The Harlan County cross country team traveled to Danville on Saturday to compete in the EG Plummer Invitational.
The girls placed second overall with 46 points, nine points behind Bourbon County.
The boys finished third with 79 points, 13 points behind John Hardin.
“I’m very proud of these teams today. I thought they were all ready to compete on a soggy course,” Harlan County cross country coach Ryan Vitatoe said. “We’ve worked hard to put together a solid schedule with great competition each week and this meet was excellent. We spent a lot of time talking this week about needing to ‘rise to the occasion’, otherwise it would be a long afternoon. I think they did a great job of that.”
Gracie Roberts led the Lady Bears, placing fourth with a time of 20:40.29. Kiera Roberts finished ninth with a time of 22:01.63. Lauren Lewis (22:07.22) was 11th. Rounding out the results were Preslee Hensley (13th, 22:31.88), Andrea Napier (14th, 22:38.73), Julionna Johnson (32nd, 24:52.73), Suzy Mumford (43rd, 25:58.82), Ariel Farley (56th, 27:51.04), Sienna Banks (57th, 28:02.08), Bella Leath (60th, 29:33.32), Autumn Farley (61st, 29:43.27), Riley Witt (62nd, 29:49.18) and Lexi Adams (63rd, 29:53.06).
“The girls’ field was loaded today, and I thought our girls raced hard,” Vitatoe said. “Bourbon was last year’s state runner up and is currently ranked second, and Larue County is ranked inside the top five currently. I thought we battled hard and I’m really proud of them.”
“Getting Lauren back was a big lift and Andrea absolutely killed it. I knew she would be a big addition to our team and she ran great,” Vitatoe said. “Grace and Kiera were solid today. I thought Pres had a huge race and she did a great job of helping Andrea throughout. Pres’ leadership is huge to our team.
“I thought all of our girls competed fearlessly. JJ had another big race, and I’m really pleased with all the young girls. We’re developing faster than I anticipated and that’s a great sign for the rest of the season. I’m just so proud of all of them. Autumn, Bella, Sienna, Lexi and all that young core were excellent today. The entire group of girls did a great job. To have everyone run under 30 minutes is pretty impressive when you look at where they were just a couple of weeks ago. It was great work by everyone.”
To lead the Bears, Elijah Moore finished sixth with a time of 17:29.37. Jacob Schwenke placed ninth with a time of 18:11.94. DaShaun Smith (17th) finished with a time of 19:10.82. Rounding out the results were Christopher Johnson (23rd, 19:33.32), Ethan Lewis (24th, 19:38.65), Braxton Duncan (28th, 20:15.36), Braxton Hubbard (29th, 20:20.61), William Duncan (33rd, 20:45.07), Jayden Sargent (36th, 20:50.60), Robby Johnson (37th, 20:55.63), Kaylob Stevens (47th, 21:36.63), Karson Dunn (52nd, 21:58.32), Ben Cochran (63rd, 23:48.35), Landon Cook (69th, 24:36.81) and Jaxton Miller (74th, 26:25.50).
“The boys continue to develop and I’m proud of the work they’re doing. Bourbon’s boys were a top-two team last year at state and John Hardin was a really solid team,” Vitatoe said. “I think we did a great job competing today and it will go a long way into who we will become by the year’s end.”
“Jacob, Elijah and DaShaun are doing a great job of leading us and I’m thrilled with how that second group is inching closer to those guys,” Vitatoe said. “That’s what we need going forward.
“I can’t say enough good things about Chris, Ethan, Braxton, Will and Braxton and how that second pack is working. They keep getting better every meet. Ben and Karson keep getting better every meet, and it was good to get Jaxton back out there today. Jayden and Robby were solid too, and I think Kaylob and Landon did a good job today.”
The kindergarten through second-grade boys placed third overall.
Jett Lee placed 11th in the race with a time of 11:40.80. Blue Day was 23rd with a time of 13:00.35. Jaxon Mclain finished 26th with a time of 13:14.62. Oliver Hensley (15:19.95) placed 41st, immediately followed by Braxton Rigney (15:31.44).
Kadie Lawson led the kindergarten through second-grade girls, finishing eighth with a time of 12:17.26. Ava Williams placed 20th with a time of 13:42.91. Caroline Collins (18:29.08) was 51st.
The third-grade through fifth-grade girls placed eighth.
Ella Brock placed 27th in the race with a time of 11:00.70. Isabella Burkhart (30th) finished with a time of 11:08.84. Kaylyn Lawson was 64th with a time of 12:53.46. Rounding out the results were Payton Blackwelder (70th, 13:06.33), Brooklyn Johnson (74th, 13:15.71), Paisleigh Asher (75th, 13:18.31), Evva Hensley (109th, 15:25.51) and Peyton Sherman (127th, 17:06.68).
The third-grade through fifth-grade boys placed 17th.
Jonah Sargent placed 66th with a time of 11:31.57. Dalton Johnson (12:00.86) was 92nd. Jonah Doyle finished 103rd with a time of 12:30.25. Finn Millikan (13:22.06) and Jase Sargent (13:39.68) were 123rd and 130th, respectively.
In the girls middle school race, Adalyn Shackleford placed 66th with a time of 21:39.32. Krislyn Clem (21:43.94) was 69th. Kenadie Dunn (83rd) and Lexie Boggs (87th) finished with times of 22:55.79 and 23:22.38, respectively.
“The middle school crew competed hard today, and I’m so proud of those sixth graders who stepped in today. Adalyn and Krislyn did great in the girls race. I thought Kenadie and Pip ran well too. They keep getting better.”
The boys middle school team placed 15th.
Jace Hensley finished 89th with a time of 18:45.53. Landin Blackwelder (124th) finished with a time of 20:26.51. Hunter Ashler was 144th with a time of 22:05.41. Uriah Roberts (168th) and Zakk Collins (171st) finished with times of 24:40.36 and 25:42.90, respectively. Jordan Sargent placed 174th with a time of 26:15.55.
“Our middle school boys did awesome too. I was proud of Zakk. I think Jace keeps getting better every meet, as does Hunter and Uriah and Jordan. They all did great,” Vitatoe said.
“We’ll get another solid week of work and get ready for a good meet in Wayne County this weekend,” Vitatoe said. “It looks to be another solid field of teams and we’ll have the opportunity to race great competition. It’ll be another chance to get better.”
Harlan County’s next meet will be Saturday at Wayne County for an invitational meet.