The Harlan County Black Bears took advantage of an early challenge Saturday to see where they stack up against many of their regional rivals in the Catbird Classic at North Laurel.

Harlan County’s boys placed sixth in the meet, with three Class 3A Region 7 opponents in front of them.

“This was a good, tough test for us,” Harlan County coach Ryan Vitatoe said. “I think it shows our potential, but it also gave us an idea how far we still have to go before Oct. 26.

“Overall, I’m really proud of the kids. We had some huge (personal records) and breakout performances by some of the younger kids.”

Junior Caleb Brock led the Black Bears, finishing eighth with a time of 17:47.69. He was followed by freshman Austin Crain (35th, 19:41.00) and senior Zack Carmical (37th, 19:43.62). Rounding out the Bears’ results were Daniel Joseph (40th, 19:46.56), Matt Yeary (41st, 19:48.69), Lucas Epperson (55th, 20:28.62), Sean Cooper (63rd, 20:50.78), Logan Hensley (75th, 21:42.72) and Cooper McHargue (76th, 21:46.18).

“The boys were really solid,” Vitatoe said. “If you really look at the results, about 15 seconds separate us from the top team. We’ll talk about that a lot throughout the season, but I like where we are right now.”

Bell County freshman Caden Miracle won the race with a time of 16:35.22. Corbin’s Sean Simons (16:56.41) was second.

South Laurel won the meet, nipping Corbin by one point. Pulaski County was third, followed by Rockcastle County and North Laurel.

Harlan County’s Andrew Yeary finished eighth in the boys junior varsity race with a time of 21:25.12. Breydy Daniels (22:58.41) was 19th.

Harlan County placed eighth on the girls side, led by Peyton Lunsford. The eighth-grader posted a time of 22:33.03 and a ninth-place finish in her first career varsity race. Cadance Ferguson was 25th with a time of 24:05.03, and Riley Key (25:28.81) finished 35th. Rounding out the team’s results were Baili Boggs (44th, 26:15.93), Ariel Madden (50th, 26:52.62), Caitlin Rice (56th, 28:10.50), Lainey Garrett (74th, 29:38.31) and Taylor Clark (97th, 37:43.53).

“You can see significant improvement in the girls team,” Vitatoe said. “We’ve been on our heels the past couple seasons, rebuilding, but it like we’re finally finding our footing. This was my first time having the full team together, and I’m excited about what I saw.”

Pulaski County won a close race, defeating Southwestern by three points and Corbin by nine. South Laurel’s Phoebe McCowan was the individual winner with a time of 19:37.28.

Bradley Brock led the Bears in the middle school race, finishing 19th on the boys side with a time of 14:03.34. He was followed by Nazareth Sanchez (23rd, 14:39.59), Kaden Boggs (42nd, 16:19.06) and Seth Coogle (62nd, 19:05.12). Kaydie Coots was 46th on the girls side with a time of 21:35.53.

Tanner Daniels led Harlan County to a ninth-place finish in the boys elementary school race, finishing ninth with a time of 6:52.84. He was followed by Luther Gross (27th, 7:31.56), Trey Creech (33rd, 7:49.66), Ethan Lewis (65th, 9:06.90), Braxton Crain (81th, 9:49.88), Carson Sanders (84th, 9:59.06) and Timothy Hickson (87th, 10:06.72). Alice Gross placed 48th in the girls elementary race with a time of 11:28.78.

Harlan County returns to action Tuesday in an all-comers meet at home before traveling to the Middlesboro Invitational on Saturday.

In previously unreported action, the Black Bears opened the season Tuesday with a win at an all-comers meet at Lynn Camp High School despite being without veteran Caleb Brock.

“I’m enthused about our effort on both sides,” Vitatoe said. “The boys ran well, and our pack effort with our girls was really effective. I’m excited about the potential.”

Carmical led the team, finishing fourth with a time of 20:06.56. Joseph (20:55.69) was eighth, followed by Matt Yeary (12th, 21:28.08). Also participating for the Bears were Lucas Epperson (14th, 21:53.90), Cooper (15th, 21:54.51), Austin Crain (17th, 22:04.05), McHargue (25th, 22:53.87), Andrew Yeary (28th, 23:41.98), Bradley Brock (40th, 25:21.36), Hensley (42nd, 25:37.91) and Daniels (27:37.64).

Harlan County defeated second-place Lynn Camp by 16 points. Russell County’s Justin Stearns won the race with a time of 18:26.92.

“The guys have worked hard this summer, and I’m proud of their effort to get the win, especially with Caleb out. That’s really encouraging to see,” Vitatoe said.

In the girls race, Harlan County finished second, seven points behind Middlesboro.

The Lady Bears posted three of the top 10 finishers, as Ferguson (27:25.76), Boggs (27:30.00) and Madden (27:37.04) came in sixth through eighth, respectively. Rounding out the Lady Bears’ results were Garrett (20th, 31:52.63), Rice (24th, 33:06.04), Clark (26th, 36:57.19) and Peyton Griffin (29th, 40:55.43).

“We’ve talked all summer about the fact that we’re a different team (this year),” Vitatoe said. “They’ve worked harder this offseason and preseason than they ever have. We were very shorthanded on the girls side, and they were in it until the last mile.”