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By Abby Sherman
Contributing Writer

The Harlan County Black Bears traveled to Winchester on Saturday to compete in the Run for the Water Barrel meet. The girls finished second with 51 points. The boys were third with 48 points.
The Bears went to Winchester after the Colby Slusher Invitational in Pineville was canceled due to inclement weather.
“What a crazy meet. These were definitely the toughest conditions we’ve faced this season and I’m proud of my teams,” Harlan County cross country coach Ryan Vitatoe said. “It’s critical to run the tough courses and in tough conditions. You never know how the weather will be at region or state, so facing the elements during the season is an important thing. There was legitimately standing water shin deep in some areas. It was wild, but that’s cross country.
“I’m proud of both teams. I thought they competed hard. We had some who had to be up at 4:30 to make a 6 a.m. departure, but they never complained. That’s the kind of kids we have.”
Peyton Lunsford led the girls, placing fourth with a time of 21:36.97. Gracie Roberts finished ninth with a time 22:35.44, immediately followed by Kiera Roberts (22:47.41). Lauren Lewis was 12th with a time of 23:11.44. Jaycee Simpson (16th) finished with a time of 24:26.75. She was immediately followed by Preslee Hensley (24:48.41) and Aliyah Deleon (25:21.84). Suzy Mumford (27:52.45) and Madison Daniels (31:33.31) finished 29th and 32nd, respectively.
“The girls ran well. I thought Kiera ran a solid race and I’m proud of how hard she finished. She’s worked hard on that this season,” Vitatoe said. “Jaycee had a big race. She’s only going to get better. I’m also really proud of how far Suzy has come this season.
“We didn’t pack well on the girls side today and that’s something that we need to get back to. We’ve done well with it all season, but we struggled a bit today. That will be a key area we focus on this week. One thing about this group is they do not give up. We’ll bounce back.”
To lead the boys, Elijah Moore was fifth with a time of 18:37.41. Kaden Boggs placed ninth with a time of 19:11.22. Jacob Schwenke finished 12th with a time of 19:32.44, while Caleb Schwenke (20:03.12) was 14th. Jonavan Rigney (17th) finished with a time of 20:06.50. DaShaun Smith placed 21st with a time of 20:45.28. He was immediately followed by Ethan Simpson (20:45.62). Christopher Johnson (25th) finished with a time of 21:42.06, immediately followed by Evan Simpson (22:13.41). Kaylob Stevens (23:57.69) and Jaxton Miller (28:45.91) were 34th and 35th, respectively.
“The boys are coming on each meet. They just keep getting better every race,” Vitatoe said. I really challenged them in the five spot today and Jon stepped up. I thought DaShaun had a great race too.
“Elijah is finding his footing, and I thought he ran well. He had some shin issues early on and is finally healthy and it’s showing. All of our guys ran well.”
“We’re coming down the homestretch of the season. We’re about to shift to speed and tapering to get ready for the final push,” Vitatoe said. “We’ll do our best to be ready for this final push.”
The Harlan County elementary and middle school teams’ next meet will be Thursday at Corbin for an open meet. The varsity teams will return to action Saturday at Louisville for the Louisville XC Classic.