Parry McCluer High School

Blue Proud: Kindness • Respect • Integrity

PM Boys Sprint To State Championship

When talking about the Group 1A state cross country championships held at Salem’s Green Hill Park Saturday, Nov. 16, one can talk about a lot of numbers. Most of those can be examined later; the only number that matters is one.

That’s where Parry McCluer’s boys cross country team found itself that day, as the number one team in the state. The Blues capped a phenomenal season by sprinting past the rest of the field and claiming the state cross country title.

Oh, and the Blues had the number one individuals as well, with Dylan May and Kensey May both running away with state championships in the boys and girls races, respectively.

As a team, the boys easily outdistanced the field, tallying a mere 38 points to cruise to the title ahead of second-place Auburn, which finished with 72 points. George Wythe took third with 99 points as Region C swept the top three spots. Mathews, with 119 points, and Galileo, with 151, rounded out the top five.

In the individual race, Dylan May broke the tape in 15 minutes, 54.6 seconds, a full 12 seconds ahead of Holston’s Jordan Keith. May finished second to Keith at last year’s state championships. Clay Kelly (16:07.8) of Riverheads was third, followed by Cameron Stearns (16:29.0) of Mathews and Adam Downs (16:33.7) of Auburn.

In the girls race, Kensey May had little trouble running to her state championship, crossing the line in 18:42, nearly a minute ahead of runner-up Rachel Weghorst of Rappahannock County. Camerin Hardin of George Wythe was third, and Hailey Smith of Lancaster and Catherine Grossman of Patrick Henry-Glade Spring rounded out the top five.

How did the PM boys win their title? That’s where the rest of the numbers start to matter.

5/15

In addition to May’s first-place finish, all five of Parry McCluer’s scorers – Cooper Braddy, Trevor Tomlin, Kedryn Chandler and Brenden Plogger – placed in the top 15 individually, with each of them earning all-state medals.

Braddy led the bunched-up Parry McCluer pack, placing seventh in 16:47.5. He was followed closely by Tomlin (16:49.8) and Chandler (16:57.8), who were eighth and ninth, respectively. Plogger put the cap on the state title with his 14th-place finish in 17:12.1.

2

The number two has significant meaning on a couple of levels for the Blues this year.

First, this was the second cross country title for the PM harriers in school history. The last came in 1980, when the Blues recorded 58 points to top Stonewall Jackson for the championship at Piedmont Community College in Charlottesville. The Blues placed three runners in the top 15, including individual champion David Fitzgerald.

On another level, the number two has been exorcised for the May family. As mentioned earlier, Dylan May was the runner-up in 2018, and he erased that memory with his victory Saturday. Kensey May also finished second a year ago while battling illness, so she rid herself of that number two as well.

 4

Parry McCluer’s girls finished fourth as a team Saturday with 116 points. George Wythe won the team title, with Galileo taking second place.

In addition to Kensey May, four other individuals participated in the race for the Blues.

Koya Chandler finished in 22:11.10, while Jilian Wheelock crossed the line in 22:13.20. Sadie Dryden completed her race in 23:20.70, and Cloey Mazingo turned in a time of 24:14.10.

6

For Parry McCluer, Saturday’s victory by the boys cross country team marked the sixth state championship for the Blues in as many years. The Blues harriers joined the softball team, which won back-to-back titles in 2015 and 2016 and the girls basketball team, which won three straight state championship in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

0

And finally, there is zero, which shows just how dominant the PM boys were this fall.

In all of the meets this season, the Blues did not finish behind a Class 1A team all year.

 

BOYS

Team Scores

1. PARRY McCluer (PM) 38, 2. Auburn (AUB) 72, 3. George Wythe (GW) 99, 4. Mathews (MAT) 119, 5. Galileo (GAL) 141, 6. Riverheads (RIV) 156, 7. Castlewood (CAS), 163, 8. Altavista (ALT) 190, 9. Lancaster (LAN) 261, 10. J.I. Burton (JIB) 268, 11. Holston (HOL), 12. West Point (WP).

