Chandler 34th Of 284 Harriers Six Local Runners Compete At Foot Locker South Regional
Six local high school runners – four from Parry McCluer and two from Rockbridge County -- competed in the Foot Locker South Regional cross country meet to conclude the season on Nov. 30 at McAlpine Park in Charlotte, N.C.
The four PM runners were from the boys cross country team that won its second consecutive Class 1 state title just two weeks earlier at Virginia Tech.
Representing the Fighting Blues in the championship boys’ race was sophomore Kebryl Chandler. He placed 34th of 284 harriers, completing the 5-kilometer course in 15 minutes, 40.7 seconds -- an improvement of about 32 seconds from when he placed second in the freshman boys’ race last year. The winner of the boys’ race this year was Keegan Smith of Kingston, Tenn. in 14:58.1.
The course is mostly flat, but it has several hills, including a big one in the middle of the race.
Chandler, the runner-up in the Class 1 state meet last month, said his race in Charlotte “went OK. I went out too slow, so I ended up just trying to make up places the entire race. The time wasn’t great, but I think the effort was there.”
“I’m definitely happier with this year,” added Chandler, who finished with a group of runners. In the freshman race last year, he said he “was kind of in no man’s land the entire time, so this was a great change.”
Chandler’s teammate Logan Wheelock, who was PM’s second runner at the state meet last month with his fifth-place finish, earned a gold medal on Saturday by placing in the top 12 in the junior boys’ race. Wheelock placed fourth of 101 harriers in 16:32. Amos Kimble of Sistersville, W. Va. won the race in 15:58.2.
In the freshman boys’ race, won by Reid Bannister of Knoxville, Tenn. in 16:08.7, the Blues had two boys competing. Caleb Cooper earned a gold medal by placing 11th of 89 harriers in 16:48.1, and teammate Sebastian George finished 47th in 18:25.3.
All but Chandler were running at the Foot Locker meet for the first time.
“They were all solid races,” said PM head coach Chris Poluikis. “The course seemed to be pretty rocky, very hard because of lack of rain, and then it was bitterly cold.” He noted that times across the board were a little slower than they were last year.
RC had two runners in the boys’ sophomore race, won by Spencer Britton of Salem in 16:28.1. Leading the Wildcats was Tyler Ludtke, earning a gold medal by placing fifth of 103 harriers in 16:37.9. Teammate Oscar McClung followed in 39th in 17:41.4.
Reviewing his race, Ludtke said, “Competing in the Foot Locker South Regional race has to be in my top three races ever and definitely the best one of the season. I really liked the course, with a medium-sized hill about halfway through, and the nice run around the lake. I started in around 20th place at the 1-kilometer point. and then I started to pass people on the hill and, until the finish line, I continued to pass people. Overall, it was a very fun race.” Ludtke added that he got to do his cooldown with the winner, Britton.
Ludtke and McClung didn’t run cross country this fall, but both will practice and compete with the local East Coast Elite Club track and field team, coached by Drew Ludtke, Tyler’s father.
LUDTKE
