Congratulations to Coach Sarah Surman and her 7th Grade Lady Jr. Jackets' undefeated season. The Lady Jr. Jackets had a perfect 16 -0 season beating Murphysboro, Trico, Sparta, Nashville, Pinckneyville, DuQuoin, and Pinckneyville 204 twice and Steeleville and Dupo once.
The Yellow Jackets had a great week as hosts of the 50th annual Chester Invitational Tournament. They pulled off two big upsets in the opening and semifinal rounds, which put them in the top two teams for the first time since 2005. One more win would have given Chester their first tournament title since 1976, but the Yellow Jackets fell just short of that goal despite a great effort.
Chester won Fifth place in the 31st Annual Sesser-Valier Holiday Tournament beating Johnston City 52-43.
Chester Yellow Jacket fans will see a new face patrolling the sidelines at the boys basketball games this season. Brad Norman takes over as Chester's head coach after previous stints at Dongola and Century high schools.
Coach Norman knows that this year will be a little bit of a learning experience but feels he has the tools to be competitive.
Like their counterparts in the boys team, things will be a little different on the Chester Lady Jackets squad this season. New head coach Pat Knowles will have a fairly young , inexperienced roster to work with this season as Chester graduated seven seniors, including all five starters, from last year's squad.
