YellowJacket Boys miss championship by 1-point; Lady Jackets finish 6th
By Jim Beers
CHESTER – After opening the 2025 Outdoor Track and Field season on the road for meets at Red Bud and Anna-Jonesboro, the Chester High School YellowJackets and Lady Jackets opened their 2025 home season Tuesday April 1. Chester hosted a rather large open meet at Chester’s Dr. Charles R. Young Memorial Track and Field Complex.
CHS senior, Lannin Caron, battles at the finish line in the 110 Hurdles finishing 4th with a time of 19:33, a personal best. He later won the 300 Meter Hurdles with a time of 45.12, another personal best. Jim Beers Photo
There were a total of 11 teams competing in the boys’ events and 10 teams competing in girls’ events. For this early in the spring season, conditions were a bit cool in the mid-to-low 60’s and it was just partly sunny, making conditions somewhat uncomfortable as the evening approached.
Field events started at 4:00 p.m. and running events began at 4:30 p.m. Early spring meets of such a big size at the unlighted Chester track pose a challenge each year as daylight is limited with skies beginning to darken by 7:30 p.m.
The Lady Jacket 4 X 200 Relay team of Gianna Eggemeyer, Lillian Diskey, Adalyn Jany, and Joella Eggemeyer won the event with a time of 1:56.90. There were 11 teams in the race with Chester coming out on top! Jim Beers Photo
The fact that it was an open meet also posed additional challenges for meet administrators because all schools were allowed to enter numerous athletes in each event, thus creating the need for several heats in most events. As the meet was in its final two events, the 200-meter run and the 4 X 400 relay, daylight had pretty much left the area.
After just barely managing to make it through the 200-meter run, and blindly finishing the girls’ 4 X 400 Relay, meet officials determined that there was not enough light to run the boys’ 4 X 400 Relay.
For the safety of the athletes, the meet was terminated without finishing the last boys’ event.
Chester High School sophomore Lauren Cowell, set a personal-best height in the Pole Vault with a vault of 7’6″. Jim Beers Photo
Boys’ Varsity Results (11 teams)
- Nashville 118
- CHESTER 117
- Pinckneyville 104.5
- Metropolis (Massac County)87
- Red Bud 72
- Waterloo Gibault Catholic 57
- Sparta 47.5
- New Athens 28
- Marissa 10
- Steeleville 8
- Evansville (Christ Our Savior) 2
RUNNING EVENTS
100 Meters
Red Bud’s Gavin Baldwin won the 100-Meter Dash (11.19). Chester’s top runner was Derrius Shoemate who placed 6th with a time of 12.31. Cayden Brunkhorst finished 7th (12.37), Johnathan Hayer finished 15th (13.06), and Ryker Hoffman finished 16th (13.08).
200 Meters
J’Von Moore of Metropolis (Massac County) was the winner of the 200-Meter Dash with his time of 24.51. Chester’s Gabe Coffman placed 3rd with his time of 25.33. Other Chester finishers included Donnie Sabo (6th, 25.91), and Rhett Creason (8th, 25.9).
400 Meters
Chester’s Gabe Coffman won the 400-Meter race with his time of 51.99. Other YellowJackets competitors included Caleb Coffey (13th, 1”00.93), and Alex Williamson (22nd, 1:04.64).
800 Meters
Evan Eberhart of Nashville was the winner of the 800-Meter Run. His time was 2:20.55. Chester’s top runner was Karim Landeros who had a place of 11th and a time of 2:37.83. Victor Rodriguez (13th, 2:41.78), was Chester’s other runner.
1600 Meter (1-Mile) Run
Nashville’s Grady Varel was the first finisher in the 1600-Meter (1-Mile) Run. His winning time was 4:48.95. There were a total of 20 runners in this race. Chester’s first finisher was Zane Eggemeyer who finished in 9th Place with a time of 5:20.42. Other Chester finishers included Ivan Hobbs (11th, 5:21.71), Jaden Ramirez (12th, 5:39.75), and Victor Fuentes (16th, 6:00.84).
3200 Meters (2-Mile) Run
Jaydon Miller from Metropolis (Massac County) was the winner of the 3200-Meter (2-Mile) Run with his time of 10:45.69. Chester’s Jaden Ramirez placed 3rd overall out of nine finishers with his time of 12:18.76. He was Chester’s only runner in this event.
110 Meter Hurdles
The winner of the 110-Meter Hurdles was Noah Yearian of Pinckneyville. His time was 17.65. Chester’s Lannin Caron finished 4th overall out of eight competitors with his time of 19.33. Caron was Chester’s only competitor.
300 Meter Hurdles
Chester’s Lannin Caron won the 300-Meter Hurdles. His winning time was 45.12. Teammate Anthony Armenta, Placed 4th with his time of 47.43. There were 10 hurdlers that competed in this event.
