Hayes WoodBoyd-Buchanan junior Hayes Wood has committed to continue his soccer career at Lipscomb University in 2019. Wood, a 2017 Best of Preps first-team selection who has 21 goals and 19 assists in 2018 going into the postseason, also plays golf for the Buccaneers but said Tuesday that soccer is his "main thing," and he has been recruited also by Belmont, Lee, High Point and Wheaton. His brother Jack already attends Lipscomb, which is a Church of Christ school like Boyd-Buchanan, and select teammate Thomas Priest from McCallie is headed to the Bisons this year. In addition to liking coach Charles Morrow's reigning Atlantic Sun Conference champions, Wood said, "I know a lot of people there already, and I like that it's kind of a small school where everybody can know everybody." Buc coach Dustin Walker praised Wood's extra-hours work mentality and his talent. "He's one of the most skilled players on the ball I've ever seen," Walker said. "He's laterally quick and he can outrun you while he's dribbling. And he's a great leader and a great teammate." Wood has 59 high school goals, including 40 the last two seasons, while the Bucs have gone 66-14-4. They're 14-1-1 this year.
» Bryan College soccer players Hannah Bohner and Stephen Ricketts were the 2018 winners of the Dayton school's Lion of Valor awards last week. The honors go annually to Bryan's top overall female and male athletes, based on their athletic contributions, all-around excellence and Christian examples. Bohner, a December graduate, was an NAIA Scholar-Athlete for the second time and helped lead the Lady Lions to the most wins (12) and first Appalachian Athletic Conference regular-season title in program history. Ricketts, who's from Dayton, was a repeat Scholar-Athlete and second-team CoSIDA Academic All-American and the AAC men's defensive player of the year as the Lions went 8-1 in the league.
Golf
» Senior Cristina Perez and junior Monica San Juan represented UTC on the 10-player All-Southern Conference women's golf team announced Tuesday. San Juan also made the team last year. "Cristina probably had the most consistent three and a half years I think anyone's had (in our program)," coach Colette Murray said in a UTC release. "Monica didn't have the fall (2017) we hoped for, but she really came through this spring."
» The 30 NAIA Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year semifinalists for 2018 include the 2017 winner, Dalton State sophomore S.M. Lee, and his senior teammate P.J. Shields from LaFayette. Finalists will be announced May 10, and Lee already has been the NAIA national golfer of the week three times this semester and won the Southern States tournament by 11 strokes. Shields tied for third in that event and is a former high school state champion and junior college All-American. Lee and former Lee University golfer Shea Sylvester were among the eight who advanced from U.S. Open local qualifying Monday and Tuesday morning to the sectional level out of 132 entrants at Marietta Country Club. Both shot 69 and survived a six-man playoff for the last three spots. Chattanooga's Paul Apyan shot 70.
» Local golfers Larry McGill and Ronnie Law are tied for third and sixth at 75 and 77 after the first of two stroke-play qualifying rounds in the TGA Super Senior Match Play Championship at The Club at Fairvue Plantation. Kent Thompson of Collierville and Mike Nixon of Nashville shot 73s on Tuesday. Also at the Gallatin course, Tim Jackson of Williston led the Senior Match Play round with a 71, while Chattanoogans Stewart Lawwill and Tom Schreiner are tied for fourth at 73 and Bob Rice of Pikeville and former Tennessee Wesleyan coach Mike Poe share eighth at 74. Sixteen seniors (55-over) and eight super seniors (65-over) move on to match play.