Belleville, IL — The Lions' cross-country season took a leap forward at the Belleville West Invitational on Saturday, September 12th. The meet got underway early, with the varsity girls speeding through the fog to a 3rd place team finish despite resting several top runners, and defeating several 2A Southern Sectional rivals along the way. The lady lions were paced by Lyla Seaman, who took a commanding lead during the hilly second mile en route to a runaway victory. She was followed in quick succession by Liesel Balmforth, Alissa Ruiz, Landry Crain, and Rose Balmforth, who posted a new PR of 22:41 for the 3-mile distance. The varsity boy's race was no less impressive, with Alex DeRuntz breaking 16 minutes for the first time this season despite the hilly course, to pace the Lions to a 2nd place team finish, and victories over 2A Southern Sectional rivals Mascoutah and Highland. Behind him, Mason Webb set a season best, while Ethan Swartz, Jack Robertson, and Jake Wilhelm all set personal bests, and Reece Scott and Nick Wilhelm set season records. The competition concluded with the open race, in which the lions squeezed out a 2-point victory over Mascoutah, on the strength of several strong performances. Nicolas Hyson finished in the top 3 running mostly solo, while being backed up by massive personal bests from Mitchell Carsrud and Adam Williams, and a slew of season bests from the rest of the squad. Full results can be found at: https://www.athletic.net/CrossCountry/meet/280457/info Following this race, Carterville XC will take a break next weekend, and return to action on Saturday, September 26th in their return to the Freeburg Invitational.