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The Parry McCluer High School track and field teams won four individual events at the Pioneer District meet on Monday of last week at Giles High School in Pearisburg, and 11 of their 12 athletes, including all of the runners, will advance to the Region 1C meet.
The top six individuals, as well as those qualified by time or distance, advanced to the Region 1C meet, which will take place today, Wednesday, at Giles, starting at 3 p.m.
In the team standings, the PM girls placed third of six teams, while the PM boys tied for third of seven teams.
Narrows won the girls’ meet with 184 points, Eastern Montgomery (107) placed second, and PM (47) finished third. Completing the standings were Highland County (43), Craig County (11) and Bath County (4).’
Atop the boys’ standings was Narrows (228), while EM (84) placed second, and PM (33) and Covington tied for third. Rounding out the standings were Highland (31), Craig (31) and Bath (4).
For the PM girls, freshman Kyra Lee won the 3200-meter run in 13:37.99. Teammate Jasmine De Souza placed second in both of her races, finishing in 2:45.44 in the 800-meter run and 6:02.44 in the 1600-meter run. De Souza had personal records (PRs) in both races.
Throwing for the PM girls were Kamilah Richardson, Presley Austin, and Keeli Wheeler. All three threw shot put and discus, and all three have qualified for regions, with Richardson already qualified by distance for the Class 1 state meet.
In shot put, Richardson won with a toss of 32-1. “Kamilah really showed us her stuff in indoor,” said PM throwing coach Danny Cole. “She made drastic improvements to reach that 32-foot mark, and I’m hoping to see another big jump as she throws in both the regional and state meets.” Wheeler placed fifth of 11 in shot put with a toss of 23-0.5 and Austin took sixth for 21.9-5.
In the discus, Richardson placed third out of eleven throwers with a heave of 73 feet, 8 inches, Austin placed fifth with a throw of 58 feet, and Wheeler placed sixth with a throw of 57-6. “Both Keeli and Presley beat throwers they hadn’t beaten before to get into regions,” said Cole.
Running for the PM boys were freshmen Josh Cooper, Logan Wheelock and Caden Mason, and all three runners qualified for the Region 1C meet in their events.
Cooper won the 1600-meter run in 5:10.97. In the 800-meter run, Cooper placed fifth in 2:29.2, and Mason finished sixth in 2:53.68.
Wheelock placed second in the 3200-meter run in 10:50.34, less than a second behind the winner, Eastern Montgomery’s Spencer Sisson, who finished in 10:49.67. “Logan was with him the whole race; it was just at the end when they both kicked where he was edged out,” said PM head coach Chris Poluikis.
Not competing at the district meet was junior Kovyk Chandler, who will compete in the 800-meter run at the Region 1C meet to give Cooper and Wheelock better chances of qualifying for the Class 1 state meet in the 1600-meter and 3200-meter runs. Chandler has qualified by time for the state meet at both longer distances.
Throwing for the PM boys were Rayshan Richardson, Griffin Harlow and Vincent Wilson. Richardson and Harlow both qualified for regionals, while Wilson did not.
Harlow won the shot put with a PR toss of 41-8.5, while Richardson placed sixth of 15 individuals with a PR throw 34-9. Wilson finished 10th with a toss of 32-5. “Griffin is continuing to throw personal bests, and I expect him to win many more meets in his throwing career,” said Cole. “Richardson is improving fast, too, and I’m looking for him to make some big throws going into regions.”
In the discus, Richardson, Harlow and Wilson placed sixth, seventh and eighth, respectively, out of 16 throwers. Richardson’s throw went 94-5, Harlow’s went 94-3 and Wilson had a mark of 89-5.
From the Region 1C meet, the top four individuals, as well as those qualified by distance and time, will advance to the Class 1 state meet, which will take place on Friday and Saturday, June 2 and 3, at the James Madison University Track & Field Complex.
