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Led by individual winner Kovyk Chandler, the Parry Mc-Cluer High School boys cross country team won the Region 1C title on Monday of last week at Blacksburg High School, while PM sophomore girl Kyra Lee also advanced to the Class 1 state meet.
With four finishers in the top 10, 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 five days earlier at Glen Maury Park in Buena Vista.
The top three teams and the top five individuals outside of those teams advance 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.
“To see Kovyk running that 16:40 pace and Kebryl running under 17 minutes, I was very impressed,” said PM head coach Chris Poluikis.
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).
Looking ahead to the state meet, with the PM boys taking a full team for the first time since they won the state title in the spring 2021 season, delayed from the previous fall due to COVID-19, Poluikis said, “We will have to run better than we did at districts and regions to win state as a team. I think we can. We are headed in the right direction, and we’ve had a good week of training.”
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. Impressed by Lee, Poluikis said, “This was one of her best races. To run 22 minutes on a tough course was great from her.”
“This was a hilly course, and that isn’t our strong suit,” added Poluikis. “I think we have more of a speed-based team, and we do better on flat, faster courses like the one for the state meet.
The Class 1 state meet will take place on Saturday 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, when the PM boys had three runners competing, Kovyk Chandler placed second at the state meet, and Lee finished 23rd in the girls’ race.
