EDWARDSVILLE — Edwardsville’s girls cross country team posted several impressive individual performances to capture the Southwestern Conference Meet on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, at the SIUE-Edwardsville Mud Mountain Course.
Ellie Bush of O’Fallon captured the individual title at the SWC Meet.
Bush finished the race with a time of 18:48.80, leading a competitive field. The Tigers dominated the team standings, with their top four runners finishing in the second through fifth positions. Edwardsville finished with a total of 22 points, followed by O’Fallon with 37 points. Belleville East took third with 100 points, Collinsville was fourth with 123 points, East St. Louis finished fifth with 133 points, and Belleville West rounded out the top six with 147 points. Alton was unable to record a team score as they had only four runners participating.
Madison Popelar of Edwardsville finished second to Bush with a time of 18:54.48. At the same time, her teammates Morgan Popelar, Willow Jackson, and Reagan Jumper secured third through fifth places with times of 19:15.82, 19:16.58, and 19:38.70, respectively.
In addition to the top four finishers, Edwardsville’s Ava Horsfall placed eighth at 19:57.67, and Antonella DeAvila and Ella Thompson followed closely, finishing ninth and tenth with times of 20:05.01 and 20:12.40.
For O’Fallon, Madelyn Lane was the next highest finisher, placing sixth at 19:49.14, with Mae Naveira and Kayla Kalmer finishing seventh and eighth at 19:53.71 and 20:43.09, respectively.
Other notable performances included Meagan Prott of Belleville East, who led her team with a time of 22:45.48, and Catalina Jiminez-Magada of Collinsville, who recorded a time of 22:22.
The meet showcased a range of talent across the conference, with numerous athletes achieving personal bests and contributing to their teams’ overall standings.
