The Harlan County cross country team had an impressive showing Tuesday while hosting an all comers meet.
The Black Bears won with 23 points, 43 points ahead of runner-up Knox Central.
The Lady Bears won with 24 points, 29 points ahead of Pikeville.
“I’m very proud of all of these teams tonight. This was a big meet with 17 schools in attendance and a huge field of runners in each race, and I thought we competed hard,” Harlan County cross country coach Ryan Vitatoe said.
Elijah Moore led the boys, winning the race with a time of 18:04.96. He was immediately followed by Jacob Schwenke (18:28.65). DaShaun Smith was fifth with a time of 19:46.36. Rounding out the results were Ethan Lewis (seventh, 20:11.14), Christopher Johnson (eighth, 20:20.45), Braxton Duncan (ninth, 20:22.98), Braxton Hubbard (11th, 20:50.46), William Duncan (12th, 20:52.88), Jayden Sargent (16th, 21:29.92), Robby Johnson (19th, 21:51.94), Ben Cochran (25th, 22:25.64), Kaylob Stevens (26th, 22:30.25), Karson Dunn (28th, 22:52.11), Gabriel Bailey (41st, 25:37.08) and Landon Cook (43rd, 25:41.08).
“The boys were fantastic tonight. We’ve been running great splits in practice and focused on packing up,” Vitatoe said. “I thought the guys ran solid times on a tough course, and that type of effort will lead to some great performances down the road.
“Jacob and Elijah did a great job leading us, and they set the tone well for the rest of the team. I was really pleased with how DaShaun, Chris and Ethan moved that second group. Braxton Hubbard and Braxton Duncan had big races for us tonight as well. Overall, I’m very proud of every single guy on this team. Everyone ran great and it’s hard to give the credit that’s deserved. I’m super pleased.”
Gracie Roberts won the girls race with a time of 21:06.05. Kiera Roberts finished third with a time of 22:35.12. Preslee Hensley (22:53.00) and Suzy Mumford (26:10.03) placed fifth and ninth, respectively. Rounding out the results were Julionna Johnson (12th, 27:17.10), Ariel Farley (13th, 27:31.00), Sienna Banks (19th, 28:50.31), Autumn Farley (27th, 30:52.01), Lexi Adams (29th, 31:15.10), Bella Leath (31st, 31:22.52), Kaylee Kelly (33rd, 31:43.94), Riley Witt (38th, 32:40.55) and Addasynn Pace (44th, 36:14.41).
“The girls ran excellent tonight despite beginning without two of our top five. Gracie had a big race for us, and I’m very pleased with Kiera and Preslee’s times tonight too,” Vitatoe said.
“I can’t say enough about Suzy, Julionna, Ariel and Sienna. I really challenged them to step up and they did a great job,” Vitatoe said. “That’s what you expect from your groups and tonight will go a long way in their development.
“Bella, Lexi, Addy, Kaylee and all of our girls had big races tonight. There’s nothing better than watching kids overcome mental hurdles and that was evident from the Lynn Camp race to tonight, especially on this course. Like the boys, I can never truly give the credit that’s deserved. They all did great.”
The boys won the mixed middle school race with 25 points.
Jace Hensley placed seventh in the race with a time of 12:43.10 to lead the boys. He was immediately followed by Brycen Saylor (13:20.00) and Landin Blackwelder (13:29.50). Hunter Asher (14:37.24) and Uriah Roberts (16:35.50) finished 14th and 17th, respectively. Jordan Sargent was 21st with a time of 18:53.00.
“I’m proud of the middle schoolers too. The growth in this group has been excellent and the boys won a big meet tonight,” Vitatoe said. “They’re all learning how to race, and it’s really fun to watch.”
Lexie Boggs (15:45.05) placed fifth in the mixed middle school race to pace the girls. Kenadie Dunn (16:14.00) finished seventh.
“Our middle school girls ran great too. Again, when you watch kids overcome mental hurdles, it’s the most rewarding part of coaching. They all did great,” Vitatoe said.
Both elementary teams won their respective races.
To lead the boys, Hutton Sherman won with a time of 8:41.97. He was immediately followed by Tate Sherman (9:10.20) and Conner Banks (9:28.31). Rounding out the results were Levi Hensley (16th, 10:27.09), Zack Daniels (24th, 11:10.59), Mitchell Lunsford (28th, 11:16.00), Jonah Sargent (31st, 11:32.00), Jett Lee (33rd, 11:35.90), Dalton Johnson (35th, 11:37.00), Jaxon Mclain (39th, 12:10.52), Jonah Doyle (40th, 12:14.12), Hunter Evans (41st, 12:25.01), Skylar Boggs (44th, 12:36.50), Jase Sargent (47th, 12:44.20), Zakk Collins (55th, 13:54.00), Brayden Perkins (56th, 14:01.12), Eli McKnight (57th, 14:03.07), William Howard (58th, 14:03.07), Oliver Hensley (77th, 16:36.40), Michael Edens (80th, 17:03.30), Braxton Rigney (82nd, 17:25.75), Finn Millikan (83rd, 17:39.34) and Micah Lawson (86th, 17:39.34).
