High school cross country runners felt the wrath of Rim Rock Farm on Saturday as the course, aided by relatively warm weather and constant, swirling wind, challenged their bodies and minds.

Free State’s Kyra Kilwein appeared to have bested the course and the elements when she crossed the finish line sixth at the Rim Rock Classic, but a few steps after that she was on the ground.

Kilwein had to be helped to the medical tent by trainers, and after receiving treatment, she put one arm around the shoulders of her mother, Marcy, and the other around her sister, Jennica, and slowly made her way back to the Firebirds’ tent to gather herself.

“It was just the heat today,” Kilwein said of the 80-plus-degree temperatures.

Her coach, Steve Heffernan, said his top varsity girls runner was just exhausted, not injured, adding that she is great at pushing herself.

“I try to push hard because that’s how you’re supposed to run the race – you’re supposed to give a good kick at the end,” she said.

Despite the fact she couldn’t walk after finishing it, Kilwein maintained that she loves Rim Rock Farm.

“It’s an awesome course to run on,” Kilwein said. “It’s a challenge, and that’s what I like about it.”

Led by Kilwein, Free State’s girls finished fourth out of 20 schools in the 4K gold race, ahead of Baldwin (eighth), De Soto (15th) and Lawrence High (16th).

Baldwin’s Heather Garcia finished third – the best of all local runners.

Garcia said she was in fourth during most of the race, but she found help from a spectator – her coach, Mike Spielman, who was cheering her on – as the race neared its end.

“I didn’t want to let him down or myself,” the senior said.

Throughout the race, Garcia pushed herself and was driven by seeing the trio of girls in front of her.

“It was really a mental challenge,” she said, adding that her stomach ached as she ran, making things even more difficult.

Lawrence High’s Kelly Renfro wasn’t too far behind Garcia and Kilwein. She finished 10th and said the wind was bothersome.

“I think it affected me because it felt like every time you turned the corner the wind was against you,” Renfro said.

The LHS boys secured a 10th-place finish (out of 26 teams), thanks in part to the performance of senior Dylan Hedges, who finished ninth in the gold 5K race.

Hedges said the course was “friggin’ hard.”

The Free State boys were led by Logan Sloan, who finished 42nd. The Firebirds settled for 21st place – behind Lawrence, De Soto (14th) and Baldwin (15th) – but senior Gabe Moss (69th) said they will benefit from competing in a 174-man race when they return later this year.

“It’s just good to get a feel for the course, and there’s not going to be this many people at the other races we do, so this just gets us over the shellshock of the whole thing,” Moss said.