Nearly 100 schools will be flocking to rural Lawrence this morning to participate in the Rim Rock Farm High School Classic, one of the premier prep cross-country events in the nation.

Junior-varsity races start at 8:30 a.m. today at Rim Rock Farm north of Lawrence. The varsity races start at 10:15 a.m.

Among the area schools competing in the event are Lawrence High, Free State, Baldwin, De Soto, Eudora, Mill Valley and Tonganoxie. They’ll be joined by schools of varying sizes from Kansas, Iowa, Oklahoma, Missouri and Nebraska.

“I tell my kids, regardless of sport, this is probably the biggest high school competition in the Midwest,” Free State coach Steve Heffernan said.

The event will be divided into three races each for boys and girls — a blue division for smaller schools, a crimson division for larger schools and a gold division for elite and traditionally strong programs. Baldwin, Free State and Lawrence will participate in the gold division.

For those interested in attending, get there early. Because of Rim Rock’s off-the-beaten-path location, traffic often is a hassle for a meet of this magnitude.

Today’s meet will be the first of three that LHS and FSHS will participate in at Rim Rock. In addition, the Sunflower League meet Oct. 16 and the Kansas Class 6A state meet Oct. 30 also will be held there.

Last year, Free State’s Alysha Valencia finished fourth in the gold race, completing the 4,000-meter course in 15:14. This year, Valencia is coming off a win at the Millard South Invitational in Omaha, Neb. Expect her to be among the leaders today.