Signal’s Baker on U.S. Paralympic triathlon team

Signal Mountain’s Elizabeth Baker was among the eight athletes announced Thursday for the first United States Paralympic triathlon team. Another is Krige Schabort, a 2015 ESPY winner and five-time Paralympic Games wheelchair competitor from Rome, Ga., while the others are from Houston and Austin, Texas; Chicago; Salt Lake City; Glendale, Ariz.; and Jamestown, Ohio. Their selections were based on international rankings as of Thursday, and more may be added after July 8. The Paralympic Games triathlons will be held Sept. 10 (men) and Sept. 11 (women) at Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana Beach. The visually impaired Baker made her international triathlon debut with a splash last year, when she was second in the USA Paratriathlon Nationals and the Detroit ITU world event. She won the CAMTRI Paratriathlon American Championships in March of this year at Sarasota, Fla., and the Penrith ITU World event on April 24 in Australia.

VOLLEYBALL

› Former Fresno State standout and Team USA libero Kristen Fenton Michaelis has moved with her family to the Chattanooga area and been added to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga volleyball coaching staff. She was the head coach last season at St. Clair Community College in her native Michigan. “One thing that we’ve always been hopeful of here is adding a volunteer assistant that could be a part of the program every day,” head coach Travis Filar said in a UTC release. “We feel really excited and fortunate to add someone who can do just that, while bringing in someone with Kristen’s experience on and off the floor.” Michaelis was a starter on the team that earned a bronze medal in the 2007 Pan American Games, and she was a two-time All-WAC and AVAC All-West Region player who received All-American honorable mention in 2003. Former volunteer assistant Duane Hill is remaining with the Mocs as a consultant. “Duane has been a great help to our program,” Filar said. “His willingness to continue to make an impact in this new role only serves to further strengthen our staff as a whole.” UTC went 26-6 and won the Southern Conference regular-season championship last season.

GOLF

› Heather Nail is transferring to Dalton State after three years starring on the women’s golf team at another Southern States Athletic Conference school, Mobile. The Hartselle, Ala., native will sit out the 2016-17 season and finish her college career in 2017-18. Nail was the SSAC Freshman of the Year in 2014, the Player of the Year in 2015, a three-time all-conference selection and a two-time NAIA All-American, and she won the Alabama amateur championship in 2015. “We are excited to have Heather join our program,” Dalton State coach Jim

McGrew said in the announcement release. “It is a great compliment to our program that someone with her pedigree, and with one year of eligibility left, would be willing to come sit out a year due to transferring within the conference.” Said Nail, who was part of four Class 5A state titles at Hartselle High: “I believe (DSC) is the most successful program in the NAIA. I hope to excel with the Roadrunners.” ›

Parker Gray from Cleveland slipped a little with a 72 on Thursday but is tied for ninth at 1-under-par 141 going into the final round of the Tennesseee Junior Amateur Championship at The Legacy in Springfield, Tenn. Kingsport’s William

Nottingham, the 2015 winner, leads at 134, one shot better than Knoxville’s Chip Thomas and two and three ahead of Nashville’s Luke Zieman and Hendersonville’s Bryce Lewis, who had second-round 65s. Another Cleveland resident,

Dylan Lillard, shot a 69 and shares 17th place at 143.

SOCCER

› Notre Dame goalkeeper James Teal and forward Michael Quatrano were Tennessee Sports Writers Association boys’ soccer Class A/AA all-state selections for 2016, and McCallie’s Drew Viscomi and Jonah Bryan and Baylor’s Jackson Campbell were Division II choices.

TENNIS

› The 2016 TSWA all-state girls’ tennis teams included Baylor’s Drew Hawkins and Ashton Jenne in singles and Lauren Carrelli with Presley Thomas in doubles, along with the Girls Preparatory School doubles duo of Maddox Bandy and Jenna Thorstenson. Boyd-Buchanan’s Christiana Amos in Class A/AA singles was the only Chattanooga-area selection in Division I, and McCallie singles player Taylor Burgan, Baylor doubles partners Alex Kadrie and Patrick Toomey and Hixson’s tandem of Alex Condra and Richard Vuong were the area all-state boys.