The Harlan County cross country team had a stellar performance on Saturday at home in the Bob Howard Memorial Invitational. The Lady Bears achieved their second perfect score of the season to win the girls varsity race. The Harlan County boys were second overall with 43 points, 21 points behind Bell County.
“I’m really proud of our kids for their performances today,” Harlan County coach Ryan Vitatoe said. “We continue to see improvement across the board from all our kids and it’s a testament to how hard they’ve worked this season.
Harlan placed third overall in the girls varsity race, while the boys finished fifth.
“We are very proud of all our runners today. We had some great individual performances as well as impressive team performances,” Harlan coach Anne Lindsey said.
The meet was in honor of Bob Howard, who started the cross country program at Evarts High School and led the program to several regional titles. He was also the last principal at Evarts High School and the first at Harlan County High School, as well as being an advocate for cross country and track.
“This was a unique and emotional day. This was two meets folded into one with the first Bob Howard Invitational being combined with our district championship,” Vitatoe said. “I’m glad we could honor Bob’s legacy and his impact on our community, our school, and our sport.”
Peyton Lunsford, Howard’s granddaughter, led the girls, winning the race with a time of 20:56.72. She was immediately followed by Lauren Lewis (21:38.94), Preslee Hensley (22:03.56), Gracie Roberts (22:08.50) and Kiera Roberts (23:09.06). Jaycee Simpson finished eighth with a time of 24:23.50. Charli Shepherd (24:45.94) and Addi Gray (25:55.46) were 12th, and 16th, respectively. Olivia Kelly (31st) finished with a time of 29:22.09.
“The girls were fantastic today. I had mentioned earlier in the season that I’d never had a team run a perfect score, and they’ve done it twice now this season,” Vitatoe said. “They are a close-knit group, they work hard, and I’m really proud of them. They are emerging as a really strong team at the state level. We have to keep working and pushing to improve.”
Harper Carmical paced the Lady Dragons, placing seventh with a time of 24:12.12. Abbigaile Jones (25:56.68) and Ella Farley (26:19.40) were 17th and 20th, respectively. Chloe Schwenke finished 24th with a time of 27:22.34. Ella Lisenbee (32:55.62) was 33rd, immediately followed by Gwendolyn Toll (33:17.03).
The Bears were led by Elijah Moore, who finished third with a time of 18:46.56. Kaden Boggs was sixth with a time of 19:37.75. Evan Simpson (20:19.53) placed 10th, immediately followed by Jacob Schwenke (20:20.40). Ethan Simpson finished 14th with a time of 20:58.41. He was immediately followed by Caleb Schwenke (21:04.56). DaShaun Smith was 17th with a time of 21:56.91.
“Our guys team performed well at the varsity level. I’ve been saying for weeks that a breakout was coming, and you’re seeing it begin to happen,” Vitatoe said.
Noah Sharpe (22:10.59) was 20th to lead Harlan. Brayden Howard (22:35.84) was 23rd, while Connor Collins (24:34.72) placed 26th. Sayed Damaa finished 35th with a time of 26:58.06. Evan Bargo (30:36.89) was 42nd.
Harlan County’s Jonavan Rigney won the boys JV race with a time of 21:27.03. He was immediately followed by Kaylob Stevens (22:44.94). Caden Craig placed sixth with a time of 31:54.97.
Taylor Clem finished third with a time of 30:36.89 in the girls JV race to lead Harlan County.
Tanner Daniels won the boys middle school race with a time of 8:54.50 to pace Harlan County. Jackson Mackowiak finished eighth with a time of 12:18.25. Jayden Sargent placed 18th with a time of 15:10.75.
“I’m really proud of Tanner. This was his second consecutive middle school district championship (he also won the Bob Howard) and he had an incredible race breaking his own school record in the 3K. He just keeps getting better.”
Cooper Thomas finished fifth with a time of 11:23.21 to lead Harlan. Michael Lindsey (16:13.15) was 19th, immediately followed by Landon Traylor (20:47.91).
Harlan’s Juliana Damaa placed third in the girls middle school race with a time of 13:35.81.
Lillie Carver led the Harlan elementary girls to a first-place finish, winning the race with a time of 9:26.31. Zoe Lawson was third with a time of 9:46.25. Priscilla Stewart (9:47.12) finished fifth, immediately followed by Julianne Miller (10:05.15) and Lillian Daniels (10:06.00). Addison Sanford placed ninth with a time of 10:17.78. Rounding out the results for Harlan were Mckenzie Petrey (11th, 10:26.81), Josephine Toll (21st, 11:58.96), Rebecca Adams (25th, 12:29.06), Meredith Lawson (28th, 12:54.53), Hannah Adams (32nd, 13:14.78), Vivian Smith (35th, 13:21.68), McKinley Taylor (37th, 13:26.34), Ila Hendrickson (38th, 13:27.18), Natalie Adams (39th, 13:28.18) and Ellianna Carver (41st, 13:33.68).