Bella Burkhart paced the girls, finishing fourth with a time of 10:55.00. Krislyn Clem placed sixth with a time of 11:21.22. Ella Brock (11:39.40) was 10th, immediately followed by Sadie Shackleford (11:43.20) and Kaylyn Lawson (11:46.01). Rounding out the results were Lakynn Clem (14th, 12:09.59), Kadie Lawson (19th, 12:27.25), Isabella Burkhart (21st, 12:52.40), Payton Blackwelder (29th, 13:20.09), Ava Williams (32nd, 13:29.34), Paisleigh Asher (36th, 13:54.10), Landri Dagnan (37th, 13:57.10), Brooklyn Johnson (38th, 13:59.37), Sawyer Millikan (39th, 14:07.00), Evva Hensley (42nd, 14:25.53), Emma Cooper (54th, 15:31.09), Emma Mitchell (55th, 15:34.24), Nevaeh Stone (60th, 16:01.21), Emily McKnight (62nd, 16:09.30), Nevaeh Perkins (66th, 16:32.43), Rayna Edens (69th, 16:49.01), Peyton Sherman (70th, 16:52.59), Luna Edens (80th, 23:01.94) and Caroline Collins (81st, 23:10.00).
“It was a perfect evening for our first home meet of the season. The weather was beautiful, and my runners showed up with great energy and determination,” Harlan County elementary cross country coach Jennifer Brock said. “Getting the win in both races is very exciting, but I am more thrilled with the progress I am seeing.
“This season we have focused a lot on the older runners setting the tone, and that is just what they did last night. They work hard at every practice, encourage their teammates and show unmatched sportsmanship. I couldn’t ask for more than that. This is going to be a great season and I cannot wait to see what these kids will accomplish.”
“I want to thank all the parents and volunteers for their hard work. Hosting is a lot of work, and we couldn’t do it without them,” Vitatoe said. “It was also great to see so many of our former runners out there to cheer on the kids. That’s what I love about this program. You never really leave it.”
Harlan County will compete again Saturday at Danville in the EG Plummer Invitational.
“We have a huge race coming up on Saturday against great competition,” Vitatoe said. “We’ll need to get back to work and get ready for it, but I love the attitude of this group.”

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The Harlan cross country team competed in an all comers meet at Harlan County on Tuesday.
The Dragons placed third overall with 92 points.
The Lady Dragons were fourth overall with 83 points.
Dalton Halcomb placed 13th with a time of 21:02.78 to pace the boys. He was immediately followed by Gibson Wilder (21:07.11). Cruz Galloway was 30th with a time of 23:20.01, immediately followed by Xavier Farley (23:31.55) and Garrett Wilder (24:52.48). Micah Shope finished 34th with a time of 24:58.58.
“The boys are improving every race. Many of them hit personal records,” Harlan cross country coach Erin Alred said. “Dalton Halcomb helped push the team to their PRs. We are excited to keep watching them compete and get stronger.”
To lead the girls, Harper Carmical finished sixth with a time of 23:27.24. Priscilla Stewart (14th) finished with a time of 27:51.01. Cora Jones was 20th with a time of 29:07.04. Rounding out the results were Josephine Toll (28th, 30:59.00), Amy Roman (45th, 38:27.09), Addison Lemar (46th, 40:44.02), Salena Amro (47th, 40:49.00) and Jenna Nguyen (48th, 41:30.00).
“The girls are continuing to grow and get stronger,” Alred said. “Harper Carmical led the pack and is helping push our girls team every time they hit the course.”
In the mixed middle school race, Zoe Lawson won with a time of 12:46.40 to pace the girls.
Carter White (12:19.97) finished second in the mixed middle school race to lead the boys. Aiden Burnette placed fourth with a time of 12:27.90. Thomas Miller (11th) finished with a time of 12:27.90.
Both elementary teams placed second overall.
Julianne Miller won the girls race with a time of 9:53.10. McKinley Taylor placed third with a time of 10:40.01. Shelby Parsons (11:35.53) finished ninth. Rounding out the results were Emily Turner (20th, 12:46.02), Mallory Sizemore (23rd, 12:57.00), Amelia Hensley (24th, 12:59.00), Brogan Bennett (25th, 13:03.40), Ellianna Carver (26th, 13:09.75), Lily Wheeler (30th, 13:20.15), Lucy Miller (31st, 13:23.52), Rayleigh Hoskins (34th, 13:41.97), Ramsi Fields (43rd, 14:41.00), Oakley Moody (47th, 14:51.00), Shelbee Miller (48th, 14:53.70), Leah Burkhart (56th, 15:40.12), Lexi Laws (61st, 16:02.00), Khloe Keith (74th, 17:51.72), Addison Browning (75th, 18:12.41), Laurel Niday (78th, 18:57.47) and Charlie Evans (79th, 18:59.72).
Ben Toll led the boys, finishing fifth with a time of 9:40.53. He was immediately followed by Colt Sullivan (9:50.20). Aiden Browning (10:08.40) and Trenton Turner (10:13.47) were ninth and 11th, respectively. Rounding out the results were Canaan Bolton (17th, 10:31.15), Braxton Sizemore (20th, 10:40.44), Emmett Alred (22nd, 10:40.44), Xander Owens (27th, 11:15.09), Tucker White (29th, 11:19.02), Tyler White (30th, 11:25.34), Ryder Bailey (34th, 11:36.02), Jess Bennett (38th, 12:09.47), Kelton Dean (46th, 12:38.00), Jason Mills (52nd, 13:25.31), Weston Simpson (53rd, 13:30.00), Ashwin Ganti (54th, 13:47.00), Lamar Bailey (64th, 14:45.09), Sherman Ward (67th, 15:00.93), Eli Brock (70th, 15:29.00), Raylan Simpson (71st, 15:54.34), Liam Cook (73rd, 15:57.75) and Gunner Green (76th, 16:36.20).
Harlan’s next meet will be Friday at Leslie County for an all comers meet.