Dalton State’s Caroline Griffin and Katie Dalton were announced Tuesday as 2016 NAIA first-team women’s golf All-Americans, and the Roadrunners’ Julia McQuilken was a second-team selection. It was the second All-America selection for both McQuilken, the NAIA national medalist as a junior in 2015, and Griffin, who just finished her junior year. Dalton was a redshirt freshman this season. “This gives us give All-Americans in our first two years, which is amazing,” DSC coach Jim McGrew said in a school release. “These three All-Americans are great kids as well and have a grade point average above 3.5,” athletic director Derek Waugh pointed out.
* Chase Jones shares the individual lead at 69 as his Dalton State Roadrunners are tied for seventh out of 30 teams after the first round of the NAIA men’s golf tournament Tuesday at TPC Deere Run at Moline, Ill. Dalton State, British Columbia and Victoria (B.C.) are at 299, one shot behind two teams tied for fifth. William Woods leads at 284, eight strokes better than second-place Oklahoma City, with two of the four individuals at 69. The other Dalton State players were Austin Hughes at 75, Levi Nix at 77, 2015 national medalist Sean Elliott at 78 and Dalton Johnson at 79.
* Former Middle Tennessee State All-America golfer Jason Millard from Murfreesboro, now on the Web.com Tour, shot a 10-under-par 62 Tuesday in the first round of the SunTrust Tennessee State Open at The Club at Fairvue Plantation in Gallatin. He leads by four shots over the second-place trio of Scott Moran from Knoxville and amateurs Jacob Sherlin (Hendersonville) and Logan Watkins (Covington). Four others shot 67s, and three shot 68s. Former University of Tennessee at Chattanooga standouts Jonathan Hodge and Steven Fox are in an eight-way tie for 12th at 69 that also includes Honor Course member Tim Jackson from Germantown. Three-time champion Garrett Willis of Loudon, Chattanoogans Brooks Thomas, Jay Vandeventer and Mikey Feher, former Chattanoogan Matthew Brock, Crossville’s Adam Forgey and Lee University’s Peyton Sliger are in a group of 17 tied for 26th at 1-under 71. The low 60 players and ties after today’s round will play another 18 holes Thursday to decide the 2016 championship.
Lacrosse
* Tennessee newcomer Addie Wadley quickly found out that Sevier County is a great go-to-place in the state. The recently hired Lee University women’s lacrosse coach followed up the program’s first recruit, Abby Fortner of Gatlinburg-Pittman High School, with three others from the county: Katie Burkett from Sevier County High, Jaynie Renfro from G-P and Rachel Duda from Pigeon Forge High. “All three of these players are incredible midfielders who bring a lot of talent to our team,” Wadley said in a Lee release. “They are excellent on both offense and defense, and they bring with them a familiarity and comfort level in playing together. That helps bring unity to our midfield, and with them all being standout players on their own, I’m excited to see what they can do together on the same team.” Burkett was on the Team Tennessee All-Star team and the U.S. Lacrosse National Tournament Iroquois Division championshp team in 2015. She welcomes helping start Lee’s program as she did at Sevier County. And Lee “is too perfect for words,” she said. “It is everything I’m looking for in a university.” Renfro said the campus is “amazing, and Coach Wadley is awesome” and admitted that accompanying Fortner is a great bonus. “I’ve known Abby since preschool, so she’s my lifelong friend. And knowing that I get four more years with her in college and playing a sport we both love is even more exciting.” Duda said her three-year lacrosse career has built her self-confidence and leadership ability, and as she did with the sport, she “instantly fell in love” with Lee. “It’s a Christian-based school, which is what I’ve been looking for, and I really like the kindness of everyone there,” she said.