The Harlan County cross country team had a stellar performance Tuesday at Morgan County in the Morgan County Sorghum Run.
“We had a great performance today. I can’t say enough about how hard these kids competed,” Harlan County cross country coach Ryan Vitatoe said. “The challenge heading into this meet was to have the intensity and focus that’s expected in this program. I thought we were ready to roll from the gun to the line, and that’s what I expect from these teams every single time we meet. This was the best we’ve looked (on all fronts) this season. I’m super proud of them.”
The boys won their race, achieving the fastest team performance in program history.
The girls also won, claiming their third perfect score of the season.
Kaden Boggs led the boys, finishing second with a time of 17:13.92. Elijah Moore was fourth with a time of 17:23.42. Jacob Schwenke (17:42.57) placed sixth. He was immediately followed by Caleb Schwenke (18:31.23), Jonavan Rigney (18:33.19) and Ethan Simpson (18:40.53). Evan Simpson (13th) finished with a time of 19:27.67, immediately followed by DaShaun Smith (19:27.68). Christopher Johnson finished 17th with a time of 20:47.85. Landon Cook placed 35th with a time of 25:29.81. He was immediately followed by Jaxton Miller (25:39.17).
“The boys absolutely killed it this evening. When you look at the history of this program, this was the fastest performance ever by a group of guys, with three guys in the 17s and three more under 18:40,” Vitatoe said. “They ran great tonight and they’re clicking on all cylinders at the right time. I love the confidence I’m seeing from this group, and the humility as well. They know they still have a lot of work to do, and they’re willing to do it.
“I’m super proud of all of them, and I’m tickled for Jacob Schwenke to run under 18:00 for the first time in his career. He’s flirted with it since last season and I’m happy for him to achieve that. Jon had another huge PR, as did Caleb, Ethan, Evan and DaShaun. Elijah and Kaden put themselves in the conversation to contend for the region title individually, and Chris, Jaxton and Landon had huge races. I’m really proud of them all. This performance will push them up quite a bit in the AA state rankings, and they’ll keep building on it. It was a fantastic night.”
To lead the girls, Peyton Lunsford won with a time of 19:49.13, setting a new school record. She was immediately followed by Gracie Roberts (20:12.73), Lauren Lewis (21:00.51), Kiera Roberts (21:05.36), Preslee Hensley (22:34.67) and Aliyah Deleon (22:50.60). Suzy Mumford finished ninth with a time of 25:21.32. Madison Daniels (27:53.89) placed 13th.
“The girls also had a huge night tonight. We took a big step in the right direction in Louisville on Saturday and they built on that this evening,” Vitatoe said. “This was the best intensity we’ve had as a group since our first meet of the season. They packed up well, they challenged each other to hold their spots and performed beautifully with a perfect score. I really challenged them this week to find themselves and they did that today. It was their best performance since last year’s state meet. I knew we’d eventually break out. They (and the boys) have been running incredible splits in practice. It’s nice to see that translate on race day.
“Peyton had a huge race today and broke her own school record. Gracie looked strong throughout and I was really proud of the work that Kiera and Lauren did together in the last half of the race. Preslee and Aliyah did a great job as well and are working well together to give us a solid number-five spot. I can’t say enough about Suzy and how far she’s come this season. She’s going to be a good one before she graduates. Maddie also had a huge PR tonight. We were missing Jaycee tonight due to competing in the middle school region yesterday, but I’m really proud of this group.”
“We’ll take time to be happy about this performance, but we’re back to work today to prepare for a tough field of runners on Saturday at home,” Vitatoe said. “I’m proud of both of these teams and how they work through their struggles. We still have a lot of work to do, but I like where both teams are.”
The Bears will return to action Saturday at home for the Coach Bob Howard Memorial CC Invitational/Area 9 Championships.