Southeast Missouri State University track standout Laura VanHoevelaak is one of six individuals selected to receive the Ohio Valley Conference Scholar Athlete Award for 2002-2003.

The award is the highest individual honor that can be earned by OVC student-athletes and is given annually to three men and three women senior athletes for their accomplishments in both the classroom and athletics, and because of their leadership qualities.

The six winners were selected from a group of 16 finalists by a vote of the OVC faculty athletics representatives. Honorees must have performed athletically with distinction and have earned at least a 3.25 grade point average.

VanHoevelaak graduated in May with a perfect 4.0 cumulative GPA while majoring in exercise science. She is a four-time member of the OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll, a three-time Medal of Honor winner and was named second team Verizon Academic All-American.

On the track, VanHoevelaak finished second in the 400-meter hurdles at both the 2001 and 2002 OVC Outdoor Championships and was a member of the Southeast 4 X 400-meter relay team that placed second at the 2002 OVC Championships.

The other OVC Scholar-Athlete Award winners were Tennessee-Martin's Rachel Ahlers (volleyball), Tennessee Tech's Stephen Gordon (cross country), Eastern Kentucky's Alan Horton (track), Eastern Illinois' David Rella (golf) and Tennessee State's Mercy Udoji (track).

Cross country hosts meet

Southeast's cross country program hosts a four-team meet Saturday at Capaha Park.

Other squads participating are Murray State, Tennessee-Martin and Arkansas State.

The men and women will both run over the same 5,000-meter course, with the women's competition scheduled for 10:30 a.m. and the men's race at 11 a.m. The course will start and finish behind the center-field fence at Capaha Field.

"It should be a good race to help us prepare for the OVC Championships" next Saturday, Southeast distance coach Tammy Wenkel said.

Following Saturday's collegiate races, Southeast will hold an open 5K for all ages. Registration is from 9-11 a.m. at Shelter No. 4. Entry fee is $5.

Soccer plays at home today

Southeast's women's soccer team welcomes its former assistant coach to Houck Stadium for a 7 p.m. game today.

Kelley Poole is the head coach of Austin Peay's first-year program. The Governors are 0-10-3 overall and 0-4-1 in OVC play.

The Otahkians are 10-4-1 overall and lead the OVC with a 3-0 mark as they shoot for their second straight OVC regular-season title.

Following today's game, the Otahkians play their final regular-season home contest Sunday when second-place Tennessee-Martin (9-2-3, 3-0-1) visits at 2 p.m.

Volleyball faces key match

The Southeast volleyball squad tries to remain in the thick of the OVC race when it plays a 6 p.m. match at Morehead State today.

The Otahkians (12-9, 7-2) have posted six straight victories to solidify their hold on third place and pull within a game on the loss side of both Tennessee-Martin (15-5, 10-1) and Morehead State (16-8, 9-1).

Morehead State, riding a 10-match winning streak, defeated the Otahkians earlier this season in Cape Girardeau.

Football game on television

Saturday's OVC football game between Southeast and Murray State, which will be televised by Fox Sports South, will also be made available locally by Charter Cable on cable channel 11.

The kickoff from Murray, Ky., is set for 2:30 p.m.

--From staff reports