Top 15 Individuals

1. Dylan May (PM) 15:54.6, 2. Jordan Keith (HOL) 16:06.2, 3. Clay Kelly (RIV) 16:07.8, 4. Cameron Stearns (MAT) 16:29.0, 5. Adam Downs (AUB) 16:33.7, 6. Josh Tomiak (GW) 16:41.4, 7. Cooper Braddy (PM) 16:47.5, 8. Trevor Tomlin (PM) 16:49.8, 9. Kedryn Chandler (PM) 16:57.8, 10. Andrew Tickle (AUB) 17:03.5, 11. Cole Harbodin (GAL) 17:04.8, 12. Hunter Hicks (CAS) 17:09.7, 13. Jamie Wall (NAR) 17:10.3, 14. Brenden Plogger (PM) 17:12.1, 15. Owen Lindsey (JIB) 17:13.6.

GIRLS

Team Scores

1. George Wythe (GW) 39, 2. Galileo (GAL) 88, 3. Auburn (AUB) 112, 4. Parry McCluer (PM) 116, 5. Mathews (MAT) 153, 6. West Point (WP) 158, 7. Riverheads (RIV) 180, 8. Rappahannock County (RAP) 195, 9. Grundy (GRU) 198, 10. Lancaster (LAN) 216, 11. Rural Retreat (RR) 231, 12. Castlewood (CAS) 266.

Top 15 Individuals

1. Kensey May (PM) 18:42.0, 2. Rachel Weghorst (RAP) 19:40.2, 3. Camryn Hardin (GW) 20:05.7, 4. Hailey Smith (LAN) 20:07.7, 5. Catherine Grossman (PH) 20:16.2, 6. Morgan Dalton (GW) 20:16.5, 7. Morgan Rosenbaum (AUB) 20:30.5, 8. Anna Kuchan (AUB) 20:30.7, 9. Sarah Baker (MID) 20:37.3, 10. Morgan Whitley (GAL) 20:37.9, 11. Casey Allen (ALT) 20:49.1, 12. Nevada Kincer (GW) 20:51.9, 13. Kaleigh Temple (GW) 20:52.6, 14. Jessi Looney (GRU) 20:55.8, 15. Kara Temple (GW) 20:56.0.

 

 

 

 

PM Boys Run to Region C Crown

The honors keep rolling in for the Parry McCluer cross country teams.

Dylan and Kensey May each won individual titles, and the PM boys claimed the team crown as the Blues sprinted past the field at the Region C Championships Wednesday afternoon in Blacksburg.

With five runners placing in the top seven, Parry McCluer easily outdistanced the field to capture first place in the boys race. Dylan May led the way, breaking the tape to take first place overall with his time of 16 minutes, 40 seconds, winning the regional championship for the second straight year. He was followed by Cooper Braddy, who placed second with a time of 17:21.4 and led the rest of the PM pack. Trevor Tomlin (17:37.4) was third overall, and Brenden Plogger (17:39.2) placed sixth. Kedryn Chandler (17:41.4) finished just behind Plogger in seventh place.

As a team, the Blues accumulated 19 points, well ahead of runner-up George Wythe, which tallied 58 points. Auburn placed third with 60 points, followed by Grayson County (94), Galax (137), Covington (187), Eastern Montgomery (192) and Bland (232).

In the girls race, Kensey May sprinted to the individual title with her time of 19: 23.8 as the Blues placed third as a team.

George Wythe was the Region C team champion wth 30 points, while Auburn placed second with 51. The Blues amassed 64 points to take the third place prize, and they were followed by Galax (85) and Eastern Montgomery (98).

Also placing in the top 15 for the Blues, and claiming all-region accolades, were Koya Chandler, who was 11th in 22:39.3, and Jilian Wheelock, who placed 13th in 23:29.4. Sadie Dryden (21st, 24:42) and Cloey Mazingo (27th (25:53) rounded out the scoring for the Blues.

Next up for Parry McCluer is the Group 1A state meet, which will be held Saturday, Nov. 16, in Salem.

Blues Sweep Pioneer District Titles

With a perfect score in the boys race and four of the top 10 finishes in the girls meet, the Parry McCluer cross country teams won their third straight Pioneer District titles in the league's championship event Wednesday, Oct. 30, in Shawsville.

Paced by senior Dylan May, who finished first overall for the third year in a row with his time of 17 minutes, 7 seconds, the Blues boasted the top five individual finishers to post a perfect 15 points and easily outdistance runner-up Eastern Montgomery, which tallied 70 points. Covington was third with 95 points.

Following May to the line was runner-up Cooper Braddy, who completed the 3.2-mile course in 17:43. Brenden Plogger (17:54) was third, followed by Kedryn Chandler (17:57) in fourth and Trevor Tomlin (18:01) in fifth.

The Blues placed two other runners in the top 10, though their times did not figure into the team score. Matt Hemmings was seventh with his time of 18:46, and Lanon Mahaffey placed 10th in 20:20.

On the girls side, Kensey May claimed back-to-back Pioneer individual titles with her first-place run in 20:39. Koya Chandler finished third, and Jillian Wheelock took fourth. Dadie Dryden and Cloey Mazingo completed the team scoring, finishing sixth and 11th, respectively.

As a team, the Blues scored 21 points to take the team title. Eastern Montgomery tallied 37 points to take second.

Next up for the Blues is the Region C meet, which will be held in Blacksburg Wednesday, Nov. 6. The starting gun is tentatively set to fire at 4 p.m.

PM Boys Take First at EastMont Invitational

The boys cross country team put all five of its scoring runners in the top 15 and cruised to the team title in the Eastern Montgomery Invitational Wednesday afternoon in Shawsville.

Paced by senior Dylan May, who completed the 3.2-mile course in 16 minutes, 50 seconds to win the boys' individual title, the Blues tallied 36 points to easily outdistance second-place Floyd County, which entered the race ranked third in Group AA and finished with 69 points.

Radford finished third in the event with 82 points, followed by Glenvar (83 and ranked second in Group AA), Staunton River (108), Giles (140), Eastern Montgomery (213), Covington (221) and Highland (257).

Following May to the line for the Blues was senior Cooper Braddy, who finised third overall with a time of 17:44. Junior Kedryn Chandler was sixth in 18:05, while junnior Trevor Tomlin (19:10) and Matthew Hemming (19:18) rounded out the PM scoring in 14th and 15th places, respectively.

On the girls side, sophomore Kensey May was the individual title with her team of 19:25, finishing ahead of the No. 2 ranked runner in Group AA. Sophomore Jilian Wheellock placed 20th in 23:32, and sophomore Koya Chandler took 22nd in 23:35. Sadie Dryden was 40th in 26:59.

The PM girls were unable to field a full team Wednesday and did not figure into the team scoring.

In the junior varsity race, eighth grader Kovyk Chandler emerged at the top of the heap, winning his race in 12:20.

PM Runners Open With Victory at Giles

Parry McCluer's cross country team couldn't have started the season any better.

The Blues finished first as a team in the boys race at the Giles Invitational Aug. 28, while the Blues also boasted the top individual finisher in the girls event.

Paced by Dylan May's second-place finish, the Blues placed all five of their scoring runners in the top 15 to outdistance the field in the boys event. Cooper Braddy crossed the line in fifth place, and Trevor Tomlin placed seventh. Kedryn Chandler and Brenden Plogger rounded out the scoring for the Blues, finishing 11th and 12th, respectively.

In the girls race, Kensey May led the pack with her first-place finish.

Kovyk Chandler placed second in the junior varsity event.

The Blues will travel to Salem's Green Hill Park Saturday (Sept. 7) to participate in the prestigious Knights Crossing Invitational, which will feature some of the top cross country teams in the state, in all divisions, including host Cave Spring.