Before Saturday’s Class 2A state championship meet, Harlan County coach Ryan Vitatoe said his girls were ready to “make Harlan County proud.”
That might have been an understatement.
The Lady Bears rolled to a runner-up finish, defeating everyone except a juggernaut Lexington Catholic team.
Lexington Catholic ran away with the win, scoring 38 points. Corbin placed third with 124 points, 22 points behind Harlan County.
It was the highest finish for a Harlan County team in state competition since the Cumberland football lost to Heath in the 1986 Class A finals. The only track team in county history to place higher was the Harlan girls, who tied for first in the Class A meet in 1972.
“I can’t even begin to describe how proud I am of these kids today,” Vitatoe said. “What an awesome showing at the KHSAA state meet! They came into the meet today focused and ready to compete. We had a plan in place that we discussed all week, and they did a nice job of executing it. I’m just really proud of all these kids, they represented our county well. They are such a great group of kids and have all worked so hard for this moment. They deserve it. I’m very proud of both of them.”
Peyton Lunsford finished eighth overall with a time of 20:06.62 to lead the girls. Lauren Lewis placed 18th with a time of 21:28.59. Charli Shepherd (21:46.95) was 26th. Gracie Roberts (21:57.34) finished 30th, while Kiera Roberts (22:19.43) was 37th. Preslee Hensley placed 44th with a time of 22:34.97. Jaycee Simpson (87th) finished with a time of 23:58.70.
“The girls ran a beautiful race today. They were dialed in, and they did a great job of competing. They did a great job of remaining focused and not being fazed by the state championship environment, which says a lot about them considering five of our seven are in junior high,” Vitatoe said. “I’m just really proud of them and I have no doubts from watching the race that they left it all out on the course. They really wanted to win, and they raced like it. Lexington Catholic is an incredible team and they showed it, but I’m very proud of how hard these girls competed today. They beat the best teams in the state today with the exception of one, and that’s amazing. It’s a huge accomplishment for our school as the first state runner-up program, and these kids should be proud of that. They lived up to their ranking and cemented themselves as one of the top teams in the state, which was our main goal coming in. I told them all week that what we believe about ourselves trumps anything anyone thinks. That’s an important lesson to learn in sports (and life), and I’m really proud of them. They proved themselves today.
“Peyton had a great race, and what a great comeback story for her with the injury last winter. She competed hard and turned in a top-ten individual finish in back-to-back seasons. I’m really proud of her.
“Lauren was fantastic today as well. I thought she ran a stellar race. Charli ran her best race of the season, and she absolutely crushed the last half of our race. Gracie ran a great race. She and Kiera had absolutely nothing left when they crossed the finish line. Preslee ran really well too. She was critical if we had a tie, and she absolutely killed it in that sixth spot for us. I’m also super proud of Jaycee, she had another huge race.
“It’s really special when you put seven girls in under 24 and six under 23. This was a great performance. It was a total team effort, and it speaks to the mindset and camaraderie of this group of girls. They have been special all season long. They won every single meet that this lineup raced together, with the exception of the state meet. That says a lot about just how strong they were this year. I’m just so very proud of them. They’ll remember this forever, and they have the chance to be together and make a run at it next year.”
The boys left Lexington with the highest finish in school history as well, coming in 10th.
Covington Catholic won. Mason County placed second, while Paducah Tilghman finished third.
Tanner Daniels led the boys, placing 12th overall with a time of 17:05.42. Elijah Moore was 38th with a time of 18:02.14. Kaden Boggs (68th) finished with a time of 18:44.61. Evan Simpson (19:41.15) and Jacob Schwenke (19:42.98) placed 110th and 112th, respectively. Caleb Schwenke finished 153rd with a time of 20:23.77. Ethan Simpson was 169th with a time of 20:41.19.
“I can’t say enough about these boys. I’ve said several times, but it bears repeating, that this group of boys has improved as much as any that I’ve coached,” Vitatoe said. “To come up and finish in the top ten at the state championships is a gigantic accomplishment. To put it in perspective, there hasn’t been a top-ten finish in boys cross country since 1994. It’s a big deal, and these guys should be really proud of themselves. They’re in rare company. We’ve been knocking on the door of a top-ten finish for the last three years, and I’m really happy they were able to break through. They’re a tight-knit group, and they’ll all be back next season to try and improve on their accomplishment.
“Tanner ran a great race. What a huge accomplishment it is to finish inside the top 15 individually at the state meet, even more so as an eighth grader. This is the highest individual finish in our school’s history and he’s going to have a chance to improve on that before his career ends here. I’m really proud of him.
“Elijah had another big race today. He’s really come on this season and is beginning to see his potential as a runner. I’m really proud of him. Kaden Boggs had another great race today. He’s been with us for several years now, and I’m glad he’s had the opportunity to feel this success. Evan Simpson had a gigantic race today. He’s a super hard worker and his results show that. Jacob and Caleb Schwenke also competed hard. Caleb has been super consistent this season and his breakout is coming. I’m also very proud of Ethan Simpson. He’s come such a long way this season. These guys have been fantastic to coach, and that’s a big reason for their success. I’m so proud of all of them.
“I want to thank my staff for their hard work this season. I appreciate the work Baili (Bailey), Abby (Vitatoe), Jennifer (Brock), and Miranda (Epperson) have put in for all our kids from the elementary division up. I also want to thank Mr. (Eugene) Farmer, Ms. (Kathy) Napier, and all of our faculty and staff for all their support for our kids. We really appreciate all they do. Finally, we have an incredible group of parents this year who have gone above and beyond for our kids and program. I’ve been lucky my entire career to have great parents and volunteers to give tons to these kids, and this year is no exception. I hope they all know how much I appreciate what they do. I also want to thank Fran (Vitatoe) for all she’s done this season to support these kids and our parents for the many things they do. I really appreciate all that she’s done.
“It’s been a wonderful season of cross country. When you have the ability to make history after 16 seasons, it’s very exciting. We want to continue to attract kids into our program to continue to build. We have over 75 kids on our roster this past season from the elementary group through high school, and we want to continue to improve those numbers. We work hard to have a program that includes everyone and gives them the chance to kids to be part of a positive environment.”