Southeast's stars inducted into Athletic Hall of Fame

The big smiles told the story for those who were part of Southeast Missouri State's latest Athletic Hall of Fame class.

Pride and honor were the prevailing themes during Friday night's induction ceremony attended by about 250 people at the Show Me Center.

"I am so happy," said Tuba Meto, a volleyball standout from 1994 through 1997. "I am very grateful. This is a very big honor."

Added Rich Eichhorst, a basketball star from 1952 through 1956: "It's great. It's wonderful. I'm so proud of it."

Other individuals inducted were Andrew Presberry (track, 1980 to 1982), Linda Wells (softball, 1968 to 1972) and William "Bud" Eley (basketball, 1995 to 1999), along with the 1988-1989 men's basketball team that finished second in the NCAA Division II tournament. Eley could not attend because he currently is playing professionally in Iran.

Meto demonstrated just how much the event meant to her by flying in from her home in Istanbul, Turkey.

"It took 22 hours," Meto said with a smile. "Istanbul to New York, New York to St. Louis."

Meto was a four-year starting setter, earning Ohio Valley Conference player of the year honors in 1996 and 1997. She helped Southeast to a 105-43 record, including a 62-6 mark in the OVC. Southeast won the OVC title in each of her four seasons and made two NCAA tournament appearances.

"A lot of great memories -- the NCAA tournaments," said Meto, who currently plays professional volleyball in Turkey.

Southeast associate athletic director Cindy Gannon, Southeast's volleyball coach when Meto played, ranks Meto among the top performers in program history.

"Southeast Missouri has had so many great volleyball players, but I would put Tuba at the top of the list," Gannon said.

Eichhorst was a four-year letterman and three-year starter who earned all-MIAA honors as a junior and senior. He led the team in scoring and rebounding as a senior.

Eichhorst is the only Southeast player to advance to the NBA, where he played briefly for the St. Louis Hawks in 1961. He later spent 25 years as an NCAA Division I basketball official, also was an NFL official and was the driving force behind the establishment of the Southeast Athletic Hall of Fame in 2002.

"I loved every minute I had here," said Eichhorst, who lives in his native St. Louis but continues to attend numerous Southeast athletic events. "Nothing bad happened to me at Southeast Missouri."

Eichhorst laughed when talking about his short-lived NBA career that lasted one game late in the 1961-1962 season.

"I worked out with the Hawks [players] all the time," Eichhorst said. "I knew them, and they needed to fill a roster spot for one game. They needed me."

In his only NBA contest, against the Los Angeles Lakers, Eichhorst played 10 minutes. He scored two points -- hitting one of two shots -- while recording three assists and one rebound.

"I hit my first shot. It was a jump shot," Eichhorst told Basketball Digest in 2001. "Hot Rod Hundley was guarding me. The second shot I took just about went through the net and came back out."

Eichhorst takes pride in his longstanding involvement with Southeast athletics, including him pretty much starting the university's Hall of Fame.

"We have a rich tradition. All these great ballplayers. We needed to honor them," Eichhorst said. "This is a great night for me. What a Christmas present."

Presberry was a four-time All-American, gaining honors in the hurdles and on the mile relay team. He still holds the Southeast 110-meter hurdles record of 13.84 seconds. The record, established in 1981, has stood for 28 years. Presberry also recorded the second fastest 400 hurdles time of 51.35.

"I'm very proud and honored to be a member of the Southeast Missouri Hall of Fame," said Presberry, a native of Jefferson City, Mo.

Presberry recalled how he also was recruited by Missouri -- the state's biggest university that was only about 30 minutes from his hometown -- but then-Southeast track coach Marvin Rosengarten convinced Presberry to attend school in Cape Girardeau.

"It was one of the best decisions I ever made in my life," Presberry said.

Wells played numerous sports at Southeast -- volleyball, basketball, tennis and field hockey -- and went on to a successful career as a collegiate softball coach at Minnesota and Arizona State.

A member of five halls of fame, including the Minnesota Hall of Fame and the National Softball Coaches Association Hall of Fame, Wells coached the Greek Olympic softball team in 2004 and the Dutch Olympic team in 2008.

"I want to tell you how honored I am," said Wells, a St. Louis native who traveled to Friday's ceremony from her home in Phoenix. "I had no idea the impact Cape Girardeau could have on me."

Wells' career took her many places but she never forgot her roots.

"It's hard to describe the emotions of competing in the Olympic Games," she said. "But I was proud to represent Southeast Missouri."

Eley, the 1999 OVC male athlete of the year and the 1999 OVC basketball player of the year, was a three-time all-OVC selection and is the leading rebounder and fourth-leading scorer in Southeast history. During the 1998-1999 season, the 6-10 center led the nation in double-doubles with 19 and had the nation's only triple-double.

"We worked hard to get Bud to SEMO," said former Southeast basketball coach Ron Shumate, who recruited Eley to the university and was on hand Friday as part of the 1988-1989 squad's induction. "He had a great career here. He was just a tremendous athlete, one of the best athletes to ever come through Southeast Missouri."

Friday's inductees also were introduced during Saturday night's basketball games at the Show Me Center.

Southeast's Hall of Fame now includes 60 individuals and 12 teams since it was started in 2002.