Vallet and Hargis represent girls while Hobbs and Ramirez compete for boys
By Jim Beers
CHESTER – Thursday September 18 was the 2025 DuQuoin John Campbell Invitational Cross Country Meet. The event took place at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds and featured a Girls’ Division and Boys’ Division. The races were 2.98 miles. The weather cooperated with lower temperatures and lower humidity with dry, clear conditions.
Chester sent four runners to DuQuoin, two girls and two boys, to compete against runners from other Southern Illinois schools. Katelyn Vallet and Caitlyn Hargis competed in the Girls’ Division while Ivan Hobbs and Jaden Ramirez ran in the Boys’ Division.
Schools that had five runners or more qualified to compete as a “team” while schools that had fewer than five runners competed as individuals. Since Chester had only two runners in each division YellowJacket and Lady Jacket runners had to compete as individuals.
There were 10 schools represented in the Boys’ Division and 8 schools represented in the Girls’ Division. The Boys’ Division had six “Team” scores while the Girls’ Division had only three “Team” scores.
Girls’ Division
The 8 schools represented in the Girls’ Division included DuQuoin, Red Bud, Nashville, Chester, Pinckneyville, Steeleville, Trico, and Christopher. There was a field of 30 runners in this group. The three schools that qualified for “Team” scores included DuQuoin, Red Bud, and Nashville.
Chester Results
Katelyn Vallet (freshman) 5th Place 23:27.33
Caitlyn Hargis (sophomore) 16th Place 27:34.89
Team Scores
1st Place DuQuoin Score 27
2nd Place Red Bud Score 43
3rd Place Nashville Score 57
General Facts
The overall winner of the Girls’ Division Race was Ava Gregory of DuQuoin. Her winning time was 21:22.14. The final runner to cross the finish line in the 2.98 mile race had a place of 30th and a time of 37:17.57.
Top 5 Finishers
1st Ava Gregory DuQuoin 21:22.14
2nd Ava Wagner Red Bud 22:16.96
3rd Adi Wilson Nashville 22:20.43
4th Addyson Piel Red Bud 23:24.24
5th Katelyn Vallet Chester 23:27.33
Boys’ Division
There were 10 schools represented in the Boys’ Division including DuQuoin, Pinckneyville, Eldorado, Sparta, Nashville, Red Bud, Steeleville, Trico, Chester, and Christopher. There were 51 runners in the field of competitors. The six schools that qualified for a “Team” score included Pinckneyville, Eldorado, Sparta, Nashville, Steeleville, and Christopher.
Chester Results
Ivan Hobbs (senior) 22nd Place Score 21:11.52
Jaden Ramirez (sophomore) 37th Place Score 23:54.87
Team Scores
1st Place Pinckneyville Score 22
2nd Place Eldorado Score 53
3rd Place Sparta Score 67
4th Place Nashville Score 117
5th Place Steeleville Score 118
6th Place Christopher Score 146
General Facts
The overall winner of the Boys’ Division was Caiden Cook of DuQuoin. He had a winning time of 15:42.83. The final runner to complete the 2.98 mile race crossed the finish line with a time of 32:17.58. He placed 51st.
Top 5 Finishers
1st Place Caiden Cook DuQuoin 15:42.83
2nd Place Hayden Swiney DuQuoin 16:29.06
3rd Place Landen Boman Pinckneyville 16:31.65
4th Place Liam Roberts Eldorado 17:03.38
5th Place Jesse Winter Pinckneyville 18:15.92
The Chester High School Cross Country Team is coached by Chris Kern. The next meet on the Jacket schedule is Monday September 2 at the Nashville Invitational.
Chester High School freshman, Katelyn Vallet, finished in the Top 5 at the 2025 DuQuoin Invitational Meet. The event is also known as he John Campbell Invitational. Valledy turned in a time of 23:27.33. She finished 5th out of the field of 30 runners. Jim Beers Photo
Caitlyn Hargis, a sophomore Lady Jacket cross country runner from Chester High School finished 16th out of 30 runners in the 2025 DuQuoin John Campbell Cross Country Meet. The event was held at the DuQuoin State Fair Grounds. Hargis had a time of 27:34.89. Jim Beers Photo
Chester YellowJacket cross country runner, Ivan Hobbs, a senior, finished 22nd out of 51 competitors at the 2025 DuQuoin John Campbell Cross Country Meet. The event was 2.98 miles long and Hobbs had a time of 21:11.52 to lead the Chester runners. Jim Beers Photo
CHS sophomore, Jaden Ramirez, placed 37th overall out of a field of 51 competitors at the 2025 DuQuoin John Campbell Cross Country Meet. The event took place at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds and was 2.98 miles in length. Ramirez turned in a time of 23:54.87. Jim Beers Photo