St. James, Blue Valley Northwest teams excel in Rim Rock Farm meet

Over the years, Rim Rock Farm has developed a reputation for holding some of the biggest and toughest cross country meets in the Midwest. Last weekend’s Rim Rock Farm High School Cross Country Classic was no exception.

The meet again drew several hundred runners from dozens of schools across seven states to the iconic 5,000-meter course just outside of Lawrence to compete in 12 races in three divisions. In the girls Gold, or elite, division, the Johnson County teams excelled.

St. James Academy took the team title in the girls Gold Division with a 144 score to edge out runner-up Millard West of Omaha by five points. Sarah Murrow led the way for St. James with a 12^th-place finish in the 242-girl field.

Mill Valley wasn’t far behind St. James in fourth place, and the top 10 also included Blue Valley North (sixth), Blue Valley West (eighth) and St. Thomas Aquinas (10^th).

Aquinas’ boys placed sixth in the Gold Division, with Ethan Marshall finishing 11^th overall. St. James took 12^th and Blue Valley Southwest, led by Dylan Miller’s seventh-place finish, was 14^th.

Blue Valley Northwest’s girls and boys stood out in the Crimson Division for Class 5-6A schools. BV Northwest’s girls placed fifth, with freshman Riley Beach finishing fifth individually. The Huskies’ boys team finished 10^th, paced by Eric Gawlick’s 15^th-place finish.

This story was originally published September 25, 2017 at 10:11 AM with the headline "St. James, Blue Valley Northwest teams excel in Rim Rock Farm meet."