ROLLA, Mo. – The 2012 calendar year has been another interesting, yet exciting year, for Missouri S&T's athletic squads.  Three teams won division or conference championships, three others finished second in their respective sports in the Great Lakes Valley Conference and numerous student-athletes earned honors for both their play on the field and work in the classroom.

While both of S&T's basketball teams still have games to play before the calendar turns to 2013 – the Lady Miners have games on the 30^th and 31^st of December in Louisville, Ky., and the Miners will host Benedictine-Springfield on New Year's Eve afternoon at Billy Key Court – here's a look back at the biggest moment for each of S&T's teams in 2012, in calendar order, of course.

Thursday, Jan. 5 – Men's Basketball: Miners 62, Southern Indiana 55
The Miners entered their first game of 2012 with a record of 1-10 and were heading into a daunting stretch of their GLVC schedule, with four consecutive games against teams ranked in the top 10 nationally starting with this one against No. 2 Southern Indiana on the road.  The game started out as many would have expected as the Miners trailed 26-8 with 5:24 left in the first half.

But as if a bolt of lightning hit USI's PAC Arena, S&T pulled off one of its most stunning rallies ever.  The Miners scored 13 of the final 15 points of the first half to cut the 18-point lead to seven by the intermission, then used a 10-0 run to turn a seven-point deficit with just under 12 minutes to play into a three-point lead.  After USI regained the lead with 3:13 to go, Nusrath Khan scored on a driving layup to put S&T back in front for good, then Tommy Pelczynski drove a dagger into the Eagles with a three-pointer on the Miners' next trip down the floor.  S&T shot 76.1 percent in the second half to pull off the upset, matching the highest-ranked team the Miners have ever defeated in men's basketball.

Complete game story

Saturday, Feb. 25 – Swimming: Miners capture sixth straight NSISC title
Missouri S&T's swimming was able to capture five straight New South Intercollegiate Swimming Championship titles with strong efforts in the last two days of those meets – and the 2012 meet was no exception as a monster Saturday led the Miners to a sixth consecutive championship.

The Miners entered the final night of competition at Delta State University with a lead, but made sure that lead stayed secure with strong showings in each of the six contested events.   The Miners had at least two competitors earn spots among the top eight in each of the five individual events, then finished the night with a solid fourth place performance in the 400-yard freestyle relay to close out the victory.

S&T's Ethan Goldfarb – one of two Miners who would qualify for the NCAA Division II Championships along with Phil Arve – won two events at the meet and S&T also got a trio of third place finishes as well as two wins in the consolation finals on the final evening.

Complete game story

Saturday, March 3 – Softball: Lady Miners 4, Lewis 3 (9 innings)
The early portion of the 2012 softball season was a struggle for the Lady Miners as they came into their home opener still seeking their first win of the season.  S&T would get that initial win in dramatic fashion in the first game of a doubleheader against regional power Lewis and would go on to sweep the twinbill from the Flyers.

Trailing 3-0 with just three outs to go – and after Lewis had scored twice in the top of the seventh to pad its lead – S&T started its comeback on a leadoff single by pinch-hitter Lauren Briggs.  A walk and a hit batter loaded the bases with nobody out, then Kaylea Smith hit a sacrifice fly to plate Briggs with the first run and a throwing error on the play allowed a second run to score.  The Lady Miners would again load the bases on a hit and a walk, then Amber Duncan drew a walk on a full count pitch to bring in the tying run.

Duncan also drove in the winning run in the bottom of the ninth with an infield hit that scored Kasilda Miller.

Complete game story

Sunday, March 25 – Baseball: Miners 9, Wisconsin-Parkside 7 (13 innings)
To win a championship, a team needs to occasionally win a “gut-check” game.  For the Miner baseball team, this was that game early in the conference season.

On a Sunday afternoon in Kenosha, Wis., the Miners were cruising along with a 5-0 lead as the first game of the doubleheader headed into the bottom of the seventh inning.  However, the Rangers scored twice in that frame and followed that by scoring five times in the bottom of the eighth off four S&T pitchers to take a 9-7 lead into the ninth inning.   The Miners responded with back-to-back hits to start the inning, then following a sacrifice bunt, all-Midwest region centerfielder Lee Voth-Gaeddert singled home both runners to tie the contest.

Zack Gronek – who had been knocked out of a start in the early innings the previous day at Lewis – entered the game with one out in the bottom of the ninth and allowed just one baserunner in 4 2/3 innings to pick up one of his school record 12 wins of the year.  The Miners finally broke through in the 13^th inning on Clint Wobbe's RBI single as they went on to sweep the doubleheader en route to eventually winning the GLVC West Division title for the second year in succession.

Complete game story

Friday, April 27 – Women's Track & Field: Lady Miners have record-setting day at Missouri Southern
Missouri S&T's women's track & Field team had one of its best days of the 2012 season on a Friday evening at Missouri Southern, setting two school records and have other career bests matched in the process.

Rachel Ederle broke her own school record in the pole vault by becoming the first S&T vaulter to clear the 12-foot mark by going over the bar at 12-1½ and was the top NCAA Division II finisher in the meet.  Molly Clement tied her seasonal best in the event as well with a clearance of 11-7¾, while the other school record was set by Christy Schmid in the hammer throw with a mark of 138-10.

Complete game story

Saturday, May 5 – Men's Track & Field:  Miners capture second at GLVC Championships on Hawkins' big day
Missouri S&T posted another high finish at the GLVC Track & Field Championships, largely due to the efforts of sophomore Adriel Hawkins over the course of the two-day meet.

Hawkins won two events while adding a third place finish and being part of S&T's runner-up showing in the 4x100-meter relay during the meet to earn the league's “Track Athlete of the Year” award.  He won his first event on the opening day of competition by taking the triple jump title with a mark of 46-8¼, then won the 200-meters by 0.06 seconds the following afternoon.  Hawkins would add a third place finish in the 100-meters and anchored the 4x100-relay that placed second.

The Miners also got second place finishes from Brendan Smith and both of its NCAA outdoor All-America performers, pole vaulter Dan Hellwig and hurdler Terry Robinson.

Complete game story

Saturday, Sept. 1 – Miner cross country team opens season in strong fashion
Despite competing in less than ideal conditions – as in heavy rain brought about by a tropical storm system – the Miner cross country team opened its season with a third place finish at the Early Bird Classic at Forest Park in St. Louis.  S&T had three finishers among the top 20 overall in the meet, led by Kyle Stocker's 10^th place finish in a time of 19:56 over six kilometers.  Aaron Viets and Jacob Tayloe also finished among the top 20 in a race that featured 162 runners.

Complete game story

Sunday, Sept. 2 – Women's Soccer: Lady Miners 2, Washburn 1 (2OT)
For the second time in three days, Missouri S&T's women's soccer team pulled out a victory in dramatic fashion to begin its 2012 season.  After Kelsey Salzman scored a goal with 3:36 left in regulation time to beat Wayne State (Neb.) in the season opener, the Lady Miners pulled out some more late game magic to beat Washburn in Springfield, Mo.

Freshman defender Kendra Wood sent in a corner kick with 3:34 remaining in the second extra period and it bent into the net past Washburn goalkeeper Tori Fuglister.   Even though the Lady Miners finished the season with just six wins, four of the victories were one-goal wins in which the winning goal came in the second half or in overtime.

Complete game story

Thursday, Sept. 6 – Football: Miners 27, Arkansas Tech 19
The 2012 season was the first in which the GLVC was sponsoring a championship in football and Missouri S&T came into the year with high hopes.  However, the Miners needed a signature win to establish themselves as a contender and got that victory in a non-conference affair at Arkansas Tech in week two.

Arkansas Tech scored on its opening possession of the game, but the Miners drove for a game-tying touchdown by Nick Taylor early in the second quarter just prior to a lengthy lightning delay.  When the game resumed two-hours and 30 minutes later, S&T blocked a punt to set up Scott Hendricks' touchdown run on the next play to put S&T on top for good.  The Miners would also get a touchdown pass from Josh Firm – who was 31-of-38 in the game – to Smook Thomas and two field goals from Adam Peden

The defense did its part as well, holding the Wonder Boys to 318 yards of total offense, picking up three of their school record 45 sacks and intercepting five passes (two by Billy Foster), including picks on the last three ATU possessions.  The Miners would go on tie their single season record for victories in a 10-1 campaign that saw them finish at No. 24 in the final American Football Coaches Association rankings.

Complete game story

Sunday, Oct. 7 – Volleyball: Lady Miners 3, Lewis 0
The Lady Miner volleyball team had matched its best start ever in GLVC play a day earlier against Wisconsin-Parkside and the only team standing in the way to a 9-0 conference record was a team it had never defeated – Lewis.

S&T put that streak to rest in emphatic fashion, routing the Flyers in straight sets by a count of 25-20, 25-18 and 25-14. The Lady Miners – who extended their home winning streak to 14 games in the process and a GLVC regular season win streak to 15 contests – hit at a .250 mark for the match and got better as the day went on, hitting .321 in the final set.

Two of S&T's All-America performers had huge games, as AVCA third-team All-America Krista Haslag had 11 kills along with Hayley Wright, while Jennifer Costello, the Capital One Academic All-America of the Year for NCAA Division II, finished with 29 assists and five digs.

Complete game story

Saturday, Oct. 20 – Women's Cross Country: Smith earns All-GLVC honors at conference meet
For the second year in succession, a member of Missouri S&T's women's cross country team earned All-GLVC honors as sophomore Alyson Smith finished in 11^th place at the conference meet held in Springfield, Mo.  Smith covered the six-kilometer course in 22:35, joining Colleen Conrad as an all-conference competitor in the GLVC since the Lady Miners joined the league in 2005.

Smith was S&T's top finisher in all five of its meets this season, including three finishes among the top 20 overall.

Complete game story

Wednesday, Oct. 24 – Men's Soccer: Miners 2, Drury 0
With a chance to finish its season above the .500 mark, Missouri S&T's men's soccer team did just that by closing out the year with a 2-0 road victory over its archrivals, No. 17-ranked Drury.

In a series in which the road team has won the last four games, the Miners got a goal late in each half.  Kyle Schraier gave S&T the advantage with a tally with just over three minutes to play in the first half, then Peter Vaccaro added an insurance tally with 2:33 left.  Matt Jackson turned away seven shots to record his sixth shutout of the season in 10 games, a mark that ranked among the national leaders in NCAA Division II.

Complete game story

Thursday, Dec. 6 – Women's Basketball: Lady Miners 66, Drury 63
The 2012 calendar year has been a rollercoaster ride for the women's basketball team, but this road victory over the Lady Panthers might be a sign of S&T turning the corner as it gets ready to begin post-holiday play.

Thanks to an 18-0 run in the first half – sparked by four three-pointers by Toni Knar – the Lady Miners built a 10-point halftime lead and led by as many as 17 points early in the second half.  Drury rallied and cut it to a one-possession game with a little over five minutes to go.  A basket off an inbounds pass by Kylie Cooper as the shot clock was about to expire stemmed the Lady Panther run and S&T held off a last-ditch rally for its second win in three years at the O'Reilly Family Events Center.

Cooper, who would earn GLVC “Player of the Week” honors for her performance, had 16 points in the winning effort as did Knar.

Complete game story