Mocs' McCroskey academic honoree

Saturday, May 21, 2011

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestler Jason McCroskey was named to the Capital One Academic All-District IV at-large team announced this week by the College Sports Information Directors of America. McCroskey graduated last week as a mechanical engineering major with a 3.63 grade point average. The former Soddy-Daisy standout was just a junior on the mat this past season, when he led the Mocs with a 23-11 record and was nationally ranked at 184 pounds. He was a three-time NCAA tournament qualifier and finished his college career with a 61-37 record. The Mocs wound up seventh in the NWCA Division I academic rankings with their 3.1386 aggregate GPA - three Ivy League teams were among those ahead of them - and McCroskey, Brandon Wright, Demetrius Johnson and Dean Pavlou made the national all-academic team. Baylor graduate Corey Manson was one of those honored for 10th-place Cornell.

GOLF

• VALDOSTA, Ga. - Greg Hamilton of Atlanta shot a 69 in the first round Friday of the Georgia Mid-Amateur golf tournament at Kinderlou Forest Golf Club, giving him a one-stroke lead over 2006 winner Mark Strickland of Woodstock and Dave Poteet of Suwanee. Lee Gerdes, a Macon resident with Chattanooga roots, is among nine players tied for seventh at even-par 72. David Noll Jr. of Dalton, who won the state Mid-Amateur title in 2007 and was the runner-up last year at Macon, is tied for 36th at 75. Rocky Face's Matt Oxford shares 58th place at 77.

• GREENEVILLE, Tenn. - Lee University moved up into a tie for 10th place and Tennessee Wesleyan was 21st out of 25 teams as the NAIA women's golf tournament ended Friday at Link Hills Country Club. California Baptist won after tying at 1,252 with Embry-Riddle, and Shorter from Lee's league was third at 1,254, one stroke ahead of Oklahoma City University. Lee tied Lindsey Wilson at 1,288, and TWC totaled 1,390. Lee's Courtney Shelton shot a final-day 73 and tied for 14th at 313, and teammates Geandra Almeida and Sloane Skinner tied for 31st and 55th at 320 and 327. Stephanie Carr led TWC with a 334. Shorter's Greta Lange was sixth at 304, seven shots behind medalist Kylie Barros of British Columbia.

• RANCHO SANTE FE, Calif. - Middle Tennessee State freshman Brett Patterson from McMinnville, Tenn., is tied for fifth at 142, one shot behind senior teammate Jason Millard, in the NCAA San Diego Regional golf tournament after two rounds. Rhea County's Hunter Green also has helped the Blue Raiders hang close to an NCAA championship berth with a 41st-place 149. They are in seventh place, one shot behind San Diego and Texas sharing fifth.

SOFTBALL

• Covenant College's Sara Russell was voted the National Christian College Athletic Association Mid-East Region softball coach of the year, and four of her players - Beth Harris, Jenni Jobe, Chelsea Krafft and Courtney Wagoner - were all-region selections and second-team All-Americans. The fourth-year program won its first region title and set a program record for wins with a 22-14 record after going 13-31 last season. Wagoner led the Lady Scots with a .387 batting average and was second to Harris in hits, RBIs and total bases while making no errors in 31 starts at first base. Harris led the team in nine offensive categories, including eight home runs and 14 multihit games, and was second in batting average, and Jobe hit .356 with team highs for on-base percentage and doubles. Krafft, a junior from Southeast Whitfield High School, was the workhorse pitcher with 158 innings of the team's 214 played and 166 strikeouts. Her school-record 18 wins this season gave her 38 for her career, another record. "We have overcome so much this past year as a team," Krafft said, crediting the big improvement to intensive offseason work. "We play for God and give him the glory for everything we do."

FISHING

• SHREVEPORT, La. - Gerrit Goins of Cleveland, Tenn., is still in contention in the co-anglers group after Friday's second round of the Bass Fishing League All-American tournament on Cross Lake. Goins is in fifth place with 11 pounds with 10 co-anglers still competing in the final round today. They are led by Shane Winchester of Glasgow, Ky., with 14-8. Ringgold's Jett Loach wound up 28th and received $1,000, and Ray Elmore of Calhoun, Ga., was 40th and got $750. Jacob Wheeler of Indianapolis leads the 10 boater finalists with 28-10, nearly 10 pounds ahead of second place.