Free State junior Julia Larkin approaches the finish line in the varsity girls gold division race of the Rim Rock Classic on Saturday at Rim Rock Farm. Larkin led the Firebirds with a 5,000-meter time of 20:41.

The last time Free State junior Julia Larkin ran a cross country meet at Rim Rock Farm prior to Saturday’s Rim Rock Farm High School Classic, she stood at the top of the awards podium with her teammates while holding up the Class 6A state championship plaque last fall.

Larkin was an instrumental piece of the Firebirds’ state title team as the No. 4 runner with her 16th-place finish, as she made sure there wasn’t a big gap behind graduated seniors Emily Venters, Kiran Cordes and Abby Zenger.

The Free State junior led the way for the Firebirds on Saturday, and has been the top finisher at each of their first four meets. Larkin clocked in with a 5,000-meter time of 20:41 to finish 68th in a field of 242 runners in the varsity gold division race. She paced the Firebirds to 20th place in the team standings.

“We’re doing good,” Larkin said. “We lost a few girls last year, but we have some new girls from Germany (Anna Riley) and Florida (Emily Stone), so we should be good.”

Larkin had two fellow members of last year’s state championship squad right behind her as well in junior Emma Hertig and sophomore Erin Fagan. Hertig crossed the finish line at 20:47.2 to take 71st place. Fagan was exactly one second and one place behind Hertig to form a solid top three for the Firebirds.

“We did good,” Larkin said. “We all like stick together as a pack.”

Right in the mix with the Free State trio was the Baldwin duo of junior Natalie Beiter and freshman Ambrynn Stewart. Beiter and Stewart finished 68th and 76th with respective times of 20:45.3 and 20:55.4.

The Bulldogs finished two spots back of the Firebirds in the team standings by taking 22nd place.

In the varsity boys gold division race, Free State sophomore Charlie Johnson was the top area finishers after placing 95th with a personal-best time of 17:23.4. Personal records were a rarity on Saturday with the temperature reaching 90 degrees by the conclusion of the varsity races.

The achievement was rewarding for Johnson, but it was far from easy for the Free State sophomore.

“It feels good, but at the same time, I’m really tired,” Johnson said.

With the difficult conditions, Johnson knew that pacing himself would be key and he reflected on past meets at Rim Rock to prepare for Saturday.

“We’ve run Rim Rock a lot, so I just went off of experience and knowing where to speed up and slow down and always in the last 800 (meters) pushing it as hard as I can,” Johnson said.

Johnson guided the Firebirds to 35th place in the team standings.

Baldwin junior Jacob Bailey paced the Bulldogs with a time of 17:32.1, which was good for 116th place. The Bulldogs placed 42nd as a team.

Seratte shines for LHS girls

As one of the top mid-distance runners in the state, 5,000-meter races in cross country don’t come quite as easily to Lawrence High junior Evann Seratte as the 400 and 800 do in track.

Seratte has been up to the challenge of building her endurance, though, as she led the Lions for the second straight meet after her 48th-place finish in the varsity girls crimson division.

“It definitely helps having this team around me to train with,” Seratte said. “It’s definitely a lot farther than I’m used to, but we put in work over the summer and we’ve just been going at it all year. That definitely helps just preparing before hand, but it’s definitely a different beast to handle.”

Saturday also marked the first time that the Lions have ran at Rim Rock Farm this season. Seratte said that the Lions were able to get a good feel of the course in the days leading up to the meet, though, which she acknowledged was helpful for her and her teammates.

“It’s a bigger meet — a more intense atmosphere, definitely,” Seratte said. “But we came out here and practiced this week on it, so I think that kind of calmed our nerves and get used to the course.”

Sophomore Sophie DeWitt was the No. 2 runner for the Lions, and finished just outside of the top 100. DeWitt clocked in at 22:37.2 to take 102nd place.

Seratte and DeWitt helped the Lions to 31st place.

Tonganoxie joined LHS in the crimson division, and finished 35th in the girls varsity race behind Sierra Staatz. The Tongie senior finished with a time of 23:01.9, which was good for 129th place.

On the boys side, Lawrence senior Carson Jumping Eagle cracked the top 100 with a 78th-place finish. Jumping Eagle crossed the finish line at 18:04.1 to take 78th place, but he was discouraged with his performance.

“This race is just different from all of the other ones,” Jumping Eagle said. “I just went out there and did what I can. I definitely need to get better.”

While Jumping Eagle wasn’t pleased with his own race, he was proud of how his teammates competed. Junior Cole Shupert followed Jumping Eagle in 150th place after posting a time of 18:41.8.

“I think they did good,” Jumping Eagle said. “They definitely work hard. I wouldn’t be where I am without them.”

The LHS boys finished 38th in the crimson varsity boys standings.

