Monett chess teams earned top honors at the Fall 2025 Forsyth Open, held Nov. 1, at Forsyth High School. 

The event brought together student players from across southern Missouri, including teams from Monett, Willow Springs, West Plains, Mountain Grove, Gainesville, Rolla, Fairview, area homeschool groups, and host Forsyth. 

The tournament was part of the Ozark Mountain Chess League, which promotes scholastic chess competition and collaboration among schools throughout the region.

Monett’s K-8 team claimed first place, while the K-12 team finished third overall.

In the K–8 division, team points came from Michael Albig (2nd place), Riley Wilson (3rd place), Owen Crim (8th place) and Eli Boucher (9th place). 

For the K-12 team, points came from Kanden Craker (5th place), Diego Murillo-Arreola (9th place), and Violet Samson (10th place), and Carter Hedgpeth contributed to the third-place finish.

In the K-8 division team results, Monett took first, followed by Willow Springs and Forsyth. Final results for the K-12 section placed Forsyth first, Mountain Grove second, and Monett third.