Ella Brock placed 17th with a time of 11:19.59 to lead Harlan County to a second-place finish. Krislyn Clem finished 19th with a time of 11:40.47, immediately followed by Kaylyn Lawson (11:57.03). Other finishers for Harlan County were Isabella Burkhart (22nd, 12:09.97), Bella Burkhart (24th, 12:24.56), Sadie Shackleford (30th, 13:04.78), Paisleigh Asher (31st, 13:12.41), Payton Blackwelder (33rd, 13:16.12), Nevaeh Perkins (34th, 13:20.02), Landri Dagnan (36th, 13:22.15), Charlotte Mitchell (40th, 13:29.65), Nevaeh Stone (46th, 14:16.59), Kadie Lawson (48th, 14:48.06), Macie Lawson (49th, 15:32.91), Madilyn Turner (51st, 16:11.34) and Evva Hensley (52nd, 16:12.31).
Hutton Sherman finished fifth overall with a time of 9:13.52 in the boys elementary, pacing Harlan County to a second-place finish. He was immediately followed by Trey Creech with a time of 9:16.31. Jacob Brock placed 13th with a time of 9:56.87. Rounding out the results for Harlan County were Robby Johnson (19th, 10:21.06), Brantley Burkhart (24th, 10:30.15), Jace Hensley (29th, 10:53.38), Connor Banks (33rd, 11:07.59), Kolbi Green (36th, 11:15.02), Jonah Sargent (45th, 12:07.52), Levi Hensley (47th, 12:11.00), Brycen Saylor (52nd, 12:31.94), Sawyer Shackleford (53rd, 12:49.03), Zakk Collins (57th, 13:02.75), Ace Lankford (63rd, 13:29.40), Gunnar Green (64th, 13:32.87), Hunter Evans (65th, 13:40.34), Colton Hensley (67th, 14:02.50), Brayden Perkins (68th, 14:10.38), Elijah Lundy (69th, 14:10.84) Landin Blackwelder (70th, 14:25.69), Jase Sargent (71st, 14:43.81), Noah Blackwelder (72nd, 14:50.00), Micah Lawson (75th, 15:24.25), Cian Garland (78th, 16:48.81), Hunter Asher (79th, 16:50.37), Jordan Sargent (80th, 16:56.84) and Jonah Doyle (83rd, 18:50.22).
Aiden Browning placed 16th with a time of 10:07.03 to lead Harlan. Kash Bailey was 18th sign a time of 10:19.69. Carter White (10:24.12) finished 21st, immediately followed by Colt Sullivan (10:27.28). Other finishers for Harlan were Thomas Miller (25th, 10:30.62), Mason Raleigh (28th, 10:47.91), Andrew Alred (32nd, 11:06.56), Braxton Sizemore (34th, 11:11.65), Kelton Dean (35th, 11:12.52), Tucker White (38th, 11:29.97), Jett Luttrell (39th, 11:44.50), Canaan Bolton (42nd, 11:48.96), Skylar Boggs (44th, 12:04.69), Carson Yount (48th, 12:12.28), Rhett Davis (49th, 12:23.03), Emmett Alred (51st, 12:27.31) and Justyce Young (76th, 16:13.25). The team finished third overall.
“Our elementary runners have continued their growth into strong competitors this season,” Lindsey said. “Watching the growth of so many runners on our teams has been a highlight of our season.”
“I’ve watched this team improve so much throughout the season. They worked so hard this week and it really showed today,” Harlan County elementary coach Jennifer Brock said. “I am blown away by the amount of time our runners dropped today. I am excited to see what they will do at region on Monday. I am expecting great things from this group.”
Vitatoe expressed his gratitude for the support received to host such a large dual meet.
“I want to thank all our parents and volunteers. This was a huge meet, especially elementary races, and we had so many step up and help. I’ve been fortunate since day one to have incredible support from those involved in the program, and that continues,” Vitatoe said. “We even had alumni showing up to help, which is incredible. Finally, thank you to Ms. (Kathy) Napier, Mr. (Eugene) Farmer, and the administration who helped navigate the two impressive events that were taking place on our campus simultaneously. It was a great day.”
Both teams will return to action on Monday at Lynn Camp for the 13th Region Elementary and Middle School Championships. Harlan will also race October 9th at Bell County for the Bobcat Elementary and Middle School Challenge.
Harlan County’s varsity teams will race again on Tuesday at Lexington for the KTCCCA Meet of Champions while Harlan races October 10th at Harlan County for the SEKC Championships.
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The Area 9 Championship was ran concurrently with the Bob Howard Memorial Invitational.
The Harlan County boys claimed their 11th consecutive district title, while the girls won their 13th in 16 seasons.
The Harlan girls elementary team won its race.
Other winning teams included June Buchanan in the girls middle school race and Johnson County in the boys elementary race.
Harlan County runners were winners in five events in the Area 9 meet. Moore and Lunsford won the boys and girls varsity races, while Rigney and Clem were boys and girls JV winners, respectively. Daniels won the boys middle school race.
“I’m really proud of the boys for winning the district for the 11th straight year,” Vitatoe said. “That’s an incredible accomplishment and they should be proud.
“Elijah ran a fantastic race, he won the district championship individually with a huge PR, and I’m proud of him. I’m happy for Peyton. I know today was emotional for her and her family. She ran a great race with one of her fastest times on our course.
“I was really proud of Jonavan today for winning the JV titles. He has improved so much during his career, and he’s not finished yet. He will make a big impact on our program before he graduates. I’m really proud of him.”
Harlan’s Juliana Damaa won the girls middle school race, while Lillie Carver won the girls elementary race.
