CHS Cross Country gets off and running next week
The 2020 edition of Chester High School cross country is a little beefed up this fall, since football and volleyball have been moved to the spring and several athletes have chosen to run cross country in the meantime.
CHS Head Coach Chris Kern says with those additions, the Yellow Jackets Lady Yellow Jackets will field competitive rosters this fall.
"It takes five runners to qualify for team scores and the last couple of years we have not always had enough runners for team scores at some meets," he said.
The boys team has six runners: two seniors, one junior, two sophomores and a freshman. Seniors are Jordan Hughes, a seasoned CHS veteran who will provide leadership for the Yellow Jackets, and Logan Gregory, a transfer from Marissa who has talent and experience.
Blake Huffman, the only junior, is a veteran cross country runner for CHS and has been training hard.
Sophomores are Trace Fricke and Jacob Handle, both of whom are expected to contribute right away. Fricke is a football player.
Colin Ezzell, the freshman, is adjusting from the 1.8-mile grade school race distances to the 3-mile high school race distance.
Meanwhile, the Lady Jackets have eight runners: four seniors, three juniors and one freshman.
The veteran seniors are Melody Colonel and Amelia Shemonic, who know what to expect from high school cross country.
The other two seniors, Josie Kattenbraker and Katie Shinabargar, are seasoned athletes on loan from volleyball. Kattenbraker is also a quality track athlete while Shinabargar plays CHS softball. Both are also basketball players who are used to running short, fast sprints.
Juniors Hanna Blechle and Madison Kribs typically play CHS volleyball and Maria Nickle played golf last year. All three are making adjustments to the rigors of running three miles and training in extreme conditions.
The lone freshman Josalynn Anaya, who ran cross country at Chester Grade School last year.
"Josalynn was one of my best runners last year," said CGS Coach Jenny Cartwright. "She is hardworking and has a good stride."
CHS Athletic Director Jeremy Blechle said they are finalizing the 2020 cross country schedule, but says there are 10 regular season meets in addition to the annual Black Diamond Conference Meet, the IHSA Regional and the IHSA Sectional."
"This year we have quite a few new meets that will feature competition we don't usually see," he added.
The Jackets open competition at Freeburg on Aug. 24 and then travel to Highland on Aug. 29. Chester will host a meet on Sept. 10 at the Randolph Country Conservation Area, then travel on Sept. 15 to Marissa.
On Sept. 21 Chester will host another home meet and then close the week Sept. 22 at Goreville and Sept. 24 at East Alton-Wood River.
The final two home meets of 2020 will be Oct. 1 and Oct. 8 CHS. On Oct. 10, the Jackets travel to East Alton-Wood River to close out the regular season. The Black Diamond Conference Meet is Thursday October 15 at Vienna. The 2020 IHSA Regional Meet is Oct. 24 (TBA) and the 2020 IHSA Sectional Meet is Oct. 31.