A familiar face on the high school cross country scene made a triumphant return Thursday at the Chester Invitational.

Gibault Catholic High School senior Brooke Biffar ran her first high school cross country race since 2018, placing first.

Biffar, a state qualifier as a freshman and sophomore, did not compete in the sport last season. 

Also for the Hawks sophomore Regan Gerteisen placed sixth overall in the girls race.

For the Gibault boys, Jackson Goedeke placed seventh overall and senior Paden Schultz placed 11th.

The Waterloo High School cross country program continued its quick start to the season with another fine showing at the Pre-Mississippi Valley Conference Meet on Saturday.

In the boys race, Waterloo’s Joe Schwartz placed first overall with a finish time of 17:01.80. Morgan Stratton placed 11th at 18:16.20. The WHS boys placed fourth as a team.

In the girls race, Waterloo won the team standings by one point over Highland.

Waterloo’s Angelynn Kanyuck won the race with a time of 19:47.60, followed by Ali Kloeppel in fifth at 20:35.10 and Danielle Mudd in eighth at 21:13.90.

Columbia and Valmeyer were among 12 boys teams that ran in the Belleville West Invitational on Saturday. The Eagles placed ninth and the Pirates placed 12th.

Columbia’s Thomas Crossley placed 26th overall with a time of 17:07.55.

In the girls race, Columbia’s Madison Missey placed seventh overall with a time of 20:00.04.

Last Tuesday, Dupo and Valmeyer were among the teams running at the Marissa Invitational. Dupo’s Keyonte Scarbrough placed fifth overall with a time of 19:06.