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PM Track And Field Athletes Advance To Regionals
Parry McCluer High School throwers Griffin Harlow and Kamilah Richardson won their second consecutive Pioneer District titles in the shot put to lead the Parry McCluer High School track and field teams at the district meet on Thursday at Giles High School in Pearisburg.
Harlow, a sophomore, won the boys’ title with a toss of 47 feet, 10.5 inches, a personal record (PR) by 2.5 inches and placed fourth in the discus with a heave of 120-2. “Griffin continues to consistently hit over 47 feet in the past few meets, and we’re hoping for a 50-foot mark prior to the end of the season,” said PM throwing coach Danny Cole.
Richardson, a junior, won the girls’ shot put with a throw of 36-2, a PR by three feet. Placing a distant second was Narrows thrower Regan Freeman with a toss of 29-8.5. Freeman won the discus with a heave of 83-7, while Richardson placed second with a PR throw of 82-9.
Cole said Richardson “shows great consistency and is moving up.”
Six of the 10 Blues who competed advanced to the Region 1C meet, which will take place today, Wednesday, at Giles, starting at 10 a.m. The top six individuals, as well as those qualified by time or distance, advanced to the Region 1C meet. Four PM distance runners sat out from the district meet, but they had already qualified by time for the Class 1 state meet.
In the team standings, the PM boys placed third of five teams, while the PM girls finished fourth of six teams.
Winning the boys’ meet was Narrows with 200 points, while Eastern Montgomery (145) placed second, and PM (50) finished third. Rounding out the standings were Highland County (22) and Craig County (20).
Narrows also won the girls’ meet with 173 points, EM (112) placed second, and Highland County (47) finished third. Completing the standings were PM (46), Bath County (39) and Craig County (14).
Also advancing for the PM boys’ throwers was junior Rayshan Richardson, placing second in the shot put with a toss of 40-7.5 and finishing third in the discus with a heave of 120-8.
Just missing qualifying in the shot put was sophomore Brendan Holdren, who placed eighth with a toss of 35-11-5. In the discus, Holdren finished 14th with a throw of 70-3. Teammate Vincent Wilson completed his sophomore year by placing 10th in the shot put with a toss of 34 feet.
For the PM girls, junior Keeli Wheeler advanced by placing fourth in the discus (68-1) and fifth in the shot put (PR 24-4). PM girls completing their season were junior Presley Austin and freshman Phoebe Woods. Austin placed seventh in the shot put (22-4.5) and eighth in the discus (63-5), while Woods finished eighth in the shot put (PR 21-1.5) and 12th in the discus (52-6).
Looking ahead to the regional meet, Cole said the Blues would be working hard to prepare. “We will face a group of great throwers in the regional meet as our region will have three of the top girls in the state and the boys will have at least five of the top throwers in the state,” said Cole.
Leading the PM boys was senior Evan Cook, placing second in the 200-meter dash in 23.87 seconds and fourth in the 400-meter dash in 53.51, setting PRs and qualifying for the regional meet in both races. Cook also qualified in the long jump by placing fifth with a leap of 19-4.75.
Freshman Sam Carpenter advanced by placing fourth in both of his races, the 800-meter run in 2:33.3 and the 1600-meter run in 5:25.86.
Just missing qualifying was junior Caden Mason, who placed eighth in the 800-meter run in 3:07.77.
For the PM girls, senior Jasmine De Souza advanced in both of her races, battling the hot weather to place second in the 1600-meter run in 6:19.25 and finishing third in the 800-meter run in 2:47.8. Sophomore teammate Kyra Lee advanced in the 3200-meter run, placing second in 13:42.74.
In addition to having the boys’ distance runners – Josh Cooper, Logan Wheelock and Kebryl and Kovyk Chandler – at the Region 1C meet, PM head coach Chris Poluikis said the PM boys plan to compete in the boys’ 4 X 400meter relay.
Some of the distance runners will run shorter races than they’re used to. “We’re just going to get one last speed session in before states,” said Poluikis.
From the Region 1C meet, the top four individuals, as well as those qualified by distance and time, will advance to the Class 1 state meet, which will take place on Friday and Saturday, May 31 and June 1, at the James Madison University Track & Field Complex.
