When Josh Lee and his teammates toe the starting line at the Kentucky Horse Park in the state cross country championship meet Saturday afternoon, he will be completing a legacy that goes back to the program’s early days.

Josh’s brother, David Lee, only ran during his senior season, in the fall of 2011, but quickly established himself as one of the region’s elite runners, teaming with Hunter Middleton to give the Black Bears a formidable one-two punch.

The younger Lee has followed in his brother’s footsteps, helping lead the Black Bears to two Class 2A regional titles and the program’s first Class 3A team berth in the state meet. He also came up just shy of an individual regional championship, finishing second in 2016.

“Josh has been a vital part of our program the last four seasons,” Harlan County coach Ryan Vitatoe said. “He’s a sneaky good runner, and I believe he’s only scratched the surface of his potential in this sport. He will do a great job at the next level.”

At times in the early part of his career, Lee occasionally struggled with maturity. However, Vitatoe praised Lee for the maturity he showed over the course of his final two seasons – particularly as a senior, when he was expected to fill the void left by the graduation of Alex Lewis.

“He’s definitely matured, and has worked really hard to be a leader this season,” Vitatoe said. He’s really focused on leading us to state as a team this year; he made that a goal for his senior year, and he achieved it.”

For his part, Lee credits his coach’s patience.

“Coach Vitatoe has kind of taken me under his wing, always keeping me under control and working with me through all my struggles, and putting up with me through all the challenges I’ve caused in my four years of running,” he said. “He has never given up on me, and even when I had a bad race, he always knew what was up before I was across the finish line. He worked with me and kept me at my highest peak. And for that, I am grateful.”

An avid dog lover, Lee plans to continue his career at the college level and intends to become a veterinarian.

Joining Lee in Harlan County’s senior class this season were Katelyn Hensley and Shaun Warren.

Hensley is also a four-year runner who saw spot duty on the varsity team early on and was a regular the past two seasons.

“Katelyn has been an important part of our program the last four seasons as well,” Vitatoe said. “She has great work ethic and an incredible attitude, and that has never changed from her first day with us until this season. She’s grown a lot as a runner and has relished in the opportunity to run full-time in varsity the last two seasons. I think she could be a solid runner at the next level, should she choose to pursue that next year.”

Usually quiet and reserved, Hensley said being part of the program has solidified her work ethic.

“From being a part of the program, I’ve become physically and mentally stronger over the years. I have also come to realize that nothing comes without hard work,” she said.

The final senior on the team, Shaun Warren, participated in only one season of cross country after joining the track program in the spring, but left his mark with his attitude and mental approach.

“Shaun is an incredible young man,” Vitatoe said. “He has been an exceptional teammate and approaches every task with a great attitude; I have never witnessed him take a short cut. His discipline and attitude are going to take him a long way.”

Warren said his experience with distance running was not exactly what he expected.

“I never put much thought before into how much strength it takes to be a distance runner. As the season progressed, I realized that, although we had practiced to be physically enduring, no exercise could prepare us for the mental battle I fought every time I heard that gun fire,” he said.

“I chose cross country this year because it was with a familiar coach, a familiar team and a positive environment. I learned after I joined that this sport is what you make of it, and I was gifted to spend my last year of high school as a cross country runner.”

“Each of these three has been important to us, and I hope they each know how much I appreciate their hard work and dedication to this team,” Vitatoe said. “We are certainly better because of them, and they have made contributions to the foundation that will carry this program on for the coming years.”