The Harlan County Lady Bears recorded their second perfect score of the season Tuesday at home. The girls won with 15 points, while the boys won with 29 points.
“I’m proud of all our kids in each program today. This was our first competition in tough conditions, and I thought each team did a great job,” Harlan County cross country coach Ryan Vitatoe said. “The course was wet and sloppy, but I thought we competed hard and turned in some great performances.”
Peyton Lunsford won the girls race with a time of 21:36.59. She was immediately followed by Gracie Roberts (22:15.56), Lauren Lewis (22:15.84), Kiera Roberts (22:55.15) and Preslee Hensley (23:14.91). Aliyah Deleon finished seventh with a time of 24:09.28. Suzy Mumford (12th) finished with a time of 27:04.56. Madison Daniels placed 19th with a time of 31:13.94. Riley Witt was 22nd with a time of 32:08.12.
“The girls turned it around today. These are some fast times considering how sloppy the course was,” Vitatoe said. “They are getting their legs under them and I’m proud of how hard they competed. Pikeville has a good team, and I thought we competed hard against them.
“I was proud of Lauren’s race. She was really focused and competed hard today. I knew she was going to break out, and I hope this gives her confidence going forward.”
To lead the boys, Kaden Boggs finished third with a time of 18:20.09. He was immediately followed by Elijah Moore (18:30.38), Jacob Schwenke (18:36.06) and Caleb Schwenke (18:51.53). Ethan Simpson placed 11th with a time of 20:10.38, immediately followed by DaShaun Smith (20:12.56). Evan Simpson (15th) and Jonavan Rigney (16th) finished with times of 20:54.75 and 21:11.91, respectively. Christopher Johnson was 18th with a time of 21:25.43. Kaylob Stevens (22:32.66) finished 20th. Jaxton Miller was 32nd with a time of 27:46.50. Landon Cook (28:36.00) and Caden Craig (29:42.88) placed 36th and 40th, respectively. Roger Johnson was 45th with a time of 31:49.50.
“The boys ran great today. To have four guys under 19:00 in these conditions was a great accomplishment,” Vitatoe said. “They are getting better every week and they keep climbing up in the state rankings. I’m proud of them.
“Caleb had a huge race today. He’s such a hard worker and I’m glad he’s seeing the results of his work. He’s getting more confident each meet and it’s a big accomplishment to get back to back PRs.”
The Harlan County girls and boys elementary teams won with 20 points and 30 points, respectively. Harlan placed second overall in the boys race (35 points) and in the girls race (61 points).
Lillie Carver led Harlan County, winning the elementary girls race with a time of 9:47.97. Bella Burkhart finished third with a time of 10:50.69. She was immediately followed by Ella Brock (10:55.06) and Krislyn Clem (11:00.06). Rounding out the results were Alysia Johnson (seventh, 11:03.09), Sadie Shackleford (eighth, 11:04.00), Lakynn Clem (17th, 12:11.18), Isabella Burkhart (22nd, 12:28.84), Ellianna Carver (23rd, 12:31.98), Payton Blackwelder (25th, 12:45.12), Kadie Lawson (26th, 12:48.02), Charlotte Mitchell (29th, 13:03.56), Landri Dagnan (31st, 13:13.50), Nevaeh Perkins (35th, 13:28.34), Kaylyn Lawson (41st, 13:57.75), Sawyer Millikan (45th, 14:29.00), Nevaeh Stone (46th, 14:37.41), Skylar Belcher (50th, 15:10.66), Evva Hensley (51st, 15:29.12), Emma Mitchell (52nd, 15:32.00), Kellee Doyle (53rd, 15:36.02), Madilyn Turner (55th, 16:03.53), Peyton Sherman (57th, 17:04.56), Emberlynn Miller (58th, 18:43.31), Madelyn Craig (60th, 20:54.62), Emily McKnight (61st, 23:26.44), Rebecca Gadow (62nd, 23:33.18), Zoey Gadow (63rd, 25:21.12) and Caroline Collins (67th, 26:01.02).
To lead Harlan in the elementary girls race, Julianne Miller placed second with a time of 10:05.44. Cora Jones (12th) finished with a time of 11:17.02. Lucy Miller finished 15th with a time of 12:05.44, immediately followed by McKinley Taylor (12:06.81). Other finishers were Josephine Toll (19th, 12:14.28), Shelby Parsons (20th, 12:15.15), Rebecca Adams (24th, 12:34.84), Meredith Lawson (27th, 12:56.88), Hannah Adams (32nd, 13:17.00), Emma McMillian (38th, 13:49.72), Rayleigh Harris (44th, 14:28.90), Amelia Hensley (47th, 14:52.02), Leah Burkhart (54th, 15:39.56), Shelbee Miller (56th, 16:25.53), Micah Rowe (64th, 25:26.42) and McKenzie Collett (65th, 25:42.12).
