The Harlan girls capped a season of progress with a solid finish among their Class A peers at the state championship. The team rolled to a 21st-place finish in the Class A state meet Saturday at Bourbon County.
“Our cross country team is experiencing a season of growth across all levels,” Harlan coach Anne Lindsey said. “This is a very special time for our program.”
Seventh-grader Harper Carmical set a school record with a time of 21:55.40, leading the Lady Dragons with 42nd-place finish. Chloe Schwenke placed 96th with a time of 23:33.71, while Mia Pace finished 149th with a time of 24:52.20. Rounding out the results were Abbigaile Jones (157th, 25:06.90), Juliana Damaa (206th, 27:41.30) and Halle Cox (223rd, 29:58.30).
“Our girls team had a great race today! Harper Carmical broke our school’s girls record as a seventh grader. She is a standout runner.
“Chloe Schwenke, Abbie Jones, and Juliana Damaa also had personal records today with incredible performances. With Halle Cox and Mia Pace, our girls team competed well on the course. We finished ahead of teams who beat us last week at region.”
“Mia Pace is our senior runner this year. She is such a crucial part of our team. We will miss her leadership next year. Mia has had four consecutive state meet appearances during her time at Harlan High School. She has always pushed herself and our team to perform at our best.”
Dylan Cox placed 64th with a time of 18:23.69, while Brayden Howard finished 148th with a time of 20:03.05.
“Brayden Howard and Dylan Cox both had great races today. These two young men have worked incredibly hard this season, as all of our boys have done. They represented our team so well today. Both boys pushed themselves to new limits with personal records today.
“We want to build on this momentum heading into next season with the goal of taking a boys team to the state meet. We are a young team, but our boys made incredible progress this season.”
“I can’t overstate the improvement and personal growth each of our runners experienced this season. Watching them set new goals, reach those goals, and then dig deeper for more is inspiring. Coaching this group and working this season with them has truly been a privilege.”