With the regional meet a little over a week away, both Harlan County coach Ryan Vitatoe and Bell County coach Jason Stewart found plenty of positives from several record-breaking performances on Tuesday in the Middlesboro All-Comers Meet.
“I thought all of our kids ran hard tonight from elementary to varsity. I think almost every kid on our roster ran a PR tonight, so that’s very positive heading into the final weeks of the season,’ Stewart said.
“The kids ran very well this evening. I’m proud if the effort they gave and how focused they were,” added Vitatoe. “By my count, there were 23 PRs or season best performances, and that tells you they were dialed in. This is a great finish to the regular season. Its been a crazy season, but this has been such a fun group to coach. I’m not surprised with this breakout. These kids have been working hard for weeks now. The pause in competition really let us get to work, and it showed tonight.”
Bell County’s Caden Miracle continued his breakout sophomore campaign as he finished first with a time of 15:53.59, edging out Corbin’s Sean Simons and Austin Terrell.
“Caden ran an amazing race tonight. Joining the sub 16 club for a 5K is an incredible feat in the running community,” Stewart said. “He’s worked hard ever since he ran elementary races years ago, and I suspect he’ll keep on working. He’s only a sophomore so we for sure have our sights set on him getting even faster.”
Nicholas Stewart was next for Bell as he placed 13th. Nathan Miracle placed 22nd, with Hayden Green placing 27th.
“This boys varsity team has really turned a corner. All of these guys are working so hard and it’s showing in the results,” Stewart said. “They are locked in and looking for a return to the state championship. Hopefully, they keep this thing going.”
Caleb Brock led Harlan County as he finished seventh, followed by Daniel Joseph in 12th, Matt Yeary in 31st and Lucas Epperson in 37th.
Corbin won the team competition with 30 points, followed by Bell County (89), Harlan County (110), South Laurel (110), Williamsburg (154), Russell County (162), Jackson County (166), Whitley County (195), North Laurel (109), Middlesboro (217) and J. Frank White (252).
Middlesboro’s Grace Rose won the girls race with a time of 20:07.22, just ahead of Corbin’s Nancy Jane Jackson and Williamsburg’s Nevaeh Warren.
Mallory James was next for Middlesboro in sixth and Katelyn Delk in 15th.
Peyton Lunsford led Harlan County as she placed fourth. Leah Taulbee was next for HCHS in 19th, followed by Riley Key (20th), Summer Farley (35th) and Cadence Ferguson (42nd).
“It was a special night for Caleb and Peyton to break their own school records.That’s the first county boy to run 16s since the 90s, so that’s pretty significant,” Vitatoe said. “Now we turn our focus to region, and I like where we are. This group of boys and girls all really like each other and they support each other. They all are great teammates, and they listen well. They deserve to be successful at region, and I truly believe they will be.”
Ella Morton had another strong showing for Harlan as she placed 16th, breaking a school record in the process. Mia Pace was 43rd.
Sophy Jones placed 13th and Jazmine Brannon was 17th to lead Bell County.
Corbin placed first in the team results with 40 points, followed by Middlesboro (71), Harlan County (95), Williamsburg (118), Jackson County (123), Lynn Camp (142), Bell County (151) and Whitley County (162).
Bell County’s Braydin Hickey and Reese Arno placed second and third, respectively, in the middle school race. Elijah Hampton placed 10th.
DaShaun Smith led Harlan County as he placed fifth. Bradley Brock was ninth. Ethan Lewis and Braxton Crain finished 27th and 28th, respectively.
Bell County’s Jacob Brannon and Tanner Simpson took the top two spots in the boys elementary school race. Eli Knuckles placed 15th and Landon Eldridge was 20th.
Tanner Daniels led Harlan County as he finished third and was followed by Trey Creech (10th), Luther Gross (16th), Jayden Sergent (25th), Ben Crain (27th), Zakk Colllins (28th) and Carson Sanders (36th).
Cooper Thomas led Harlan as he finished sixth, followed by Michael Lindsey (31st) and Tucker Sullivan (34th).
Harlan’s Harper Carmical took third in the girls elementary school race and was followed by teammate Zoe Lawson in sixth. Anna Gross and Alice Gross led HCHS by finishing 17th and 27th, respectively
Alyssa Obenshain represented Pineville as she placed 31st.