Lucas Thompson earns Top-5 Honors
STORY BY JIM BEERS
CHESTER, Ill. = The Chester High School Boy’s Golf Team hosted its 2023 Invitational Tournament Thursday August 31st at the Chester Country Club. Nine teams competed in the 18-hole event and the Chester YellowJackets finished 3rd in a closely-played match.
The event was held at the Chester Country Club. Competing in the 2023 match were Chester, Murphysboro, New Athens, Red Bud, Sparta, Steeleville, Trico, Zeigler-Royalton, and Marissa.
Chester High School senior, Lucas Thompson, a varsity YellowJacket Golfer, earned Top-5 honors at the 2023 Chester High School Invitational Golf Tournament Thursday August 31st. The event was an 18-hole competition and featured nine, six-man teams. Thompson finished 3rd out of 54 golfers with his score of 77 strokes. For his efforts, Thompson earned a plaque for his Top-5 finish. Paul Zemlyn Photo
The YellowJacket squad, which includes just one senior, played hard and battled till the end, finishing in 3rd Place behind Trico and Red Bud. Chester’s lone senior, Lucas Thompson, led the Jackets with an 18-hole game of 77 strokes. For his efforts he earned Top-5 Honors complete with a plaque.
The Chester High School Boy’s Golf Team placed 3rd at their own Invitational Tournament Thursday August 31st. The event featured nine teams that competed in the 18-hole match. Pictured (left to right) are Trevin Eggemeyer, Noah Homan, Brenden Malley, Lucas Thompson, Evan Bland, Max Blechle, and Talen James. The YellowJackets are coached by Jaden Mott, Head Coach and Paul Zemlyn, Assistant Coach. Paul Zemlyn Photo
Other YellowJacket scores included Talen James (84), Evan Dunning (85), and Brenden Malley (93), for a team score of 339. Chester’s 5th golfer was Noah Homan (96) and the 6th golfer included freshman Trevin Eggemeyer who was playing in his very first high school invitational 18-hole match. He shot 100 for the day.
The Top-5 Honors were awarded to Scout Hudgens of Zeigler-Royalton (76), Mason Ethington of Sparta (76), Lucas Thompson of Chester (77), Michael Brees of Trico (79), and Ryker Papenberg of Red Bud (79). All Top-5 players were presented with a plaque for their Top-5 finishes.
The 1st Place tie between Hudgens and Ethington was broken via a Playoff Hole. Hudgens won that hole and earned the 1st Place position with Ethington sliding into 2nd Place. The 4th Place tie between Michael Brees and Ryker Papenberg was decided via a Score Card Playoff. Brees won that playoff and earned the 4th Place spot. Papenberg finished in 5th Place.
In team competition, the top six places were decided by a slim margin of strokes. Trico was the winner with 329 strokes. In 2nd Place was Red Bud just two strokes behind Trico with 331 strokes.
Chester placed 3rd with 339 strokes and Sparta was right behind the YellowJackets with 341 strokes. Keeping things interesting was Murphysboro, just four strokes behind Sparta with 345 strokes. Zeigler-Royalton was only two strokes behind Murphysboro with 347 strokes.
Marissa finished in 7th Place with 356 strokes and Steeleville also had 356 strokes finishing in 8th Place. Rounding out the team competition was New Athens with 377 strokes.
Individual scores for each team included:
TRICO (1st, 329)
Michael Brees 79
Brock Naile 81
Zach Compton 82
Brock Heins 87
Wyatt Stroob 94
Mason Kranawetter 101
RED BUD (2nd, 331)
Ryker Papenberg 79
Jack Muench 83
Cooper Despain 84
Kruz Koester 85
Cash Langrher 88
Gentry Donjon 96
CHESTER (3rd, 339)
Lucas Thompson 77
Talen James 84
Evan Dunning 85
Brenden Malley 93
Noah Homan 96
Trevin Eggemeyer 100
SPARTA (4th, 341)
Mason Ethington 76
James Pillers 82
Grant Allard 90
Jack Loesing 93
Jake Wesbecker 102
Hunter Steely 107
MURPHYSBORO (5th, 345)
Gage Boucher 86
Josh Boyle 86
Parker Todd 86
Parker Diehl 87
Tucker Hortsman 89
Aiden Baril 100
ZEIGLER-ROYALTON (6th, 347)
Scout Hudgens 76
Chase Cole 84
Bowden Parino 93
Chase Freeman 94
Trevin Skorka 103
Kameron Ingordiby 108
MARISSA (7th, 356)
Carter Trieb 81
Landen Perry 85
Marshall Prest 88
Evan Ranck 102
Nick Weymouth 111
STEELEVILLE (8th, 356)
Noah Fiene 87
Tyler Ingles 90
Carson Rednour 90
Trenton Lively 90
Canon Roby 91
Trenton Ingles 97
NEW ATHENS
Nolan Parker 90
Jon Nuernberger 92
Brayden Middendorf 97
Brandon Schatte 98
Brady Middendorf 103
Isaiah Lintker 105