Tonganoxie was led by junior Calvin Morgan, who finished 102nd with a time of 18:15.5. Morgan helped the Chieftains to 33rd place.

Eudora boys 11th, girls 16th in varsity blue division

Eudora junior Bobby Lounsbury was the top area finisher in the varsity blue division race with a time of 18:32.6. Lounsbury finished 47th to lead the Cardinals.

Perry-Lecompton junior Josh Mitts came in as the No. 1 runner for the Kaws after posting a time of 19:39.9 to place 119th. The Kaws finished 36th in the team standings.

The combo of Eudora freshman Melia Martin and sophomore Reagan Hiebert paced the Cardinals to 16th place in the girls race. Martin and Hiebert finished with respective times of 23:20.1 and 23:35.2 to take 64th and 77th place.

Perry-Lecompton sophomore Blaise Ball placed 113th with a time of 24:26.8 to lead the Kaws in the blue division race. The Kaws finished 31st overall.

The meet concluded following the varsity blue division races due to the excessive heat. The junior varsity boys and girls gold races took place prior to the varsity races, but the C-team and other JV races were canceled.

Rim Rock Farm High School Classic

Saturday at Rim Rock Farm

Note: All JV/C-team races were canceled due to heat except JV boys and girls gold division races

Varsity Girls Gold Division Top 10 Team Scores — 1. St. James, 144; 2. Millard West, 149; 3. Iowa City West, 158; 4. Mill Valley, 189; 5. Pine Creek, 214; 6. Blue Valley North, 225; 7. Raymore-Peculiar, 253; 8. Blue Valley West, 311; 9. Blue Springs South, 316; 10. St. Thomas Aquinas, 323; 20. Free State, 545; 22. Baldwin, 586.

Free State results — 63. Julia Larkin, 20:41; 70. Emma Hertig, 20:47.2; 71. Erin Fagan, 20:48.2; 126. Emily Stone, 21:37; 220. Maddie Day, 23:32.2; 224. Bella Crawford-Parker, 23:46.9.

Baldwin results — 68. Natalie Beiter, 20:45.3; 76. Ambrynn, Stewart, 20:55.4; 146. Maiki Martinez, 21:56.1; 147. Lauren Russell, 21:56.3; 154. Lindsey Toot, 22:04.4; 178. Tennyson Wilson, 22:28.5; 181. Selena Silk, 22:32.1.

Varsity Boys Gold Division Top 10 Team Scores — 1. Blue Springs, 151; 2. Rockhurst, 155; 3. Parkway West, 167; 4. Legend, 257; 5. Omaha Creighton Prep, 267; 6. St. Thomas Aquinas, 268; 7. Chaparral, 319; 8. Lafayette (Wildwood), 333; 9. Millard West, 355; 10. Lee’s Summit West, 361; 35. Free State, 841; 42. Baldwin, 1,116.

Free State results — 95. Charlie Johnson, 17:23.4; 175. Caelen Cordes, 17:58; 193. Jared Hicks, 18:11.9; 194. Brock Cordova, 18:12.9; 206. Aiden Goertz, 18:21.5; 233. John Loos, 18:40.5.

Baldwin results — 116. Jacob Bailey, 17:32.1; 220. Parker Wilson, 18:32; 266. Jayce Dighans, 19:07; 270. Henry Letner, 19:11; 279. Hudson Allen, 19:22.6; 292. Will Harvey, 20:08.3.

Varsity Girls Crimson Division Top 10 Team Scores — 1. Marquette, 173; 2. Rogers, 187; 3. Bishop Kelley, 188; 4. Webb City, 200; 5. Blue Valley Northwest, 340; 6. Chaparral, 351; 7. Bishop Miege, 365; 8. Metro Christian, 366; 9. Lansing, 393; 10. Kearney, 394; 31. Lawrence High, 652; 35. Tonganoxie, 761.

Lawrence High results — 48. Evann Seratte, 21:41.8; 102. Sophie DeWitt, 22:37.2; 134. Lacey Greenfield, 23:05.7; 192. Layne Prescott, 23:57; 227. Tory Hamon, 25:03.5; 242. Jayden Wilson, 25:47.2; 253. Jordyn Garcia, 26:13.7;

Tonganoxie results — 129. Sierra Staatz, 23:01.9; 157. Erin Williams, 23:25.6; 185. Heather Wombwell, 23:49.8; 205. Katherine Wombwell, 24:16.9; 238. Mathia Slinkard, 25:27.2.

Varsity Boys Crimson Division Top 10 Team Scores — 1. Great Bend, 187; 2. Nixa, 209; Kearney, 247; 4. Platte County, 265; 5. Wichita North, 284; 6. Rogers, 295; 7. Lexington, 307; 8. Andover Central, 320; 9. Lakewood, 329; 10. Blue Valley Northwest, 373; 33. Tonganoxie, 783; 38. Lawrence High, 905.

