The Chattanooga FC 99 Premier soccer team won the under-16 boys state tournament and plays in the US Youth Soccer Region III Championships June 19-25 in North Little Rock, Ark. The region tournament includes age groups from under-13 to under-19, and opening ceremonies are set for June 18 at the Little Rock River Market. Round-robin play will run the next day through June 21, and quarterfinal matches for the u-16s will be on June 22 with semifinals on June 24 and the champoinship match on June 25. Besides Tennessee and Arkansas, the state associations represented will be Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, North Texas, Oklahoma, South Carolina and South Texas. Region champions will qualify for the national tournament July 20-26 in Tulsa, Okla.
Climbing
* USA Climbing will hold its 10-state Division 4 Championship youth event Saturday and Sunday at High Point Climbing and Fitness in downtown Chattanooga, and three of the host gym's climbing team members - Adeline and Spencer Chinery and Mason Hamilton - will be taking part along with two other competitors, Ethan and Emma Hunt, taught by High Point coaches Wills Young and Lisa Rands. Divisional participants had to qualify through local and regional events. High Point has about 30,000 square feet of climbing space and recently was named "the country's coolest climbing gym" by Climbing Magazine; it is No. 7 on Coolist.com for world honors. This weekend's event includes sport climbing and speed climbing and has 216 registered participants from Florida to Texas. There is no charge for spectators, and organizers suggest 8 a.m. to noon and 2-6 p.m. as good times Saturday to watch. Sunday's finals are scheduled for 8-11 a.m. inside the gym and noon-4 p.m. for speed climbing outside on Broad Street, weather permitting. Top finishers advance to the national climb-offs. "There will be some of the best climbers in the country competing at this event," Young said, noting also that High Point's relatively young competition group "has grown rapidly since the gym opened, and we are super proud of our team."
Softball
* The 2015 University of Tennessee softball team that included two regular outfield starters from Chattanooga, fifth-year senior (and graduate student) Tory Lewis from Girls Preparatory School and sophomore Shaliyah Geathers from East Hamilton, finished No. 8 in both the final USA Today/NFCA and ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate rankings Tuesday. Tennessee wound up 47-17 with the program's seventh Women's College World Series appearance under co-head-coaches Ralph and Karen Weekly. The season included the 900th victory as a head coach for Karen and the 1,200th for her husband. They previously coached at UTC, and their chief assistant is Chattanooga native Marty McDaniel.
Basketball
* The other basketball teams besides UTC that will be playing in the 2015 Preseason Women's National Invitation Tournament (see Mark Wiedmer's column, page D1) are Alabama State, Baylor, Dartmouth, DePaul, Drexel, Indiana, Jacksonville, McNeese State, Siena, South Florida, Southern Illinois, Southern Mississippi, St. Bonaventure, Tennessee State and Texas-Arlington. Ten of the 16 teams advanced to postseason play last year. Tournament games begin on Nov. 13, and each team is guaranteed three games.