Tallen James earns All-Conference Honors and a medal for finishing in 3rd place overall
BY JIM BEERS
Wednesday September 23 was the Cahokia Conference, Illinois Division Golf Match, and the Chester High School YellowJacket Golf Team was there in full force. The Jackets finished as Runners-Up in the Illinois Division with a score of 325 strokes.
Chester’s Tallen James, a CHS senior golfer, finished 3rd overall in the 2026 Cahokia Conference, Illinois Division Match Wednesday September 23. James shot 75 in the 18-hole match to earn All-Conference Honors as well as a 3rd Place Medal. Photo provided by Coach Clayton Andrews
CHS senior, Tallen James finished 3rd overall in the Illinois Division match with his score of 75 strokes. For his efforts Tallen earned All-Conference Honors which included a medal.
The Chester High School Varsity Golf Team competed in the 2026 Cahokia Conference, Illinois Division Golf Tournament Wednesday September 23. The event was hosted by Wesclin and was held at the Roland Barkau Memorial Golf Course in Okawville, Illinois. The YellowJackets finished 2nd with a team score of 325. Pictured he during the awards ceremony are (left to right) Trevin Eggemeyer, Kross Jany, Caeter Kennedy, Alden Davitz, Tallen James, and Jack Luthy. Photo provided by Coach Clayton Andrews
The event was hosted by Wesclin and it was originally scheduled to take place at Governors Run Golf Course in Carlyle, but due to very poor conditions on the course due to the extreme heat, the match was moved to the Roland Barkau Memorial Golf Course in Okawville Illinois.
Team Scores for the Illinois Division of the Cahokia Conference are as follow:
1st Place Red Bud Musketeers Class 1A 302
2nd Place CHESTER YellowJackets Class 1A 325
3rd Place Carlyle Kaskaskians Class 1A 327
4th Place Okawville Rockets Class 1A 335
5th Place Trenton-Wesclin Warriors Class 1A 337
6th Place Sparta Bulldogs Class 1A 338
Wood River-East Alton Oilers Class 2A +38 (No team score)
CHS Head Coach Clayton Andrews said, “I am super proud of how the boys played today. Although we didn’t get first, it was a successful day. Taking second in a conference that is full of some really tough teams is a huge accomplishment!”
Chester YellowJacket Team Scores are as follow:
3rd Tallen James, a senior 75
11th Trevin Eggemeyer, a senior 81
15th Kross Jany, a senior 83
18th Carter Kennedy, a freshman 86
25th Alden Davitz, a sophomore 90
32nd Jack Luthy, a sophomore 99
Coach Andrews commented, “We have been in a bit of a slump as a team and have talked about focusing on playing against ourselves rather than other teams. We came into today’s match with a goal of playing against ourselves and just showing improvement from our prior matches.”
“Today the boys stepped up to the challenge, shooting their best 18-hole score of the year. We hope to keep this momentum rolling into the regionals next week. We will be competing on the same course that we played for today’s conference match.”
The YellowJackets will close out Week 6 with a dual match with Gibault Catholic High School today, Thursday September 24. Tee-Off is 3:45 p.m.
Chester plays on the road the rest of the 2026 season. Week 7 had the Jackets at Murphysboro Monday September 28. Wednesday September 30 Chester will compete at the 2026 IHSA regional Golf Match at Roland Barkau Memorial Golf Course in Okawville. The Junior Varsity will play in the Steeleville Tournament Thursday October 1 at 3:00 P.M.
Week 8 has the YellowJackets at the IHSA Sectional Match Monday October 5 at the Annbriar Golf Course in Waterloo if the Jackets qualify. The State Match is Friday October 9 at Prairie Vista in Bloomington for those that qualify.