McKenzie Ethridge from the Chattanooga Jets club won the girls' 60- and 200-meter dashes last Saturday in the state high school indoor track and field meet at Johnson City, and she has qualified in both events for the New Balance National Indoor to be held March 11-13 in New York City. Ethridge, a Signal Mountain senior, qualified earlier in Nashville for the national championship 60 with a 7.60-second sprint and for the "emerging elite" 200 with a 25.19. Also qualifying for New York was Kimbra Dunning with her 8.15 time Saturday in the 60 as a freshman. Jets earned all-state status with sixth or better finishes in seven events at Johnson City. Dunning was third in the triple jump and fourth in the long jump, Andrew Sharpe was fourth in the pole vault, Tia Davis was sixth in the 200 and the boys' 4x400 relay team was fifth.
Volleyball
* Hixson High School standout Paige Lawson felt good Tuesday about signing scholarship papers to continue her volleyball career at Bryan College, which has become a regional NAIA power. "They have a great academic program, everybody is very friendly and it is a good environment to be in," said Lawson, who wants to be a teacher and coach. "While visiting there I met with a few professors as well as the volleyball team, and they make you feel like you're home away from home. I feel the Lord has a plan for me, and I feel that going to Bryan is the beginning of that plan." The 5-foot-11 outside hitter, a two-time Best of Preps selection, has a school-record 1,527 kills and led the Lady Wildcats to the program's best season (38-15) and first state-tournament appearance last fall. Lee, Carson-Newman and Tennessee Wesleyan were other options for her. "Paige is just an outstanding girl, and she works so hard," Hixson coach Janet Tate said. Lawson has played in the C4 Volleyball club program headed by former Bryan coach Dave Shumaker, and his successor at the Dayton school, Jessica Day, also coaches in that program. "I've been able to watch Paige's growth as a player and as a person, and I'm really excited to have her come to Bryan," Day said. "She can hit the ball pretty hard and she's a good blocker and passer. She has it all."
* Georgia Northwestern Tech volleyball coach Carrie Powell recently added a Gordon Lee senior, Shelby Thompson, whose grandmother had been Powell's physical education teacher in elementary school. "She's a solid back-row player and that's something we definitely need," Powell said in a GNTC release, calling Thompson a libero she can count on. "She's got a good all-around game and she's just a solid player through and through, but the back row is definitely where her strengths are." Thompson had 203 digs in her senior season, when the Lady Trojans reached the 30-win plateau and the Georgia Class AA state quarterfinals. Gordon Lee coach Tricia Goodwin said Thompson also can set if needed.
Baseball
* Caleb Bloye was 3-for-5 and drove in three runs as Covenant defeated visiting Sewanee 7-5 in NCAA Division III baseball Tuesday. Devin Cerrato also had three hits and Trenton Nobles was 2-for-4 with two RBIs for the Scots (8-5). Jackson Cooper was 3-for-5 with a triple and three RBIs and Tony Dykes homered and singled for Sewanee (1-14), which matched Covenant's 12 hits.
Softball
* Former Chattanooga Gas and Capital Motors fastpitch softball standout Fred Newton died Monday at the age of 86, and the funeral service is set for 12:30 p.m. Thursday in the chapel of Turner Funeral Home on Highway 58. Visitation is from 4 to 8 tonight at the funeral home. Air Force service kept Newton from a professional baseball career, but he had a long fastpitch career that included six state championships. He was inducted into the Tennessee ASA Hall of Fame in 2008. He was bowler as well.