Can’t keep new mom/coach Smith off the sidelines

ST. JAMES – If the players from the St. James High School girls’ soccer team needs an example of toughness and dedication, they need only to look to their own sidelines.

Lady Tiger head coach Casey Smith has proven to be about a tough as they come over the last few days.

It’s the most important time of the season for the Lady Tigers, who are the No. 1 seed for this week’s Missouri Class 1 District 11 Tournament being held at Sullivan.

And Smith is not going to let a little thing like child birth get in the way.

Last week Smith was on the sidelines like she has been all season long – extremely pregnant – for the Lady Tigers’ Senior Night game at the Boys Town soccer field. St. James was battling Four Rivers Conference rival Pacific and ended up suffering just its fourth defeat of the season, a 1-0 loss in double-overtime.

During that game Smith began going into labor, and had to leave the field early.

While in the hospital and prepping for the birth of her child Smith – ever the coach – had her husband, Josh, call in the results from the Pacific game.

"You’re where?" the reporter exclaimed. "And you’re calling in your game score? Now, that’s the kind of coach I like dealing with!"

After reporting the game score Casey and Josh went to work having their baby. And at 12:18 a.m. on Wednesday, May 7 a baby boy – Easton Thomas Smith – was delivered to the couple.

Easton – "Like the baseball bat," Josh says – weighed in at eight pounds, seven ounces and was 21 ½ inches long at birth.

Just days after giving birth Coach Casey Smith was back with her team, directing the Lady Tigers to a 3-0 shutout win over Belle on Monday, May 12 in the first round of the district tournament. Senior Heather Cain had one goal while freshman Amanda White netted two goals for the Lady Tigers, now 14-4. Senior Eden Welch got the shutout in goal.

In other first-round games on Monday Sullivan defeated Fatima in overtime while Laquey beat St. Clair 4-1.

St. James was to play fifth-seeded Sullivan on Tuesday, May 13 in the semifinals. The district title game is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 14 in Sullivan.

If the Lady Tigers repeat as district champions this week, a game ball probably should be presented to Coach Smith. She has certainly earned it. And as the Lady Tigers progress in the playoffs, one can bet that little Easton won’t be too far away.

One gets the feeling sports is going to play a big role in his life.

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Tiger baseball falls in first round of district

ST. JAMES – The eighth-seeded St. James High School baseball team saw its season come to a close on Monday, May 12, as the Tigers were shut out by top-seeded Sullivan 17-0 in the first round of the Missouri Class 3 District 3 Tournament.

Monday’s first-round games between St. James-Sullivan and Union-Salem were held at St. James’ Nelson Hart Park. The tourney is scheduled for Sullivan but the first-round games were moved due to field conditions. The rest of the first-round games were held in Owensville.

Union defeated Salem 3-1 in the other first-round game at St. James.

District semifinal games are slated for Wednesday, May 14 at Sullivan and the tournament title game is scheduled for Friday, May 16.

St. James ends its season with a 2-16 record.

On Monday Sullivan scored three runs in the first inning, five in each of the second and third frames and four in the fourth.

St. James was limited to one hit, which came from Tommy Auxier. Ryan Parker was the losing pitcher, working the first 1 1/3 innings.

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Gronewold, Wieberg are Bullman Award winners

By John Kean
S&T Sports Information

ROLLA – Two of the most celebrated student-athletes in the history of the Missouri S&T athletic program were named as the recipients of the 2008 Gale Bullman Awards Wednesday night, May 7 at the M-Club Awards Banquet held at Havener Center.

Ashton Gronewold, a three-year All-America performer for the Miner football team and Kandi Wieberg, who like Gronewold was a record setting performer while playing for the softball team, were named as the top award winners at Wednesday's banquet.

Gronewold was named to three All-America squads following the 2007 season in which he wrapped up an impressive career with the Miners. He caught 87 passes for 1,009 yards and 13 touchdowns on the year while piling up a school record 2,250 all-purpose yards. The 2007 numbers put his career totals at 278 receptions, 3,708 yards and 53 touchdowns; he also had five return touchdowns for a total of 58 in a career where he set 22 school records.