“Our elementary and middle school runners had a phenomenal race at Harlan County on Tuesday,” Harlan cross country coach Anne Lindsey said. “Our elementary girls continue to improve. Our veteran girls continue to lead and mentor our new runners. Julianne, Cora and Josephine help take the lead in this group. McKinley is also maturing this year in her competition. We are excited to see how these young ladies will grow and develop over the next few years.”
Hutton Sherman won the elementary boys race with a time of 8:55.53 to lead Harlan County. He was immediately followed by Logan Mills (9:15.15). Tate Sherman placed seventh with a time of 10:18.53. Other finishers for Harlan County were Dalton Johnson (11th, 10:44.81), Jace Hensley (12th, 10:49.41), Levi Hensley (13th, 10:50.31), Seth Johnson (14th, 10:56.06), Conner Banks (16th, 11:08.00), Deacon Lisenbee (25th, 12:00.53), Jonah Sargent (28th, 12:08.00), Skylar Boggs (31st, 12:39.97), Colton Hensley (32nd, 12:42.40), Noah Blackwelder (37th, 13:49.56), Hunter Evans (38th, 13:51.37), Eli McKnight (39th, 13:52.58), Zakk Collins (43rd, 14:09.47), Mitchell Lunsford (44th, 14:10.96), Corben Snelling (45th, 14:11.48), Brayden Perkins (46th, 14:21.22), Stephen Colinger (47th, 14:29.31), Easton Halcomb (49th, 14:59.81), Jordan Sargent (51st, 15:05.39), Micah Lawson (54th, 15:45.31), Jonah Doyle (55th, 15:47.48), Jace Howard (56th, 15:48.40) and Jase Sargent (58th, 15:55.34).
“We ran our home course last night for the second time this season and we saw many PRs and season bests. It rained from the start of this race until the very end, but these kids battled through,” Harlan County elementary cross country coach Jennifer Brock said. “I am so proud of them and love watching them apply new skills that we have been working on.
“These young runners have so many great role models through our middle school and high school programs. We truly are a family of runners and I’m so thankful to be a part of it.”
Aiden Browning placed third with a time of 9:40.15 in the elementary boys race to lead Harlan. He was immediately followed by Kash Bailey (9:48.49) and Tucker White (10:07.28). Rounding out the results were Braxton Sizemore (10th, 10:42.72), Thomas Miller (15th, 10:58.31), Canaan Bolton (17th, 11:23.56), Xander Owens (19th, 11:28.50), Kelton Dean (21st, 11:39.62), Andrew Alred (23rd, 11:47.53), Emmett Alred (26th, 12:03.52), Rhett Davis (30th, 12:28.28), Cole Lunsford (34th, 13:15.12), Ashwin Ghanti (36th, 13:35.59), Jess Bennett (40th, 13:56.93), Mason Howard (52nd, 15:39.28), Gunner Green (60th, 16:20.25), Ishwak Depa (62nd, 18:19.62), Parker Hensley (63rd, 18:38.86) and Ahmad Amro (65th, 23:58.38).
“Our elementary boys continue to improve their times. They are a competitive bunch that consistently push each other in practice and on race day,” Lindsey said. “Aiden, Kash and Tucker continue to battle for position. We are excited to continue to watch this great group of boys as they grow as individuals and as runners.”
Harlan County’s middle school boys won with 15 points.
“I’m proud of our middle school boys. To win back-to-back meets is a big deal,” Vitatoe said. “These guys are getting better each meet and they’re going to be big contributors down the road.”
Braxton Duncan placed third with a time of 11:45.09 to lead Harlan County. He was immediately followed by Robby Johnson (11:54.50) and Jayden Sargent (12:26.47). Brycen Saylor (eighth) finished with a time of 12:54.40. Landin Blackwelder finished 13th with a time of 14:58.38, immediately followed by Eli Nolan (15:09.59).
To lead Harlan, Cooper Thomas placed second in the boys middle school race with a time of 11:09.29. Jett Luttrell finished 12th with a time of 14:15.84.
Harlan’s Priscilla Stewart won the girls middle school race with a time of 12:28.69. She was immediately followed by Zoe Lawson (12:52.03).
“Our middle school runners are small but mighty. This group has worked extremely hard this season,” Lindsey said. “Each race we see the fruits of their labor. All four of them had a personal record this race.”
Harlan County’s Lexi Boggs finished fifth with a time of 15:28.94 in the girls middle school race.
“I was really proud of (Boggs). She was our only middle school girl today, and I thought she did a great job,” Vitatoe said. “This should be a confidence booster for her going forward.”
“We’re coming down the homestretch of the season. Our training is about to shift to sharpening, and hopefully we’ll continue to see times drop,” Vitatoe said. “This is a solid group of kids and I have no doubt they’re going to keep getting better.”
Harlan will return to action Saturday at Berea for the Berea Community Invitational. Harlan County’s next meet will be Wednesday at Morgan County for the Morgan County Sorghum Run.