It's going to be Easter weekend instead of close to St. Patrick's Day, but the delayed Shamrock 50 race will open the 2012 Cleveland Speedway under new management Saturday night. It will be part of the Southern All Star dirt-track series for Super Late Models, and the winner will get $10,000. Nationally and regionally renowned drivers expected to participate include Scott Bloomquist, Jimmy Owens, Dale McDowell, Ray Cook, Shane Clanton, Clint Smith, Billy Ogle Jr., Tommy Kerr and David Payne. Gates will open at 3 p.m. for racing starting at 6:30. Steel Head/Crate Late Models, A-Hobby and B-Hobby classes also are on Saturday's schedule.
Golf
• BATON ROUGE, La. -- The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's golf team is in ninth place after the first two rounds Saturday of the 12-team LSU National Invitational. The Mocs' total of 604 is four shots behind UNC Wilmington. Iowa at 568 has a six-stroke lead over the second-place host Tigers. UTC's Steven Fox shot a 148 (75-73) and is tied for 19th, and teammates Chris Robb and Liam Johnston share 36th place at 152. Mocs senior Stephan Jaeger, who won this tournament last year, is tied for 48th at 155 but rebounded from an opening 83 with a 72.
• ATHENS, Ga. -- Former Baylor School golfer Brooke Pancake shot an even-par 72 Saturday in the second round of the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic and is tied for fourth place individually with a two-day score of 140, two shots behind leader and Alabama teammate Jennifer Kirby. The Crimson Tide lead the team competiton at 11-under 565, eight shots ahead of second-place Georgia.
• CARROLLTON, Ga. -- Ringgold golfer Brooks Thomas shot a tournament-record 68 on Saturday to win the Lion Invitational. The Tigers shot 334 as a team and tied with Heritage for seventh place out of 14 teams.
Track & field
• ATLANTA -- UTC junior Nathan Wanuch won the men's 3000-meter steeplechase at Georgia Tech's Yellow Jacket Invitational track and field meet Saturday. Participating in his first outdoor track season with the Mocs, Wanuch won the event in 9 minutes, 30.32 seconds. The runner-up from Middle Tennessee State was more than six seconds behind. UTC's Mark Cole was sixth in that event, sophomore Amanda Sumner was sixth in the women's 1500, and the Mocs' 4x400 relay team of Dezerick Frazier, Drew Harris, Drew Austell and Joshue Vasquez also was sixth. Vasquez was seventh with a personal-record time in the 800, and fellow junior Blake Olson was eighth in the 400 hurdles. Another eighth place came from the Lady Mocs' 4x400 foursome of Gabby Cader, Ambria Reese, Samantha Pulido and Sarah Washington.
• ATLANTA -- Freshman Sally Warm from Baylor School set three Sewanee records in winning the women's long jump and triple jump and finishing fifth in the 100-meter hurdles at the Emory Classic track and field meet Saturday. The two jumps, covering 5.64 and 11.5 meters, put her in fifth place in both events among NCAA Division III women this year. Her school-record time in the 100 hurdles was 15.54 seconds. Caroline Roberts also set a Sewanee record with her eighth-place 12:51.14 3000 steeplechase, and Amy Nelson's fifth-place 37.22-meter hammer throw was another top Tigers mark. The Sewanee women finished fourth out of 14 teams. The Tigers' Justin Taylor was third in the men's discus with a 38.47-meter throw.
Tennis
• The UTC men's tennis team shrugged off losing the doubles point Saturday, edging Wofford 4-3 on the UTC courts with junior No. 1 player Roberto Vieira battling back from a 3-0 deficit to win the third set 6-3 against the Terriers' Tinus Van Wyk in the last match decided. The victory lifted the Mocs to 4-3 in the Southern Conference and 13-5 overall, the program's best win total since going 17-7 in 2007. Manuel Barroetavena, Chris Smith and Jackson Tresnan also won in singles for UTC.
Softball
• Lee University softball coach Emily Russell recently signed second baseman Carrie Laird from Niceville, Fla., for the 2012-13 season. Laird said she also considered Tampa, Eckerd and Townsend. "I only heard good things about the school," she said of Lee, "and even better things about the softball program. The fact the school is Pentecostal also led me to my decision. I have attended a Pentecostal church all my life." Russell said she learned of Laird's ability and interest recently. "We had her up to campus last week. She really clicked and will fit in well with our program. She has speed and good range."
Lacrosse
• McCallie School graduate Scott Hughes had a goal and an assist as Centre College edged visiting Sewanee 10-9 in Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference lacrosse Friday night. Davis Brown had four goals in defeat for the Tigers, who got 10 saves from Tommy Healy. Centre's Colonels are tied for second in the league.
Baseball
• Chattanooga Lookouts president and general manager Rich Mozingo will be the guest speaker for the Chattanooga Quarterback Club's noon luncheon meeting Monday at Finley Stadium, and the public is invited. Attendance costs $10 with a meal, $4 without. Mozingo is in his second stint with the Lookouts, having returned last August, and is beginning his 20th year in professional baseball. The Lookouts will host Chattanooga State in an exhibition game Tuesday night and the Tennessee Smokies as their season begins Thursday.