Camryn Luthy claims back-to-back Medalist honors in opening week first two matches
JIM BEERS, Contributing Writer
CHESTER – The 2023 Chester High School Lady Jacket Golf Team has a cast of nine golfers, one of the biggest teams fielded in several years at CHS.
The Girl’s roster features nine athletes including one senior, one junior, five sophomores and two freshmen.
Camryn Luthy putts at the 9th hole Tuesday August 15 when Chester hosted Gibault and Steeleville in a triangular match. Luthy earned “Medalist” honors far having the best girl’s score for the match of 41 strokes. She turned right around on Thursday August 17 and earned her second “Medalist” honor in as many matches when she shot the best girls’ game of 43 to lead Zeigler-Royalton and Cobden, Jim Beers Photo
The team leader is lone senior Camryn Luthy. The one junior is Rylie Conley. Sophomores include Rylie Myers, Macy Bert, Jesse Stumpe, Addy Gottschammer, and Riley Lochhead. The two freshmen rookies are Kendall Nanney and Monica Anaya.
Last season Luthy joined senior Aubrey Medford on the 2022 All-Conference Team. She was also the winner of the “Birdie Award” having had seven birdies in 2022. Luthy further won the “Lowest Average Award” with a 9-hole average of just 43.8 strokes per match.
Throughout last season Aubrey Medford earned medalist honors four times while Luthy earned top honors seven times for the Lady Jackets.
Medford won the “Leadership Award” for the year and won the Cahokia Conference Illinois Division Match as Champion. She advanced to the Sectional Match at Salem and earned “All-South” honors. She will be playing at the collegiate level this year. Medford’s leadership and mentorship undoubtedly will help Luthy lead the 2023 Lady Jackets this season.
Luthy comes into the 2023 season with All-Conference honors her freshman, sophomore, and junior seasons. She also qualified for the IHSA Sectional Match twice.
Most of the 2022 season Luthy was Chester’s No. 1 golfer. She has the most experience on Chester’s young squad and will help guide the younger players throughout the season.
Chester sophomore Riley Lochhead is greeted by CHS Lady Jacket Head Coach Meg Schoenecker after finishing her first hole Tuesday August 15. It was Chester’s season opener, and the Jackets were just three strokes short of beating Gibault, 193-196. In the match Lochhead shot 55 to finish as Chester’s No. 4 golfer in the match against Steeleville and Gibault. Jim Beers Photo
In addition to Luthy, the Jackets have several other players with varsity experience including Macy Bert, Addy Gottschammer, Rylie Myers, Riley Lochhead and Jessica Stumpe, all who are sophomores.
Chester’s only junior, Rylie Conley, took last year off from golf, but did play her freshman year. She has potential to be a good contributor this season.
Freshmen Kendall Nanney and Monica Anaya are rookie golfers and are playing for the first time. They are adjusting well and will contribute to the Junior Varsity most of 2023.
Head Coach, Meg Schnoeker, is in her third year as Girl’s Coach at CHS and is excited to have such a good turnout his year with nine golfers. “We have experience at the Varsity level and have a good nucleus for a decent Junior Varsity Team. I can’t wait to see what these girls can do. They all have good work ethics and are very coachable.”
The Lady Jackets opened the season Tuesday August 15 hosting a triangular match at the Chester Country Club. Gibault and Steeleville joined the Lady Jackets in the three-team contest, however, Steeleville did not field enough players to have a team score.
Both Chester and Gibault played well, but both teams had first-match gitters at times. The Lady Hawks edged the Jackets by just three strokes, 193-196, to win the match. Chester’s Camryn Luthy did, however, win Low Medalist Honors with her score of 41 to lead all golfers at the match.
Other Chester golfer’s scores included Macy Bert (48), Rylie Myers (52), and Riley Lochhead (55) to round out the top-4 CHS scores. Addy Gottschammer (57) and Jessica Stumpe (60) also played in the Varsity competition. Only the top-4 best scores are counted in the team scoring process.
Gibault scores included Elena Oggero (44), Annika Fabie (44), Lindsay Harget (51), and Nora Worth (54) for the top-4 Lady Hawk’s team score of 193. Other Gibault scores included Mia Petruso (56), Avery Herrmann (62), Lillana Register (62), and Adrian DeClue (71).
Steeleville Lady Warriors just brought two golfers, Ella Trip (61) and Miranda Rodewald (68). They lacked two more golfers/scores to qualify for a team score.
The Lady Jackets hosted another match Thursday August 17 at the Chester Country Club. This time Zeigler-Royalton and Cobden came to town.
Camryn Luthy led all golfers once again shooting a round of 43 to earn “Low Medalist” honors. Sophomore Macy Bert was Chester’s No. 2 golfer with her score of 48. Sophomore Rylie Myers set a new Personal-Best (PR) with her score of 48.
Sophomore Riley Lochhead also set a new PR for her score of 52. Addy Gottschammer shot 58 and Jessica Stumpe shot 61 to round out Chester’s performances.
Next up for the Lady Jackets will be a trip to Trico Monday August 21, then Chester will return to the Chester Country Club for home matches Tuesday August 22 and Thursday August 24.