Head shots of Hunter Oliver (Best of Preps) and/or Nicole Gonzales (featured in July "Chatter") should be available if desired
Professional golfer Karlin Beck from Pike Road, Ala., carded her third consecutive par-72 round Saturday and won the 54-hole Golf Capital of Tennessee Women's Open Championship by a stroke at Crossville's Stonehenge Golf Club. Katy Nugent of Wichita, Kan., closed with a 70 for second place at 217, and Allie Knight of Knoxville tied University of Tennessee at Chattanooga standout Emily McLennan for third at 220. McLennan, the 2014 Women's State Amateur champion who led the Open after two rounds, ended with a 77 but took low-amateur honors, three strokes ahead of fifth-place Blakesly Warren from Chattanooga. Lauren Johnson of Signal Mountain, like Warren a Baylor graduate now playing in the Southeastern Conference, shared eighth at 227. Logan Chaney from Scottsboro, Ala., tied for 16th at 230, Lee University golfer Sam Burrus from Nashville tied for 23rd at 234 and Manchester's Hollee Sadler tied for 28th at 237. UTC's Sarah Dolmovich from Signal Mountain and Manchester's Jenna Burris were in the group tied for 30th at 238, one shot better than former Lee player Courtney Shelton. Beck is an Auburn graduate who began playing professionally in 2012.
Baseball
* Cleveland High School and Chattanooga Cyclones baseball catcher Hunter Oliver was outstanding at the East Coast Pro Showcase this past week at Tampa, Fla. He threw consistent "pop" times in the mid 1.8s (seconds) with a best of 1.82, he ran a 6.85 60-yard dash and he was 4-for-11 with five RBIs in games and drove a batting-practice shot off the jumbotron at George Steinbrenner Field, according to reports relayed by Cyclones founder and general manager George Koontz. "I have talked with several scouts who all say Hunter has substantially elevated his draft status for next June," Koontz said of the Troy University commitment, "to where if he continues as he has the last six months he could conceivably go in the top six rounds." Koontz, an attorney by profession, has seen 58 former Cyclones be drafted or play professionally in his 24 years with the program, "including several taken in the top two rounds, and Hunter's work ethic the last 12 months is at least equal to the hardest-working of those players and exceeds most." Among other things, Oliver has been tutored in catching by longtime minor league coach and manager Phillip Wellman. He hit .521 for Cleveland in 2015, was a third-team Best of Preps selection and made the 17-under Perfect Game WWBA National Championship all-tournament team.
Special Olympics
* Orange Grove Center resident Nicole Gonzales won one of the gold medals in women's 3-kilogram shot put this past week at the Special Olympics World Games in Los Angeles, and she had a sixth-place finish in the 100-meter dash. The 21-year-old Gonzales, a left-hander, won the shot in F02, one of 12 divisions, with a throw of 4.49 meters. That distance beat four of the other gold winners, only two others being from the United States (one from Arkansas, 5.95; the other from Utah, 3.43). The best overall throw was 8.27 meters by a woman from Paraguay. Gonzales was sixth in 25.41 seconds in Division 20 in the 100.
Fishing
* As part of the ongoing community support for the United States military and specifically for the families for the five men fatally wounded in Chattanooga on July 16, the Chattanooga Strong Benefit Bass Tournament has been scheduled for Aug. 22 out of Dayton Boat Dock on Lake Chickamauga. It is being hosted by the Hydrilla Hawgs, Fish Dayton and the Chattanooga Bass Association to raise money for the fallen's families. The goal is to beat $25,000, and organizers are planning for 150 to 250 boats with many military personnel expected from other states. After an elaborate memorial ceremony at 5:45 a.m., the tournament will run from safe light until 2 p.m. and cost $100 per boat or $75 if either of the anglers is active-duty or retired military or a first responder. Registration can be done at www.noogastrong.fish or until Aug. 20 at Hamilton's Sport Shop on Highway 58, Tri-State Bait and Tackle in Cleveland or Soddy Custom Tackle in Soddy-Daisy or on Aug. 21 from 4 to 8 p.m. at Sportsman's Warehouse. Door-prize drawings and food and drinks for donations will be available at weigh-in.