The Times Free Press sports department was recognized with 11 honors at the annual Tennessee Sports Writers Association awards banquet Thursday at Cumberland University in Lebanon. Page designer Jamie Poole won first place and Dylan Chesser was second for best individual layout. Columnist Mark Wiedmer won second place for writer of the year and was third for both best columnist and best event writer, and David Cobb won second place for best outdoor writer. Sports editor Stephen Hargis was second for both best prep writer and best investigative writer and was third as best feature writer. The TFP's high school football preview was second in the "best special section" category and third in "best daily section."
Golf
- Mikey Feher from Signal Mountain and Baylor School was the medalist and top qualifier for next month's U.S. Amateur Championship in the Knoxville qualifying tournament where 2017 University of Tennessee at Chattanooga graduate Brooks Thomas was reported Thursday as having won one of the three spots with a 40-foot playoff putt. Feher, who just finished his collegiate career at Lipscomb, shot a 135 for the 36 holes at Willow Creek. Thomas shot 136. Brett Patterson of McMinnville was the medalist with a 142 Monday at Seven Oaks in Hamilton, N.Y. The U.S. Amateur will be played Aug. 14-20 at Riviera Country Club near Los Angeles.
- Sewanee golfers Tommy Oliver from St. Andrew's-Sewanee and Nic Vandeventer from Baylor School are among the 16 teams that advanced Tuesday to match play today in the Tennessee Four-Ball Championship at The Country Club of Morristown. Bryce Lewis and Jake Hall, who are about to play together at Middle Tennessee State, shot a 10-under-par 61 in earning the top seed at 127 after two days of stroke play. Vandeventer and Oliver tied for sixth at 131. Chattanooga's Richard Spangler and Todd Gerrez just missed advancing, as they tied for 17th at 138.
- UTC sophomore Will Porter finished third in the East of Scotland Championship, five strokes behind the winner, with rounds of 68, 73, 68 and 75 at Lundin Golf Course. He also was 15th in the Tennant Cup and tied for 11th at the Cameron Corbett Vase. Incoming Mocs freshmen A.J. Lintunen and Dominic Jones were second and sixth at 213 and 216 in the fourth Audi Finnish Tour event, and they were seventh and eighth in the amateur Finnish Stroke Play Championship. Jones was second in a pro event. Senior Stuart Thomas and sophomore Luke Long will play in the Southern Amateur next week at Pinehurst, N.C., Thomas having won his qualifier in Little Rock, Ark., with a 71. The Mocs begin their 2017-18 schedule Sept. 8-10 at the Carpet Capital Collegiate at The Farm in Rocky Face, Ga.
Football
- Former UTC assistant football coach Chris Harr has joined the McCallie School staff as defensive line coach. Harr was a two-time All-Southern Conference offensive lineman at UTC and was a free agent with the Kansas City Chiefs before being cut in 2011. Harr, who played at Notre Dame High School, was the Mocs' tight ends coach for four seasons. "Chris is a young and enthusiastic coach," McCallie head coach Ralph Potter said. "He has an outstanding background as a player and a coach. We are thrilled that he was available and feel he is an excellent fit for our program."
Basketball
- The Lee University basketball teams announced Thursday that more than $3,000 was raised for the school's program for students with autism in last season's Hoops-4-Hope game. "We are always happy to raise money for autism, especially for LUDIC," women's coach Marty Rowe said in a school release, referring to the Lee University Developmental Inclusion Classroom headed by Dr. Tammy Johnson. "This is the seventh year we have partnered with them during Hoops-4-Hope, and we are honored to support the great work Dr. Tammy and her staff do on our campus and in our community." Bubba Smith is the men's coach. Most of the funds raised were from T-shirt sales and special halftime activities at the game.