Story of the year

Women's basketball usually doesn't grab the headlines.

What the Southeast women's basketball program accomplished in 2006 -- sharing the Ohio Valley Conference regular-season title with Tennessee Tech and then crushing the Eaglettes to win the conference tournament and gain the program's first NCAA Division I tournament berth -- likely would have landed on this list of the Southeast Missourian's top stories for the year.

But the program also was surrounded by controversy from January to December, the kind of controversy that also grabs headlines. Investigations conducted by the OVC and the NCAA are now 11 months old. While the final outcome of the probes isn't known, the cloud that has hung over the women's program led to B.J. Smith's resignation in December.

Smith cut down the nets after Southeast won the OVC tournament.

The investigations were initiated in January, the news broke in February, the Redhawks made the NCAA tournament in March, the university announced violations and sanctions from a preliminary report in June, Smith was placed on paid leave in November, and he resigned in December.

That made the Southeast women's basketball program the story of the year.

The Redhawks were a little more than halfway through a 12-game winning streak when the month of January ended. The streak vaulted Southeast to the top of the OVC regular-season standings.

But around that time, university president Dr. Kenneth Dobbins asked the OVC commissioner's office to investigate possible NCAA violations by the program. The university and the OVC released joint statements on the investigation on Feb. 10, one day after the Southeast Missourian received no comment from the OVC office regarding an investigation.

Senior Tatiana Conceicao was named first-team all-OVC.

The NCAA, citing information received from other sources, according to Dobbins, joined the investigation when contacted by the OVC to report Southeast's request for a probe.

The governing association of college athletics had its investigators on campus in mid-March, when OVC tournament champion Southeast -- after whacking Tennessee Tech 71-50 in Nashville on March 4 -- was to find out which team it would play in the NCAA tournament.

That draw sent the Redhawks to Denver to take on Stanford, a traditional power of women's basketball.

Smith and university president Dr. Kenneth Dobbins celebrated after the OVC title game.

Southeast's first NCAA appearance ended with a 72-45 loss to the Cardinal.

During the Redhawks' 22-9 season, senior Tatiana Conceicao was named to the all-OVC first team for the second straight year and senior Natalie Purcell set the school record for 3-pointers in a game with seven.

Smith was rewarded in April with a three-year contract renewal that took his base salary from $61,000 to $75,000.

But on the last day of June, Southeast acknowledged the OVC investigation conducted by The Compliance Group resulted in violations found in seven areas, including inappropriate transportation for prospective student-athletes. The school accepted seven sanctions recommended in the report, most notably a reduction of scholarships for 2006-07 from 15 to 12.

In addition, the report called for greater monitoring and a restructured compliance office within the department. Alicia Scott, who resigned from her post in compliance and student services, was replaced by Jayson Santos.

Simone Jackson was the team's third-leading scorer at 11.0 points per game

Smith for the second straight year had to replace two assistants on his staff, hiring John Ishee and Jenni Lingor.

On Nov. 9, two days before Southeast was to open its season at Tulsa, the university placed Smith on paid leave for what was called "personal reasons" in a news release. A university e-mail to athletic department personnel that day called it an administrative leave.

The university did not disclose details, but reports surfaced that Smith had been in charge of a "Coaching Basketball" class that met infrequently from the start of the semester to the time of his leave.

John Ishee was named acting head coach when Smith was placed on leave Nov. 9 and will finish out the 2006-07 season following Smith's resignation.

Finally, on Dec. 6, the university and Smith released a joint statement that announced his resignation. The terms of the severance paid Smith the rest of his base salary for 2006-07 (about $37,500 over six months through May). The release barred Smith from any contact with the team for the rest of the school year with the exception of the raising of the OVC championship banner on Jan. 20 at the Show Me Center, if he elects to attend.

2. Garner replaced by Edgar at Southeast helm

The Southeast men's basketball program also had some upheaval in 2006, mostly caused by its performance on the court.

The Redhawks finished 7-20. which led to the end of Gary Garner's run as coach.

Garner's contract was not renewed after a nine-year run that produced a 126-132 record. Garner had led the men's program to its first NCAA tournament appearance in Division I in 2000, but the program had a 50-91 mark over the last five seasons.

There were some off-the-court issues for the program: Andrais Thornton was arrested after the team returned home from Austin Peay on Jan. 30 for a rape charge from his junior college days in Kansas (he later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor), and the program accepted a fine for allowing two transfers to travel to games with the team during the season even though they were ineligible.

Thornton's absence from the team and other injuries left the Redhawks with a short bench during a 1-13 finish to the season.

About six weeks after Garner was fired, Southeast hired former Murray State head coach Scott Edgar on April 13 to take over the program.

Edgar, who also had been a head coach at Duquesne, came to Southeast from his post as an assistant at Tennessee. He beat out finalists Rod Barnes, who had recently been let go at Ole Miss, and Jay Spoonhour for the job.

Southeast opened a little rocky under Edgar, posting a 3-10 record to start the year.

3. MSHSAA suspends Scott County's Heeb

The Missouri State High School Activities Association handed Scott County Central basketball coach and athletic director David Heeb a harsh penalty at its April meeting of the Board of Directors. The board members, convinced the evidence pointed to Heeb's undue influence of recruiting student-athletes from his former school, Bell City, handed the coach a suspension that covered the entire second semester of 2006-07.

Dobbins on June 30 announced the results of a preliminary report on the program conducted by The Compliance Group for the OVC.

The board also put the school on three years' probation, during which team Heeb was restricted from coordinating open gym sessions.

The board later agreed to revisit the probation in the spring of 2007, but upheld its initial ruling and suspension.

"This punishment," Heeb said last spring, "is the equivalent of someone getting the death penalty for a speeding ticket, if you will, and we weren't even speeding."

Heeb, convinced Bell City officials coerced student-athletes to make allegations, filed a lawsuit in September against Bell City and MSHSAA that is still pending. The sides are trying to schedule a hearing, possibly in February, on Bell City's motion to be dismissed from the lawsuit.

Scott County Central, where Heeb took over in 2005-06 after a five-year run at Bell City that included two state championships, went ahead and made a coaching change effective for the 2006-07 season. Ronnie Cookson, who coached Scott County to more state championships than any other school in the state before stepping down in the mid-1990s, returned to the bench for this season.

Scott County, which lost to Bell City in the Class 1 sectional last season after the two schools avoided meeting throughout the entire regular season, won the first two meetings with the Cubs this year before losing Wednesday in the third meeting between the programs.

4. Notre Dame boys soccer captures state crown

The Notre Dame boys soccer team put together a memorable campaign in the fall of 2006, losing just once in 27 contests and rolling to the Class 2 state title.

The Bulldogs followed a 2-0 state semifinal victory against West Plains with a 2-0 championship victory against St. Dominic.

They won their last 21 games, posted a school-record 19 shutouts and outscored their foes 108-8. Their only loss was at home in overtime to eventual Class 1 state champion Whitfield.

Bulldogs coach Brad Wittenborn was named the Class 2 co-coach of the year by the Missouri Soccer Coaches Association and Jack Wedemeier, who set the school record for goals scored in a season (30), was named the state's Class 2 co-player of the year. Ty Williams and Abe Dirnberger also made the all-state first team.

5. Meadow Heights sets a record in boys basketball

The members of the Meadow Heights boys basketball team didn't know exactly how good their night was Feb. 10 when they beat Marquand 131-66 at home on homecoming.

They knew just about every 3-pointer they put up was going in.

They knew they had shattered the state record of 24 because Meadow Heights shared the mark with Scott City after hitting that mark in the 2003-04 season.

But the Panthers' 36 3-pointers on 73 attempts topped the national record of 34 set by Juniata Valley of Alexandria, Pa., in 2002.

"We backed into a zone and subbed the whole time," Meadow Heights coach Tom Brown said. "What do you do? It's homecoming, and the kids are fired up anyway. It's a once-in-a-lifetime thing.

"We had six seniors, and it's their last hurrah. To make 36 3s in a game is not that easy."

Michael Collier had eight treys. Terry Wagner added seven, Heath Fulton had six, Anthony Bollinger five, Nathan Revelle four, John Long three and Rusty Davis three.

6. Chaffee football ends a 34-game losing streak

The Chaffee football team ended years of futility in the very first game of the 2006 season.

After losing 34 straight games, dating back to a 20-6 victory against East Prairie on Oct. 11, 2002, the Red Devils opened the season Sept. 1 with a 43-14 victory at Grandview.

The Red Devils, in their second season under state Hall of Fame coach and Chaffee alum Charlie Vickery, also won at Rector, Ark., and at home in Week 10 in a conference game against Portageville. With a 3-7 record, Chaffee had its best season since 200.

7. Jackson wrestler Rampley was perfect

Jackson wrestler Kamden Rampley completed a 54-0 senior season in February by claiming the Class 4 state championship for the 215-pound division.

Rampley beat John Otto of Blue Springs 7-0 in the championship match to add to a record season. His 54 wins is the most posted by a wrestler in the state in a single season.

8. Etzold leads Saxony track to second place

The Saxony Lutheran track program had its best finish last spring, placing second in Class 1.

The school that has become a Class 1 cross country power with two state titles in four years was expected to contend for a state trophy.

But the Crusaders were led to their finish by Brandon Etzold's excellent weekend. Etzold completed his junior season by winning individual honors in the 800 and 1,600 meters and leading Saxony's 1,600- and 3,200-meter relay teams to first-place finishes.

9. Smith derailed by injury but still an All-American

Southeast Missouri State track athlete Miles Smith was the top story in 2005, when his breakthrough campaign included a fifth-place finish in the 400-meter run at the NCAA outdoor meet, a sixth-place finish in the event at the national championships and a gold medal from the world championships as part of the U.S. 1,600-meter relay team.

Smith's junior season was good, but ended prematurely when Smith pulled a hamstring in the semifinal round at the NCAA outdoor meet.

He had finished seventh in the NCAA indoor championships and had the second-fastest time among the runners in the preliminaries at the outdoor meet.

Smith was selected to the All-America team by the national coaches association, adding to honors he had won in the 2005 outdoor season and 2006 indoor campaign.

10. Samuel era begins with 4-7 record

The good news for new Southeast football coach Tony Samuel was a 2-0 start. Those wins, however, came against a team making the leap back to NCAA Division I-AA and a Division II program.

The Redhawks finished 4-7 in their first year for Samuel, a former Nebraska defensive end and assistant coach who also had been a head coach at New Mexico State and most recently had been an assistant at Purdue.

The Redhawks finished 2-6 in the OVC and their nonconference slate included a 63-7 loss at then-No. 17 Arkansas as well as the wins against Austin Peay and Missouri-Rolla.

Southeast defensive end Edgar Jones led I-AA nationally in sacks and earned All-American honors, as did standout punter David Simonhoff.

While Southeast did have some of punt-protection miscues that didn't help coach Tim Billings in his last season at the school, the Redhawks did manage to get into the fifth game of the season before committing a turnover, becoming the last team in Division I football to do so.

Also receiving votes

• Southeast alum Gene Bess, an Oak Ridge native and former coach at Oran, became the first college basketball coach at any level to achieve 1,000 victories, which he has recorded all while coaching at Three Rivers Community College.
• The Southeast women's track team continued its dominance of the Ohio Valley Conference, sweeping the indoor and outdoor titles for the third straight year.
• The Central baseball team's 20-6 season, which included titles in the Charger Invitational in Mississippi and the SEMO Conference tournament, ended abruptly with a loss in its first district game due in part to six key players and coach Steve Williams sitting out with suspensions stemming from a MSHSAA rules violation of players attending a camp at which Williams was an instructor.
• Central sprinter Nicole Jackson capped her junior track season by winning the Class 4 200 meters. She brought back four medals from the state meet.
• The Central boys basketball program is affected by drastic changes as coach Derrick McCord leaves for Dyer County (Tenn.) and is replaced by Jackson assistant Drew Church. Also, standout Darnell Wilks, a Division I prospect, leaves school before his senior season to attend a prep school near Nashville.
• The Southeast women's soccer team won the OVC championship and earned its first NCAA tournament berth this fall. The Redhawks lost 2-0 to Illinois in St. Louis.
• Southeast women's basketball player Lachelle Lyles set an OVC record with 32 rebounds in a single game.