THE LATEST LINE: SE ATHLETES ALSO SHINE IN CLASSROOM

When I was in college, the only way I could have put together a 4.0 grade-point average -- or even a 3.0 for that matter -- would have been to add up the totals of a few years.

Suffice to say, hitting the books was not exactly my bag.

But you certainly can't say that about the collective athletes at Southeast Missouri State University, who continue to break new ground when it comes to success in the classroom.

In a statistic that is impressive to say the least, nearly half of the 238 SEMO athletes -- 113 to be exact -- have compiled cumulative grade-point averages of 3.0 or higher. They were honored as SEMO Scholar Athletes during a luncheon Wednesday at the Show Me Center.

Fifty-two of those 113 athletes have their GPA's at 3.5 or better, with 10 of them at a perfect 4.0.

While SEMO's overall athletic program continues to get better -- the women have ranked first in the Ohio Valley Conference the past few years while the men are fast gaining ground toward the top -- the academic accomplishments of the school's athletes also continue to improve.

Last year, 96 SEMO athletes had GPA's of 3.0 or higher, which was at the time the most ever at the school. But this year, that previous record was shattered as 17 more athletes earned academic honors.

SEMO's young men and women have proven that they can play the role of the true collegiate student-athlete to the hilt.

And for that, they should be commended.

* Recruiting in any sport on the college level is an inexact science at best. So many variables go into the mix and, until you actually see what kind of career the athlete has, you simply have to reserve judgment.

That being said, it appears -- in the early stages -- that SEMO's men's basketball program is certainly faring well.

The Indians have landed four players so far -- including two this week during the spring signing period -- with a real intriguing recruit being 7-foot-2 Kostas Avgerinos from Greece.

Avgerinos still must meet NCAA eligibility requirements but, if he does, he will be the tallest player in SEMO history. That is certainly an interesting -- and attractive -- scenario.

* SEMO's softball team -- which has won four straight OVC titles and is closing in on a fifth -- will have its final home games of the season today when Eastern Kentucky visits for a 2 p.m. doubleheader.

Honored will be six Otahkian seniors seeing their final home action: Jenny Oermann, Christine Engelhardt, Debbie Schmelz, Anne Trieb, Ricki DeArmon and Joanna Hicks.

Oermann, drafted by the Women's Pro Softball League, is one of the best overall players in school history while Engelhardt and Schmelz are among the better pitchers the school has produced.

* Hot on the local rumor mill:

Bob Coons, a former coach at both Chaffee and Cape Central who has been at Logan-Rogersville near Springfield the past few years, might return to Chaffee as football and baseball coach.

Stay tuned.

~Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian