The members of the PCHS indoor track and field team traveled to Lynchburg Saturday to compete in the Liberty High School Opener on the campus of Liberty University. The end results were a new school record and multiple new personal records for the team.
For the men’s team, sophomore Cole Boone continued to rewrite the record book. Boone earned first place in the 3,200-meter race with a time of 9:33.63, beating the former record of 9:45.74 held by Richard Noel from the 1980 season. This effort also qualifed Boone for the State Meet at the end of the season.
“Breaking a school record in the first meet was a great way to start our season,” Head Coach Mark Carper said. “For a lot of our guys we saw what we needed to work on and that was our main goal going into this meet.”
“We wanted to go fast and wanted to break the school record,” assistant coach Hannah Alexander said. “Mission accomplished. Now we are going to tackle the mile at our next meet and write a new school record for that. To say our coaching staff is proud is an understatement.”
Junior Johnny Anderson finished fourth in the long jump with a leap of 20’5”, qualifying him for the State meet as well. Anderson also took 31st in the 55-meter race with a time of 6.83.
Senior Joel Burchett III finished sixth in the triple jump with his 40’10” leap. He also earned eighth in the long jump (19’ 8.5”), 23rd in the 55-meter (6.76), and 60th in the 300-meter race (38.78).
Sophomore Bryant Nottingham earned eighth in the triple jump with his 40’ .5” effort. He also took 12th in the long jump (19’ 2.25”), 50th in the 300-meter (38.22), and 63rd in the 55-meter (7.05).
Freshman Caleb Cregger took 19th in the long jump with his 16 2.75” leap. He also finished 22nd in the triple jump at 35’ 7.75”.
Senior Garrett Kinder finished 21st in the 3,200 with a time of 10:36.55.
Sophomore Silas Sweet finished 22nd in the long jump with his 16’ .5” effort. He also earned 94th in the 300-meter (40.47) and 98th in the 55-meter (7.31).
Freshman Anius Slaughter finished 22nd in the shot put with a throw of 38’ 1”. Junior Aiden Moore was 24th with a throw of 36’ 8.75”. Sophomore Blake Ratcliff finished 28th with a 35’ 6.5” throw. Skylor Boone finished 41st with a 32’ .75” effort. Chris Hayden was 43rd at 31’ 8.5”. Rohan Kaul was 53rd with his 26’ 5’75” throw.
“Very proud of the effort that was on display Saturday,” assistant coach Nancy Barrett said. “Excited to see the freshman excel at the next level. This group is coming together as a team. I witnessed them coach each other, which is a goal of mine. Those who have been transitioned into a spin are making tremendous progress. I can't wait to get two more weeks of practice under our belts before the next meet.”
Andrew Allen finished 21st in the long jump with a jump of 16’ 1.5”. Brock Schneider took 71st in the 55-meter race at 7.11. He also finished 100th in the 300-meter at 40.95. Roshawn Hill was 141st in the 55-meter at 7.77. Hill was also 150th in the 300-meter at 45.42.
Marcus Reed took 61st in the 55-meter with a time of 7.05. He was also 63rd in the 300-meter at 38.99. Gaige Barton finished 61st in the 1,000-meter race with a time of 3:43.20.
Carter Simmers finished 27th in the 3,200-meter race at 11:34.32. Landon Clark was 28th at 11:48.80. Josh Secrist finished 29th at 11:55.07.
The women’s team didn’t have as many participants, but those who were there made their mark.
Nadia Jackson took first place in the long jump with a leap of 14’ 10.25”. She followed that up with a 24th place finish in the 300-meter (44.45), and 38th in the 55-meter (7.92).
Victoria Hale earned fifth place in the long jump with a leap of 13’ 10”. She also took 50th in the 55-meter (8.10) and 83rd in the 300-meter (49.01).
Sara Ritter finished 13th in the long jump at 12’ 5.5”. She also earned 73rd in the 55-meter (8.41) and 117th in the 300-meter (52.91).
Olivia King finished 31st in the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 11.21. She also finished 80th in the 55-meter at 8.45.
Jacey Hendrix took 137th in the 55-meter at 9.32. She was also 150th in the 300-meter at 56.45.
In the 1,600-meter run, Dani Carroll finished 37th with a time of 6:50.78. Chloe Duncan was 45th with her time of 7:52.17.
Addison Dean took 138th in the 55-meter with a time of 9.38. She also finished 166th in the 300-meter race with a time of 1:01.36.
“We went out there and put it all together,” Coach Alexander said. “Countless PRs and a state qualifier jump from Johnny Anderson showed that our group is ready for this season. Most of this group are young athletes and first-time indoor track athletes. They did a great job at being responsible for their events and showed me they are serious about their goals for the season.”
The team will now prepare for their next meet, scheduled for Saturday, December 16, at Roanoke College.