.jpg)
In their final competition prior to the postseason, the Parry McCluer High School cross country runners performed well at the Milestat.com XC Invitational on Saturday at Pole Green Park in Mechanicsville.
Racing just outside of Richmond, senior Kovyk Chandler ran in the Elite Boys’ Race, placing 26th of 350 harriers, completing the mostly flat 5-kilometer course in 15 minutes, 31 seconds. Chandler improved his time from the same meet last year by 36 seconds. The race, won by Butler’s Drew Griffith in 14:21, included runners from all six Virginia High School League divisions and out-ofstate competitors.
Reviewing Chandler’s performance, PM head coach Chris Poluikis said, “It was a great race from him, all things considered.”
In the Small School Boys’ Race, the five PM boys competing placed ninth of 31 teams with 346 points and an average time of 19:19.
North Cross was the winning team with 111 points, Saint Christopher’s (157) placed second, and Mathews (169) finished third.
The individual winner was St. Anne’s Belfield School’s Quinn Eliason in 16:24.
PM’s Kebryl Chandler placed seventh of 253 runners in 16:42 and was the only freshman to finish in the top 10.
Following Chandler was sophomore teammate Logan Wheelock in 21st place in 17:18, and sophomore teammate Josh Cooper came in 34th in 17:49. Freshman Sam Carpenter placed 92nd and, with a time of 19:20, was the only PM runner to achieve a personal record.
Sophomore Caden Mason was PM’s final runner, finishing 245th in 25:30.
Two PM girls competed in the Small School Girls’ race, won by Peninsula Catholic’s Alyssa Pongracz in 19:46. Senior Jasmine De Souza and sophomore Kyra Lee both finished in 22:06, with De Souza placing 36th of 169 harriers and Lee finishing 37th. Both girls improved on their times last year by more than a minute.
Proud of his harriers, Poluikis said, “All of the runners improved from their times from last year at this meet, and that just shows the progression that’s happening.”
The PM coach noted that weather was a factor on a lot of the runners. “The course deteriorated as the day went on,” he said. “It started raining around noon, and it probably impacted our times a bit.”
The Blues will prepare to play host for the Pioneer District meet, with Kovyk Chandler aiming for his third consecutive district title, at Glen Maury Park next Wednesday, Oct. 25, starting at 3:45 p.m. with the middle school race.
