The Harlan and Harlan County track teams had impressive showings Tuesday as they competed at Leslie County in an all comers meet.

The Bears won with 139.5 points , while the Lady Bears finished second with 159.5 points, 37 points behind Leslie County.

“I’m very proud of both of these teams for their performances at Leslie. I thought we were locked in and ready to compete and it showed in the improvement across the board from meet one,” Harlan County track coach Ryan Vitatoe said. “We have over 80 kids in our program this year, and 60 of those are first-time kids. They are learning their events as the season goes, and you’re only going to see tons of improvement by the end of the season. I like where we are currently, and I think both teams have a high ceiling.”

“The boys were excellent tonight, and this is a big win. I thought they competed hard against a quality field of teams,” Vitatoe said. “The improvement was evident within our boys team for sure. 

“I thought the girls had a good performance tonight. Leslie has an incredible program and I thought we battled them well throughout the evening. We are still missing some key people, but all the pieces are here to make a run once we’re healthy.”

The Dragons were seventh with 36 points, and the Lady Dragons placed eighth with 26 points. 

To lead the Bears, Ethan Lewis won the 3,200-meter run. 

“Ethan picked up a big win in the 3,200,” Vitatoe said. 

In the 100-meter dash, Jonah Sharp placed fourth. Jerome Monroe finished 11th, immediately followed by Ryan Day and Landon Cook. Ben Cochran and Ashton Anderson were 22nd and 24th, respectively. Braydon Doan was 27th, while Sam Carr placed 31st. Connor Wilkinson and Brantley Burkhart finished 37th and 43rd, respectively. 

Sharp finished second in the 200-meter dash. Cook placed 10th. Monroe was 14th, immediately followed by Cochran. Anderson placed 17th. Gage Bailey and Carr were 21st and 26th, respectively. Burkhart was 32nd, immediately followed by Wilkinson. Joseph Wright and Ben Crain finished 36th and 38th, respectively. 

“I thought Jonah had a big night tonight. He’s only scratching the surface of his potential,” Vitatoe said. 

In the 400-meter dash, Jacob Schwenke placed third. He was immediately followed by William Duncan. Trevor Farley and Bailey finished eighth and 11th, respectively. Burkhart placed 26th. 

Schwenke finished second in the 800-meter run. William Duncan was fourth. Farley placed seventh. Karson Dunn finished ninth. Braxton Hubbard and Jayden Sargent were 12th and 15th, respectively. Tanner Widener placed 17th, while Arthur Harrison was 20th. Hunter Cornett finished 27th.

“Will and Jacob had big performances in the 400 and 800,” Vitatoe said. 

In the 1,600-meter run, Lewis finished sixth. He was immediately followed by Braxton Duncan and Christopher Johnson. Jayden Sargent was 12th, immediately followed by Hubbard. Kaylob Stevens and Widener were 15th and 16th, respectively. Arthur Harrison placed 22nd. Caleb Johnson finished 31st. Hunter Cornett was 35th.

Christopher Johnson placed second in the 3,200-meter run. Braxton Duncan finished fourth. Dunn was sixth, immediately followed by Jayden Sargent. Widener and Arthur Harrison placed ninth and 11th, respectively. 

In the 4 x 100-meter relay, Day, Doan, Sharp and Cook finished third. Carr, Cochran, Burkhart and Monroe were eighth. 

Day, Sharp, Cook and Doan placed fifth in the 4 x 200-meter relay. Cochran, Carr, Anderson and Monroe placed sixth. 

Schwenke, Farley, Bailey and William Duncan were second in the 4 x 400-meter relay. 

In the 4 x 800-meter relay, Schwenke, Farley, Lewis and William Duncan finished second. Stevens, Hubbard, Christopher Johnson and Caleb Johnson were seventh. Dunn, Widener, Hunter Cornett and Arthur Harrison placed 10th.

“I thought our relays improved a great deal tonight,” Vitatoe said.

Drew Sergent was second in the 110-meter hurdles. Landyn Noe finished fourth, immediately followed by Jaxton Miller. 

Drew Sergent placed third in the 300-meter hurdles. Noe and Miller were sixth and eighth, respectively. 

In long jump, Doan placed fourth. Jayce Brown was seventh. Bryson Bryant and Caden Craig were 12th and 13th, respectively. Jacob Brock was 21st. Jaxton Miller placed 25th. Billy Harrison was 29th.  

Bryant was sixth in high jump. Day placed eighth. 

Bryant placed sixth in triple jump. Craig and Miller were seventh and 10th, respectively. 

“We saw some big gains in the jumps. Bryson Bryant had a huge performance in the high jump, and our long and triple guys stepped up big. That group will only get better,” Vitatoe said. 

Brown placed second in pole vault. Brock was third.

In shot put, Brayden Clay was seventh. Hunter Napier and Hunter Stevens were 10th and 11th, respectively. Braxton Cornett placed 20th. Aaron Johnson was 21st. Aiden Jones and Jordison Jackson placed 25th and 27th, respectively. Wilkinson was 33rd, while Hunter Hughes placed 35th. AJ Halcomb and Uriah Roberts placed 37th and 45th, respectively. 

Clay placed 10th in discus. Napier was 13th. Jones and Halcomb were 25th and 28th, respectively. Wilkinson placed 32nd. 

“The boys have an opportunity to be a really, really good team by the end of the season,” Vitatoe said. “We have some things that we as coaches need to figure out, but the effort is there every day, and that’s half the battle. This group wants to improve, and that bodes well going forward.”

Jaycee Simpson led the Lady Bears, winning the 400-meter dash. Lauren Lewis won the 800-meter run. 

Preslee Hensley, Andrea Napier, Ariel Farley and Priscilla Stewart won the 4 x 800-meter relay.

