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With five finishers in the top 11, the Parry McCluer High School boys cross country team defended its Class 1 state title with a decisive victory over Pioneer District rival Eastern Montgomery on Saturday afternoon at the Virginia Tech Buford Meredith course in Blacksburg. PM’s lone girl competing, junior Kyra Lee, earned all-state (top 15) honors by placing 10th.
The PM boys scored 29 points to win their fourth state title in six years, while Eastern Montgomery placed second of 11 teams with 61.
The Mustangs had also finished second to the Fighting Blues at the Pioneer District and Region 1C meets, by 20 points and 13 points, respectively, so the state meet was the most convincing victory of the three titles for PM. Last year, PM won the state title by 19 points over Mathews. This year, Mathews placed third, tallying 89 points. Rounding out the top five were Middlesex (141) and Rappahannock County (172).
Grundy junior Keyston Hartford won the boys’ race, taking on windy weather and completing the moderately hilly 5-kilometer course in 15 minutes, 40.1 seconds. The course was a change from the flat course at Green Hill Park in Salem, the state meet venue for the last five years.
With sunny weather and temperatures in the upper 50s, the top three boys ran together for much of the race before Hartford pulled away at the end. Leading the Blues was sophomore Kebryl Chandler, finishing as the runner-up for the second consecutive year in 15:49.3. Last year, Chandler only trailed his older brother Kovyk, who graduated in May, by five seconds. Late in the race, Kebryl pulled away from Altavista’s Shane Stevens, who placed third of 101 harriers in 16:07.9, well ahead of the fourth-place finisher, EM’s Spencer Sisson (16:39.1).
PM’s second runner was junior Logan Wheelock (fifth, 16:43.1), improving on his seventh-place finish last year. Next in for the Blues was junior Josh Cooper (eighth, 17:03.1), moving up two spots after placing 12th last year. Earning all-state honors in their state meet debuts were PM freshmen Hinckley Lovelace (10th, 17:11.4) and Caleb Cooper (11th, 17:13). Also racing for the Blues were freshman Sebastian George (50th, 19:26.3) and sophomore Sam Carpenter (71st, 20:06).
In the girls’ race, Eastside junior Shelby Stanley won in 19:58.9.
For PM, Lee placed 10th of 96 harriers in 21:49, close to her personal record and an improvement of 1:17 on her time on the course at the East Coast Elite XC Meet on Sept. 28. Lee has improved each year at the state meet, after placing 23rd as a freshman and 21st as a sophomore.
Auburn won the girls’ title with 89 points, Mathews placed second of 11 teams with 94 points, winning a tiebreaker over third-place George Wythe (94). Completing the top five were Galileo (104) and Rappahannock (151).
The future looks bright for the Blues, who have no seniors. Many of the Blues plan to run indoor and outdoor track.
For the full story and photos, with comments from PM head coach Chris Poluikis and the Blues’ top runners, please see our Nov. 20 newspaper.