In addition, Gronewold set a NCAA Division II record during the season when he compiled 295 yards in kickoff returns which included two runbacks for touchdowns to tie another national record at the Division II level.

His performance earned him a berth to the Valero Cactus Bowl -- where he caught a touchdown pass in the game -- and allowed him to be one of the six regional finalists for the 2007 Harlon Hill Award, the first Missouri S&T player to earn such an honor. Over the past weekend, Gronewold participated in a tryout camp with the Chicago Bears.

Wieberg was an All-America performer for the S&T softball team in the 2007 season, when she was named as the Great Lakes Valley Conference's "Player of the Year" and "Student-Athlete of the Year". She is a two-time selection to the All-GLVC and Great Lakes all-region first team at second base and finished her career as a Lady Miner as the holder of four career records.

She finished with the all-time marks in home runs, runs batted in, doubles and runs scored, while ranking second on the career list for hits. Wieberg was also named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America team following the 2007 season.

Two coaches who led their teams to unprecedented success this season shared the "Coach of the Year" award. Doug Grooms, who guided the Miner swimming team to a second place finish at the NCAA Division II Championships, and Alan Eads, who led the women's basketball team to the NCAA Great Lakes Regional championship game, were the selections as the top coaches.

The second place finish by the swimming team was the highest finish ever for a Miner athletic team at a national competition, while the Lady Miners' run to the Sweet 16 in the women's basketball tournament was the farthest that the team has ever gone in the NCAA Division II Tournament.

Diana Newman, a former softball player and 1984 graduate of the university, was the keynote speaker for the event and was named as the recipient of the M-Club's M-M Award. Matt Loula, a senior-to-be defensive end for the Miner football team, was named as the Robert Nicodemus Award winner for this year while the honorary M-Club Awards were given to Sarah Moore and Cecelia Elmore.

Moore is Missouri S&T's assistant director of athletics and senior women's administrator; she previously served as a coach in the athletics department, most recently in the track and field program. Elmore, a former softball and basketball player for the Lady Miners, is presently the director of the Women's Leadership Institute at Missouri S&T.

The most valuable player for each of the sports for the 2007-08 season were also honored. The winners of those are as follows:

Baseball: Yaimel Javier-Cury, Sr., Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic Men's Basketball: Justin Taylor, So., Webster Groves, Mo. Women's Basketball: Tamara McCaskill, Jr., Edwardsville, Ill. Men's Cross Country: Joffroi Holcombe, Sr., Alexandria, La. Women's Cross Country: Kierra Handley, So., St. Louis, Mo. Football (Offense): Ashton Gronewold, Sr., Carthage, Ill. Football (Defense): Garyion Turner, Sr., Phoenix, Ariz. Men's Soccer: Mike McNamee, Sr., St. Louis, Mo. Women's Soccer: Beth Babb, Sr., Benton, Ky. Softball: Kelsey Musselman, Sr., Springfield, Ill. Swimming: Matt Hug, Sr., Bloomington, Ill. Men's Track & Field (Indoor): Jordan Henry, Jr., St. Charles, Mo. Men's Track & Field (Outdoor): Brandon Etzold, Fr., Jackson, Mo. Women's Track & Field (Indoor): Taylor Hahn, Jr., Salem, Ill. Women's Track & Field (Outdoor): Kendra Lewis, Jr., Waynesville, Mo. Volleyball: Ashlyn Balensiefer, Fr., Lafayette, Ind.; Bridget Williams, Fr., Topeka, Kan.

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Golf tourney latest successful fund-raiser for S&T Athletics

ROLLA – This spring has seen some successful fund-raising efforts for the Missouri Science & Technology Athletic Department.

The most recent was Monday, May 5, when the revamped S&T Athletic Department Golf Tournament raised around $7,000.

In the past the golf tourney had been sponsored by the S&T Athletic Booster Club. However, this year it was restructured and the tournament director was Rolla’s Joe Gorman.

