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The Rockbridge County and Parry Mc-Cluer high school indoor track and field teams had strong performances at the Walt Cormack Memorial Meet on Saturday at Virginia Military Institute’s Corps Physical Training Facility in Lexington.
The highlight of the day for RC was junior Deena Ludtke’s state-qualifying time in the girls’ 1600-meter run, in which she placed 12th in 5:36.45, a personal record. “Deena took the three seconds she needed to qualify for states,” said RC head coach Jennifer Showalter. Lutdke also competed in the 1000-meter run, finishing 27th in 3:22.07.
For the RC boys, the top performance came from senior Evan Roney, who placed fourth in the 1000-meter run in 2:39.68, a PR. Roney had already qualified for the Class 3 state meet in the event in December. Showalter said Roney’s goal is to finish the race in 2:37.
The PM boys had two distance runners and a sprinter competing at the meet. In the 1600-meter run, Josh Cooper placed 44th in 5:02.65, and fellow freshman Logan Wheelock finished 48th in 5:06.55. In the 1000-meter run, Cooper placed 52nd in 3:04.31, and Wheelock finished 60th in 3:06.88. Both boys recorded PRs.
Also competing for the PM boys was freshman Caden Mason, who placed 66th in the 500-meter dash in 1:41.11.
PM head coach Chris Poluikis said it was a good meet “for them to get experience … It will help them get better as the season goes on.”
Poluikis rested his top distance runner, Kovyk Chandler, along with female distance runners Kyra Lee and Jasmine De Souza, to save them for upcoming meets.
The Blues also had four throwers competing at the meet. For the PM girls, Kamilah Richardson tied for 24th place in the shot put with a toss of 26 feet, 6 inches, a PR by more than two feet. “Kamilah had her best meet yet and continues to show improvement each meet,” said PM throwing coach Danny Cole. “It’s a great jump for her.” Katey Shifflett finished 42nd with a toss of 22-7.
Leading the RC girls’ throwers was Bri Marando, placing 17th in the shot put with a season-best throw of 27-4.
For the PM boys, Rayshan Richardson placed 45th with a throw of 33-5, and Griffin Harlow finished 65th with a toss of 25-1.5.
The RC boys had two throwers competing. Ben Batis placed 30th with a toss of 36-5.5, and Konner Orebaugh finished 58th with a throw of 30-3, both PRs.
Besides Roney, the RC boys had several other runners with strong performances. Andrew Brannon placed 42nd in the 1000-meter run in 2:55.22, a PR. In the 1600-meter run, Fisher Howald placed 58th in 5:28.36, and Dean Fafatas finished 61st in 6:12.92.
Orebaugh placed 54th in the 300-meter dash in 41.98 seconds, a PR, and finished 60th in the 500-meter dash in 1:21.35. Hunter Howald placed 54th in the 500meter dash in 1:19.28 and finished 56th in the 300-meter dash in 42.94 seconds, a PR.
Representing the RC boys in the 55-meter dash were River Hull (65th, 7.61 seconds) and Chase Reynolds (68th, 8.68).
The RC boys placed 15th in the 4 X 800-meter relay in 9:16.06 and 32nd in the 4 X 200-meter relay in 1:51.91.
Competing for the first time in the long jump for the RC boys, Jorge Martinez placed 44th with a leap of 16-2, and Maddox Jordan finished 47th with a distance of 15-9.25.
For the RC girls, Grace Rolon placed 18th in the 1600-meter run in 5:45.52 and finished 23rd in the 1000-meter run in 3:20.84, both PRs. Madeline Swisher came in 48th in the 300-meter dash in 49.35 seconds and finished 49th in the 500-meter dash in 1:38.78.
Representing the RC girls in the 55-meter dash were Deborah Fashida (50th, 8.25) and Melissa Mejia (57th, 9.69 seconds). In the 4 X 200-meter relay, the RC girls placed 29th in 2:05.25.
The Wildcats and Blues will travel to Lynchburg on Saturday to compete in the Bulldog Invitational, starting at 9 a.m. RC will play host for the Valley District meet at VMI next Thursday, Feb. 2, starting at 6:15 p.m.
