Track team highlighted local talent to grab an OVC title

Southeast Missouri State University has had one of the Ohio Valley Conference's top track and field programs since the school moved up to Division I and joined the OVC in 1991.

But entering the weekend, Southeast had not added to its total of 10 OVC championships since 2000 when the women captured both the indoor and outdoor titles.

That, however, changed in Nashville, Tenn., after Southeast's women clicked on virtually all cylinders and put on a dominating performance to win the OVC outdoor crown. It was the Otahkians' eighth OVC title.

And Southeast's men also had a strong meet, finishing second in what was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Indians.

Adding spice to the Otahkians' impressive showing was the fact two of their top athletes during the meet and all season -- Heather Jenkins and Courtney Haman -- are hometown products, having graduated from Central High School.

Jenkins, a sophomore, won the discus and shot put for the second straight season and continues to rewrite the Southeast record book in those events. She won the co-athlete of the meet award.

Haman, a senior, won the javelin for the third straight year and captured the high jump with a school-record performance.

In addition, several other local athletes earned valuable points for both the women's and men's teams.

Joey Haines, Southeast's longtime coach who has been doing a tremendous job with the program for years, has annually been able to sign many of the area's top high school performers and this year that paid particularly big dividends.

Congratulations to the classy Haines -- who deservedly won the OVC women's coach of the year award -- his staff and the OVC champion Otahkians for their accomplishment.

Another of Southeast's many high-quality coaches is closing in on quite a personal milestone.

Mark Hogan, whose baseball team posted a big OVC doubleheader sweep at Tennessee-Martin Saturday, has 649 wins during his 22-year career as a head coach. The Indians can give Hogan victory No. 650 if they beat UT-Martin in today's series finale.

I've written it many times, but it can't be emphasized enough just how tremendous a job Hogan has done since taking over at his alma mater nine years ago. And he's a heck of a good guy to boot.

Speaking of Southeast baseball, there isn't much of the regular season left, and the Indians will play their final home series next weekend when Morehead State comes to Cape Girardeau for three OVC games.

The Indians are in solid shape to win their second straight OVC regular-season championship, and the final home series figures to be a big one. In addition, it will afford Southeast fans an opportunity to honor the Indians' many fine seniors, several of whom rank among the program's all-time top players.

It looks like Southeast women's basketball coach B.J. Smith and his staff landed a big-time recruit Friday when 6-foot-3 center Chandra Brown from Southeastern Illinois College signed to play for the Otahkians.

Every coach is going to pump up their player, but SIC's Greg Franklin told me that he expects Brown -- a second-team junior-college All-American -- to be one of the top two or three players in the Ohio Valley Conference right away.

That's a strong statement, but Smith also said he anticipates big things from Brown. And with two more players expected to sign during the spring period, Smith appears to be putting together a banner recruiting class that should help the Otahkians continue to build into perhaps the OVC's premier program.

Still no spring signings to report for Southeast's men's basketball program, which is still apparently in the running for hotshot junior-college recruits Josh Gonner and Randy Holbrook.

The spring signing period ends May 16, so the Indians won't be able to wait on the decisions of Gonner and Holbrook much longer.

One way or another, Southeast fans should learn something pretty soon.

While the OVC had two players selected in last weekend's National Football League draft -- Southeast wide receiver Willie Ponder by the New York Giants in the sixth round and Eastern Kentucky safety Yeremiah Bell by Miami in the sixth round -- several other former league standouts signed free-agent contracts with NFL teams.

OVC products who will be in NFL training camps as free agents are Eastern Illinois quarterback Tony Romo (Dallas), Eastern Illinois running back J.R. Taylor (Green Bay), Tennessee State tight end Steve Farmer (Minnesota), Murray State running back Billy Blanchard (Cleveland) and Murray State defensive tackle Cedric Harden (Tennessee).

Other former OVC players could also wind up signing, including Southeast running back Keiki Misipeka, the second-leading rusher on last season's team who told me recently that he is trying to work out a training camp invitation. Hopefully something will come through for Misipeka.

And speaking of Ponder, it was great to see him get drafted. While that doesn't guarantee him a roster spot, it shows that his considerable skills are held in fairly high regard. With Ponder's kind of talent, I definitely will not be surprised if makes with the Giants.

The NFL draft is a lot like college recruiting. Every team thinks it did well but only time will tell just how good -- or bad -- a draft each squad actually had.

Maybe there is more to the situation regarding fired Alabama football coach Mike Price than has been published, but if every coach who has ever gone into a strip joint was let go, there probably would be a major shortage of coaches across the country.

Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian