The Harlan County Lady Bears made program history on Tuesday as they claimed their third consecutive regional title at Magoffin County in the Class 2A, Region 7 meet. 

The Lady Bears dominated their division, finishing with 223.5 points, 134.5 points ahead of Bath County. 

The Bears finished as regional runner-up with 113 points, 30 points behind Bath County. 

“This was a great night for our program, and I’m so proud of all of our kids for their effort,” Harlan County track coach Ryan Vitatoe said. “Both teams competed really hard, and I can’t express how proud I am of them.

“The girls join rare company with a third straight region title. The only HCPS school to accomplish that in track and field was coach (Bob) Howard’s teams at Evarts between 1996-1998, so that’s extra special. They came in to the meet very focused and had a great performance. I really can’t give props to everyone who deserves it. It was a total team effort.

“I’m very proud of these boys for their effort tonight. When you look at the breakdown of events, you have a potential of 40 competitors and we had 34 new kids in those spots this season. For them to learn as much as they have and become competitive says a whole lot about this group. I’m really proud of them.”

To lead the girls, Lauren Lewis won the 400-meter dash and 800-meter run. 

“I thought Lauren was fantastic tonight,” Vitatoe said.

Kiera Roberts won the 1,600-meter run. Gracie Roberts won the 3,200-meter run. 

Paisli Boggs won the 100-meter hurdles. 

“I’m so proud of Paisli. To come out as a first-year seventh-grade hurdler and win the region is a huge accomplishment,” Vitatoe said. “She has a bright future ahead of her.”

Maliyah Washington won triple jump.

Madilynn Lemar won pole vault. 

“I was really happy for Maddie to win the region in the pole vault. This is her first year jumping and this is a huge accomplishment,” Vitatoe said. “It marks the fifth straight year (in two different regions) that an HC girl has won the region in the pole vault. Abby (Vitatoe) has done a great job with her kids this season.”

Ali Hensley won shot put. 

“I’m so proud of Ali Hensley,” Vitatoe said. “She had a tough go at region last year and bounced back this season to become only the second girl at HC to throw over 30 in the shot.”

Makenna Dillman, Addi Gray, Macy Jones and Kenadee Sturgill won the 4 x 100-meter relay. 

Dillman, Gray, Sturgill and Jaycee Simpson won the 4 x 200-meter relay.  

Lewis, Simpson, Rileigh Duff and Preslee Hensley won the 4 x 400-meter relay. 

Lewis, Preslee Hensley, Gracie Roberts and Kiera Roberts won the 4 x 800-meter relay. 

“The girls relays were fantastic tonight. That’s the third straight year that our girls team have swept all the relays, which is quite an accomplishment.” Vitatoe said. “Our 4×100 and 4×200 ran their best times of the season, as did the 4×400 and 4×800 girls. They were great tonight.”

Sturgill finished second in the 100-meter dash. Dillman was fourth. 

In the 200-meter dash, Simpson placed fourth, immediately followed by Sturgill. Simpson was second in the 400-meter dash. 

“Kenadee had a big night tonight, and I thought Jaycee was great in all of her events, too. She had a huge night,” Vitatoe said. 

Andrea Napier finished fourth in the 800-meter run. 

“Andrea did great for us,” Vitatoe said. 

Gracie Roberts placed second in the 1,600-meter run. 

In the 3,200-meter run, Kiera Roberts finished second. 

“Kiera and Grace were great in the distance races,” Vitatoe said.

Preslee Hensley was fourth in the 100-meter hurdles. 

In the 300-meter hurdles, Boggs placed third. Preslee Hensley finished fifth. 

In long jump, Washington was fourth. Duff placed eighth. 

Jovi Tye placed fifth in high jump. Vanessa Griffith was eighth. 

Duff placed second in triple jump. 

“Maliyah and Rileigh were great in the long and triple jump,” Vitatoe said. “David (Lee) has a great job with the jumpers this season.”

In pole vault, Suzy Mumford placed third. 

Addyson Caldwell was second in shot put.

In discus, Addison Day was second. Ali Hensley placed third. 

“I thought Addy and Addi were great in the throws tonight as well,” Vitatoe said. “That group really showed up, and it’s exciting that they’ll all get to compete in Lexington. Jacob (Carroll) has done great work with our throwers this season.”

“This is a huge accomplishment that these girls will remember for the rest of their lives,” Vitatoe said. “I’m very happy for the seniors who will go out as champions. They’ve meant a lot to our program and did a good job of leading the way this season.”

Jayce Brown led the boys, winning pole vault. 

“Jayce had a big night,” Vitatoe said. “The measuring tape laid out for the vaulters was marked incorrectly and he took a bad spill on his warm up and injured his groin. I’m proud of him for pushing through and getting the mark to win.”

Hunter Stevens won adaptive shot put. 

Landon Cook, Jerome Monroe, Ryan Day and Jonah Sharp won the 4 x 200-meter relay. 

“The boys 4×200 had a huge win. Jonah, Ryan, Landon and Jerome were great tonight and pulled off a huge upset,” Vitatoe said. “Derek (Plitt) does a great job with training his kids and having them ready when it matters. He did a great job bringing this group along.”

Ben Cochran, Braxton Hubbard, Trevor Farley and Jacob Schwenke won the 4 x 400-meter relay. 

“The 4×400 was fantastic tonight and got us over the hump. I thought they ran their best race of the year and they were on fire to get the win,” Vitatoe said. “It was a very exciting race. 

Farley, Schwenke, Ethan Lewis and William Duncan won the 4 x 800-meter relay.   

“I was pleased with our 4×800 guys. I thought they had their best race of the season,” Vitatoe said. 

Sharp finished third in the 100-meter dash. Day was 11th. 

In the 200-meter dash, Sharp was fifth. Cook placed 14th. 

Schwenke finished fifth in the 400-meter dash. He was immediately followed by Farley. In the 800-meter run, Schwenke placed fourth. Farley finished fifth. 

Braxton Duncan finished fifth in the 1,600-meter run. Christopher Johnson placed sixth. Braxton Duncan was third in the 3,200-meter run. He was immediately followed by Lewis. 

“I’m proud of how this group battled all night. I can’t say enough about our 3,200 runners and the work they did to pull us back into striking distance for trophy contention,” Vitatoe said. “Braxton and Ethan had big races for us.”

Cook, Monroe, Day and Sharp placed third in the 4 x 100-meter relay. 

In the 110-meter hurdles, Drew Sergent finished third. Landyn Noe was fifth. 

Sergent placed third in the 300-meter hurdles. Noe finished seventh. 

“Our hurdlers were great tonight. Both Landyn and Drew had their best races of the season,” Vitatoe said. 

In long jump, Caden Craig placed seventh. Ashton Anderson was 11th. 

Bryson Bryant placed second in high jump. 

“Bryson Bryant had a huge night in the high jump. I thought he was fantastic,” Vitatoe said. “Britt (Lawson) has done a great job with his high jumpers in his first year.”

Bryant was third in triple jump. Craig placed sixth.

Anderson placed third in pole vault. 

Hunter Napier was fifth in shot put. 

In discus, Napier placed 12th. Brayden Clay was 16th.

“I’m really proud of these boys. They battled until the last event,” Vitatoe said. “We knew coming into the season this would be a true rebuilding year, and they exceeded all expectations. I’m very proud of them.”

“I’m really excited about the number of kids that will compete in Lexington next week. We have a few more that I think have legitimate shots at a few more at-large bids,” Vitatoe said. “We have to stay focused the next week to get ready for the level of competition that awaits us.”