On Friday, Sept. 24, the Millard West Cross Country team traveled south three hours to Lawrence, Kansas. They competed in one of their few national meets, where teams across the United States come to participate.

The Rim Rock Farm Classic was held at Kansas University’s home course. At first glance, it looks like a relatively flat course, but as the runners wind through the paths they find themself looking up steep hills and uneven footing. This course was the definition of “cross country” with the trails that led through a small forest and ran next to ponds and sheep. The course is in a very secluded area with multiple farms around the area. So, it was not very surprising to see, or smell, cattle in the area.

The Wildcats were faced with very tough competition. On the boys’ side, they were up against Valor Christian, ranked third in the Southwest region, and one of the top teams in Montana, Liberty North. For the girls, they were also competing with Valor Christian and Fayetteville, Arkansas.

The first race began in the evening on Friday. The Wildcats decided to only bring one runner for the girls JV. Junior Callie Kirchner did not let the lack of numbers slow her down from having a good race. Kirchner ran in the front of the pack throughout the whole race. Callie Kirchner finished with a time of 21:14.90 and, with a strong 400-meter finish, she passed the runner ahead of her. She walked home with a seventh-place medal and a season personal record of over 30 seconds.

The next race was the boys junior varsity. Similar to the girls JV, the boys only brought two runners to compete. Senior Christian Naujokaitis and Drew Figura were very strong off the start. With a fast first mile, Naujokaitis and Figura were leading the race of over 160 runners. Naujokaitis fell short of a first-place medal by a second and a half and finished with a time of 17:15.0. Figura is just shy of a season personal record (PR) with a time of 17:34.7 and rode the bus home with a seventh-place medal around his neck.

“I think we went out at a good pace for the first mile,” Figura said. “Christian and I both knew before the race that the first mile would be a little faster than expected. I would like to work on the last mile the most so I can pass runners and less pass me.”

After a long night’s rest, the girls varsity team competed early in the morning on Saturday. Very cool temperatures of just under 60°, made this a perfect morning to race. The Wildcats ran with a full team of seven. Junior Isabelle Hartnett led the Wildcats with a PR time of 18:58.6 and an eighth-place finish. Coming through the line next was Senior Sydney Beaudin with a time of 19:37.40 and just earning her a twenty-fourth place finish. The third runner for the girls was junior Sammy Ullman with a time of 20:16.70. Shortly after Ullman was sophomore Brianna Hernandez with a finishing time of 20:26.10. Immediately after Hernandez was senior Sammi Vojslavek with a time of 20:27.70. Fifteen seconds later freshman Kate Ebmeier crossed the line at 20:42.40. With another very close time of 20:42.7, sophomore Thea Kutash was the final runner for the Wildcats to finish.

“I thought that the course was absolutely beautiful,” Isabelle Hartnett said. “It went by pretty fast and as long as you powered up the hills you were going to finish with a good time.”

The final race of the day was the boys’ varsity. Only six runners competed because sophomore Jack Witte was out with a foot injury but should be back soon. The first runner to come through the line was senior Sam Kirchner with a PR time of 15:29.60. The next finisher was a surprising one; senior Cole Haith got a huge PR and broke 16 minutes with a time of 15:53.0. The next two runners finished very close together; senior Seth Fey and junior Piercze Marshall ran 16:03.0 and 16:04.2 respectively. Sophomore Porter Bickley concluded his race with a time of 16:27.80. Junior Joey Hartnett rounded up the Wildcats with a time of 16:39.40. There were multiple medalists: Sam Kirchner in third, Haith in twelfth, Fey in eighteenth, and Marshall in twentieth.

“For me, the mental game is the most important part,” Haith said. “I know I can run fast times, I just need to be mentally strong through the race. I also take all parts of training seriously, even the recovery because that is just as important as the run.”

Overall, the Wildcats placed very high with the tough. The girls varsity finished in third place behind Valor Christian and Fayetteville. Although they came in third, they still walk home with a plaque they call “Baby Kansas.” For the boys, they finished just shy of first place. The Wildcats fall to Valor Christian by just 5 points.