4 X 100 Relay
There were 10 teams that entered the 4 X 100 Relay. The top finisher included Pinckneyville (Thomas Fisher, Brayden Morrison, Brody Harsy, & Alec Forbes). Their winning time was 45.88. Chester’s team of Cayden Brunkhorst, Gabe Coffman, Donnie Sabo, and Danny Worley placed 4th with their time of 46.90.
4 X 200 Relay
Eight teams competed in the 4 X 200 Meter Relay. Pinckneyville won that race with a time of 1:39.41. Panther team members included Thomas Fisher, Brayden Morrison, Trenton Crabtree, & Brady Conway. Chester’s team of Rhett Creason, Ryker Hoffman, Johnathan Hayer, and Derrius Shoemate placed 5th with their time of 1:41.77.
4 X 800 Relay
There were seven teams competing in the 4 X 800 Meter Relay. The top team was Nashville with its time of 8:40.82. Team members included Ayden Fox, Evan Eberhart, Alex Feltman, & Grady Varel. Chester’s team of Zane Eggemeyer, Victor Rodriguez, Gavin Wilderman, and Victor Fuentes placed 6th with a time of 10:15.04.
Note: The 4 X 400 Relay was cancelled due to darkness. That event may have made the difference that could have given Chester the points to edge out Nashville for the 1st Place title.
FIELD EVENTS
Shot Put
There were 29 athletes who competed in the Shot Put event. The winner was Brynner Inman of Nashville. He had a distance of 16.32 meters. Chester was led by Alex Williamson who placed 6th overall with a throw of 11.33 meters. Other Chester throwers included Lennon Hobbs (13th, 9.38 meters), Braxton Hahs (14th, 9:35 meters), and Jaden Lopez (23rd, 8.10 meters).
Discus
There were 26 competitors in the Discus event. The winner was Sam Blumhorst of Nashville with his toss of 40.69 meters. Chester had three entries including Alex Williamson (9th, 29.85 meters), Braxton Hahs (21st, 19.49 meters), and Jaden Lopez (23rd, 17.32 meters).
High Jump
There were 11 boys that entered the High Jump event. One did not make the qualifying height. The winner was Brody Wilt of Pinckneyville with his height of m1.82 meters. Chester’s Gabe Coffman was the runner-up in 2nd Place with his height of 1.72 meters. Teammate Danny Worley placed 5th with his leap of 1.62 meters.
Pole Vault
Six boys competed in the Pole Vault event. Landon Travelstead of Pinckneyville had the best vault of the day with his height of 13’0”. Chester’s Lannin Caron was the runner-up in 2nd Place with his vault of 10’6”. YellowJacket Ivan Hobbs placed 3rd with his vault of 9’0”.
Long Jump
Seventeen boys competed in the Long Jump. Three scratched. The top jumper was Blayton Sutton of Red Bud. His winning jump was 6.32 meters. Chester’s Danny Worley was the runner-up with his jump of 6.20 meters. Other Chester jumpers included Cayden Brunkhorst (5th, 5.91 meters), and Rhett Creason (10th, 5.39 meters).
Triple Jump
A total of eight boys entered the Triple Jump event. One scratched. Hayden Klingeman won the event with a performance of 11.88 meters. Chester’s Cayden Brunkhorst was the runner-up in 2nd Place with his leaps of 11.83. Teammate Rhett Creason placed 5th with a 10.00 performance.
Girls’ Varsity Results (10 Teams)
- Nashville 153
- Pinckneyville 118
- Red Bud 93
- Benton 85.5
- Waterloo (Gibault Catholic) 60.5
- CHESTER 57
- News Athens 35
- Sparta 27
- Steeleville 25
- Metropolis (Massac County) 21
RUNNING EVENTS
100 Meters
Emma Behrmann won this event with a time of 13.66. There were 29 runners in this race. Chester’s Joella Eggemeyer was the Lady Jacket’s top runner with her 4th Place finish and time of 14.24. Other Chester runners included Lillian Diskey (7th, 14.58), Adalyn Jany (15th, 15.04), and Hailey Yankey (17th, 15.23).
200 Meters
There were 32 runners in this race. The winner was Tess Simpson of Red Bud with her time of 28.79. Hailey Yankey of Chester was the first Lady Jacket to finish with her place of 16th and her time of 31.28. Other CHS runners included Jaimy Duran (17th, 31.39), Carlee Cato (21st, 32.05), and Madalyn Hurst-Roy (22nd, 32.18).
400 Meters
There were 24 runners in this race. The winner was Adelie Wilson of Nashville with her time of 1:03.62. Chester had four runners including Madalyn Hurst-Roy (8th, 1:11.87), Jaimy Duran (15th, 1:16.51), Carlee Cato (16th, 1:16.71), and Abby Carter (24th, 1:32.75).
