Winter sports begin; ND coach to be honored

The winter sports schedule is in full swing, as basketball and other sports are ramping up.

Jackson's wrestling team just pulled off a surprising, and impressive, win in the Tiger Classic, with several of its best wrestlers not in action due to injuries.

The basketball teams are off to a fast start with a number of impressive wins and upsets already in the books. The Southeast Missourian Christmas tournament is just around the corner.

The Southeast Missouri State University's men's and women's teams are still feeling their way through the opening quarter of the season, with the men 5-6 heading into Monday night's matchup with Florida State; and Southeast Missouri State women's basketball is 4-5 heading into a matchup against Memphis. Southeast guards Adrianna Murphy and Carrie Shephard recently were named Ohio Valley Conference Player and Newcomer of the Week.

Whether high school or college or even junior high and grade school, good luck to all the winter sports athletes as they charge into their seasons.

We'd also like to offer our congratulations to Notre Dame Regional High School's baseball and softball coach Jeff Graviett for his induction into the Missouri High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame on Jan. 19. Graviett has coached at Notre Dame since 1999 and his teams are 405-130 over that time with 11 district titles, two state championships and six Final Four appearances.

Congratulations, Coach Graviett.