Redhawks soccer, track athletes capture honors

Two Southeast Missouri State soccer players recently were named to the All-Central Region team by Soccer Buzz Magazine after leading the Redhawks to their second straight Ohio Valley Conference tournament title and NCAA berth.

Sophomore forward Courtney Alexander made the all-region second team, while freshman midfielder Vanessa Hart garnered a spot on the all-region freshmen squad.

Alexander, the OVC offensive player of the year and a first-team all-OVC pick, scored nine goals and had six assists to rank among the conference leaders. She scored Southeast's first goal in NCAA tournament play Nov. 16 during a penalty-kick loss to Missouri.

Hart made second-team all-OVC and was also selected to the OVC all-newcomer squad after a strong rookie season.

Southeast finished with a final ranking of 10th in the Central Region by Soccer Buzz, which is the highest regional ranking in program history.

Two nab track honors

Southeast senior Miles Smith and sophomore Brandon Colbert have been named the OVC men's indoor track co-field athletes of the week for their performances last month.

Smith earned a pair of first-place finishes at the season-opening Arkansas State Kickoff Klassic on Dec. 1. He won the 400-meter dash with a time of 47.29 seconds, which provisionally qualified him for the NCAA indoor championships, and led the 1,600 relay team to victory.

Colbert posted four top-five finishes in the Redhawks' first two indoor meets. He captured the weight throw and was second in the shot put at the ASU Kickoff Klassic. In the SIU Fast Start Classic on Dec. 7, he broke his own school weight throw record with a toss of 59-11 3/4 for a second-place finish and won the shot put.

Southeast track teams will return to action Jan. 18 at the SIU Saluki Booster Meet in Carbondale, Ill.

-- From staff reports