“It was great to get Lauren back and I thought she competed great tonight,” Vitatoe said. 

In the 100-meter dash, Jaylee Cochran placed fourth. Makenna Dillman finished seventh, immediately followed by Kenadee Sturgill. Macy Jones was 18th, while Maliyah Washington placed 22nd. Reagan Clem and Haley Johnson were 28th and 31st, respectively. Madilynn Lemar finished 57th. 

Simpson placed third in the 200-meter dash. Sturgill was fifth, immediately followed by Dillman. Addi Gray finished 10th. Reagan Clem and Taylynn Napier placed 17th and 20th, respectively. Lemar was 34th. 

“Jaycee had a big win in the 400 and a top-three finish in the 200,” Vitatoe said.

Napier finished third in the 400-meter dash. Rileigh Duff placed 10th, while Reagan Clem was 12th. Lemar placed 28th. 

“You can see the talent that we have in the sprint group,” Vitatoe said. “All these sprint girls are young but they are super talented.”

Napier placed third in the 800-meter run. Layken Saylor was 11th. Autumn Farley and Bella Leath finished 18th and 20th, respectively. 

In the 1,600-meter run, Stewart finished seventh. Ariel Farley was ninth. Suzy Mumford placed 12th. Saylor was 14th, immediately followed by Leath and Autumn Farley. 

“Priscilla had a big PR in the mile and just keeps getting stronger,” Vitatoe said. 

Ariel Farley finished second in the 3,200-meter run. Stewart and Mumford placed fourth and sixth, respectively. 

In the 4 x 100-meter relay, Cochran, Jones, Sturgill and Dillman finished third. 

Simpson, Sturgill, Gray and Cochran placed third in the 4 x 200-meter relay.

Simpson, Lewis, Reagan Clem and Preslee Hensley. were second in the 4 x 400-meter relay.

“The relays were great tonight,” Vitatoe said.

Preslee Hensley placed sixth in the 100-meter hurdles and fourth in the 300-meter hurdles. Paisli Boggs finished seventh in the 100-meter hurdles and sixth in the 300-meter hurdles. 

Washington placed second in long jump. Duff was 10th, while Jovi Tye was 12th. Aiselyn Sexton and Emily Creech were 13th and 14th, respectively. Madi Nolan placed 17th. Vanessa Griffith was 19th. Johnson placed 22nd.

In high jump, Maddi Middleton placed second. Griffith and Nolan were 11th and 14th, respectively. 

Washington placed second in triple jump. Sexton was fifth, while Tye placed sixth.

“I thought Maliyah gave us a big lift in the long and triple jump this evening,” Vitatoe said. 

In shot put, Addyson Caldwell placed third. Ali Hensley was fourth. Savanna Madden and Addison Day were seventh and 10th, respectively. Aubrey Madden placed 15th. Alice Gross was 33rd. 

In discus, Day placed second. Caldwell was eighth. Ali Hensley placed 14th. RJ Clem was 19th. Taylor Reeves placed 27th. 

“Addi Day had a huge night in the discus. I thought all those girls performed well in the throws,” Vitatoe said. 

Izack Saylor led the Dragons, winning high jump. 

In the 100-meter dash, Hunter Brock placed 15th. Braxton Rowe and Boss Bryson were 19th and 21st, respectively. Joe Reynolds finished 33rd. Murtaza Hussain was 36th. Payton Glenn placed 39th. 

Rowe finished ninth in the 200-meter dash. Brock was 11th. Gibson Wilder and Reynolds placed 22nd and 24th, respectively. Glenn was 30th.

Cruz Galloway placed 13th in the 800-meter run. Carter White finished 21st. Brayden York was 24th. 

In the 1,600-meter run, Galloway finished 14th. White was 23rd. York and Mason Raleigh were 30th and 32nd, respectively. 

Galloway was 10th in the 3,200-meter run. 

In the 4 x 100-meter relay, Rowe, Saylor, Brock and Bryson placed sixth.

Wilder finished second in the 300-meter hurdles. Hussain placed seventh.

Saylor placed eighth in long jump and fifth in triple jump. 

In shot put, Jordan Rodriguez placed 12th. Logan Thompson was 19th. Michael Lindsey placed 31st, while Rylan Rodriguez was 32nd. Mark Lane placed 34th. 

Jordan Rodriguez placed fifth in discus. Lindsey was 22nd. Rylan Rodriguez and Logan Thompson were 23rd and 24th, respectively. Lane was 26th. 

To lead the Lady Dragons, Harper Carmical won the 3,200-meter run. 

Talae Manning placed 32nd in the 100-meter dash. Torrie Sundy was 37th. 

Manning finished 19th in the 200-meter dash. Sundy placed 22nd.

Carmical finished fifth in the 800-meter run. Cora Jones was 16th. Gwendolyn Toll placed 21st.

In the 1,600-meter run, Carmical placed fourth. Jones finished 13th. 

Jones, Carmical, Josephine Toll and Gwendolyn Toll finished sixth in the 4 x 800-meter relay. 

Gwendolyn Toll placed fifth in high jump. 

Amelia Bryant placed 32nd in shot put and 28th in discus. 

“I thought we had a strong showing,” Harlan track coach Trent McKenzie said. “We are still a young team, but we are growing each meet and it is exciting to watch.”

Harlan County will compete again Saturday at Bristol, Tenn. in the Frank Carver Invitational. 

“We have a lot of work ahead of us,” Vitatoe said. “Saturday will be a great opportunity to compete against incredible competition and I’m anxious to see how they will respond.”

Harlan’s next meet will be April 16 at Harlan County for the Coal Miners Memorial Invitational.