Prep Sports | SIRR trades Carterville for Benton and West Frankfort in divisional swap |

Carterville left the Black Diamond Conference at the start of the 2010-11 school year to join the SIRR Conference, which originally formed in 1993, while Chester took Carterville’s place in the BDC.

In his first year back coaching Lady Lion basketball, Rogers enjoyed winning a share of the Mississippi Division alongside Nashville. Now the two schools will play on opposite sides of the conference once 2023 rolls around.

Benton joins the Mississippi Division with Nashville and fellow newcomer West Frankfort. It’s been a discussion topic among SIRR schools since Sparta announced its change to the Cahokia Conference in June of 2020.

“There have been talks about a shift in the conference for quite some time,” said Benton Principal and former athletic director Wade Thomas. “The conference was not okay with the Mississippi only having five member schools once Sparta left, so in our last meeting we had the schools switching divisions ask their school boards and community members for their blessings, and a blessing was given from all parties.”

This will put more work on the plates of athletic directors, Wade added, but conducting a school year amidst a pandemic, while safely executing extracurricular activities, should give the community hope that the transition runs smoothly.

“I am very excited about the shift in divisions,” said Benton boys basketball coach Ron Winemiller. “While it will be sad to no longer compete with the four schools we are leaving behind, we already have a good relationship with the four schools we are joining.