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Kicking off the new year, the Rockbridge County and Parry McCluer high school indoor track and field teams performed well at the East Coast Elite Meet on Saturday at Virginia Military Institute’s Corps Physical Training Facility in Lexington.
The competition was tough, with an expected total of about 1,500 athletes in attendance, making it the biggest meet in VMI history, according to meet cofounder Drew Ludtke.
For the RC girls, Deena Ludtke qualified by time in the 1600-meter run for the Region 3C meet, placing 21st in 5:39.15, a personal record (PR). Ludtke also finished 18th in the 1000meter run in 3:21.14.
The top performance for the RC boys came from Evan Roney, who placed sixth in the 1000-meter run in 2:41.32, just three seconds shy of qualifying for the New Balance National Meet. Roney had already qualified by time for the Class 3 state meet last month.
For the PM girls, Kyra Lee and Jasmine De Souza both had PRs in the 3200meter run. Lee placed 27th in 13:35.83, while De Souza finished just behind her in 13:40.5. It was the first time racing at the distance for Lee, a freshman, while De Souza, a junior, cut about 44 seconds from her best time last June.
Leading the PM boys was Kovyk Chandler, placing eighth in the 1600-meter run in 4:36.4, a PR. Chandler also recorded a PR in the 100-meter run, finishing 23rd in 2:48.66, running negative splits in both races.
Also running PRs were Chandler’s freshman teammates, Josh Cooper and Logan Wheelock. Cooper placed 53rd in the 1600meter run in 5:10.98, cutting four seconds off his time last month, while Wheelock finished 62nd in 5:15.94, improving by more than six seconds. In the 1000-meter run, Cooper came in 77th in 3:04.96, and Wheelock finished 99th in 3:10.72.
Also competing for the Fighting Blues was firstyear runner Teaghan Burns, a freshman who finished 84th in the 500-meter run in 1:59.65.
The Wildcats had several other impressive running performances. In the boys’ 1000meter run, Andrew Brannon placed 62nd in 3:00.54 and Brian Kendall finished 83rd in 3:06.55, both PRs. Jordan Imler came in 111th in 3:16.19. The RC boys cut five seconds off their best 4 X 800meter relay time, placing 11th of 22 teams in 9:07.85. Team members were Roney, Branndon, Imler and Kendall.
Konner Orebaugh finished 73rd in the 500-meter dash in 1:19.58. Other Wildcats competing in the race were Hunter Howald (76th, 1:20.04), Maddox Jordan (78th, 1:20.3) and Fisher Howald (92nd, 1:22.43). Hunter Howald led RC in the 300-meter dash, finishing 145th in 43.11 seconds. In the 3200-meter run, Jorge Martinez placed 54th in 13:07.74, a PR.
For the RC girls, Grace Rolon placed 26th in the 1000meter run in 3:24.9 and finished 27th in the 1600-meter run in 5:47.03, a PR by five seconds. Deborah Fashida placed 64th in the 55-meter dash in 8.29 seconds, while Melissa Mejia finished 143rd in 9.32. Madeline Swisher placed 50th in the 500-meter dash in 1:38.75 and came in 108th in the 300-meter dash in 52.13 seconds. Brooke Eichelberger placed 98th in the 300-meter dash in 51.21 seconds, and Lydia Kendall finished 140th in 55.38.
The top relay team for the RC girls was the 4 X 200meter relay team, placing 32nd in 2:10.18, a season-best time.
Bri Marando represented the RC girls in the shot put, placing 37th with a toss of 7.66 meters (25 feet, 1.5 inches).
For the RC boys, Benjamin Batis finished 58th in the shot put with a toss of 10.08 meters (33 feet, 1 inch).
All four PM throwers set PRs in the shot put in their first indoor meet. For the PM boys, sophomore Rayshan Richardson placed 63rd with a throw of 9.7 meters (31-10), and freshman Griffin Harlow finished 79th with a toss of 8.93 meters (29 feet, 3.5 inches), a PR by about 11 feet.
For the PM girls, both freshmen, Kamala Richardson placed 42nd with a throw of 7.48 meters (24-6.5), and Katey Shifflett finished 47th with a toss of 7.19 meters (237).
