CHS Yellow Jackets Cross Country runs well at prestigious Benton Invitational

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[The Chester High School Boy's and Girl's cross Country Teams ran well at the prestigious Benton Invitational Meet Monday October 18. The boy's squad placed third out of 10 Class 1A teams while the girl's squad finished fifth out of 10 teams who competed in Class 1A. The course was 2.9-miles.

There were also two Class 2A teams that competed in the boy's race while there were four Class 2A teams that competed in the Girl's Division. In the Class 1A Boy's Division Olney was the winner with 29 points. Other Class 1A competitors included Herrin (2nd, 137), CHESTER (3rd, 162), Lawrenceville (4th, 204), Carterville (5th, 220), Mt. Carmel (6th, 258), Nashville (7th, 260), Benton (8th, 260), Eldorado (9th, 307) and Goreville (10th 343). Max Gassmann from Olney was the overall winner with his time of 16:28.

Chester's Devin Valleroy finished in the top-10 with his time of 16:45, just 17 seconds behind the champion. Valleroy was the 6th place finisher overall. Link Cushman was the Yellow Jacket's second finisher. His time was 17:33 and he finished 15th overall.

Kyle Landon finished 27th overall with a time of 17:57 while teammate Jonas Hofmann finished 52nd with a time of 19:13. Only 23 seconds behind Landon was Brent Knop who finished in 62nd place with a very respectable time of 19:36. Zach Sternberg who turned in a time of 19:38 crossed the finish line right after Knop in 19:38. His overall place was 63rd. Alec Weir was Chester's final varsity runner. Weir a sophomore, finished in 106th place with a time of 21:49.

In the Boy's Varsity Division three Yellow Jacket runners earned medals including Devin Valleroy (6th, 16:45), Link Cushman (15th, 17:33) and Kyle Landon (27th, 17:57).

Five Yellow Jackets on the Boy's Team competed in the JV race. Fernando Guerra was Chester's top runner with a time of 19:55. Guerra crossed the finish line in 20th place overall. Sophomore Brian Hartman, who has been improving throughout the season, finished 23rd overall with his time of 20:12. Guerra and Hartman earned medals for their respective 20th and 23rd place finishes.

Jordan Schroyer finished 41st overall with a time of 22:01 and Reed Koeneman, a newcomer to the team, finished 44th in 22:06. Both Schroyer and Koeneman had demonstrated much improvement since the beginning of the season back in August. Finally, Jared Johnson had one of his best performances of the year with a 55th place finish and a time of 24:16.

In Class 2A Centralia was the winner with 92 points followed by Marion in second place with 189 points.

The Chester girls finished fifth in the Class 1A Girl's Division. Lawrenceville was the winner with 93 points followed by Nashville (2nd, 147), Carterville (3rd, 198), Benton (4th, 200), CHESTER (5th, 215), Mt. Carmel (6th, 240), West Frankfort (7th, 247), Pinckneyville (8th, 288), Okawville (9th, 291) and Harrisburg (10th, 368).

Lacey Gibson was the overall winner of the Girl's 2.9-mile race with her time of 18:39. Chester's top finisher was team co-captain Jillian Yankey. The senior crossed the finish line in 16th place overall. Her time was 21:47. Right on Yankey's tail was fellow senior and team co-captain Laura Liefer who finished in 17th place. Her time was a mere two seconds more than Yankey's at 21:49. Both Yankey and Liefer earned medals for their excellent times and finishes.

Other Lady Jacket varsity runners included Emily Reid who had a time of23:20 and her overall finish was 44th. Taylor Yankey who has been experiencing difficulty with a leg injury finished 59th overall with a time of 24:26.

Hanna Knop was the 79th female runner to cross the finish line. Knops' time was 26:07. Rachel Sheely, who has shown continuous improvement since August, ran a good race with a time of 26:34. Her overall place was 86th. Morgan Colvis rounded out the varsity squad with a time of 30:20 and an overall finish of 109th.

Lady Jacket Holly Hartman competed in the JV Division. Her 2.9-mile time was 31:24 and Holly ran hard with much intensity.

The Class 2 race was won by Carbondale High School who recorded 72 points. Salem, a perennial cross country powerhouse placed second with 165 points. Centralia finished third with 201 points and in fourth place was Marion who had 226 points.

Coaches Scott Haxton, Bob Koenegstein, Paul Stallman and Mary Stallman were very proud of the Yellow Jackets for their excellent performances at the Benton Invitational. "This is a very big meet and there are schools competing that are much bigger than we are. Our kids ran well and held their own against much tougher competition. We seem to be peaking at the right time of the season", stated Head Coach Haxton.

On their way home from Benton both Chester teams were treated to a FREE Pizza Hut dinner to reward them for their Black Diamond Conference Championship accomplishments the week prior. A great time was had by all team members and coaches wished to congratulate both the boy's and girl's squads for their hard work and dedication.