The Harlan County cross country team traveled to Louisville on Saturday to compete in the Louisville XC Classic.
The Lady Bears finished ninth overall. The Bears placed 21st.
“I’m proud of all of our kids. This was a fantastic day of competition and I think they competed hard in a huge meet,” Harlan County cross country coach Ryan Vitatoe said. “This will go a long way in preparing us for the state meet and I felt like they weren’t intimidated in the least. It was a good day.”
To lead the girls, Gracie Roberts finished 24th with a time of 20:27.00. Lauren Lewis was 47th with a time of 21:07.60. Kiera Roberts (21:59.10) placed 69th, immediately followed by Preslee Hensley (22:02.10) and Andrea Napier (22:12.90). Julionna Johnson was 114th with a time of 24:34.90. Suzy Mumford finished 142nd with a time of 26:25.00.
The junior varsity girls placed seventh.
Ariel Farley placed 30th with a time of 25:39.40. Autumn Farley (26:08.40) finished 36th. Sienna Banks was 65th with a time of 28:32.60. Bella Leath (29:24.60) placed 70th, immediately followed by Riley Witt (29:28.90).
“This was the best performance of the season for our girls team. We nearly had five under 22 minutes and all were under 30:00,” Vitatoe said. “To come here in a field this size and place in the top 10 with only two Kentucky schools ahead of us is impressive. They beat some great teams today. It’s hard to single one out. They all killed it today.”
“This was Lauren’s best race of the year, Andy was fantastic and the twins and Preslee ran great,” Vitatoe said. “Our next pack is getting faster, with JJ having another big day, and today was Ariel’s best race. Bella, Autumn and Riley were great and Suzy had a big day. They all were great. It was a good day.”
Elijah Moore led the boys, placing 59th with a time of 17:33.70. DaShaun Smith (109th) finished with a time of 18:23.70. Braxton Duncan finished 138th with a time of 19:28.30. Ethan Lewis (19:43.20) and Christopher Johnson (19:52.00) finished 150th and 160th, respectively. Jayden Sargent was 185th with a time of 21:00.30. Braxton Hubbard placed 191st with a time of 21:21.00.
Kaylob Stevens finished 90th with a time of 20:46.20 to pace the junior varsity boys. Karson Dunn was 122nd with a time of 21:21.80. Ben Cochran (22:07.20) placed 152nd. Landon Cook finished 224th with a time of 25:40.60.
“We’ve had some guys out due to injuries and it was good to get them back today. This was a tough meet to get their legs back under them, but I thought they were great. They competed hard and beat some good schools in a big field of teams,” Vitatoe said. “I’m very proud of them, and you can see the breakout coming.
“Lige had a great race and it was a big lift getting him and Chris back. DaShaun keeps getting better every race and I thought Ethan had a good day. Braxton Duncan has improved a ton as well and is only scratching the surface of his potential. Getting Hubbard back was big and I thought our JV guys ran great.”
“We are coming around at the right time and I’m excited to see how the next few weeks go,” Vitatoe said. “These kids work hard, and I think today shows our state potential. Both teams killed it.”
The varsity teams will compete again on Oct. 14 in the SEKC Championships at Williamsburg.