Lawrence High results — 78. Carson Jumping Eagle, 18:04.6; 150. Cole Shupert, 18:41.8; 231. Keifer Smith, 19:32.3; 239. Daniel Davidson, 19:36.7; 241. Bryce Hadl, 19:38.7; 246. Calvin DeWitt, 19:41; 272. Derek White, 20:05.4

Tonganoxie results — 102. Calvin Morgan, 18:15.5; 141. Jakob Foley, 18:38.8; 163. Chandler Hamman, 18:50; 198. Josh Bosley, 19:12.9; 207. Jake Edholm, 19:18; 225. Dylan Graham, 19:31; 240. Scott Vick, 19:37.9

Varsity Girls Blue Division Top 10 Team Scores — 1. Great Bend, 127; 2. Hiawatha, 130; 3. Basehor-Linwood, 156; 4. Logan-Rogersville, 172; 5. St. George-Rock Creek, 199; 6. Smithville, 239; 7. De Soto (Mo.), 240; 8. Norton Community, 305; 9. Newton, 332; 10. St. Mary’s, 336; 16. Eudora, 412; 31. Perry-Lecompton, 679.

Eudora results — 64. Melia Martin, 23:20.1; 77. Reagan Hiebert, 23:35.2; 120. Rachel Pratt, 24:45.0; 123. Kate Erpelding, 24:53.5; 146. Madison Sullivan, 25:30.2;

Perry-Lecompton results — 113. Blaise Ball, 24:26.8; 156. Jolie Hirsch, 25:50.4; 168. Sara Haggard, 26:20.7; 200. Emily Hamm, 27:54.9; 234. Dorothy Haggard, 32:27.2.

Varsity Boys Blue Division Top 10 Team Scores — 1. West Bentonville, 85; 2. Smithville, 195; 3. Joplin, 214; 4. Wamego, 290; 5. Salida, 291; 6. Olathe West, 327; 7. Logan-Rogersville, 330; 8. Girard, 343; 9. Smoky Valley, 351; 10. Metro Christian, 389; 11. Eudora, 397; 36. Perry-Lecompton, 863.

Eudora results — 47. Bobby Lounsbury, 18:32.6; 54. Jerratt Bradley, 18:39.5; 83. Noah Katzenmeier, 19:05.2; 90. Jacob Boucher, 19:12.3; 157. Zan Martin, 20:13.8; 195. Hayden Miller, 20:44.8; 315. Garrett Durr, 23:00.1.

Perry-Lecompton results — 119. Josh Mitts, 19:39.9; 167. Bryce Wheeler, 20:18.4; 202. James Bartlett, 20:50; 206. Caden Dean, 20:52.8; 232. Josh LeClair, 21:15.4; 244. Reece Sollars, 21:23.8; 258. Canaan Daniels, 21:36.6; 270. Cooper LeFort, 21:46.4; 323. Jessye Schumann, 23:24.4.

JV Girls Gold Division Top 10 Team Scores — 1. Liberty North, 79; 2. Blue Valley North, 81; 3. St. Thomas Aquinas, 88; 4. St. James, 112; 5. Denver East, 118; 6. St. Teresa’s 123; 7. Ankeny, 244; 8. Blue Valley West, 270; 9. Washburn Rural, 288; 10. Mill Valley, 290; 12. Free State, 387.

Free State results — 59. Morgan Goeser, 23:00.7; 67. Bella Stull, 23:08.6; 82. Maddy Johnson, 23:30; 96. Marlowe Greenwell, 24:43.4; 99. Kate Odgers, 23:49.4; 126. Leah Wethington, 24:40.5.

Baldwin results — 88. Josie Boyle, 23:37.7; 116. Cameryn Peterson, 24:22.7; 135. Savita Flory, 24:59.5; 188. Olivia Wilcox, 27:16.6.

JV Boys Gold Division Top 10 Team Scores — 1. St. Thomas Aquinas, 60; 2. Omaha Creighton Prep, 71; 3. Lafayette (Wildwood), 89; 4. Liberty, 156; T-5. Lee’s Summit West, 226; T-5. Blue Springs, 226; T-5. Mill Valley, 226; T-5. Chaparral, 226; 9. Blue Valley West, 261; 10. Central (St. Joseph), 266; 27. Free State, 706.

Free State results — 119. Ethan Sharp, 19:14.6; 122. Dash Spears, 19:15.8; 158. Grant Holmes, 19:42.7; 159. Quinton Westphal, 19:42.9; 184. Koby Owen, 20:06.3; 202. Derek Hale, 20:39.8;

Baldwin results — 220. Brandon Newell, 25:23.7; 221. Anthony Dunn, 26:19; 222. Gage Gooch, 26:45.5.