Four inducted into hall of Fame at homecoming game

By Editor | October 13, 2021

Inductees into the Vandalia Community High School’s Athletic Wall of Fame were honored just prior to the Homecoming Game on Friday night before the hometown crowd. From left is Sierah Ruffner, Collin Nestleroad, Bobby Bradley and Ethan Meyer, accepted by his mother, Mindy Smith.

Four former standouts in Vandalia Community High School Athletics were inducted into the Hall of Fame on Friday night, in ceremonies held immediatly prior to the homecoming game. Two inductees from 2020, and two from this year, took part in the ceremonies.

Those inducted were Sierah Ruffner, Collin Nestleroad, Bobby Bradley, and Ethan Meyer.

Sierah Ruffner, a 2013 graduate of Vandalia Community High School, was an outstanding two sport athlete participating in both volleyball and track and field. In volleyball, Sierah was a four year varsity player and was named to the all conference team twice. She was also part of the 2012 Regional Championship volleyball team. In track and field, Sierah specialized in the high jump and still holds the school record of 5 feet 5 inches. While in high school, Sierah was a 3 time conference champion and also a 3 time state qualifier in the high jump. After high school, Sierah went on to compete collegiately at Greenville University in both volleyball and track and field. In college Sierah was a four year varsity volleyball player. During her time at Greenville, the team won three conference championships and qualified for the NCAA division 3 tournament three times. In 2016, Sierah was named to the SLIAC all conference team as well as all tournament team while leading the conference in blocking percentage for the second time. As a member of the Greenville University track and field team, Sierah won both the indoor and outdoor NCCAA championships in high jump. She was also a four time SLIAC conference champion in the high jump.

Collin Nestleroad, a 2015 graduate of Vandalia Community High School was a standout three sport athlete participating in football, basketball and baseball. In basketball, Collin was a three year letter winner and two year starter. Collin was a guy known for his leadership on the court and playing great defense. As a senior, Collin was named to the all tournament teams at both the DuQuoin Tournament and Vandalia Holiday Tournament, as well as being a First Team
All-Conference selection. In baseball Collin was a four year varsity player in the outfield. In his senior season Collin was named First Team All-Conference in baseball. In addition to basketball and baseball, Collin was a three year varsity letter winner in football and also part of two playoff teams. Collin was a two year starter at both quarterback and defensive back. In nineteen starts at quarterback, Collin threw for 1533 yards and 23 TD’s and ran for another 1255 yards and 14 TD’s. In his senior season he was named First Team All-Conference Defensive Back. In his final game, a playoff loss at Nashville, Collin threw for 241yards, rushed for over 100 yards, recorded 10 tackles and one interception.

Bobby Bradley, a 2016 graduate of Vandalia Community High School, was a standout three sport athlete participating in football, wrestling and track and field. Bobby participated in track and field all four year in various running and field events. As a senior he was a member of the 4x100m relay team that qualified for state in 2016. In wrestling, Bobby was a three year starter and part of four state qualifying teams including the 2016 IHSA Dual State 4th place team.
Individually, Bobby was a three time state qualifier and placed 4th at the 2016 IHSA Individual state tournament at 195lbs. In his career Bobby amassed 137 wins putting him in the top ten in program history at the time he graduated. In football, Bobby was a three year starter playing running back and defensive end. Bobby was an all conference running back in 2014 and 2015 and an all conference defensive end in 2015. In his career Bobby rushed for over 1,000 yards in both his junior and senior years. Bobby finished his career with 2,960 yards rushing which is good enough for 3rd place all time in school history. After high school, Bobby went on to play football at both Lindenwood University and Culver-Stockton College.

Ethan Meyer, a 2016 graduate of Vandalia Community High School, made a name for himself in track and field. Ethan participated in both sprints and relays all four years of high school. As a senior, Ethan anchored the 2016 state qualifying 4×100 meter relay team. However, Ethan’s biggest success came in his specialty event the triple jump. He first qualified for state in the triple jump in 2014 as a sophomore then again in 2015 as a junior. In 2014, Ethan made the event finals placing 11th and then again in 2015 placing 5th at the IHSA state meet. As a senior, Ethan jumped 44 feet 7 inches to win his first ever sectional championship. A week later in Charleston, at the IHSA state track and field meet, Ethan would go on to jump 45 feet 11 inches. This jump was not only good enough for a new school record but made Ethan the 2016 IHSA individual state champion in the triple jump. Ethan is one of only four boys individual track state champions in school history.

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