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RC Girls, PM Boys Each Place Second In ‘State Preview’
Both the Parry McCluer and Rockbridge County high school cross country teams raced well at the East Coast Elite XC Meet on Saturday in Blacksburg, with the PM boys and RC girls placing second and the RC boys finishing third.
The runners were competing on the hilly Virginia Tech Buford Meredith course, which will be the location of the Class 1, 2 and 3 state meets, moved from Green Hill Park in Salem, the state meet course since 2019.
“We really enjoyed going to the meet for a state preview of the course,” said RC head coach Julie Tisone. “The course was beautiful and very hilly, which my team likes.”
The PM boys raced in the Maroon race, the fastest race of the day, placing second of 21 teams with 110 points. The Fighting Blues, a Class 1 team, trailed only larger Class 3 team Broadway, which won with 97 points. Lafayette (72) finished third, and Sherwood (74) and Kettle Run (107) rounded out the top five.
Broadway senior Tristan Yoder won the race in 16 minutes, 5.6 seconds.
Leading the Blues was sophomore Kebryl Chandler, placing second of 179 harriers in 16:02.2 “That was one of his best races,” said PM head coach Chris Poluikis. “The course was hilly and spongy from the rain, and it was never gonna be a personalbest race, but he beat a lot of guys that have beaten him before.”
PM’s second runner was Josh Cooper, placing 21st in 17:35.2, followed closely by teammate Logan Wheelock (23rd, 17:35.5). “Logan and Josh ran much different races, but they both tried new things that worked well for them,” said Poluikis. “Everyone ran about as expected or better. Because of the hills and the soft ground, a minute [slower than] your [personal record] was the standard for this meet. The humidity wasn’t ideal either.”
The next three Blues were freshmen Caleb Cooper (24th, 17:41), Hinckley Lovelace (49th, 18:14) and Sebastian George (109th, 19:54.6). PM’s final runner was Sam Carpenter (139th, 20:57.2).
PM junior Kyra Lee raced in the girls’ Burnt Orange race, placing 10th of 90 runners in 23:06.3.
The RC girls, a Class 3 team, placed second of 11 teams in the Burnt Orange race, tallying 81 points. The Wildcats trailed only Galileo Magnet (39). Auburn (40) finished third, and Mathews (56) and See Sherwood (63) completed the top five.
Auburn’s Alyson Funk was the individual winner, finishing in 20:57.7.
Dorothy Lewis led the Wildcats, placing sixth of 90 harriers in 22:50.8. RC’s second finisher was Brooke Eichelberger, coming in 13th in 23:24.8.
Next in for the Wildcats was Evelyn McClung, placing 21st in a personal-record (PR) time of 24:45.8. Wildcats following Mc-Clung were Kate Holston (28th, 25:20.5), Hannah Ivins (42nd, 26:21.9) and Alice Gresham (79th, 30:16.1).
The RC boys placed third of 11 teams, tallying 105 points. Stonewall Jackson won with 58 points, while Galileo Magnet (81) placed second. Following the Wildcats in the top five were Fort Defiance (114) and Auburn (116).
Fort Defiance’s Parker Blosser won the race in 16:54.4. Leading the Wildcats was Sammy Eastwood, placing 14th of 93 harriers in 18:41.7, just ahead of teammate Grant Swenty (15th, 18:44).
RC’s third runner was Trent Cash (34th, 20:03.2), followed closely by teammate Finn Miller (36th, 20:07.3). Luke Eichholz (46th, 20:48.1) was next for the Wildcats, and teammate Hudson Saunders finished 50th in a PR time of 21:01.1. RC’s final runner was Ben Gresham (54th, 21:24.5).
Reviewing the day, Tisone said, “It had a very energetic atmosphere at the meet, with lots of teams, music and fun trophies – sledgehammers of different sizes.”
“It was a good confidence booster meet for us,” added Tisone. The Blues will have plenty of time to practice before their next meet, the VA XC Showcase at Pole Green Park in Mechanicsville, just outside of Richmond, on Saturday, Oct. 19, at 8 a.m. “It will be a flat, fast course,” said Poluikis. “It will really help us see where we stack up compared to the rest of the state.”
The Wildcats were scheduled to face district rivals at the Rockingham County Fairgrounds in Harrisonburg yesterday and will race in the Runnin’ With the Wolves XC Invitational on Saturday at Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest in Forest, starting with the girls’ varsity race at 9 a.m., followed by the boys’ varsity race at 9:35. The Wildcats will race against district rivals in the sixth annual Town Park Invitational at Grottoes Town Park on Tuesday at 5 p.m. in a preview for the Oct. 30 Valley District meet.
