Nelius, Mies win Riverbend 10k
Eric Nelius of Knoxville won the Riverbend Run 10-kilometer race Saturday morning in Chattanooga in 35 minutes, 52 seconds, and Lindsay Mies of Chattanooga was the women’s winner and sixth overall in 43:43. Ryan Shrum, 49, of East Ridge was the only one besides Nelius, 22, to finish the hilly 6.2 miles in less than 40 minutes — his time was 37:50 — and Adam Veron, Hilario Mendez and Andy Gean were third through fifth in 40:47, 42:23 and 43:17. Becca Umbarger and Lisa Logan were the second and third women and 11th and 12th overall out of 154 finishers in 45:45 and 45:56. Area teenagers Jessie Martinez, Jasper Wilson and Brian Martinez were first through third out of 227 finishers in the 5k in 17:20, 17:51 and 17:53, and Jessica Marlier was fifth behind Ryan McGinnis (18:35) and the first female in 18:57. Jennifer Huwe and Dianna Leun were second and third in 20:20 and 20:22. The Center for Sports Medicine and Orthopaedics was the title sponsor.
FISHING
› Michael Neal of Dayton, Tenn., moved up two places to seventh in Saturday’s third round of the FLW Tour bass tournament on the Potomac River, and he will be one of the 10 pros going back out from Marbury, Md., today. Andy Morgan of Dayton caught 13 pounds, 7 ounces and finished 15th with 45-14 for three days, good for $12,000. Tom Monsoor of La Crosse, Wis., stayed in first place at 51-9 but is only 2 ounces ahead of Brandon McMillan of Clewiston, Fla., whose five-fish limit Saturday totaled 19-7 to Monsoor’s 15-5 in the quest for the $125,000 top prize. Neal is at 48-1 after a 15-3 day. Wesley Strader of Spring City, who came into the series’ last regular-season event of the year fifth in the point standings, finished 45th at 29-14 after two days and earned $10,000. Bryan Thrift of Shelby, N.C., clinched the series championship won by Morgan three of the last four years.
BASKETBALL
› As he looks ahead to his junior year at Arts & Sciences, Antonio Orr Jr. will be heading this week to Spain, where he will help represent the United States in the Euro Basketball Cup tournament Friday through Saturday. It’s a nine-day trip overall, beginning Tuesday, and it’s par tot the STUDENT athlete World program .“Student-athletes are chosen for the team based on a combination of their athletic ability as well as their academics, leadership ability and character,” according to a news release from the organization. “The trip includes not only the international sport competition but also sightseeing and opportunities for personal growth and leadership development.” Orr plays AAU basketball in the program headed by former University of Tennessee at Chattanooga standout Ricky Taylor, and he gained attention from SAW through his showings at various camps. SAW also helps athletes in college recruitment, and Orr and his family naturally hope to build on his international experience in securing a scholarship next year.
GOLF
› Recent high school graduate Abigail Heck won the 85th Tennessee Women’s State Amateur golf tournament that ended Friday at Memphis National Golf Club in her hometown. She beat Sydney Colwill 1 up in the championship match after knocking off stroke-play medalist Jenna Burris from Manchester in the semifinals, 4 and 3. Burris won her previous two matches in 10-and8 and 7-and-5 romps. Terri McAngus of Mount Juliet beat Jean Kraft of Crossville 1 up for the first-flight title, after Kraft got past Charleston’s Maggie Scott in the semifinals.
› The Georgia Junior Amateur golf tournament runs Monday through Wednesday at Forest Heights County Club in Statesboro, and the 144-player field includes Jake Allstun of Cohutta, Gavin Noble of Ringgold, Beck Burnette of Blairsville and Hardin Chambless, Davis Kirk, Carter Pendley, Jackson Quarles and Davis Smith of Dalton. The Georgia Girls’ Championship, meanwhile, also will be in Statesboro those three days, at the Georgia Southern University course, and Ringgold’s Miranda Rich and Chatsworth’s Savanah Satterfield and Tori Owens are among the entrants.
› Monday is the last day to register for the 2017 local Drive, Chip and Putt competition to be held Saturday at the UTC Player Development Facility on Hickory Valley Road. It is free for boys and girls ages 7-15, divided by age groups. The national finals will be held at Augusta National Golf Club the Sunday before the Masters and will be televised by The Golf Channel. Qualifiers at the local level move on to sub-regional competition. As of Friday night there were 138 registered for the Chattanooga site. Rules and registration are at drivechipandputt.com.