Chattanooga State guard Amber Howard, a former Baylor School standout, will be continuing her basketball career at South Carolina State. This will be her second NCAA Division I school, as she played her freshman season at Austin Peay State. She had a knee injury while at Baylor and reinjured the joint at the beginning of the 2013-14 season, Chattanooga State coach Jay Price pointed out, "but once she got back healthy she was our leading scorer and our best 3-point shooter. South Carolina State is very lucky to get her." Howard also has a 3.9 grade point average, Price said. She was a three-time all-region player at Baylor.
Swimming
• Former McCallie School star swimmer Sean Ryan from Hixson, who went on to the University of Michigan, qualified Friday for the Pan-Pacific Championships this summer in Australia by tying 2012 Olympian Alex Meyers for third place in the USA Swimming 10-kilometer open water national championship event at Castaic Lake in California. By making the United States team, Ryan also can choose to swim the 5k open water and the 1500- and 400-meter freestyle events in Australia.
• The ninth annual Chattanooga Rat Race competition in the Tennessee River has 162 swimmers signed up for the two races starting at 7:30 this morning, including 75 in the 4.5-mile race. It and the 2.5-miler will finish under the Walnut Street Bridge, and spectators are welcome. It is too late to enter, however.