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The Harlan Independent Middle School’s academic team recently won the 65th District Kentucky Governors Cup during a competition held in the Wallins community.

Harlan Independent Schools Superintendent C.D. Morton pointed out the win is the latest in a long record of performing well in competitions.

“It marks their fourth consecutive win and 17th in the last 21 years,” Morton said.

According to a news release, the team, coached by Chris Day and Chris Howard, took first place in the Quick Recall and Future Problem Solving categories of competition, taking first place finishes in each assessment area except Science. Harlan Middle School’s 62 points put them firmly in the overall winner position, with the closest runner-ups being James A Cawood (JACES) with 22.5 points and Rosspoint with 20.4 points.

The 2023 district title was the Harlan team’s fourth consecutive win and the 17th win in the last 21 years. In 2022, the team achieved a school and county record with their eighth-place performance at the state level. They are expecting another strong showing at the upcoming regional competition.

The top five schools in each subject area advance to the regional finals.

The top competitors in each category were the following:

Math: 1st Kenan Amro (Harlan Middle); 2nd Doug Honeycutt (Harlan Middle); 3rd Grayson Short (Rosspoint); 4th Thomas Daniels (JACES); 5th Michael Lindsey (Harlan Middle)

Science: 1st Braylee Kazy (JACES); tie for 2nd Kenan Amro (Harlan Middle) and Grayson Short (Rosspoint); 4th Avery Carroll (Harlan Middle); 5th Wesley Greene (Wallins)

Social Studies: 1st Juliana Damaa (Harlan Middle); 2nd Karson Dunn (Rosspoint); 3rd Sabby Mosley (Rosspoint); 4th Jack Eld (Wallins); 5th Kaleigh Arvin (JACES);

Language Arts: 1st Addison Lemar (Harlan Middle); 2nd Gracie Hensley (Harlan Middle); 3rd Riley Card (Rosspoint); 4th Cole Seals JACES); 5th Shaedyn Crow (Harlan Middle);

Arts and Humanities: 1st Juliana Damaa (Harlan Middle); 2nd Jack Eld (Wallins); 3rd Thomas Daniels (JACES); 4th Michael Lindsey (Harlan Middle); 5th Wiley Ray Collett (Green Hills);

Composition: 1st Jenna Nguyen (Harlan Middle); 2nd Skylar Rutherford (JACES); 3rd Rihanna Montanaro (Harlan Middle); 4th Clarissa Yost (JACES); 5th Cole Cornett (Rosspoint);

Quick Recall: 1st Harlan Middle; 2nd Wallins; 3rd Rosspoint

Future Problem Solving: 1st Harlan Middle; 2nd Wallins; 3rd JACES

Harlan Middle School was also awarded the Hume Sportsmanship Award, a distinction voted on by all participating schools.

The regional competition will be held in February at Letcher County High School, with the top finishers and teams squaring off to take home the regional title and a chance to compete at the state competition in Louisville.