The Waterloo High School girls cross country squad placed fifth at Saturday’s Class 2A Olney Sectional, which was good enough to qualify for this Saturday’s state meet in Peoria. 

Leading the way again, as usual, was Cameron Crump. 

Following her first place regional run the weekend prior, Crump was crowned sectional champion Saturday with a finish time of 17:40.47 – nearly 23 seconds faster than the second place runner.

The next finisher for Waterloo was Ava Rau, who placed 14th with a time of 18:52.45.

She was followed by teammates Calla Espenshied (20:22.19), Emily Vogt (20:24.16), Emily Lepp (20:36.53) and Kamryn Rader (20:49.40).

The WHS girls cross country squad will try to improve upon last year’s ninth place state finish, which was the highest ever  state placing in program history.