SE BASKS IN ANOTHER STRONG YEAR OF ATHLETICS

Southeast Missouri State University held its annual Booster Club All Sports Year-End Celebration Thursday night -- and once again the school's athletic program had plenty of reason to celebrate.

Almost 1,000 athletes, coaches, parents and Southeast Booster Club members were at the Show Me Center to praise the school's men's and women's teams.

And the praise was well deserved on both sides, led by the females as the Otahkians captured their sixth straight Ohio Valley Conference women's all-sports championship this school year.

That's quite a feat, especially considering that Southeast is in just its ninth season of OVC and NCAA Division I competition. It also extends Southeast's OVC record for most consecutive women's all-sports titles by one school.

The Southeast men's athletic program also had its share of big-time accomplishments during the 1999-2000 school year, topped by the basketball team having its best-ever Division I record and making the NCAA Division I Tournament for the first time.

The Southeast women's program claimed four OVC titles. The volleyball team won both the regular-season and tournament crowns to qualify for the NCAA Tournament while the indoor and outdoor track teams both captured championships. And the softball team is still very much alive for the OVC Tournament crown.

On the men's side, basketball took front and center stage as the Indians thrilled the big crowds that packed the Show Me Center by winning 24 games, capturing a share of their first OVC regular-season title, claiming their first OVC Tournament crown and narrowly missing out on an upset of LSU in the opening round of the NCAA tourney.

And the baseball team is still in the running for the OVC championship heading into this weekend's final regular-season series, against Eastern Kentucky. The Indians are also likely to host the OVC Tournament next week for the third year in a row.

Among the special awards presented Thursday were the Jewell and Trombetta Award, given each year to the senior male and female athlete with the highest grade-point average for their career.

Baseball player Jeremy Johnson -- who holds many of the school's career batting records -- won the Jewell Award with a 3.549 GPA in sports management.

Sharing the Trombetta Award were track athlete Becky Shull and gymnast Cari Egbert, who both have a perfect 4.0 GPA, Shull in mathematics and Egbert in sports medicine. Shull was also recognized as Southeast's NCAA Woman of the Year nominee.

For the second straight year, a special award was given to women's basketball player Paula Corder-King for once again leading the nation in free-throw shooting at 93 percent.

A complete list of all the individual awards for each sport appears in Scoreboard on Page 2B.

Following are awards from Thursday night's Southeast Missouri State University All Sports Year-End Celebration Athetic Awards Banquet held at the Show Me Center:

Football

Goddard Award: Chad Gwilliam

Vogelsang Award (MVP): John Borne (lineman), Rashad West (back)

Ken Hargens Award (top defensive back): Brian Hinton

Hamby Award (highest GPA): Isaac Powell

Kenneth Knox Award (top defensive lineman): Joel Becker

Golden Helmet Award (most tackles): Jeremy Atwell

KZIM MVP Award: West

All-OVC: Hinton, Borne, Atwell

Men's Basketball

C.P. Harris Award (outstanding player): Roderick Johnson

Cecil Tate Award (outstanding defensive player): Brian Bunche

KZIM MVP Award: Mike Branson

Women's Basketball

Tammy Hoffmeister Award (most inspirational): Kristy Roherty

Hoover Award (academics/athletics): Liea Toedte

Susan Guidicy Award (MVP): Paula Corder-King

Howard's MVP Award: Pam Iversen

Volleyball

Howard's MVP Award: Angie Aschoff

OVC Athlete of the Year: Amy Henken

All-OVC: Aschoff, Henken, Krista Haukap

Gymnastics

Howard's MVP Award: Stephanie Furman

All-Midwest Independent: Furman, Jessica Bagwill, Kathy Smith

NCAA Regional Qualifiers: Furman, Malia Roberts

Women's Indoor Track

Howard's MVP Award: Heather Keltner

All-OVC: Keltner (2), Lutricia Purham, Kim Stewart, Natalie Talley, Hannah Stuckenschneider

Women's Outdoor Track

Howard's MVP Award: Heather Keltner and Lutricia Purham

All-OVC: Keltner (2), Purham (2), Shauna Birge, Natalie Talley, Kim Stewart

OVC Athlete of the Year: Keltner and Purham

Men's Indoor Track

KZIM MVP Award: Chris Donze

All-OVC: Adrian Barnhill

Men's Outdoor Track

KZIM MVP Award: Brandon Myer

All-OVC: Myer, Collin Sheridan

Men's Cross Country

KZIM MVP Award: Danny Copeland

Women's Cross Country

Howard's MVP Award: Amy Arteme

OVC Athlete of the Year: Arteme

All-OVC: Arteme, Leslie McNamara

Baseball

Joe Uhls Award (highest slugging percentage, 1999): Jeremy Johnson

KZIM MVP Award: TBA

All-OVC: TBA

Softball

Howard's MVP Award: TBA

All-OVC: Renee Enos, Jenny Doehring

Soccer

Howard's MVP Award: Beth Guccione

All-OVC: Guccione, Nichole Thiele

Golf

KZIM MVP Award: Jason Owen

All-OVC: Jason Owen

Tennis

Howard's MVP Award: Thais Olive

Trainers

Howard's MVP Award: Lynessa Jones

KZIM MVP Award: Gary Hackman

Cheerleaders

Howard's MVP Award: Amy Myers

KZIM MVP Award: Scott Hartenberger

Sundancers

Howard's MVP Award: Kia Walls