The Waterloo High School girls and boys cross country squads performed well at the IHSA Class 2A Carbondale Regional on Saturday, each qualifying for this weekend’s sectional run in Olney.

In the girls race, Waterloo placed first overall as senior Cameron Crump once again led the entire field, posting a regional champion finish time of 18:31.67 for 5,000 meters.

In fact, the WHS girls placed six runners in the top 20. Behind Crump were senior Ava Rau in fifth at 19:39.73, senior Kamryn Rader in ninth at 20:17.87, sophomore Emily Vogt in 18th at 21:01.63, junior Calla Espenschied in 19th at 21:04.21, and senior Emily Lepp in 20th place at 21:06.07.

The WHS girls squad won the regional by seven points over second place Carterville.

In the boys race, Waterloo placed fifth as a team behind Marion, Mt. Vernon, Mascoutah and Herrin, but it was enough for the Bulldogs to qualify for the sectional.

The WHS boys were led by freshman Luke Smith in seventh place with a 5,000 meter finish time of 16:27.47. Right behind Smith was sophomore teammate Luke DeVilder in eighth place with a time of 16:29.18. Waterloo freshman Liam Gilbert placed 26th at the regional with a time of 17:09.49.

The Class 2A Olney (Richland County) Sectional takes place this Saturday, as the WHS cross country program aims to qualify its teams – or at least several individuals – for the IHSA state meet taking place Nov. 9 in Peoria.