"I thought it really went well," Gorman said. "We had a lot of help in people volunteering to run the tournament. It went very well. Everyone went away with something; Russell Athletics donated shirts and Adidas donated bags. It was a fun day.

"One of the things we wanted to do was pair each team with a S&T coach or official. We wanted them to get out and play with people in the community; to network in the community to try to get more people to come out to S&T events throughout the school year."

Key Sport Shop was the tournament’s corporate sponsor.

Business sponsors included Brewer Science, Wal-Mart, Hutchinson Ford, St. John’s Health, Mullally Distributing, Dr. Mitch Esquibel, Phelps County Bank, MF Athletic Company and Gina McWilliams/Realty Executives. Hole and green sponsors included Thomas, Birdsong, Mills & McBride, Missouri S&T MBA Program, Matt’s Steakhouse, The Locker Room, RTI, Town & Country Bank and Alton Steel.

Hole sponsors included Elect Don E. Wilson District 1 Commissioner, Edward Jones/Bill Lewis, Big River Running Club, Creech Furniture, Fidelity Communications, Remax/Joyce Thomas, Rolla Daily News, Holiday Inn Express, Pepsi, International Tours, Norman Tucker, Central Federal, Fairground Chevrolet, Verkamp & Malone, Dr. Sherry L. Phippen, MD, UPS, El Rodeo Mexican Restaurant, Stahlman Power Sports and Baymont Inn. In-kind donations came from Ozark Mountain Embroidery, Adidas, Russell Athletic, Adventures in Advertising and Pizza Inn.

There were 24, four-person teams who participated in the golf event, and teams could take advantage of some unique rules.

"People could buy a score – they could make their score a stroke better or a stroke worse," Gorman said. "We actually had a couple of people make their scores worse, for flighting purposes. I think people enjoyed it."

Three times tied for first place in A Flight with 18-under-par 52. And on a scorecard playoff the team of Mark Miller, Doug Grooms, Jim Jones and Steve Gesualdi was the winner.

Winning B Flight on a scorecard playoff with 62 was the team of Sara Gorman, Monte Gibbs, Tom Brazil and Kirby Cannon.

The C Flight winner, also on a scorecard playoff, with 66 was Gary Miles, Dennis Roberts, Aaron Bartle and Josh Richards.

Women’s closest to the pin winner was Tiffany King, men’s closest to the pin winner was Joe Ahearn, women’s longest drive winner was Laura Antolak and men’s longest drive winner was Monte Gibbs.

In addition, the first annual S&T Trivia Night/Silent Auction, held April 26 at the Rolla Lions Club Den, raised around $4,800 for the S&T Athletic Department. The event was sponsored by the S&T Booster Club.

And the S&T Spring Garage Sale raised around $5,000.

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Miner men cagers sign first recruit

By John Kean
S&T Sports Information

ROLLA – The Missouri S&T men's basketball team has announced its first signing for the 2008-09 season as Aaron Redeker, a 6-11, 220-pound center-forward from Jackson, Mo., has signed a National Letter of Intent to play at S&T.

Redeker has spent the last two seasons at Three Rivers Community College in Poplar Bluff, Mo., where he played for legendary coach Gene Bess, and averaged 7.1 points and 5.5 rebounds per game a year ago to help the Raiders finish with a record of 29-8. He also shot 50.5 percent from the field and 73.2 percent at the line while finishing as his team's third-leading rebounder.

Redeker was also a force on the defensive end, averaging over two blocked shots per game a year ago and accumulating 128 blocked shots in 74 games at Three Rivers.

"Aaron is a player who will add a lot to our team, particularly on the defensive end and in terms of competitiveness," Martin said. "He really likes to compete and I believe that can help us raise the level of our play on the floor.

"On the floor, he's a strong rebounder who really makes good decisions with the ball and will also be able to do some things for us offensively as he has been a good shooter on an outstanding junior college team at Three Rivers."

