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Monday, Oct. 30 – Led by individual winner Kovyk Chandler, the Parry McCluer High School boys cross country team won the Region 1C title on Monday evening at Blacksburg High School, while PM sophomore girl Kyra Lee also advanced to the Class 1 state meet.
The PM boys scored 45 points, while Eastern Montgomery placed second of six teams with 54 points, and Auburn (67) finished third. The Blues had beaten EM by one point for the Pioneer District title last Wednesday at Glen Maury Park in Buena Vista.
The top three teams and the top five individuals outside of those teams advancing to the state meet.
Chandler, a senior, completed the hilly 5-kilometer course in 16 minutes, 39.3 seconds to repeat as the regional champion. His younger brother, Kebryl, a freshman who won the Pioneer District title, placed second of 51 runners in 16:52.2. Eastern Montgomery’s Spencer Sisson finished third in 17:14.4.
PM’s third finisher was sophomore Logan Wheelock, who placed seventh in 18:14.7, and sophomore teammate Josh Cooper (10th, 18:33.7) also earned all-region honors by placing in the top 15. Blues following Cooper were freshman Sam Carpenter (26th, 20:31) and sophomore Caden Mason (48th, 25:55).
In the girls’ race, George Wythe’s Emma Faulkner won in 20:25.8, leading her team to a win with 42 points. Auburn (49) placed second of five teams, and Eastern Montgomery (66) finished third.
The Blues had just two runners, not the minimum number (five) required for a team score.
Lee led PM, placing seventh of 44 runners in 22:08.6 to earn a trip to the state meet for the second year in a row. Senior teammate Jasmine De Souza completed her high school cross country career by finishing 11th in 23:02.
The Class 1 state meet will take place on Saturday, Nov. 11 at Green Hill Park at Salem, with the girls’ race at 1 p.m. and the boys’ race following at 1:45 p.m. Last year, Kovyk Chandler placed second at the state meet.
For the full story on the regional meet, please see our Nov. 8 newspaper. The story and photos from the district meet will be in this Wednesday’s newspaper.
