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PM Tracksters Running, Throwing Well
Five Parry McCluer High School track and field runners qualified by time for the Class 1 state meet in the 3200meter run at the Blacksburg Invitational on Saturday at Blacksburg High School.
Leading the way was freshman Kebryl Chandler, who won the boys’ 3200-meter run in 9:31.11, a personal record by about 15 seconds. His older brother Kovyk, a senior, placed second in 9:31.23, and Floyd County’s Mason Erchull finished third in 9:37.74.
Racing in cold and windy weather, the Chandlers ran together for nearly the entire race before Kebryl took the lead with one lap to go. PM head coach Chris Poluikis said Kovyk tried to catch him, “[but] just ran out of real estate.”
“They kept hammering the pace,” said Poluikis. “I thought it went well.”
Also qualifying for the state meet in the race was Logan Wheelock, placing seventh in 10:21.08.
Both PM girls racing in the 3200-meter run also qualified. Kyra Lee placed fifth in 13:11.94, and Jasmine De Souza finished sixth in 13:26.13.
Also racing well for the PM boys was Josh Cooper in the 800-meter run, placing 11th in 2:07.48.
Evan Cook had a strong all-around day, placing 11th in the 400-meter dash in 55.81 seconds, tying for 18th in the long jump with a leap of 18 feet, 8 inches, and finishing 40th in the 100-meter dash in 12.58 seconds.
Poluikis said the day was “pretty decent, given the conditions.”
The PM throwers competed last Wednesday at Lord Botetourt and on Friday at the Bulldog Under the Lights meet at Liberty Christian Academy.
At LB, the PM boys had four throwers who placed in the top 10. Rayshan Richardson placed second in the shot put with a toss of 42-4 and finished second in the discus with a personal-record heave of 127-5. Griffin Harlow placed third in both the shot put (41-4) and discus (118-10), while Vincent Wilson placed eighth in both the shot put (34-8) and discus (85-6). Brendan Holdren came in 10th in the discus (77-11) and finished 11th in the shot put (29-10).
For the PM girls, Kamilah Richardson won the shot put (PR 33-9) and placed third in the discus (77-9), while Keeli Wheeler placed fifth in the discus (68) and finished seventh in the shot put (PR 23-6). Presley Austin placed seventh in the discus (65-8) and came in eighth in the shot put (22-6). Phoebe Woods placed eighth in the discus (60-10) and came in 10th in the shot put (19-8).
PM throwing coach Danny Cole said Kamilah Richardson “is throwing the shot well at this point, and I am anticipating some continued improvement in her PR as she approaches the [35-foot] mark.”
“Wednesday was a good meet for those throwers who are not yet where they need to be and begin to get their marks so they have something to work towards at our next openstyle meet,” added Cole.
At LCA, Harlow won the boys’ shot put with a toss of 45-5. Due to darkness, the girls’ shot put and boys’ discus were canceled.
Cole said Harlow “was throwing much better compared to [Wednesday, when] he struggled to stay in the circle.
This weekend, the Chandler brothers will race in the 1600-meter run in Matthews, N.C. The next meet for the rest of the Blues will be the Titan Track Classic next Friday, April 27 at Hidden Valley High School in Roanoke.