Redeker played his high school basketball at Jackson High School, where he was the team's top rebounder in his senior year. He plans to major in civil engineering at Missouri S&T.

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RHS baseball gets No. 4 seed

LEBANON – The Rolla High School baseball team, despite an 18-win season so far, has been seeded No. 4 in the murderous Missouri Class 4 District 11 Tournament, to be held May 12-15 at Oley Scott Field in Lebanon.

Ozark got the No. 1 seed in the district tourney while Lebanon is seeded No. 2, Springfield Glendale No. 3, Rolla No. 4, Springfield Hillcrest No. 5 and Waynesville No. 6.

Ozark and Lebanon received first-round byes.

In first-round games on Monday, May 12 Rolla meets Hillcrest at 4:30 p.m. while Waynesville takes on Glendale at 7 p.m.

In semifinal action May 13 Ozark meets the Rolla-Hillcrest winner at 4:30 p.m. and Lebanon faces the Waynesville-Glendale winner at 7 p.m.

The district championship game is scheduled for 6 p.m. May 15.

Lebanon is the defending district champion.

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Lady Bulldog soccer No. 3 seed

LEBANON – The Rolla High School girls’ soccer team has been seeded No. 3 for the Missouri Class 2 District 11 Tournament, to be held May 12-15 in Lebanon.

Waynesville was seeded No. 1 while Springfield Glendale was seeded No. 2, Rolla No. 3, Lebanon No. 4, Springfield Central No. 5 and Springfield Hillcrest No. 6.

As the top two seeds, Waynesville and Glendale received first-round byes.

In first-round games set for Monday, May 13 Rolla meets Hillcrest at 5 p.m. while Lebanon takes on Central at 7 p.m.

In semifinal games scheduled for Tuesday, May 13 Waynesville will play the Lebanon-Central winner at 5 p.m. while Glendale meets the Rolla-Hillcrest winner at 7 p.m.

The district championship game is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday, May 15.

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RHS pitchers fan 19; win Fulton title

FULTON – That wind blowing on Tuesday, May 6 wasn’t a storm; it was the Fulton Hornets’ bats.

Rolla High School baseball pitching fanned a whopping 19 Fulton batters over seven innings on Tuesday, as the Bulldogs defeated Fulton 10-2 in the weather-delayed title game of the Fulton Tournament.

Junior left-handed starting pitcher Dalton Friend did most of the damage to Hornet hitters, striking out 16 over six innings. Daniel Perdue finished up the seventh with three more K’s.

Rolla, now 18-3, gave their pitchers plenty of support.

A four-run first inning gave the Bulldogs all the offense they needed, as Will Morrison had an RBI single and Chris Bowe belted a two-run double.

RHS added two runs in each of the second, third and sixth innings. In the second. Tyler Sinnott doubled and Morrison and Bowe had RBI singles. In the sixth Sinnott slugged a solo homer and Bowe followed with an RBI double.

Bowe was 3-for-4 with four RBI while Sinnott was also 3-for-4.

The game at St. Clair on Wednesday, May 7 was canceled due to the weather and will not be made up.

Also, Rolla was scheduled to host Jefferson City High School Thursday, May 8 at the First Community National Bank Field. The game was postponed due to the weather and is now scheduled to be held in Rolla Friday, May 9. It will be a varsity-only event, starting at 5 p.m.

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Helias clips RHS girls’ soccer, 3-2

ROLLA – Three unanswered goals by Jefferson City Helias was enough to beat the Rolla High School girls’ soccer team 3-2 Tuesday, May 6 at the Kiwanis Club Field.

The Lady Bulldogs, 15-8, took a 1-0 lead five minutes into the game when senior Kaitlin Bramel scored a goal.

However, the Helias Crusaders then tallied three straight goals to take a 3-1 lead early in the second half.

Olivia Cox netted a goal for RHS in the second half.

The Lady Bulldogs were scheduled to host Union on Thursday, May 8 at Kiwanis Field. It will be Senior Night for the Lady ‘Dogs, starting at 5 p.m.

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