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Just two weeks after winning the boys’ 3200-meter run at the Class 1 state meet, Parry Mc-Cluer High School rising senior Kovyk Chandler earned a medal by placing fifth in the elite boys’ 2-Mile National Elite run at the Adidas Outdoor Nationals on June 17 in Greensboro, N.C.
In a field of 18 runners competing at Marcus T. Johnson Track at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Chandler took advantage of temperatures in the mid-70s and finished in a personal-record time of 9:30.55. Winning the race was Ben Shields of St. Clairsville High School in Ohio, finishing in 9:20.05. The top six finishers received medals.
Also competing at the meet, taking part in the boys’ middle school mile run, was Kovyk’s younger brother, Kebryl. Shortly after finishing eighth grade, Kebryl placed seventh of 43 runners in a personal-record time of 4:50. The winning time was 4:33.03 by Jackson Miller (unattached).
Early on in the 3200, Kovyk settled into the middle of the pack, finishing the first lap in 11th place, before gradually passing runners. “I slowly picked off people, and I covered ground to make sure no one got too far ahead,” he said.
Kovyk finished the first 1600 meters in 4:41 and completed the second 1600 meters in 4:47.
With one lap to go, Chandler was in seventh place, so he picked up his pace and passed two runners, finishing the final 400 meters in 66 seconds.
Kovyk’s time on the 2-mile distance, 18 meters longer than the 3200-meter run, was an improvement from his time of 10:04.16 in the 3200 at the Class 1 state meet on June 3 at James Madison University.
His personal record in the 3200 is 9:31, a school record, which he set on May 6 at the Dogwood Track Classic at the University of Virginia. In Greensboro, Chandler’s official time through 3200 meters was 9:27.62. “I was super happy by that,” said Chandler. His time in Greensboro was not officially a school record since the meet was not sanctioned by the Virginia High School League or by PM.
PM head track and field and cross country coach Chris Poluikis said this meet was a good opportunity for Kovyk to run a really fast time, as he wasn’t able to run as fast at the state meet.
Poluikis, who is optimistic that the PM boys will have at least five runners to compete as a team in cross country this fall, has high hopes for Kebryl as the younger Chandler prepares to start his high school career. “Kebryl’s looking to make an immediate impact,” said Poluikis.
Both Chandlers are doing summer cross country workouts to prepare for the fall season.
