Green shares State Open lead; Hodge in fourth
Former Rhea County and Middle Tennessee State standout Hunter Green of Evensville shares the clubhouse lead with Nashville’s Joshua Bevell at 7-under-par 137 in the SunTrust Tennessee State Open, but seven groups didn’t finish the second round Wednesday at Foxland Harbor Golf & Country Club in Gallatin. After the second round is complete, the field will be cut to 60 players. Bartlett’s Clayton Gregory leads in relation to par at 9 under, and former University of Tennessee at Chattanooga stars Jonathan Hodge and Steven Fox are tied for fourth and sixth at 138 and 139. Council Fire pro Richard Rebne also is tied for sixth at 5 under. Hodge shot a 66 Wednesday. Just-graduated UTC player
Wes Gosselin is tied for 11th at 140, and current Moc Lake Johnson is tied for 18th at 141. Former Mocs Derek Rende and
Tyler Neff are in the group sharing 22nd at 142.
› Lee University senior Shea Sylvester was named an NCAA Division II PING AllSouth Region golfer for the second year in a row, the Golf Coaches Association of America has announced. Sylvester had a team-best 70.83 scoring average for the seventh-ranked Flames, who finished second in the Gulf South Conference tournament. He was the medalist when Lee won the South/Southeast Region Preview in Muscle Shoals, Ala. “This is certainly an accomplishment in this region, and it’s his second year in a row, which tells you just how strong his play has been over the last two seasons,” coach John Maupin said in a Lee release. “Shea had a very strong year, and I think he has a great case for All-American once those teams are announced.”
› Dalton State College golfers still have half the second round to go in the NAIA women’s tournament at Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., after play Wednesday was suspended because of rain. Oklahoma City still leads in relation to par at 20 over, and DSC is eighth at 50 over but has Tia Teiniketo tied for fourth indivdually at 8 over.
TRACK & FIELD
› Lee University’s Caleb Morgan is the 2017 USTFCCCA Division II South Region women’s coach of the year for outdoor track and field, and the Lady Flames’ Joseph Crook is the region assistant coach of the year. There are eight regions. The Lady Flames won the Gulf South Conference championship and were ranked No. 2 in the region. “There were a lot of great candidates for this award. I am thankful for the coaches who voted for me,” Morgan said in a Lee release, adding that it is “a testament to our team and all those involved with this program.” Crook is in his second year helping. They also coach the Lee men, and the Flames’ Justin Brooks (two events), Josiah Brooks, Harold Smith and Christian Noble join the Lady Flames’ Adrian Martin (two events) in the Division II outdoor nationals starting today at Bradenton, Fla.
BASKETBALL
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Versatile 5-foot-5 guard Tori Harvey from Heritage High School’s 25-4 basketball team has decided to continue her career at Georgia Northwestern. She had more than 800 career points, 400 rebounds, 300 assists and 300 steals for the Lady Generals, and she had 24 points, eight rebounds and six steals in the 2017 region-tournament semifinal win over Gilmer. “She is one of the toughest players I’ve ever coached, mentally and physically. She’s really a doggone good shooter, and she can get the ball to the bucket. Once she’s there, she’s strong enough to finish,” Heritage’s Eddie Bryant said in a GNTC release, adding that Harvey had other options but wanted to stay close to home. “It’s a huge pickup for us,” GNTC coach David Stephenson said. “She comes from a successful, proven program. She can score, handle the ball and rebound, and on top of that she’s in the top 10 percent of her class.”