Cleveland's DeBien national wrestling champ and more Chattanooga region sports news

Chris DeBien
Chris DeBien

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling signee Chris DeBien from Cleveland High School won the 126-pound championship at the National High School Coaches Association senior nationals in Virginia Beach, Va. It was the first national title for DeBien, who has finished second twice previously in national events. DeBien is expected to contend for a starting job at either 125 or 133 pounds once he enrolls at UTC. Prior to that enrollment, he will compete in the freestyle and Greco national championships in Fargo, N.D.

Softball

* UTC senior outfielder Nicole Osterman was named Southern Conference softball player of the week Monday after helping lead the Mocs to a three-game sweep at East Tennessee State over the weekend. She went 5-for-12 with three home runs, a double and seven RBIs and scored seven runs in the three games against the Bucs, and she has a five-game hitting streak. Osterman leads the SoCon in homers with 10 and slugging percentage at .795, and Monday's award was her second weekly league honor of the season. The Mocs will be host Tennessee Tech at 6 tonight at Frost Stadium.

Track & Field

* Lee University's Adrian Martin won the women's 100-meter dash in 12.47 seconds and finished third in the 200 Saturday at the Shorter Invitational track and field meet, and Tennessee Wesleyan's Hannah Rhodes and Leah Chance were first and second in the 3000 steeplechase. Lee's Jessica Childers and Cayce Bryan and Bryan College's Sarah White were second through fourth in the 800, and TWC's Robbiccaa Williams and Lee's Audrey Smith were second and fourth in the 1500, Childers was second in the 1-mile, TWC's Rachel Lawhorn was second in the shot put and third in the discus, Lee's Elizabeth Sillcocks was fourth in the 5000 and Lee's Emily Bryan was fifth in the 400 hurdles. In men's events, TWC's Joseph Mullen and Chad Whitehead were first and second, Lee's Harold Smith was fifth and Bryan's Griffith Rutherford was sixth in the mile run and Lee's Emmanuel Kipchumba was first in a meet-record time in the 800 with TWC's Mullen and Jacob Simmons fourth and fifth. In fact, Lee, Wesleyan and Bryan had eight of the top 11 in the 800. TWC's Arnold Mutuse, Samuel Hawkins and Austin Wiseman were first, third and fifth in the 3000 steeple, TWC's Roderick Bowman and Lee's Camden Perez were second and third in the 5000, TWC's Jake Morgenstern was second in the 200, TWC's Chaz Hawkins was third and Lee's Rick Barry were third and fifth in the 110 hurdles and Lee's Alex Carter was fifth in the 1500.

Soccer

* Former Oak Ridge High School scoring star Peyton McCollum is transferring from Middle Tennessee State to join the UTC soccer team, new Mocs coach Gavin McKinney announced Monday. "We're delighted to have her here at Chattanooga," McKinney said in an UTC release. She had a very good freshman year in a very good conference." After totaling 72 goals and 21 assists in her Oak Ridge career, McCollum was the fifth-leading scorer for MTSU and made the Conference USA all-freshman team last fall. She had game-winning goals against Florida Atlantic and Florida International. "She is a very dynamic and versatile player," McKinney said. "She can play more than one position and therefore can be a really effective player for us in a variety of ways. Peyton is a great student and an excellent person." McCollum was a two-time all-state player in high school.

Baseball

* Covenant College held on for a 15-11 win in the USA South baseball game suspended Saturday night when it resumed Monday at Rocky Mount, N.C., but the Scots lost 5-4 in the series finale against North Carolina Wesleyan. Perry Rigby was 4-for-6 with three RBIs and three runs scored, Caleb Bloye was 3-for-5 with two of each and Scott Gillespie, Will Carlton and Will Cleland each had two hits and a combination of three RBIs and runs in the 15-11 win for Covenant (9-14, 6-9). Cleland and Gillespie each had two RBIs in the loss.

Golf

* The Dalton State men's golf team is tied for fourth at 310 after the first round Monday of the 15-team Tennessee River Rumble tournament at Tennessee National at Loudon. The Roadrunners' Chase Jones is tied for eighth individually at 75, and teammates Sean Elliott and Maximillian Bruck share 20th place at 78 with Levi Nix and Anthony D'Angelo tied for 25th at 79. Lincoln Memorial is the team leader at 304.

* Lee University is seventh at 606 after two rounds of the 16-team men's portion of the Argonaut Invitational at Gulf Breeze, Fla., with Taylor Davis tied for 12th indivudally at 149 and Peyton Sliger and Corey Sheppard tied for 17th and 24th, respectively, at 150 and 152. Lee is sixth in the women's tournament at 648 with Dalton State ninth at 659 out of 13 teams. Lee's Sam Burrus and DSC's Julia McQuilken are tied for 12th individually at 157, and Lee's Madison Alexander and DSC's Caroline Griffin share 24th place at 162. Lee's Bernadette Little and Cailey Gino are 33rd and 39th at 165 and 168.

Upcoming Events