Central High School 215-pounder Antonio Brooks will sign a wrestling scholarship Wednesday with Campbellsville (Ky.) University. “This is the first wrestler we have had to sign a college scholarship in 19 years,” Purple Pounders coach Steve Price said. Brooks got into wrestling as a sophomore after giving up football. He was an inspiration to his teammates, according to Price. “He was a heavyweight and we convinced him that he could be successful as a 215-pounder,” Price said. Brooks worked off 50 pounds in the summer before his junior season. He was 27-3 and finished third in the state as a senior and was a key part of Central’s A/AA state duals team championship. Price believes he can drop weight again to be a collegiate 197-pounder. “He’s a thick 215-pounder and even in the offseason he’s only about 217, so I think he can drop to 197 without any problems,” Price said.
• Five-time McCallie state champion T.J. Duncan has been nominated for the Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award, one of the most prestigious honors a prep wrestler can get. Presented annually to a 12th-grader, it is “based equally on outstanding wrestling success, scholastic achievement and citizenship or community service,” according to the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Duncan, Tennessee’s first five-time state champ, finished his Blue Tornado career with a 206-20 record.
• Three University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestlers left Thursday for the University Nationals in Akron, Ohio. Dean Pavlou, the Mocs’ starter most of the year at 149 pounds, was joined by Robert Prigmore, who wrestled at 197 and heavyweight, and Kevin Malone, a redshirt freshman heavyweight.
• Cleveland Middle School eighth-grader Ezra Taylor recently won his weight class in the National Tournament of Champions wrestling tournament in Columbus, Ohio. Representing Cleveland’s Higher Calling club and coached by Josh Boskin, Taylor defeated five opponents from Pennsylvania, Virginia, New York and Ohio.
Track & Field
• UT-Martin senior Allen Thurman from Red Bank High School set a school record in winning the 3000-meter steeplechase last weekend at the Rose-Hulman Twilight Meet at Terre Haute, Ind. Thurman completed the event in 9 minutes, 44.29 seconds. He had set a UTM record of 8:48.86 in the 3000-meter run last month at the Alabama Relays. The Signal Mountain native has a 3.2 grade point average. He’s majoring in health and human performance with a concentration on K-12 licensure.
Softball
• Christine Core went 4-for-6 with five RBIs and four runs scored as the Covenant College softball team beat visiting Agnes Scott 12-1 and 11-3 in two five-inning games Thursday. Chelsea Krafft was the winning pitcher in each. Core batted in four runs in the first game, when Rebekah Marbury was 3-for-3 with three runs and an RBI and Morgan Booker was 2-for-3 with two runs and an RBI. Beth Harris was 2-for-2 with a three-run home run and another score for the Lady Scots (19-11) in game two, and Kim Cuticchia was 2-for-3 with two runs.
Baseball
• LAGRANGE, Ga. – With a two-run double by David Lockwood breaking a tie in the eighth inning Thursday evening, Covenant began a three-game baseball series at LaGrange College with a 6-2 win. James Rollins was 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run and his brother Chris was 2-for-4, while Kurtis Wiles was 2-for-3 with two runs for the Scots (22-11). The win set a program standard for victories in a season. Covenant starting pitcher Sterling Witt allowed five hits, no walks and two runs in his six innings, and one run was unearned.