The Harlan County Black Bears opened their cross country season Saturday at Lynn Camp.
The Lady Bears finished second overall in the girls varsity race with 76 points, 44 points behind Frederick Douglass.
The Bears placed third in the boys varsity race with 88 points.
“I’m proud of our teams today. This was a huge and highly competitive meet, and one of the best I’ve ever had a team open their season with,” Harlan County cross country coach Ryan Vitatoe said. “I thought they were dialed in and ready to compete, and it’s a sign of good things to come, I think.”
To lead the girls, Gracie Roberts finished third with a time of 21:35.17. Kiera Roberts placed sixth with a time of 22:19.87. Lauren Lewis (22:58.05) and Preslee Hensley (23:16.21) were 14th and 17th, respectively. Rounding out the results were Lexi Adams (52nd, 28:04.05), Ariel Farley (54th, 28:13.05), Julionna Johnson (55th, 28:14.05), Suzy Mumford (57th, 28:41.68) and Sienna Banks (70th, 31:00.98).
“I thought it was a very solid opener for our girls. Our front four ran fantastic and had excellent races. Gracie looked strong, and Lauren, Kiera and Pres all ran great,” Vitatoe said. “I thought Suzy, JJ, Lexi and Ariel were great. Sienna did great for us, too. Andrea took a tumble and wasn’t able to finish, but she is going to be a big help for us this year.
“We have work to do overall, but I thought they ran well and beat some solid teams. The ceiling is high, and they have a chance to do big things this season. We have to focus on getting our back group closer to the front four, but the talent is there. We have work to do, but a runner-up finish in a meet this competitive is a great way to open the season.”
Elijah Moore finished fourth with a time 17:55.50 to pace the boys. Jacob Schwenke was 10th with a time of 18:28.59. DaShaun Smith (20:13.31) placed 25th. Rounding out the results were Christopher Johnson (27th, 20:19.19), Ethan Lewis (28th, 20:22.11), Braxton Duncan (31st, 20:44.67), Jayden Sargent (37th, 21:12.69), William Duncan (39th, 21:20.16), Braxton Hubbard (43rd, 21:37.33), Braxtyn Owens (53rd, 22:36.93) and Karson Dunn (54th, 22:56.00).
“I thought the boys did a great job of packing up and moving together. We’ve spent a lot of time talking this summer about how important working together is, and I think they did a nice job of that overall,” Vitatoe said. “We have a long way to go, but I’m super encouraged by what I saw today. The ceiling is high.”
“Jacob and Elijah had big races. Ethan ran great in his first race back, and DaShaun and Chris were great” Vitatoe said. “Braxton Duncan also had a big day for us today. To open the season with a lot of new guys and have six under 21:00 is an excellent starting point. This group can be really special before the season is over. I thought Braxton Hubbard, Karson Dunn, William Duncan, and Jayden Sargent had good days. They’re learning and will only get better.
“I was really proud of our young guys as well. I think it was a great starting point. We have to dial in and focus on getting better, but I like where we are.”
In the mixed JV race, Ben Cochran placed fifth with a time of 23:21.97 to lead the boys. Landon Cook (12th) and Hayden Adams (17th) finished with times of 26:11.21 and 28:08.36, respectively. Gabriel Bailey was 20th with a time of 32:19.89.
Brianna Barrett (33:04.86) placed 11th in the mixed JV race to pace the girls. She was immediately followed by Kaylee Kelly (34:18.12) and Autumn Farley (35:06.20). Alice Gross was 15th with a time of 37:42.62.
“I’m very proud of all of our JV kids. The vast majority of them were running in their first race ever, and I thought they did great,” Vitatoe said. “I think getting that first race out of the way is a big deal and they’ll begin to see big gains. They just have to keep working in practice and trust that their training will translate.”
In the mixed middle school race, the boys finished third with 69 points.
Robby Johnson (11:43.95) placed fifth in the race. Brycen Saylor was 20th with a time of 13:36.20. Jace Hensley (22nd) finished with a time of 13:51.60. Hunter Ashler (14:50.79) was 35th. Landin Blackwelder (16:45.90), Uriah Roberts (17:41.00) and Jonah Sargent (18:22.87) finished 44th, 47th and 49th, respectively.
Kenadie Dunn finished 25th with a time of 17:13.93 in the mixed middle school race to lead the girls.
“The middle school kids did great. I thought Robby had a huge race, and he’s going to be very good before he’s done. Brycen ran well despite feeling badly most of the week. All of our middle school kids were fantastic and I’m very proud of them,” Vitatoe said.
The kindergarten through third-grade girls and boys placed fourth.
Kadie Lawson finished 10th with a time of 9:02.15 to pace the girls. Kaylyn Lawson (13th) finished with a time of 9:10.33. Sadie Shackleford (9:19.00) placed 17th. Rounding out the results were Sawyer Millikan (36th, 10:13.96), Ava Williams (45th, 11:08.15), Emma Mitchell (52nd, 12:03.43), Caroline Collins (56th, 12:07.59) and Brooklyn Johnson (64th, 12:42.32).
Jett Lee placed 17th with a time of 8:24.29 to lead the boys. Mitchell Lunsford finished 20th with a time of 8:46.55. Eli McKnight (9:53.52) was 42nd. Rounding out the results were Braxtyn Owens (45th, 10:13.10), Jaxon Mclain (46th, 10:23.92), Oliver Hensley (60th, 11:46.05), Blue Day (62nd, 11:51.32), Corben Snelling (63rd, 11:52.17), Braxton Rigney (65th, 11:55.46), Finn Millikan (67th, 12:09.87), Micah Lawson (70th, 12:51.84) and Aiden Edens (81st, 16:13.56).
The fourth-grade through sixth-grade girls placed third overall. The boys were fifth.
To lead the girls, Ella Brock was ninth with a time of 8:01.94. Bella Burkhart (8:58.07) and Krislyn Clem (9:06.87) finished 23rd and 25th, respectively. Rounding out the results were Lakynn Clem (28th, 9:10.57), Adalynn Shackleford (34th, 9:25.60), Payton Blackwelder (35th, 9:32.00), Paisleigh Asher (44th, 9:59.95), Landri Dagnan (55th, 10:32.52), Evva Hensley (60th, 10:44.13), Isabella Burkhart (62nd, 11:12.32), Nevaeh Stone (64th, 11:29.01), Rayna Edens (67th, 12:06.28), Peyton Sherman (71st, 12:57.36) and Emily McKnight (76th, 13:37.28).
Tate Sherman finished eighth with a time of 7:29.53 to lead the boys. Levi Hensley (27th) and Dalton Johnson (30th) finished with times of 8:24.43 and 8:38.12, respectively. Rounding out the results were Jonah Sargent (32nd, 8:43.24), Jonah Doyle (38th, 9:18.25), Zack Daniels (41st, 9:30.56), Hunter Evans (46th, 9:52.12), Skylar Boggs (52nd, 10:41.12), Jase Sargent (57th, 10:47.26), Michael Edens (58th, 10:48.39) and William Howard (60th, 11:04.43).
“I am very happy about our performance at our season opener. We have returned most of our team from last season and have added many new runners,” Harlan County elementary cross country coach Jennifer Brock said. “My returning runners know this course well and many of them ran PRs, even some of my older boys during the torrential downpour. It was very exciting to see the new runners finish their first race. We are looking forward to a great season.”
“We’ll get back to work on Monday to get ready for our first home meet next week,” Vitatoe said.
Harlan County will return to action Sept. 2 at home for an all comers meet.