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Chandler Wins Race; Lee Also Advances To State
Led by sophomore Kebryl Chandler’s individual win, the Parry McCluer high school boys cross country team defended its Region 1C title last Wednesday afternoon at Blacksburg High School.
With five finishers in the top 10, the Fighting Blues scored 28 points to beat Pioneer District rival Eastern Montgomery (41), which placed second for the second year in a row. A week earlier in Shawsville, PM had beaten EM 18-38 for the Pioneer District title. At the Region 1C meet, Auburn (63) placed third of five teams, and George Wythe (94) and Galax (127) rounded out the standings.
The PM boys’ average time was 17 minutes, 17 seconds on the hilly 5-kilometer course, while the Mustangs’ average time was 17:50.
Also advancing to the Class 1 state meet for the Blues was junior girl Kyra Lee, who placed seventh of 41 harriers in 23:08.1.
The top three teams and the top five individuals outside of those teams advanced to the Class 1 state meet, which will take place this Saturday, Nov. 16, at Virginia Tech, with the girls’ race at 1 p.m., followed by the boys’ race at 1:45. The PM boys will attempt to repeat as state champions.
Chandler, who had won the Pioneer District meet a week earlier, finished the Region 1C meet in 16:24.2. Auburn sophomore Blake Brown placed second of 50 runners in 16:56.2.
Reviewing the race, PM head coach Chris Poluikis said Chandler “had a five-second lead when I saw him at the first mile mark. I was really impressed by the Auburn kid. He ran a lot better than I was anticipating and put himself more as a contender.”
The next two finishers were from EM – Calvin Wilbon (third, 17:13.3) and Spencer Sisson (fourth, 17:17.4).
PM’s third runner was junior Logan Wheelock (fifth, 17:18.90), followed in the top 10 by three teammates: freshman Caleb Cooper (sixth, 17:28.70), junior teammate Josh Cooper (seventh, 17:28.70) and freshman Hinckley Lovelace (ninth, 17:48.60). Blues after Lovelace were freshman Sebastian George (19th, 19:17.2) and sophomore Sam Carpenter (27th, 20:35.1) Poluikis said that Eastern Montgomery, which placed fourth at the state meet last year, is still the Blues’ biggest competition. “This meet was much more on par for what they have been doing this season,” said Poluikis. They are gonna make us work for it.”
Chandler is a key contender for the individual state title after placing second by five seconds last year to his older brother Kovyk, who graduated in May.
GW’s Emma Faulkner won the girls’ race by more than a minute, finishing in 20:40.6.
Lee will be making her third consecutive state meet appearance, after placing 23rd as a freshman and 21st as a sophomore.
The Blues look forward to racing at the hilly Virginia Tech Buford Meredith course on Saturday. Several of the Blues raced there on the course at the East Coast Elite XC Meet. It will be a change from the flat meet course at Green Hill Park in Salem, the state meet course for the last five years.
Previewing the meet, Poluikis said, “The kids are really tough mentally. They’ve been so consistent this year with everything. Even if they start a race struggling, they always rebound. It’s just stuff like that.”
“If we show up healthy on Saturday, I feel really good about what we’re gonna do,” added Poluikis.
