15 schools converge on Randolph County State Conservation Area course to compete; Chester’s Katelyn Vallet places 8th in Girls’ Division
By Jim Beers
CHESTER – Thursday October 2 Chester High School hosted the 35th Annual Chester Cross Country Invitational. The event was held at the Randolph County State Conservation Area on a warm, humid afternoon with temperatures in the 80’s to start the race. By the time the competition was in full swing, a nice cloud had covered the sun to provide welcomed shade and coolness for the competitors.
The race was a 3-mile event for both the Girls’ and Boys’ Divisions. There were 15 schools that entered the Girls’ race and 13 schools entered the Boys’ race. A total of 69 lady athletes competed in the Girls’ race while78 boys ran in the Boys’ race.
It takes at least five runners from a school to qualify for a team score. Schools without the required five runners can have their runners compete as individuals. The Girls’ Division had just five schools that qualified for team scores. The Boys’ Division also had a total of five team scores.
Medals were presented to the top-20 finishers in both the Girls’ Division and the Boys’ Division. Plaques were awarded to the teams that finished 1st and 2nd Place.
GIRLS’ DIVISION RESULTS
There were 15 schools represented in the Girls’ Division. Those schools included Okawville, New Athens, Red Bud, Columbia, Marissa, Pinckneyville, Chester, Steeleville, Woodlawn, Freeburg, Nashville, Sparta, Trico, Gibault Catholic, and Bluford-Webber.
A total of 69 girls competed. There were five schools that qualified for team scores including Columbia, Pinckneyville, Okawville, Freeburg, and Red Bud.
Chester Results
8th Katelyn Vallet Freshman 21:52.47
45th Caitlyn Hargis Sophomore 26:43.80
Team Scores
1st Columbia 53 Average Times: 22:58.39
2nd Pinckneyville 62 Average Times: 23:25.21
3rd Okawville 71 Average Times: 23:26.64
4th Freeburg 82 Average Times: 24:19.72
5th Red Bud 86 Average Times: 24:29.61
Top-20 Medal Winners
1 Caroline Tepe Sr. Okawville 19:25.65
2 Brooke Deterding so. New Athens 20:58.44
3 Ava Wagner Sr. Red Bud 21:28.93
4 Addyson Piel Sr. Red Bud 21:30.78
5 Kaylee Grandt Fr. Columbia 21:42.32
6 Lillyonna Delrio Fr. Marissa 21:44.74
7 Jessi Baggett So. Pinckneyville 21:49.24
8 Katelyn Vallet Fr. Chester 21:52.47
9 Kaylee Wolf So. Okawville 21:55.06
10 Kadence Bruno So. Pinckneyville 21:59.57
11 Hillari Cowan Fr. Steeleville 22:01.75
12 Carly Chambers Sr. Columbia 22:24.04
13 Katelyn Gogolek So. Okawville 22:34.37
14 Zelena Koch Jr. Woodlawn 23:38.76
15 Ruby Leemon So. Marissa 22:47.22
16 Claira Folden Jr. Pinckneyville 22:49.50
17 AnnMarie Trentman Sr. Freeburg 22:50.24
18 Cecilia Muehl So. Columbia 22:58.97
19 Gabrielle Martin Jr. Columbia 23:30.72
20 Abby Sherman Jr. Freeburg 24:06.58
BOYS’ DIVISION RESULTS
There were 13 schools represented in the Boys’ Division. Those schools included Pinckneyville, New Athens, Columbia, Okawville, Marissa, Sparta, Gibault Catholic, Blueford0Webber, Nashville, Freeburg, Steeleville, Trico, and Chester.
A total of 78 boys competed. There were five schools that qualified for team scores including Pinckneyville, Sparta, Okawville, Bluford-Webber, and Freeburg.
