The Harlan County Black Bears opened its season with a stellar performance Friday at home in an 11-team all-comers meet.
Both teams had wins in their respective divisions. The Lady Bears finished with 167 points, and the Bears finished with 141 points.
“I’m really proud of both of these teams. This is a great way to open the season, and I felt like they all competed really hard and were focused on giving their best effort,” Harlan County coach Ryan Vitatoe said. “That was the message heading into this meet – focus on competing as hard as you can and the times/marks will take care of themselves.
“We are working a lot of kids into new events, so there’s still a lot of room for growth for these teams going forward. We have a lot of new, young kids who are learning the sport, and I was really proud of them tonight.”
To lead the girls, Lauren Lewis won the 400-meter dash. Peyton Lunsford won the 800-meter run. Madison Daniels won long jump and pole vault. Addyson Caldwell won shot put.
“We had a great night on the girls’ side,” Vitatoe said. “I thought Maddie Daniels was solid tonight in her events. Maddi Middleton also had a big night for us.
“Peyton and Lauren picked up big wins for us. Addy picked up a huge win in the shot, and I thought Ali (Hensley, who finished third) was solid there too.“
Lewis, Lunsford, Addi Gray and Preslee Hensley won the 4 x 400-meter relay.
Lewis, Lunsford, Preslee Hensley and Kiera Roberts won the 4 x 800-meter relay.
Jaylee Cochran placed sixth in the 100-meter dash. She was immediately followed by Aliyah Deleon. Makenna Dillman was 17th. Aiselyn Sexton and Khloe Carr finished 22nd and 25th, respectively. Macie Bennett was 34th, immediately followed by Emily Ositis.
In the 200-meter dash, Cochran finished fourth. Deleon placed seventh, and Jaycee Simpson was 13th. Dillman finished 19th. She was immediately followed by Carr and Sexton. Bennett and Ositis were 27th and 30th, respectively.
Lunsford placed third in the 400-meter dash. Simpson was sixth, while Preslee Hensley finished eighth. Sexton was 12th.
“I thought our sprint groups were solid tonight as well,” Vitatoe said. “They’re only going to get better.”
Preslee Hensley finished third in the 800-meter run. Alice Gross placed 16th.
Roberts finished second in the 1,600-meter run. Suzy Mumford placed seventh, and Gross was 14th.
Roberts was second in the 3,200-meter run, while Mumford finished fourth.
Ashton Evans placed fourth in the 100-meter hurdles and 300-meter hurdles.
In long jump, Maddi Middleton was third. Riley Witt placed eighth. Aliya Burkhart and Maddi Gray were 12th and 14th, respectively.
Middleton finished second in high jump. Trinity Jones was fifth.
Middleton placed second in triple jump.
Jones was second in pole vault. Evans placed fourth.
“I was really proud of Trinitiy and Ashton for their performances, particularly in the pole vault,” Vitatoe said. “They really locked in this week and have come a long way in a short time for a very difficult event to learn.”
In shot put, Addison Day was fourth. Savanna Madden and Aubrey Madden were 19th and 20th, respectively.
“The throwers were fantastic,” Vitatoe said. “I hate that group didn’t get the opportunity to throw the discus tonight.”
In the 4 x 100-meter relay, Cochran, Dillman, Daniels and Deleon finished third. Carr, Ositis, Simpson and Addi Gray placed fourth.
Cochran, Simpson, Deleon and Addi Gray were third in the 4 x 200-meter relay.
Luke Kelly led the boys, winning the 100- and 200-meter dash and setting a new school record in the 100-meter dash. Kaden Boggs won the 3,200-meter run. Jayce Brown won pole vault. Peyton Jackson won shot put.
“Luke had an incredible meet tonight breaking his school record in the 100. You don’t see a kid flirting with a sub-11:00 100 much, and I think he’ll get it before the season ends,” Vitatoe said. “He was also solid in the 200 and both of these times are sitting inside the top two or three in the state, currently.
“I thought Jayce had a good meet, and I was proud of Peyton Jackson for his big win in the shot. Both of these guys are poised for a big year.”
Kelly, Ethan Simpson, Gage Bailey and Ray Splawn won the 4 x 100-meter relay.
Boggs, Elijah Moore, Caleb Schwenke and Jacob Schwenke won the 4 x 800-meter relay.
“The boys 4 x 800 team was fantastic tonight as well,” Vitatoe said. “That time nearly broke our school record and they’re sitting with the top mark in 2A, currently.”
Splawn placed 10th in the 100-meter dash. Landon Cook finished 24th. Sam Carr was 30th.
Splawn was 12th in the 200-meter dash. Rydge Lewis placed 14th. Otis Smith finished 19th, immediately followed by Cook. Carr and Ethan Nantz were 29th and 32nd, respectively. Drew Ealy placed 35th.
In the 400-meter dash, Jacob Schwenke finished seventh. He was immediately followed by Ethan Simpson. Moore was fifth. Gage placed eighth. Caleb Schwenke finished 12th.
Jacob Schwenke placed second in the 800-meter run. Moore and Caleb Schwenke finished fifth and seventh, respectively. Luther Gross was 10th, immediately followed by Trevor Farley and Cayden Craig. William Duncan placed 19th. Ethan Lewis and Karson Dunn were 23rd and 25th, respectively. Chase Bledsoe was 27th, while Roger Johnson placed 30th.
In the 1,600-meter run, Jonavan Rigney placed fifth. Christopher Johnson was seventh. He was immediately followed by Farley and Cayden Craig. Ethan Lewis finished 14th, immediately followed by Braxton Duncan and William Duncan. Dunn was 18th. Jayden Sargent placed 20th. Bledsoe and Roger Johnson were 31st and 33rd, respectively.
In the 3,200-meter run, Rigney placed second. He was immediately followed by Christopher Johnson and Braxton Duncan.
Drew Sergent placed third in the 110- and 300-meter hurdles.
“I was super impressed with Drew in the hurdles in his first meet,” Vitatoe said.
Bradley Brock was eighth in long jump. Caden Craig and Evan Simpson placed 11th and 12th, respectively. Jaxton Miller was 17th.
Brown placed seventh in high jump.
In triple jump, Brock placed fourth. Caden Craig was seventh. Evan Simpson and Miller were eighth and 10th, respectively.
Brock placed second in pole vault.
In shot put, Alex Greene was fourth. Brayden Clay was sixth, and Braxton Cornett placed 10th. Aaron Johnson was 12th. Aiden Jones was 26th. Hunter Stevens and Eli Nolan were 28th and 29th, respectively. Plez Dean placed 31st. Aj Halcomb and Thomas Polson were 33rd and 34th, respectively.
In the 4 x 400-meter relay, Bailey, Kelly, Jacob Schwenke and Ethan Simpson finished second.
Gross, Farley, Ethan Lewis and Cayden Craig placed fourth in the 4 x 800-meter relay. Dunn, Bledsoe, Braxton Duncan and William Duncan finished fifth.
“We had a lot of great performances. I was really impressed with our young group of distance runners as well,” Vitatoe said. “I thought Trevor and those guys were impressive.
“We have a lot of new kids that will make big noise before the year ends. They just need a bit more time to learn their event.”
“It’s an interesting time in both teams as we are adjusting to competing without the kids who graduated last year combined with a lot of kids who are new and learning the sport,” Vitatoe said. “This will be a fun year to watch as we continue to develop and improve. We have great kids in this program, and they’re practicing hard every day. The sky will be the limit.”
Harlan County will return to action April 4 at Oneida for the Oneida Baptist all-comers meet.