Lillie Carver won the 13th Region middle school race in the fourth-through-sixth-grade division.

The Harlan and Harlan County elementary and middle school cross country teams competed in the Region 13 Elementary and Middle School Championships at Lynn Camp on Monday.
“The 13th Region Elementary and middle school championship is such a fun race for our young runners,” Harlan cross country coach Anne Lindsey said. “This race presents the challenge of strong competition and our runners look forward to it all season. We feel so proud of their performances last night.”
“I am so very proud of this team. I asked them to give it their all last night, and that is exactly what they did,” Harlan County elementary cross country coach Jennifer Brock said.
Harlan’s kindergarten through third-grade boys won their race, while the girls placed third.
Braxton Sizemore finished second with a time of 7:19.62 in the boys race. Kash Bailey was fourth with a time of 7:29.07, immediately followed by Ben Parsons (7:30.81). Rounding out the results were Kelton Dean (21st, 8:16.29), Emmett Alred (23rd, 8:23.84), Mason Howard (58th, 10:33.57), Gunner Green (74th, 12:04.96), Jess Bennett (79th, 12:47.79) and Parker Hensley (85th, 13:43.70).
“Our elementary boys have had strong back-to-back performances,” Lindsey said. “Kash, Braxton and Ben led our young boys last night to a first place team finish.”
McKinley Taylor led the girls, finishing ninth with a time of 8:43.72. Mallory Sizemore placed 16th with a time of 9:04.89. Shelby Parsons (23rd) finished with a time of 9:22.83. Other finishers were Lucy Miller (27th, 9:34.70), Meredith Lawson (31st, 9:50.45), Amelia Hensley (38th, 10:07.54) and McKenzie Collett (74th, 16:59.79).
“Our elementary girls ran well. McKinley, Mallory and Shelby have been consistently improving their race times in our younger group,” Lindsey said.
Harlan County’s kindergarten through third-grade girls placed second. The boys were eighth.
Bella Burkhart placed fourth with a time of 8:21.34 to lead the girls. Sadie Shackleford (8:44.27) finished 10th. Lakynn Clem was 12th with a time of 8:48.88. Rounding out the results were Ellianna Carver (21st, 9:17.87), Kellee Doyle (39th, 10:08.45), Landri Dagnan (44th, 10:32.31), Evva Hensley (46th, 10:42.14), Charlotte Mitchell (47th, 10:45.98), Kadie Lawson (50th, 11:14.02), Sawyer Millikan (54th, 11:34.11), Kaylyn Lawson (56th, 11:42.11), Emma Mitchell (72nd, 15:48.59) and Caroline Collins (76th, 20:00.00).
To lead the boys, Tate Sherman placed sixth with a time of 7:32.48. Skylar Boggs (36th) finished with a time of 8:58.09. Mitchell Lunsford was 45th with a time of 9:30.68. Other finishers were Eli McKnight (56th, 10:28.92), Corben Snelling (59th, 10:34.56), Jonah Sargent (61st, 10:39.49), Oliver Hensley (80th, 12:53.55) and Micah Lawson (83rd, 13:18.43).
“The kindergarten through third-grade boys team ran well tonight, led by Tate Sherman,” Brock said.
Harlan County’s fourth-grade through sixth-grade girls finished second overall, while the boys placed third.
Lillie Carver won the girls race with a time of 7:16.88. Ella Brock (8:11.44) and Alysia Johnson (8:12.62) finished 13th and 15th, respectively. Rounding out the results were Krislyn Clem (18th, 8:30.80), Isabella Burkhart (36th, 9:59.34), Paisleigh Asher (50th, 10:44.70), Madilyn Turner (54th, 11:24.73), Peyton Sherman (57th, 12:00.79), Madelyn Craig (58th, (12:07.75) and Emily McKnight (63rd, 13:49.13).
“Both girls teams brought home the runner-up trophy, with Lillie Carver winning the fourth-grade through sixth-grade race,” Brock said. “We had seven girls with a top-20 finish in a very competitive field.”
Hutton Sherman finished third with a time of 6:33.88 in the boys race. Brantley Burkhart was 19th with a time of 7:38.13. Jace Hensley (22nd) finished with a time of 7:48.32. Other finishers were Conner Banks (31st, 8:20.46), Levi Hensley (33rd, 8:25.22), Seth Johnson (37th, 8:34.84), Deacon Lisenbee (44th, 8:43.02), Dalton Johnson (45th, 8:44.24), Colton Hensley (61st, 10:26.51), Easton Halcomb (63rd, 10:37.22), Jace Howard (65th, 10:47.22), Jase Sargent (66th, 10:47.82), Jordan Sargent (70th, 11:08.45) and Jonah Doyle (73rd, 11:20.52).
