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The Harlan Middle School Academic team continued their string of strong performances on their way to capturing the Kentucky Governor’s Cup Region 20 Championship held at Harlan Middle School.

The Green Dragons were regional champions in 2020, before placing 3rd in 2021.

The 2022 Regional Championship will qualify the Green Dragons to advance to state competition that will be held March 19-21 in Louisville.
Regional qualifiers from across the commonwealth will assemble to compete for a state title.

In addition to Harlan, schools making up Region 20 include Black Mountain, Cawood, Cumberland, Evarts, Green Hill, James A. Cawood, Rosspoint, and Wallins.

Harlan also won the Quick Recall & Future Problem-Solving competitions as well as captured first place in all but one academic assessment areas.

The solid performance helped the Green Dragons score a total of 48 points on the day. Rosspoint ended the competition with 21 points and a runner-up finish. James A. Cawood and Evarts finished with 16 points, taking 3rd and 4th place respectively.

Wallins (8.5 points), Black Mountain (7.5 points), and Cumberland (5 points) took 5th , 6th  and 7th place. Rosspoint won the Humme Sportsmanship award.

The top five scorers in each assessment area will advance to state competition. First place and runner-up in the Quick Recall & Future Problem-Solving teams also advance to Louisville.

Evarts took Runner up in Future Problem Solving while Rosspoint grabbed runner up in Quick Recall.

Eighth grader Sayed Damaa was the leader for the Green Dragons scoring a rare perfect score in the Math assessment portion of the contest. He also took first place in the Science assessment and was a key team member of the Quick Recall squad.

Coach Chris Day, who also serves as Harlan Middle School guidance counselor, believes his team is in great position for a strong showing at the state level.

“I am proud of this team and the way they have worked this year,” he said. “To win the region is a big accomplishment, especially given all the obstacles we have faced. We have a lot of kids that will get a chance to compete and state so I am expecting them to represent Harlan very well.”

Superintendent C.D. Morton praised the commitment and focus on academic excellence demonstrated by the students and coaches.

“Schools provide a variety of avenues for students to flourish, I believe classrooms should be at the top of that list,” he said. “I am proud that our teachers, coaches, and students work together to keep our students achieving at such high levels. To remain focused over the last couple of years has taken great effort by everyone, but in the end, it will be schools that will play a major part in equipping students with the resiliency to achieve greatness.”

Math:
1st Sayed Damaa (Harlan Middle)
2nd Shania Middleton (Rosspoint)
3rd Gabriel Clay (Cumberland)
4th Clarissa Yost (JACES)
5th Ethan Lewis (Black Mountain)

Science:
1st Sayed Damaa (Harlan Middle)
2nd Shania Middleton (Rosspoint)
3rd Aiden Stewart (Black Mountain)
4th Gabriel Clay (Cumberland)
5th tie Ethan Lewis (Black Mountain)
5th tie Caden Craig (Wallins)

Social Studies:
1st Juliana Damaa (Harlan Middle)
2nd Amelia Colinger (JACES)
3rd Bryson Eldridge (JACES)
4th Caden Craig (Wallins)
5th Elijah Moore (JACES)

Language Arts:
1st Selena Amro (Harlan Middle)
2nd Bryson Eldridge (JACES)
3rd Lacey Short (Rosspoint)
4th Kylie Ward (Wallins)
5th Elisabeth Hensley (Harlan Middle)

Arts and Humanities:
1st Juliana Damaa (Harlan Middle)
2nd Kylie Ward (Wallins)
3rd Lacey Short (Rosspoint)
4th Addison Truitt (Rosspoint)
5th Emilee Johnson (Evarts)

Composition:
1st Emmely Hickey (JACES)
2nd Serenity Brock (Harlan Middle)
3rd Kaydence Wynn (Black Mountain)
4th Jenna Nguyen (Harlan Middle)
5th Daelyn Garland (Cumberland0

Quick Recall:
1st Harlan Middle
2nd Rosspoint
3rd Evarts
4th JACES

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