800 Meters
The winner of the 800-meter run was Rylan Reiss of Steeleville who finished in 2:45.68. There were a total of 21 runners entered in this race. Chester’s first and only runner was Lauren Cowell who placed 18th with her time of 3:16.43.
1600 Meter (1-Mile) Run
Fifteen girls entered the mile race. Clara Wilson of Waterloo Gibault Catholic was the winner with her time of 6:04.43. Chester runners included Olivia Sellers (14th, 8:09.17), and Kylee Kempfer (15th, 8:13.88).
3200 Meter (2-Mile) Run
There were only five girls that entered the 3200 Meter (2-Mile) Race. Clara Wilson of Waterloo Gibault Catholic was the winner. This was her second win of the day with her time of 12:53.12. No Chester Lady Jackets entered this event.
100 Meter Hurdles
Seven athletes entered this event. The winner was Jeda Friess of Red Bud with her time of 17.70. Chester’s Erin Liefer was the Lady Jacket’s top hurdler with her time of 21.23 and her finish of 6th Place. Teammate Aleah Eggemeyer finished 7th and turned in a time of 22.04.
300 Meter Hurdles
There were six hurdlers in this race. Remy Hicks of Pinckneyville was the winner with her time of 48.93. The Lady Jackets had two hurdlers compete in this race including Aleah Eggemeyer (5th, 58.57), and Erin Liefer (6th, 1.01.81).
4 X 100 Relay
There were 13 teams entered in the 4 X 100 Relay. The top team was Pinckneyville with a winning time of 53.81. Team members included Jessi Baggett, Kendal Bleyer, Maggie Niedbalski, and Remy Hicks. Chester placed 5th with a time of 52.92. Members of Chester’s team included Jessica Stumpe, Gianna Eggemeyer, Lillian Diskey, and Joella Eggemeyer.
4 X 200 Relay
The 4 X 200 Relay included 11 teams. The winner was the CHESTER team of Gianna Eggemeyer, Lillian Diskey, Adalyn Jany, and Joella Eggemeyer. Their time was 1:56.90.
4 X 400 Relay
This event was the final event of the day prior to meet officials closing the competition due to darkness. There were six teams that competed. The winning team was Pinckneyville with a time of 4:35.78. Members of that team were Remy Hicks, Isabella Baggett, Rori Reagan, and Jessi Baggett. Runners-up were the Chester Lady YellowJackets with a time of 4:45.50. Members of that squad included Gianna Eggemeyer, Aleah Eggemeyer, Adalyn Jany, and Joella Eggemeyer.
4 X 800 Relay
Six teams competed in this event. The top team was Nashville with a time of 11:18.60. Team members included Adelie Wilson, Evie Reams, Ryle Habbe, and Alivia Cochran. The Chester Lady Jackets placed 6th with a time of 13:24.65. The members of that team included Jaimy Duran, Carlee Cato, Kylee Kempfer, and Olivia Sellers.
FIELD EVENTS
Shot Put
There were 33 competitors entered the Shot Put event. The top thrower was Makayla Gajewski of Nashville with her throw of 11.84 meters. Chester had four girls that threw the shot put including Maci Ahring (13th, 7.96 meters), Olivia Earl (17th, 7’62), Taylor Throop (7.02 meters) and Zoey Tucker (24th, 6.77 meters).
Discus
The Discus event had 31 throwers. The winner was Jaydin Zazzetti of Benton who threw 31.35 meters. Chester had four competitors including Addison Gottschammer (18th, 19.78), Taylor Throop (21st, 18.62), Natalie Guetersloh (25th, 16.52 meters), and McKenna Thompson (28th, 16.01).
High Jump
The High Jump had 12 girls jumping in that event. The winner was Jacqueline Dill of Pinckneyville who jumped 1.57 meters. Chester’s jumpers were Erin Liefer and Katie Werner. Liefer placed 8th with her jump of 1.32 meters. Werner jumped 1.32 meters to finish 9th tie.
Pole Vault
The Pole Vault had nine entries. The top height was 10’2” by Analisse McLain of Benton. Chester had two vaulters. Lauren Cowell vaulted 7’6” which was a PR (Personal-Best). She placed 6th. Jessica Stumpe placed 9th with a vault of 6’6”.
Long Jump
There were 19 competitors in the Long Jump. Emma Behrmann of Nashville was the winner with her jump of 4.95 meters. Three girls from Chester competed including Madalyn Hurst-Roy (11th, 3.96 meters), Jaimy Duran (14th, 3.86 meters), and Peyton Cole (15th, 3.77 meters).
Triple Jump
There were nine competitors in the Triple Jump/ The top performer was Emma Behrmann of Nashville with her distance of 10.62 meters. Chester had two jumpers in this event including Jessica Stumpe (6th, 8.57 meters) and Lauren Cowell (8th, 8.00 meters).