Led by senior Kebryl Chandler’s individual victory, the Parry McCluer High School boys cross country team placed seventh at the Alleghany XC Invitational on Saturday at the Jackson River Sports Complex in Covington.
Chandler won by about 41 seconds, finishing the flat 5-kilometer course in 15 minutes, 4.4 seconds, breaking his own course record by nearly seven seconds. Last year, Chandler won in 15:11.11 to lead the Fighting Blues to the team victory. On Saturday, Eastern Montgomery junior Grayson Welcher placed second of 288 harriers in 15:45.64.
Praising Chandler, PM head coach Chris Poluikis said, “He had a great race. But there wasn’t too much of a pace pusher there. He ran hard, but it’s always a bit faster when you really have multiple people pushing at the top.”
Just under a minute behind Chandler was junior teammate Caleb Cooper, placing 11th in 16:02.56. PM’s third runner was junior Sebastian George, finishing 74th in 17:48.13, while senior teammate Sam Carpenter came in 107th in 18:13.52, a personal record.
“I really didn’t expect Caleb to be able to run under 16:30 for his first full all out race back,” said Poluikis. At the Blues’ previous meet, the Knights Crossing Invitational in Salem on Sept. 12, Cooper ran as a pacer for George. “These kids just come back into it so well, even after some injury.”
PM’s final three runners were sophomores Matthew Cooper (144th, 18:56.34), Victor Poluikis (266th, 26:13.35) and Seven Medina (284th, 26:32.96).
With mostly larger schools racing, the Blues scored 324 points. Broadway won the meet with 68 points, North Cross (126) placed second and Christiansburg (144) finished third. Rounding out the top 10 were Glenvar (216), Harrisonburg (227), Salem (242), PM, Hidden Valley (352), Stonewall Jackson (Quicksburg) (363) and Liberty Christian Academy (391).
Chandler will race this weekend at the exclusive Great American XC Festival this weekend in Cary, N.C. The meet is reserved for the elite runners from the East Coast.
The Blues will enter a long training block to prepare for the Virginia XC Showcase on Saturday, Oct. 17 at Pole Green Park in Mechanicsville.
