Harlan County’s bid for a fourth straight regional cross country sweep got a little tougher recently with changes in the Kentucky High School Athletic Association alignment. 

Harlan County remains in Region 7, which both the boys and girls teams have won each of the past three years, but Corbin, Bell County, Knox Central and Clay County were added to the region while Magoffin County, Bath County, Pike Central and Powell County were moved to another region.

The HCHS girls won the region in track each of the past three years while the boys won in 2024 and 2025 and finished second in 2026.

“I’m excited for this realignment. From a travel perspective, it becomes much easier to navigate for our program. It will be a highly competitive region, and I’m thrilled with that,” Harlan County coach Ryan Vitiate said. “I have a ton of respect for the programs joining the remnants on the last iteration of Region 7, and I look forward to competing with them. It’s an exciting time for our program.”