Columbia High School has already added five new members to its Athletic Hall of Fame in recent months, with eight more inductees to join this exclusive company next weekend.

This fall, CHS welcomed Katie Jones (nee Knoski) and Grant Snow in addition to Scott Horner and his twin sons Sam and Nic to the Hall of Fame.

A 2004 graduate, Jones was a softball standout for the Eagles. She set career school records in wins (85), innings pitched (733), games pitched (106), strikeouts (959) and ERA (0.40), and also pitched 53 shutouts. She was an all-state selection in 2003 and was also named Class A Player of the Year by the Illinois Coaches Association. 

She went on to play four years at Truman State, where she received conference accolades.

A 2014 grad, Snow starred in both football and track for the Eagles. He was an Illinois High School Football Coaches Association All-State Team selection in 2013, and was an All-Area First Team offensive lineman in 2011 and 2012, an All-Metro St. Louis Player in 2013, and football team captain in 2014.  

He played NCAA Division I football at Drake University, where he started all four years and was a Patriot League 2018 All-Conference selection.

The induction of longtime head football coach Scott Horner was celebrated during a home football game, but in addition, Scott’s sons Nic and Sam joined him.

Scott has coached 25 years for the Eagles, leading the 2007 squad to a state runner-up finish and the 2008 squad to the final four. He was inducted into the Illinois High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2024, and the St. Louis Metro Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2022.

Both 2020 grads, Nic and Sam Horner starred in football, basketball and baseball for the Eagles. 

In football, Nic holds the school record for single game passing touchdowns, career completions, career passing yards and career passing TDs. He was named First Team All-State in 2019 and Academic All-State in 2018 and 2019.  

In football, Sam is the school record holder for touchdown catches in a single game. He was named Defensive Player of the Year in 2018 by the Belleville News-Democrat and was a three-time all-conference selection. He was on the Academic All-State Team in 2017, 2018 and 2019. In baseball, Sam was an all-conference selection in 2019. 

The next batch of inductees will be honored during the CHS home boys basketball game set for Dec. 19. 

These new inductees to the CHS Athletic Hall of Fame will be basketball and football standouts Jonny and Jordan Holmes, softball standouts Taryn Pena and Brianna Weilbacher, and baseball standout Brennen van Breusegen in addition to former CHS athletic director and coach Joe Iorio, longtime golf coach Tom Detmer, and basketball/softball/football coach Dave Touchette.

The Holmes brothers, Pena, Weilbacher and van Breusegen will all be honored prior to the varsity hoops game that night, with the three legendary coaches honored during halftime.

In addition, the state champion 1987 CHS baseball team and state champion 2010 CHS cheerleading squad will also be inducted into the Hall of Fame later this school year.