CHS Cross Country runners compete at Nashville and Du Quoin

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[The Chester High School Cross Country teams returned to their usual fast-paced schedule last week after having a light week the week before. Monda, Sept. 22 the squad traveled to Nashville for the 2008 Nashville High School Invitational. Wednesday afternoon the freshman/sophomore runners participated in the Freeburg Freshman/Sophomore Meet and Saturday morning all runners made an early morning trip to Du Quoin for the 2008 Du Quoin Invitational.

Chester Head Coach, Paul Stallman commented after the Nashville Invite, "The Nashville meet was stacked with top competition from the area and the course was a little soft. I was pleased with the times that the Chester runners posted and we are gaining on the competition," Stallman noted that the boy's team finished 14th out of 15 teams and the girl's team placed 9th of 12 teams. Stallman also commented, "Jeff Beers, a junior runner, had a personal best time on this very tough course."

At Nashville Chad Koenegstein, a junior, was the lead runner for the Jackets. Chad turned in a time of 18:29 and finished 29th overall. Close behind was Brant McMillan, another junior, who finished right behind Koenegstein in 34th place. McMillan's time was 18:45. McMillan and Koenegstein have consistently been the leading runners for the boy's team all season long and trade top-finishes quite often.

Garrett Rickenberg, a senior, finished in 83rd place overall with a time of 22:18. Three places later was Jeff Beers, who recorded a personal-best time of 22:43. Beers finished 86th overall. Brad Frazer, another junior runner, who has been plagued with injury most of the early portion of the 2008 season, ran a good race turning in a time of 24:04 and finished 93rd overall.

Stanislav Yekaterynin continues to improve, posting a time of 24:04. He crossed the finish line in 97th place and had a time of 24:58. Yekaterynin, who is a foreign exchange student from the Ukraine, has never run prior to coming to the United States this year. He continues to improve. Chester's other foreign exchange student, Max Hiller, also is a first-time runner. Hiller hails from Germany. He ran the course in 25:34. His overall place was 101st. Jayson Stevens ran the race unattached but had an excellent time of 20:01. Stevens "dual-sports" and plays football as his major sport.

On the girl's side, sophomore runner Laura Liefer continues to lead the Yellow Jackets. Liefer crossed the finish line in 48th place and had a time of 24:32. Chester's top-four runners ran fairly much in a pack with Hanna Knop finishing four places behind the leader Liefer. Knop finished in 52nd place and had a time of 24:58.

The third Chester runner to finish was sophomore Jillian Yankey who finished in 54th place with a time of 25:09. Senior captain, Sarah Liefer, continues to improve from her early season leg injuries and pain. The elder Liefer placed 57th overall and turned in a time of 25:36.

Sophomore runner Kristy Pulliam ran a 29:54 for the day and finished 76th overall. Freshman runner, Maddie Ward, continues to improve, turning in a time of 32:20 and a 80th place finish. Senior Emily Beers finished close behind ward with a time of 32:50. Beers finished 82nd overall. Shelby Helmers, a freshman, is still recovering from her ankle injury and did not run.

On Wednesday, Sept. 24 the freshman and sophomores traveled to Freeburg and competed. The girls were able to field a team; however the boys only entered one runner. Coach Stallman noted after the meet, "Shelby Helmers has been injured since the Benton Meet Sept. 6, but was able to finish this meet for her first 3-mile competition of the year. Laura Liefer just narrowly missed earning a medal by two positions."

For the girls, Laura Liefer finished 17th overall with a time of 24:02. Hanna Knop finished 21st with her time of 24:54. Jillian Yankey posted a time of 26:14 and finished 27th. Maddie Ward, a newcomer to CHS cross country, finished 39th overall and had a time of 32:10. Shelby Helmers, who was running her first 3-mile competition since being injured Sept. 9, ran 34:49 and finished 44th overall. The only boy to enter the race was Stanislav Yekaterynin who finished 44th overall with a time of 24:46. No team scores were available for the Freeburg meet.

In the third and final meet of the week the Yellow Jacket harriers traveled to Du Quoin for the 2008 Du Quoin Invitational. Seven girls and eight boys entered the meet with Chad Koenegstein bringing home a medal for his performance. Coach Stallman stated after the meet, "With Du Quoin hosting the SIRR Conference Meet this year, the competition was a little tougher at Du Quoin this year".

Stallman also noted that the Chester times seemed improved at Du Quoin, but that Koenegstein was the only Jacket able to earn a medal this year. "Laura Liefer once again just missed a medal by only three places and Jillian Yankey ran the best race of the season so far and looks to be getting back to last year's winning drive." No team scores were available for the Du Quoin Invitational.

On the girl's side, Laura Liefer paced the Lady Jackets with a time of 23:16. She finished in 23rd place. Chester's No. 2 runner at Du Quoin was sophomore Jillian Yankey who ran 23:36 and finished 25th overall. Sarah Liefer finished third among the other Chester runners with a time of 25:05. Her overall place was 30th.

Hanna Knop ran 25:47 and finished 33rd overall. Kristy Pulliam finished 37th overall with a time of 26:47. Maddie Ward turned in a time of 30:44 and had a finish of 43rd place. Emily Beers, who was running ill, finished 44th with a time of 33:13. Shelby Helmers did not run.

On the boy's side, Chad Koenegstein returned to his winning form finishing 18th overall with a time of 18:19. Koenegstein earned a medal for his efforts. In second place among the Chester boys was Brant McMillan who turned in a time of 18:46. He placed 26th overall.

Jayson Stevens, who played football the night before in the Yellow Jacket's victory over Sparta, ran a good race for CHS finishing 42nd overall with a time of 20:14. Right behind him was senior captain Garrett Rickenberg who ran 20:17 and finished in 43rd pace. Jeff Beers had an off day finishing the race in 24:01. Beers crossed the finish line 54th overall. Max Zeller, on the other hand, ran an improved race completing the course in only 24:21. Zeller's overall finish was 57th.

Two runners competed in the freshman/sophomore division. Stanislav Yekaterynin crossed the finish line in 22:46 while Brad Eggemeyer finished in 26:31. Eggemeyer is still recovering from an unrelated injury earlier in the season and is making good progress. Brad Frazer, who joined the team late in the season, did not run.

The Yellow Jackets are hosting the 2008 Chester Invitational tonight Thursday, Oct. 2 at the Randolph County Lake. The event will feature 15 teams and should prove to be an excellent chance for CHS fans to come out to the lake and get a glimpse of the 2008 Yellow Jacket harriers. Admission is free and refreshments will be available. The event starts at 4:30 p.m.