State sports briefs

N.C. driver tops qualifying at Race for Hope 74

Kyle Strickler of Mooresville, N.C., had the fastest lap among 91 modified drivers Tuesday night in time trials for the Race for Hope 74 at Batesville Motor Speedway.

Strickler turned a lap of 16.913 seconds, at an average speed of 79.820 mph around the three-eighths high-banked oval. Chris Abelson of Sioux City, Iowa, turned in the second-quickest time, 17.068 at 79.095 mph.

Those two drivers are guaranteed starting spots in Saturday night’s main event, one of the richest in the nation for IMCA modifieds, paying $20,000 to win and $2,000 to start.

Both can improve their starting position in the feature through preliminary features, which began Wednesday and continue tonight and Friday night.

GOLF Arkansas Tech’s Piddon wins honor

For the second time in four weeks, Peerada Piddon has been named the Great American Conference Women’s Golfer of the Week, the league office announced Wednesday.

Piddon tied for fourth place at the WNMU Fall Intercollegiate in Goodyear, Ariz., on Tuesday, leading Arkansas Tech to a second-place finish. Piddon opened the tournament with a 5-over 77 to tie for 19th place after the first round.

In the second and final round, however, Piddon shot a 70, the lowest round of the entire tournament, to climb 15 spots and tie for fourth. She recorded 14 pars, 1 bogey and 3 birdies in Tuesday’s round, as Tech shot a 299 as a team — the lowest score by any team in the two-day event.

The junior from Bangkluay, Thailand, and the Golden Suns return to the course Monday as Tech competes in the two-day UCO RCB Classic in Edmond, Okla.

Harding athletes runners of the week

The Great American Conference announced the league’s Runners of the Week for the fourth weekend of the cross country season with Harding University athletes winning both honors.

Lucas Goodspeed garnered the men’s award, while Madison Drennan earned the women’s recognition.

Goodspeed, a senior, finished as Harding’s top runner for the eighth time in 19 career races after he placed fifth at the Trevecca Nazarene D2 Showcase. He recorded his ninth career top-10 finish. He led the Bisons to a third-place result at the 16-team event that featured six teams ranked in their respective regions.

Drennan, also a senior, led Harding for the second consecutive race and for the third time in her career as she finished 10th at the Trevecca Nazarene D2 Showcase with a time of 19:00.2. Harding finished third out of 17 teams and defeated six teams ranked in the Top 10 of their region.

Williams Baptist 7th in Tennessee

Reece Posey shot even par on the final day of the Freed-Hardeman University Invitational to lead Williams Baptist College to a seventh-place finish. The two-day tournament was played in Covington, Tenn., and featured 10 schools.

Posey led the team for the second consecutive tournament, with a score of 150. He shot 78 on Day 1, and followed that up with 72 in the final round. The freshman finished in a tie for 12th individually.

On the women’s side, Lady Eagles golfer McKenzie Piker finished 25th with a 238.