Katie StanfordCovenant College announced Wednesday that it will begin men's and women's track and field in the 2016-17 school year, building on its existing cross country program. Cross country coach Katie Stanford will head the track teams as well, as she already has been entering some of her fall runners in spring track meets. She was the Atlantic Sun Conference 1500-meter champion in 2002 and a two-time all-conference track athlete at Samford University. "We already have a fantastic coach in place," Covenant athletic director Kyle Taylor said in the announcement release. "She knows what it is going to take and is committed to establishing Covenant's track and field program." Said Stanford: "I want to thank Kyle Taylor and our administration for the opportunity to direct this new program. I am very excited about this addition to Covenant athletics. This is a sport I love and have been involved with for more than 20 years." Taylor said the Lookout Mountain school went through "an intentionally rigorous two-year process to research the implications of adding a sport, and also which sport to add. We looked closely at four different sports, and in every single category that we assessed, track and field was the best option and the best fit for Covenant." The school will have 15 intercollegiate sports as of the spring 2017 season, and president Dr. J. Derek Halvorson, a former Covenant soccer player, expressed his delight in the decision. "Not only do we consider ourselves the inheritors of the legacy of Eric Liddell - the Scottish Presbyterian missionary and Olympic medalist who is reputed to have said, 'When I run, I feel God's pleasure' - but we have a well-established tradition of strong running in our cross country program. Track and field will build on that tradition."
UTC Sports
* The "Chat With the Mocs" weekly hourlong radio program for University of Tennessee at Chattanooga athletics begins tonight at 7 for the 2015-16 school year. It is presented by Budweiser live every Thursday from Jefferson's restaurant in Fountain Square, with UTC coaches, athletes and fans taking part in an interactive format on 96.1 FM. That also is the home of Mocs football and basketball broadcasts. "Voice of the Mocs" Jim Reynolds will be the Chat host, as usual, with the fall shows focusing on football with coach Russ Huesman, the winter shows highlighting basketball with coaches Jim Foster and Matt McCall and the spring shows showcasing the overall athletic department. A live audio stream can be accessed at GoMocs.com.
* UTC men's tennis coach Carlos Garcia announced his Mocs' fall schedule this week. It opens with UTC's own annual Steve Baras Fall Classic with both men's and women's teams Oct. 2-3 at the Champions Club and continues with some representation at the ITA/Ohio Valley Regional in Knoxville Oct. 15-19 and the Georgia Southern Fall Invitational Oct. 23-25. "I like what we have put together for the fall," Garcia said in a school release. "I think each event is challenging and will give our guys a good read on what they need to work on as we get ready for the spring."
Soccer
* The Tennessee Wesleyan College soccer teams begin their seasons this evening with the Lady Bulldogs hosting Cumberland University at 5:30 and the men's side playing at 7 at the Savannah College of Art and Design, which is ranked 21st in the NAIA preseason poll. Cumberland is No. 4 in the women's poll after finishing sixth last year.
* With a winning record so far in his team's inaugural season, Dalton State soccer coach Kerem Daser is looking ahead to future seasons. He's holding an open tryout next Wednesday from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Lakeshore Park field in Dalton. Roadrunners coaches "will look at all comers," the announcement release said, and that includes high school players from the area.