Kyle Taylor has resigned as Covenant College athletic director and men’s basketball coach to join the staff of Utah State men’s coach Tim Duryea. Taylor will be the director of player development for the NCAA Division I program. “I am extremely grateful to the entire Covenant College community for allowing me to serve as the head men’s basketball coach for the past seven years and the director of athletics for the past three-plus years,” Taylor said in a release Monday. “I want to say a special thank-you to Brad Voyles, who has been an incredible mentor, boss and friend to me in my role leading the athletic department.” Dr. Voyles, the vice president for student development, returned the thanks for Taylor’s “great work” for the Division III school. “After this past year’s trip to the national tournament, he is leaving the men’s basketball program in an exciting place for the new coach,” Voyles said. After being picked to finish 10th out of 11 teams in the USA South, Taylor’s Scots finished second in the regular season, won the conference tournament and went to the program’s first NCAA nationals. “Covenant is a special place and will always have a special place in my heart and for my family,” Taylor said. “I grew tremendously as a coach, administrator, leader and man during my time at Covenant.”
Auto Racing
* Steven Farrow from Chattanooga and Steven Cole from Tallapoosa, Ga., split the first- and second-place Super Pro class prize money Saturday night when Catoosa County’s curfew kept them from breaking their tie at the Brainerd Optimist Drag Strip on Scruggs Road. A weather delay had pushed back the competition involving 75 cars. Farrow and Cole drove big-block Chevy dragsters. Matt Grayson of Whitwell finished third in a small-block Chevy. Toby Barnes of Newnan, Ga., won the $1,000 top Foot Brake prize with a 7.37-second run on a 7.35 dial; Bradley Smith of Trenton was second. Kaleb Winters of Soddy-Daisy was the Junior Dragster winner with Brandon Jones of Rainsville, Ala., second. Cleveland’s Kevin Rodden had the meet’s low elapsed time (4.46) and top speed (149.25 mph) in a supercharged big-block Chevy dragster.
Golf
* Recent East Hamilton graduate Jeremy Kimbrough signed scholarship papers Monday to continue his golf career at NCAA Division II member Kentucky State. He also will be in the KSU marching band and will major in engineering in the school’s STEM program. The ceremony was hosted by The First Tee of Chattanooga, which has included Kimbrough as a participant for 12 years. “It has been a joy to watch Jeremy develop as a golfer and as a young man,” First Tee master coach Kathleen McCarthy said in a release. “He has learned to think about what is important and to set goals for his golf game and his life. He has a strong work ethic and high standards at work.” East Hamilton’s FCA Christian athlete of the year, Kimbrough praised The First Tee for not only his golf progress but for strengthening his values, organizational abilities and general confidence. “The First Tee of Chattanooga has definitely made an extremely positive impact in my life,” he said. As to his choice of KSU, Kimbrough said Monday, “I love the family environment. The staff up there seems very friendly, and Frankfort is a nice small city.” He also talked to Tennessee State, Alabama State, Fisk and Greenville (Ill.).
* Carson Roberts of Dalton, Ga., is among the nearly 700 young golfers competing the next three weeks in the Optimist International Junior Golf Championships at Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. They represent 42 of the United States and 23 other countries. Roberts will be in the girls’ 15-18 division playing July 30-Aug. 4.