TOP LOCAL STORIES: Dream season

Teams rewrote their school history books in 2007. The Democrat�s top 10 sports stories from last year are filled with teams that matched or exceeded previous school-bests. From the Sacred Heart volleyball team lifting the championship trophy for the first time to the State Fair basketball teams experiencing their best starts in recent memory, several teams in the area tasted success in 2007. The Gremlins were the unanimous choice as the top sports story in the area. With one senior, Meghan Stratton, on the squad, Sacred Heart put together an impressive season and capped it with nearly flawless play in the Class 1 final four at the University of Central Missouri Multipurpose Building. Sacred Heart won the championship, beating Winona 26-24, 25-21, in the title match. The talented Gremlins went 31-2-4 during the season and expect to return standouts Paige Shipley, Courtney Curtiss, Laura McMullin, Debbie Lewis and Kelsey Baldwin, among others. Although it didn�t end with a state championship, the feeling of euphoria may have been the same in early November when the Smith-Cotton boys soccer team lifted the Class 3, District 10, championship trophy for the first time since 1989. The senior-laden Tigers won 17 of their last 22 games, including a thrilling 1-0 win in the district championship against Rock Bridge in Columbia. �We knew that the second half of the season was going to be changing for us, we knew we�d get everything into place,� Smith-Cotton coach Jason Curry said following the Tigers� season-ending 3-0 loss to Fort Zumwalt West in sectionals. �We knew that the kids were capable of playing this way, and we knew they were capable of accomplishing a lot of things.� The 18-9 season was the best under Curry, and S-C enjoyed having the most players earn postseason honors in Curry�s six-year tenure. When Smith-Cotton graduate and current University of Central Missouri men�s basketball coach Kim Anderson cut the last string off the net at the UCM Multipurpose Building, the smile showed the success. The Mules went 31-4 last season and reached the NCAA Division II national semifinals for the first time since 1984. Tipton�s boys golf team likes odd-numbered years. The Cardinals hoisted the Class 1 golf championship trophy for the third time in five years and fourth overall. In what was miserable weather the second day, Tipton held on to its first-round lead and beat runner-up Sacred Heart. The Cardinals� previous state championships came in 1997, 2003 and 2005. The Smith-Cotton girls cross country team got good at running through adversity this season � perhaps they thought they were running from it. The Lady Tigers finished seventh in the Class 3 state championships in Jefferson City this fall, the first time Smith-Cotton sent a girls team to state since 1979. They accomplished that feat despite dealing with a fellow runner, Melissa Ojeda, being hospitalized near the end of the season after falling from a teammate�s SUV after practice. Their coaches, Tara and Matt Clark, had a newborn son in intensive care during that same stretch. The Mid-Missouri Outlaws won the Central Plains Football League Championship this season on Chad Jackson�s 20-yard field goal with 2 seconds left. The kick gave the Outlaws a 42-39 win against the Missouri Mustangs, but was only the second-most thrilling play for the team. The most thrilling play ended up airing on ESPN. �The Play� happened in Excelsior Springs on April 29. The Outlaws were trailing the Missouri Mustangs 35-34 with six seconds remaining. On the game�s final snap, the ball flew over quarterback Kyle Middleton�s head and into the Outlaws� end zone. Middleton snatched up the ball, eluded a couple of Mustang defenders and chucked the ball the length of the field to receiver Jerry Young for the touchdown. In what has been a quick turnaround, the State Fair Community College men�s basketball team has started the season with a 9-6 record. First-year coach Dale Ribble�s team has already eclipsed the Roadrunners� win total from the past two seasons combined. The outstanding play of Sanijay Watts has helped key the turnaround. Watts is averaging more than 20 points per game. As has become old hat for the University of Central Missouri baseball team, it won the MIAA regular-season championship. The Mules have done so in 12 of the past 13 seasons. In Darin Hendrickson�s final season at UCM before taking the St. Louis University job, the Mules went 51-13, but lost the MIAA tournament for the first time since 1999 and lost in the Central Regional championship. The St. Paul Lutheran boys basketball team played the part of Cinderella in the Class 2 playoffs in the spring. The Saints, with standout Tyler Bredehoeft, upset No. 1-ranked Tipton in the sectionals and nearly knocked off Harrisburg to get to the final four. Harrisburg overcame a deficit in the final minute to take off the Saints� slipper. Not to be upstaged by the men�s team, the State Fair Community College women�s team started this season with a 13-1 record. The Lady Roadrunners, who are holding opponents to 50 points per game, are ranked No. 13 in the latest NJCAA Division I poll. Coach Darren Pannier said he believed that is the highest the Lady Roadrunners have ever been ranked. State Fair�s impressive start features a pair of 100-point games, including a 103-31 drubbing.