THE LATEST LINE: CAPE HALL OF FAME GROWS BY TWO

Although it has at times been overshadowed by other local items of sporting interest, Cape Girardeau Central High School athletic director Terry Kitchen reports that the Cape Central Sports Hall of Fame is alive and well.

Started in 1991 to honor former standout athletes at the school, the Cape Central Hall of Fame now lists 24 inductees, all voted in by a panel after having been nominated.

This year's class of two, officially recognized during the 1998 Cape Central All School Recognition Banquet held in May, features Lance Brune and Jack Behrens, who both went on to star at Southeast Missouri State University.

A 1969 Central graduate, Brune earned six varsity letters, two each in football, basketball and baseball, and he made all-conference in every sport.

Brune then was an all-star quarterback at SEMO and even earned a free-agent shot with the St. Louis Cardinals. He becomes the third member of the well-known Brune family to enter the Central Hall of Fame, joining brother Greg and father Charles.

Behrens, a 1940 Central graduate, was a standout in basketball and football for the Tigers. He later played hoops at SEMO, where he was a member of the school's 1942-43 NAIA national championship team.

Heading up the list of Central Hall of Fame inductees is legendary coach Lou Muegge, who was at the school from 1928-30 and 1934-54. The school's football field is named in his honor.

Other members and the years they graduated are:

Clarence "Tubby" Koch (1925), Walter H. "Doc" Ford (1928), Glenn Lampley (1928), Bill Crabtree (1930), Walter Metje (1933), Carl Mayer (1937), Charles Brune (1939);

Leon Brinkopf (1944), Jack Bayham (1944), Thomas Herbert Upton (1944), Ken Hargens (1950), Walter Joe Ford (1953), C.W. Suedekum (1954), Floyd King (1962);

Kermit Meystedt (1963), Curtis Williams (1963), Greg Brune (1964), Carl Gross (1971), Paul Schermann (1973), Pat Colon (1982), Darla Pannier (1988).

"We feel this is a great way to honor folks who were some of the best athletes Cape Central has ever had," said Kitchen, himself a former CHS standout who one day should be a lock for induction into the Hall of Fame that he helps promote.

* Although the field might not be as big as in recent years, there will still be plenty on the line next weekend when the McDowell Capahas host the annual National Baseball Congress Mid-South Regional Tournament at Capaha Field.

There will probably be only four teams competing for the automatic berth to the NBC World Series in Wichita, Kan.

Exact times and pairings have not yet been set, but the Capahas figure to play the tournament's opening game Friday night.

* Jake Alley, a 1998 graduate of Anna-Jonesboro (Ill.) High School, was recently named as an honorable-mention selection from Illinois on the All-USA Today baseball team. He was the only area player selected.

~Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian