Peoria, IL — The great weather and a well manicured course at Detweiller Park in Peoria IL set the tone for some strong performances for the Carterville cross country teams who competed at the Peoria High School Invitational this weekend. The Carterville girls earned a 9th place finish out of 33 teams and the boys grabbed 16th among 34 teams. The standout for the girls was Molly Robertson, whose impressive PR (17:42) on the 3 mile course and top-4 finish highlighted the Lions' strong showing. Lyla Seaman also had a noteworthy performance, finishing 19th in 18:32. Other key contributors included Laney Sambursky (45th, 19:31), and Dani Williamson (93rd, 20:34). Lillian Carsrud (153rd, 21:52) was the final scorer for Carterville. Liesel Balmforth (163rd, 22:15), and Landry Crain (170th, 22:35) added strong performances to their resume as well. There were 247 total runners in the girls race. Their collective efforts helped propel the team to a strong finish in a competitive field. On the boys' side, August Anderson led the charge, finishing 32nd overall with a time of 15:54 securing a PR for himself in the 3 mile race. He was followed closely by Reece Scott in 81st place (16:37.2) and James Samples in 84th (16:37.8), both finishing within a 1/2 second of each other. Mason Webb wrapped up 87th place in 16:41, while Rowan Beyke took 129th in 17:07. Rounding out the team were Nick Wilhelm (190th, 18:04) and Nick Korte(196th, 18:17). With a total of 253 runners, the boys faced tough competition but showcased their skills throughout the race.