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By Abby Sherman
Contributing Writer

The Harlan County cross country team competed in the Wayne County Invitational on Saturday. The girls won the meet with 18 points, and the boys finished second overall with 42 points.
“I’m proud of our kids today,” Harlan County cross country coach Ryan Vitatoe said. “I thought we competed hard.”
Gracie Roberts led the Lady Bears, finishing second with a time of 22:07.53. Peyton Lunsford was fifth with a time of 23:08.76. Lauren Lewis placed seventh with a time of 24:11.94. She was immediately followed by Preslee Hensley (24:13.03) and Kiera Roberts (24:38.11). Aliyah Deleon (25:36.54) and Suzy Mumford (29:07.60) finished 11th and 16th, respectively. Madison Daniels was 26th with a time of 34:22.32.
“The girls had a good race. We weren’t as fast as normal, but this was a good performance,” Vitatoe said. “Winning back-to-back years at Wayne County is a big deal. We’ll bounce back. This is a strong group of girls.”
To lead the Bears, Elijah Moore placed fourth with a time of 18:09.18. Jacob Schwenke (18:27.50) and Kaden Boggs (18:35.34) finished sixth and eighth, respectively. Caleb Schwenke was 12th with a time of 19:15.96. Jonavan Rigney (20:14.82) placed 17th, while Ethan Simpson (20:32.25) finished 19th. Evan Simpson was 21st with a time of 20:39.32. DaShaun Smith (20:56.61) and Christopher Johnson (21:07.45) finished 23rd and 26th, respectively. Kaylob Stevens was 37th with a time of 23:35.41. Jaxton Miller (29:26.18) placed 53rd, immediately followed by Landon Cook (29:36.91). Caden Craig finished 57th with a time of 31:54.72. Roger Johnson (63rd) finished with a time of 35:18.80.
“The boys ran well. This ended up being a much smaller meet than we expected with several schools still navigating the events of last week,” Vitatoe said, referring to the shootings that occurred last week on Interstate 75. “We knew Madison Central has a good team, as does Wayne County, and I thought they competed hard. Our guys are starting to turn the corner. We had some big performances today. Caleb had a huge PR, and our top three guys are getting back to where they were a few weeks ago. It’s been crazy the amount of illness that has gone through both teams in the last few weeks, but we’re looking better. We have to focus on our five to seven runners getting closer to our top four, but these guys killed it today.”
The boys middle school team won with 28 points. Robby Johnson finished second in the race with a time of 13:07.75. He was immediately followed by Braxton Duncan (13:10.25). Logan Mills placed 14th with a time of 15:25.96, immediately followed by Jayden Sargent (15:32.08). Eli Nolan (31st) finished with a time of 17:35.66.
Lillie Carver placed third with a time of 14:11.94 in the girls middle school race. Julionna Johnson (12th) finished with a time of 16:11.05.
“I’m super proud of our middle school kids. The boys picked up a big win and I thought they ran great,” Vitatoe said. “Their excitement was one of the highlights of the day. They’re our future, and it’s a very bright one.”
Harlan County will return to action Tuesday at home for an all-comers meet.