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BELLEVILLE — Edwardsville’s girls cross country team claimed the IHSA Class 3A Belleville West Regional Championship on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025, scoring 33 points to defeat O’Fallon, which finished with 55 points.
The meet, held at Belleville West, featured nine teams competing for regional honors. Pekin secured third place with 68 points, followed by Normal (Community) with 121, Quincy with 123, Champaign (Central) with 193, Alton with 196, Belleville West with 214, and Collinsville with 264 points.
Ellie Bush of O’Fallon was the individual champion, completing the three-mile course in 17 minutes, 30.60 seconds. Edwardsville’s top finishers included Ella Thompson, who placed third with a time of 17:35.10, Madison Popelar in fourth at 17:35.90, and Morgan Popelar in fifth with 17:36.90. Other Edwardsville runners finishing in the top 15 were McKenna Kerpan (10th, 18:18.60), Willow Jackson (11th, 18:21.80), Ava Horsfall (12th, 18:26.00), and Antonella DeAvila (14th, 18:35.10).
Alton’s Monica Klockenkemper placed 26th with a time of 19:46.10, while teammates Sophia Helfrich and Aliyah Rehling finished 33rd (20:00.50) and 43rd (21:13.00), respectively. Elizabeth Genis of Granite City came in 51st at 22:21.70, and Alton’s Morgan Jinks finished 54th with a time of 22:56.40.
Edwardsville’s strong team performance secured its regional title and positioned the squad for the sectional level of the competition.