Chester Results
40th Ivan Hobbs Senior 20:35.50
57th Jaden Ramirez Sophomore 21:31.20
Team Scores
1st Pinckneyville 19 Average Times: 17:22.36
2nd Sparta 78 Average Times: 19:11.13
3rd Okawville 104 Average Times: 19:42.87
4th Bluford-Webber 124 Average Times: 19:57.23
5th Freeburg 129 Average Times: 20:06.57
Top-20 Medal Winners
1st Landen Boman Sr. Pinckneyville 15:59.86
2nd Pacer Szopinski Fr. Pinckneyville 17:03.91
3rd Jesse Winter Jr. Pinckneyville 17:08.76
4th Cole Dachsteiner Sr. New Athens 17:54.84
5th Hubert Weary So. Columbia 18:02.02
6th Ryker Obermeier Sr. Okawville 18:12.46
7th Cale Schneider Sr. Pinckneyville 18:14.06
8th Marley Hall So. New Athens 18:16.42
9th Ky Portz So. Marissa 18:17.86
10th Zach Teel Jr. Pinckneyville 18:25.20
11th DJ Hayes So. Sparta 18:31.35
12th Josh Gale So. Pinckneyville 18:35.99
13th Nick Holdener So. Gibault Catholic 18:41.71
14th Brennan Tate Sr. Bluford-Webber 18:44.24
15th Ayden Fox Jr. Nashville 18:45.08
16th Chris Moreno Fr. Sparta 18:47.72
17th William Cook So. Freeburg 18:57.44
18th Bryden Dalby So. Bluford-Webber 19:01.86
19th Gabriel Charles Jr. Okawville 19:03.70
20th Connor Withrow Jr. Bluford-Webber 19:09.62
Chester Head Coach, Chris Kern said, “I was pleased with our YellowJacket and Lady Jacket runners today. The Chester 3-Mile course is very challenging and it was a bit humid and very warm today. I thought the overall meet went very smoothly and all 147 runners appeared to enjoy the event. I am pleased with the overall results and reactions to our 2025 invitational. October 25 we will be hosting the IHSA Regional Meet right here at our same course.”
Chester’s Katelyn Vallet proudly poses for a picture of her with her medal she won at the 2025 Chester Invitational Cross Country Meet. The event was held Thursday October 2 at the Randolph County State Conservation Area. Vallet finished 8th out of the field of 69 girls in the 3-mile race with her time of 21:52.47. The Top-20 finishers received medals for their efforts. Jim Beers Photo
Okawville’s Caroline Tepe, a senior, was the overall winner of the 2025 CHS Invitational Girls’ Division race. Tepe turned in a time of 19:25.65 for her winning effort. Jim Beers Photo
Pinckneyville’s Landen Boman, a senior, was the overall winner of the 2025 CHS Invitational Cross Country Meet Boys’ Division 3-Mile race. Boman’s time was 15:59.86. Jim Beers Photo
Lady Jacket Cross Country runner Caitlyn Hargis, a sophomore, finished 45th out of 69 girls at the 2025 Chester Invite. Her time was 26:43.80. Jim Beers Photo
Hillari Cowan, a freshman Steeleville Lady Warrior, finished 11th overall at the 2025 Chester Invitational Cross Country Meet. Cown is the daughter of Clint and Lindsey Cowan, former Chester High School students and graduates. Her time was 22:01.75. She earned a medal for her performance. Jim Beers Photo
Ivan Hobbs, a senior YellowJacket Cross Country runner, was Chester’s top finisher in the 35th Annal Chester Invitational Cross Country Meet Thursday October 2. Hobbs had a time of 20:35.50 and an overall finish of 40th place in the 3-Mile Boys’ race. The boys had a field of 78 runners. Jim Beers Photo
IHSA Race Official, Paul Stallman, fires the gun to start the Girls’ race at the 35th Annual Chester Cross Country Invitational Thursday October 2. There were 69 young ladies that competed in this event. Jim Beers Photo
IHSA Race Official, Paul Stallman, fires the gun to start the 2025 Chester Invitational Cross Country Invitational. The event was hosted by Chester High School and included a total of 78 young men in the 3-Mle event.
Jaden Ramirez establishes himself in the opening 50-yards of the 2025 Chester Invitational Cross Country Invitatiional Meet. Ramirez finished 57th in the field of 78 runners with a time of 21:31.20. He is a CHS sophomore on the YellowJacket squad. Jim Beers Photo
Chester Lady Jacket Cross Country runner, Katelyn Vallet, races to finish the 35th Annual Chester Cross Country Invitational. The 3-Mile event took place Thursday October 2. Vallet finished 8th overall out of 69 girls and had a time of 21:52.47. She earned a medal for her Top-20 finish. Jim Beers Photo
Jaden Ramirez sprints to the finish line of the 2025 Chester Invitational Cross Country Meet. The event was a 3-Mile race and Ramirez finished with a time of 21:31.20 and a place of 57th out of the field of 8 runners. Jim Beers Photo
Caitlyn Hargis, a CHS sophomore runner, approaches the finish line at the 35th Annual Chester Cross Country Invite. Hargis ran the 3-Mile race in a time of 26:43.80. She placed 45th out of 69 runners in the Female Division. Jim Beers Photo