Bassmaster event moved to October
The Bassmaster Elite Series tournament on Chickamauga Lake will make a third go at hitting the water in 2020 on Oct. 16-19 after B.A.S.S. recently announced a revised schedule for both that series and its Bassmaster Open events this year, with the circuits reshuffled as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The Chickamauga event was originally set for mid-February, but extensive rain and high water pushed the tournament to March 19-22 before it was postponed again. Competition will resume when the Elite Series visits Alabama’s Lake Eufaula on June 10-3, and a release announcing the new schedule emphasized B.A.S.S. will adhere to state guidelines regarding crowd sizes and public spaces while also monitoring federal guidelines to ensure safe competition and fan activities. “Any time we are forced to postpone a tournament, it is disappointing to our anglers, fans, hosts, sponsors and staff,” B.A.S.S. CEO Bruce Akin said in the release. “After this break of nearly three months, our anglers are looking forward to fishing on these incredible waters, and we know fans are ready to see big bass being weighed in again. Our team has worked diligently alongside our local hosts to ensure that we are ready to get back to the competition and fun of tournament fishing in a safe and responsible way.”
RUNNING
› The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men’s cross country program has announced two additions to its roster for next season, including Central High School standout Kaigen Mulkey.A senior in 2019-20, Mulkey holds the Purple Pounders’ records for the 5k in cross country (16 minutes, 56.78 seconds) and the 3200-meter run (10:32.46), 1600 (4:30.44) and 800 (2:00.00) in track, excelled academically with a 3.5 GPA and plans to study business management, according to a UTC release. The other future Moc who will run for coach Andy Meyer is Murfreesboro’s Jacob Boykin, who helped Siegel High School win the past three Division I Large cross country state titles and has a personal best of 16:25 in the 5k.
› The fourth annual Cleveland Half Marathon and 5k, originally scheduled for next Saturday but postponed due to the pandemic, will now be held in conjunction with Lee University’s Great Strides Walk and 65 Roses 5k. The events will start and finish at Lee, with the half marathon course venturing through the city. Those already registered for the Cleveland Half Marathon and 5k are automatically entered in the Sept. 12 event; others may register at clevelandhalf.com. For details and registration on the 65 Roses 5k and Great Strides Walk — the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s largest annual national fundraiser, according to a Lee release — visit leeuniversity.edu/cf.
BASKETBALL
› Cleveland State center Britnay Gore, a sophomore this past season, will continue her college basketball career at Penn State after signing with the Big Ten program Friday. Gore, the first player to sign with Lady Cougars coach Evelyn Thompson in her tenure, is originally from Antigua and came to Cleveland by way of a workout in Atlanta. The 6-foot-2 Gore was an All-TCCAA first-team selection both seasons at Cleveland State and set multiple program records for blocks and rebounds, and she was honored as the school’s female athlete of the year for 2019-20 and also excelled academically. In addition, Za’kkria Robinson, a 5-9 guard who averaged 8.7 points and 5.5 rebounds per game the past two seasons for the Lady Cougars, has signed with Point University, a four-year program in West Point, Georgia, that competes in NAIA Division II and the Appalachian Athletic Conference. Robinson, who prepped at Riverdale in Fort Myers, Florida, made the All-TCCAA second team this past season.
FOOTBALL
› Adam Miller, a former UTC and Northwest Whitfield High School offensive lineman, died April 28. He was 30. The Dalton, Georgia, native was living in Soddy-Daisy at the time of his death. A Times Free Press Best of Preps selection at Northwest, where he played on both the offensive and defensive lines, he was the Bruins’ GPA leader each of his four years. Miller was a team captain at Northwest, a role he also held as a UTC senior in 2012, when he received Southern Conference all-academic recognition for the fourth straight year and made the All-SoCon second team. According to a UTC release, he was the first Moc to be a two-time CoSIDA Capital One Academic All-District honoree and two-time member of the FCS ADA Academic All-Star Team. He started 40 games at right tackle for the Mocs, including the final 29 of his career. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to him and his family,” UTC coach Rusty Wright said in the release. “He was a good football player who was well-liked and respected by his teammates and coaches.”
BASEBALL
› The Chattanooga State baseball program has scheduled youth skills camps for ages 9-17 on June 15-17 and June 22-24, with hitting and fielding sessions from 10-11 a.m. and hitting and pitching sessions from 1-2 p.m. The cost is $20 per session, with no more than 16 players per session in order to limit the maximum ratio of players to coach at 8-to-1 and allow social distancing. Advance registration is required by calling 815-985-8872 or emailing drake.robison@ chattanoogastate.edu.
GOLF
› The Lee women will add Jadepreeya Jademongkolrat (Aiko), a junior golf standout from Thailand, to their roster this fall as the Lady Flames seek to build on this past season’s No. 11 national ranking. Aiko also considered Morehead State and Wofford, according to a Lee release, with Lee coach John Maupin saying she “has a lot of quality tournament experience in Thailand, and one thing that stands out to us is the distances that she has competed at. They will have her well prepared to make an immediate impact on our roster.”
TENNIS
› The final Oracle/Intercollegiate Tennis Association Division II South Region rankings for 2019-20 included three Lee men. Junior Bruno Medeiros and senior Antonio Pons were No. 5 in doubles after going 4-3, while sophomore Jesus Garcia was No. 14 in singles after going 9-2 in the No. 1 spot, having won four straight matches when the season was called off due to the pandemic.
VOLLEYBALL
› Covenant has hired former player and 2019 graduate Olivia Becker as the full-time assistant to head coach Joanna Ehman, with Becker replacing Brittney Berube, who recently left to take over Chattanooga Christian School’s volleyball program. Becker, who played three years for the Scots and helped them to three USA South Athletic Conference regular-season titles and two NCAA Division III tournament appearances, was a volunteer assistant last season and a student assistant as a senior. Becker was also a three-time all-academic team member in USA South and Covenant’s representative on the league’s all-sportsmanship team as a junior. She has a degree in mathematics and is set to complete her master’s degree in teaching at Covenant this spring.
ACADEMICS
› Sewanee announced that 89 Tigers student-athletes completed their degree requirements Sunday, with women’s soccer player Mena Kerrison ranking second in the university’s entire class of 2020.