20 teams. The top five teams were Blacksburg (44), Cardinal Gibbons (45), Daniel Boone (50), Harrisonburg (145) and Glenvar (212).
Blacksburg’s Henry Olsen won the race in 16:41.7.
Leading the Wildcats and placing 16th of 226 harriers was Jude Eichholz in 17:58.9. RC’s second runner was John-Francis Ayoub-Winder (139th, 22:26.5), while Harrison Edgar (143rd, 22:36.3) was the third Wildcat to cross the line. Wildcats after Edgar were Zach Hart (158th, 23:04.4), Nathan Friend (164th, 23:15.9), Asher Lawrie (199th, 25:55.9) and Henry Cline (222nd, 28:48).
In the girls’ Red Race, the Wildcats placed 36th of 38 teams, tallying 893 points.
Blacksburg won the race with 58 points, Cardinal Gibbons (73) placed second, and Graft (92) finished third. Rounding out the top five were Green Level (124) and Turner Ashby (208).
The individual winner was Kaitlyn Estep of Cardinal Gibbons in 17:09.5.
Leading the RC girls was Reagan Imler, placing 76th of 340 harriers in 20:44.9. RC’s second runner was Isabel Tubb (158th, 22:33.6), while teammate Hannah Ivins finished 254th in 24:49. The Wildcats’ final two runners were Audra Roney (277th, 25:40.9) and Elizabeth Margalus (281st, 25:43.8).
The Wildcats will travel to Cary, N.C. this weekend to race in the Adidas XC Challenge, which will take place on Friday and Saturday. They’ll have their only home meet next Wednesday, Sept. 23, when they play host to three other teams at Natural Bridge State Park. The Wildcats will honor their six seniors at 5:15 p.m., the girls’ race is scheduled for 5:30, and the boys’ race is set for 6:15.
PM’s next meet will be the Alleghany XC Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 26 at the Jackson River Sports Complex in Covington. “The Alleghany course is typically good for our times,” said Poluikis. “It’s flat, maybe a few meters short, and usually the first weekend with good weather.”
