DSC hires Alsafeer as director of soccer
Dalton State College plucked its league’s men’s soccer coach of the year, Saif Alsafeer, from his alma mater to be the director of soccer and coach both Roadrunners teams. He guided the Florida College Falcons to a 66-16-4 record the past five years, 11-2-4 in 2018. They were 5-2-1 in the Southern States Athletic Conference. “What a great day for Dalton State. Coach Alsafeer brings excellence to every area we desire,” interim chief of staff Jon Jaudon said in a school release Wednesday evening. “Most of all he will contribute to the development of the total person under his care.” Alsafeer’s pre-SSAC 2016 and 2017 teams went 14-0 and 12-0 in the regular season, with a 72-3 goal differential that latter year, when he was the USCAA coach of the year. He previously was a three-time first-team USCAA All-American and three-time Academic All-American as a Falcons player (2009-12) and then played on two Gulf Coast Cup champions with the semipro Tampa Bay Marauders FC. He was the Marauders’ general manager and head coach in addition to his college duties the past three years, and he has a master’s degree in soccer coaching education from Ohio University. “My wife and I are very excited to become a part of the Dalton State family,” Alsafeer said. “The atmosphere in athletics and amongst the administrative team on campus is outstanding.”
TRACK & FIELD
› The Lee University men’s team moved up 17 places from its preseason spot to seventh this week in the NCAA Division II indoor national rating index of the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. The preseason rating was the Flames’ first Top 25, and now they have their first Top 10 in the computerized listing. Ashland University is No. 1. Lee’s leap came from its success Nov. 30 and last weekend at two meets at the Birmingham Crossplex.
BASKETBALL
› The Lee University basketball teams each won by 10 points in their Gulf South Conference doubleheader Thursday night at Mississippi College, 62-52 in the women’s and 74-64 in the men’s. It was the eighth consecutive victory for the Lady Flames (16-3, 10-1), who remain tied for first place.
Becca Cheeks led them with 12 points on 6-of-6 field-goal shooting and six rebounds, and Abby Bertram, Taylor Boggess, Haley Schubert and
Lindsey Roddy scored 11, 10, nine and eight points. For the Lee men (11-8, 8-3), Colton Blevins and Ryan Montgomery scored 21 and 15 points on 9-of-11 and 6-of-8 shooting, and
Cody Jones added 10 points and matched Blevins, Parker Suedekum and Kentrell Evans with four assists. Montgomery made three steals.
› Dalton State’s Roadrunners dropped to 11-9 overall and 6-6 in the Southern States Athletic Conference with a 72-68 home loss to Stillman, which got 21 points and eight rebounds from Ravion Henry. Elijah Staley had 23 and 15 for DSC, while Sean Cranney scored 16 points and Sean Chislom had 11 points and 12 rebounds.
SOFTBALL
› Junior catcher Shelby Hammontree from Heritage High School is one of the league-high four preseason AllPeach Belt Conference softball selections from the University of North Georgia, which won the 2018 regular-season and PBC tournament championships. Hammontree was a first-team all-conference and all-region honoree who received All-America honorable mention after playing in all 66 games and batting .354 with 14 home runs and 56 runs batted in for the Nighthawks.
WRESTLING
› A memorial service for long-successful UTC and Baylor School wrestling coach Jim Morgan will be held Sunday at 2 p.m. in the Baylor Alumni Chapel, followed by a reception. Morgan died last Friday, six days before his 81st birthday. A McCallie School graduate, he wrestled for the Mocs and then coached them to a 209-70-3 record from 1968 to 1984, with three NCAA Division II individual champions. He was the national coach of the year after a thirdplace team finish in 1975, and the Mocs were second the next year. Then as a decorated chemistry teacher, he coached Baylor wrestlers (1986-2010) to 500-plus dual-match wins, nine traditional state championships, six duals crowns and 60 individual state titles. He was in the first class of the Tennessee Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.