“Our fourth-grade through sixth-grade boys finished third as a team against tough competition,” Brock said. “We had three boys finish in the top 20.
“The HC cross country program has always been amazing, and with these young runners I believe they will continue to keep this program in the spotlight.”
Harlan’s fourth-grade through sixth-grade boys placed second overall. The girls were fourth.
In the boys race, Tucker White placed eighth with a time of 7:07.48. Aiden Browning was 11th with a time of 7:17.30. Xander Owens (7:37.60) finished 18th. Other finishers were Canaan Bolton (23rd, 7:49.65), Thomas Miller (24th, 7:54.05), Andrew Alred (50th, 8:58.65) and Cole Lunsford (69th, 10:59.30).
“Our older boys are running really well as a team and benefit from the leadership of Aiden and Tucker to come away with a second place team finish,” Lindsey said.
Julianne Miller finished third with a time of 7:22.05 in the girls race. Cora Jones (17th) finished with a time of 8:27.16. Josephine Toll placed 23rd with a time of 8:45.61. Rounding out the results were Rebecca Adams (32nd, 9:43.13), Hannah Adams (47th, 10:33.17) and Shelbee Miller (51st, 11:17.33).
“Julianne, Cora and Josephine continue to provide strong leadership for elementary girls,” Lindsey said.
In the middle school girls race, Jaycee Simpson finished fifth with a time of 12:16.10 to lead Harlan County. Julionna Johnson placed 13th with a time of 13.31.56. Aiselyn Sexton (15:03.60) was 19th, immediately followed by Lexi Boggs (15:13.26).
“Jaycee ran a great race today. I thought she was aggressive throughout and she closed out the second half really well,” Harlan County cross country coach Ryan Vitatoe said. “She’s a gamer. You know you’re always getting her best every time she takes the line. Aiselyn had a great race as well. She was minutes faster than she was the first time she ran this course in August and that shows tremendous growth. She hasn’t scratched the surface of what she’s capable of.
“Julionna had a great race as well. Like Ace, she’s not begun to scratch the surface of what she’s capable of doing as a runner. Lexi did a great job today as well. She’s grown so much this season and has improved a ton. I’m really proud of her.”
To lead Harlan, Priscilla Stewart placed 11th with a time of 13:17.02 in the girls middle school race. She was immediately followed by Zoe Lawson (13:25.79).
“Our middle school runners also had strong performances. We love seeing them develop into strong competitors,” Lindsey said. “Zoe and Priscilla are working incredibly hard this season. Their drive and motivation to win is inspiring. We’re so proud of their efforts.”
In the boys middle school race, Harlan’s Cooper Thomas finished eighth with a time of 11:27.47. Jett Luttrell (35th) finished with a time of 15:31.25.
“Cooper and Jett have both had great seasons,” Lindsey said. “They’ve challenged themselves running middle and high school races this year and their dedication and hard work is paying off.”
Braxton Duncan finished ninth with a time of 11:34.47 in the boys middle school race to lead Harlan County. Robby Johnson (12:35.90) and Jayden Sargent (12:59.83) were 22nd and 26th, respectively.
“I thought the boys also competed hard,” Vitatoe said. “We were missing a couple of guys tonight that prevented us from scoring as a team, but these guys brought great intensity and raced hard. Braxton had a huge race. I’m really proud of him, and I’m excited about what his future can be in our sport.
“Robby did well tonight. He’s improved a ton this year, and he’s going to be a key contributor for us when he gets into high school. I’m proud of him. I can’t say enough about Jayden. He was a bit late getting started this year, but he’s been with us a few years now and I’ve never seen him work as hard as he has this season. He’s really dialed in and working hard and it’s translating on race day.”
“I thought we did a nice job competing tonight and I’m proud of all of our middle school kids,” Vitatoe said. “We have a lot of middle schoolers that we share with other sports, which is tough, but this group works hard. It’s great to get this experience and we hope that they’ll move into our high school program ready to contribute.”
Harlan and Harlan County’s elementary and middle school teams will return to action Saturday at Harlan County for the Coach Bob Howard Memorial CC Invitational/Area 9 Championships.