Wilthong nabs spot in state's Hall of Fame

and Toby Carrig ~ Southeast Missourian

Area coaching great William Wilthong was one of four Missouri football coaches inducted into the Missouri Football Coaches Hall of Fame in a recent ceremony.

Wilthong coached at Scott City from 1967 to 1994, a period which included five district championships. From 1972 to 1975, the Rams recorded a 34-2 mark with back-to-back 9-0 season in 1972 and 1973.

Wilthong brought the Rams back to prominence in the late 1980s with three consecutive district titles from 1988 to 1990. Scott City went to the quarterfinals in 1989 and 1990 and then went back to the quarterfinals in 1993.

After starting his career at Scott City with four consecutive losing seasons, Wilthong only suffered through two losing seasons the rest of his time with the Rams.

Wilthong joins former Sikeston coach and current Scott City assistant Charlie Vickery in the MOFBCA Hall of Fame. Vickery was inducted last year.

Plenty of wins

While Jackson High School's three winter sports programs were shut out when it came to team district titles, there was plenty of success to go around.

Capped by a state title for senior wrestler Cody Rouse, Jackson's winter teams gave fans little to complain about. Jackson's basketball teams combined for a 45-8 record with each team losing four games.

Through the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament and HealthSouth Holiday Classic the Indians' two basketball squads were a combined 23-0 with five tournament titles between the two teams.

Jackson's wrestling squad held its own, finishing 9-0 in dual matches to go along with two tournament titles. The Indians cruised to wins at the Tiger Classic and the SEMO Conference Tournament. To top it off, Jackson had four all-state wrestlers, led by state champion Rouse. Rouse finished the season 52-0, while Kamden Rampley finished third and Josh Schumacher and Andy Glass each finished sixth.

Hall of Famer

Terry Tippett will enter the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association's Hall of Fame this month. The son of Advance residents Wright and Maxine Tippett, Terry Tippett will be inducted March 19 during a ceremony in conjunction with the state tournament at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tenn.

Tippett coached White Station to four Class AAA state championships from the 1999-2000 season to 2003-04 and has five titles overall. He coached Trezevant to the Class AA state championship in 1980. He has more than 650 wins in 32 seasons, including a 472-136 record in 17 seasons at White Station.

Tippett is coaching this year at Evangelical Christian School.

Classic matchups

The Bank of Missouri 2005 Heartland Hoopfest schedule has been finalized. The second annual event, set for Dec. 10 at Perry Park Center, will include eight games, including a showdown of two teams ranked nationally this year.

St. Louis Vashon High School and Indianapolis Arlington High School will meet in the day's finale at 8:35 p.m.

The games begin at 9:30 a.m. with Perryville playing Ste. Genevieve. St. Vincent will face Oak Ridge at 11:05 a.m., Vianney will take on Bell City at 12:40 p.m., Red Bud (Ill.) and Charleston will meet at 2:15 p.m., Saxony Lutheran will meet St. Pius at 3:50 p.m., DuQuoin (Ill.) will play Notre Dame at 5:25 p.m. and Lafayette of St. Louis County will take on Jackson at 7 p.m.

The event has a Web site, heartlandhoopfest.com.

Academic award

Notre Dame's 2004 girls soccer team was honored with a team academic award by the National Soccer Coaches Association. The team posted a cumulative grade point average of 3.69 while finishing fourth in the state in Class 1. Teams must post at least a 3.25 GPA to qualify for the national award. The list featured 372 boys and girls teams.

Hartmann signs with SLU

Jackson senior Molly Hartmann will continue her soccer career next fall at St. Louis University, a Division I program.

Hartmann has scored 102 goals in her first three years playing for the Indians. The Indians have won three straight district titles and have reached the 20-win mark each of the past two seasons.

Hartmann will join a SLU squad which finished with a 15-6-1 record last year. The Billikens' season ended with a loss in the conference tournament championship game.

Essner signs with JeffCo

Notre Dame senior Amanda Essner recently signed a letter of intent to play volleyball at Jefferson College, a two-year school in Hillsboro, Mo.

Essner played four years of volleyball at Notre Dame and was a part of the Bulldogs' final four team in 2003 and the state quarterfinal team this past fall.

College notes

* Central graduate Seth Hudson is off to a hot start for the Murray State Racers baseball team. Hudson, a sophomore, was hitting .417 (10-for-24) in eight starts through Monday. Hudson started 31 games his freshman season.

* Central graduate Kim Pancoast, a sophomore at the University of Nebraska, finished sixth in the mile at the Big 12 Indoor Track and Field championships Feb. 25 and 26. Pancoast's final time was 4:52.73, although she ran a personal-best 4:49.57 in the preliminaries.

* Kansas State freshman Loren Groves recently set the school freshman record in the weight throw. Groves, a Scott City graduate and two-time state discus champion, had a throw of 62 feet, 10 inches at a meet at Kansas State on Feb. 19. Groves was redshirted for the indoor season and competed unattached.

* Notre Dame graduate Josh Eftink has shown some power through 11 games for the NCAA Division II power Central Missouri State baseball team. In 11 starts, Eftink has two home runs, six RBIs and eight runs to go along with a .294 average. The Mules are 9-2 and ranked No. 3 in Division II.

* Bell City graduates C.J. Hadley and Dominitrix Johnson earned all-region honors for their play at Three Rivers Community College this season. Hadley, a sophomore, averages 16.7 points a game to go along with 5.8 rebounds. Johnson, a freshman, is averaging 11.7 points a game to go along with 5.2 assists. Hadley ranks second in the region in scoring, while Johnson ranks second in assists and first in free throw percentage at 85.4 percent.

* The Quincy University women's basketball team won its second straight Great Lakes Valley Conference tournament championship last week and earned an NCAA Division II tournament berth. The Hawks (22-8) will play Friday afternoon against Lewis University at Grand Valley State in Allendale, Mich.

Alex Wieser, a sophomore from Cape Girardeau, scored nine points in the championship game after scoring 14 in a semifinal win. Deana McCormick, a junior from Jackson, scored 13 in the title game. Wieser averages 7.4 points per game, and McCormick averages 6.7 points and 4.2 rebounds. McCormick is a graduate of Notre Dame and Wieser graduated from Central. Also on the team is April Lorenz of Perryville, a freshman who averages 2.7 points per game.

* The Central Missouri State women's basketball team also is in the Division II tournament and will play at the regional hosted by Drury University in Springfield, Mo., facing Emporia State Friday night. The Jennies (23-7) feature sophomore Ashley Millham, who averages 8.1 and 4.2 rebounds per game, and junior Lisa Millham, who averages 4.2 points per game. Both played at Notre Dame High School.