SIKESTON — A former Sikeston R-6 administrator, two athletes, a coach and one team will be inducted into the Sikeston R-6 Hall of Fame-Honor Wall at a ceremony Friday during halftime of the Sikeston Bulldogs football game against the Poplar Bluff Mules.
Brent Keefer will be inducted into the Honor Wall, and Gabe Wheeler, Justin Robinson, Marc Stevener and the 2014-2015 varsity cheerleading team will be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Inductees’ names and teams are featured in the Sikeston Field House, and the inductees will also receive a certificate Friday recognizing their years of service to Sikeston Public Schools or their outstanding contributions to the Sikeston Bulldogs.
The Sikeston R-6 Hall of Fame recognizes athletes, coaches and teams who have received state honors or beyond. Honor Wall recognizes individuals and teams for their service and achievement to the district.
A 1979 Sikeston High School graduate, Keefer worked as a teacher, coach, athletic director and assistant superintendent for Sikeston R-6 schools. He began his career as a Sikeston Junior High science teacher and became an assistant football and track coach. As athletic director, Keefer stressed sportsmanship to all athletes and initiated and directed the SEMO Conference Basketball Tournament. He was honored with the 2006 BA Sports Athletic Director Award and 2012 MIAAA District Athletic Director of the Year Award. When Keefer became the assistant superintendent for secondary grades, he helped plan and implement Project iLearn for the R-6 District.
A 2014 third-place state golfer and Bulldog standout, Wheeler claimed All-District honors (four years), First-Team All-Conference honors (four years) and was named the 2012 District Champion. After playing in four Missouri state tournaments, the 2015 SHS graduate was recruited to play for the Murray State Racers where he was a four-year starter. A member of the Racers’ 2016 All-Newcomer team, Wheeler won the Western Kentucky Open Amateur (2017 and 2018), was named to the 2019 All-OVC second team, was among a group of golfers who achieved 2019 OVC Top 10 scoring averages, and was named to the 2019 OVC commissioner’s Honor Roll for maintaining a 3.5 GPA. He is now an assistant golf coach for Murray State’s golf team and plays professionally in the Swing Thought Tour and Emerald Coast Tour.
A 1999 SHS graduate, Robinson, a running back, starred as an offensive machine for the Sikeston Bulldogs. He still holds two records 21 years later—3,124 career yards and 2,030 yards in a single season. Averaging 203 yards per game, Robinson scored 28 touchdowns in his career. Robinson also broke his own single-game rushing record twice: first against Dexter with 296 yards and second against Cape Central with 318 yards. After playing football for Hutchinson Community College in Hutchinson, Kansas, Robinson co-founded Clokat Bulldogs, which stands for “Change Lives One Kid at a Time.” He continues to host football camps for young athletes.
Stevener, former Sikeston Bulldog head wrestling coach, started his career in Sikeston in 1976. In his 21-year career as head coach, Stevener coached numerous wrestlers who placed in the state tournament including the only state champion in Bulldog history. A Central Missouri State University Hall of Fame honoree, Stevener also coached wrestling at Hazelwood High School from1997-2002, leading the team to a second-place finish in the Missouri 4A Class Division and earning the Coach of the Year honor from the St. Louis Wrestling Officials’ Association. Stevener and his wife, Beverly, started summer wrestling tournaments in Sikeston and the AAU wrestling program which till exists today.
The 2014-2015 Varsity Cheerleading Team placed second in the 2014 Missouri 3A Small Division state competition. After a fourth-place showing with penalties in the year prior, the team came back the next year and during their state performance, they hit a perfect routine, stuck all of their stunts and received no penalties.