Around the Region: Dalton State's Lee, Shields receive NAIA national honors

Assorted Sports Equipment on Black
Assorted Sports Equipment on Black

Dalton State freshman S.M. Lee was chosen the NAIA national men's golfer of the week for the second time this season after leading the Roadrunners to a runaway victory in the Southern States Athletic Conference tournament, and teammate P.J. Shields from LaFayette joined him as one of 30 semifinalists for the NAIA Jack Nicklaus Award presented by Barbasol. Finalists for that national golfer-of-the-year distinction will be announced May 15, and the winner at each collegiate level will be honored during the final round of the PGA Tour's Memorial Tournament on June 4. Lee and Shields finished first and second in DSC's league-tourney win, and Lee was the SSAC player and freshman of the year with Shields the newcomer of the year.

* University of Tennessee at Chattanooga sophomore Monica San Juan joined six players from league champion Furman, two from East Tennessee State and one from Mercer on the All-Southern Conference women's golf team, and UTC's Holly Morgan made the five-player all-freshman team. San Juan tied for fourth in the SoCon tournament. "Monica had a great year. She was definitely our steadiest player from start to finish," Mocs coach Colette Murray said in a school release. "I think it's great for her, deserving, great for the team. (And I'm) really excited for Holly. With the injury it's been a really tough semester. Really proud of her perseverance and remaining positive when she could quite easily have gone into a dark place, considering how well she played before it happened."

Track & Field

* Lee University received five Gulf Coast Conference track and field individual superlatives announced Thursday, including all four of the women's honors. Lee's Jessica Childers was the track athlete of the year, Camilla Sims was the field athlete and freshman of the year and Caleb Morgan was the coach of the year. The Flames' Christian Noble was in a three-way tie for men's freshman of the year. "Jessica is a physical manifestation of perseverance," Morgan said in a Lee release. " Over the past five years Jessica has blossomed into a tremendous runner and a great leader for our team. After fighting through injuries this past year, it is only fitting that she goes out on top, true to form. Camilla has proven to be an outstanding athlete in our program. She is one of the most driven athletes I have had the pleasure to coach." As for his own honor, the coach said, "This award is not possible without the hard work and dedication of my assistant coaches Joseph Crook, Casey Price and Charnay Ryland and our strength coach Garrett Rowland. I have some of the best assistants in the nation."

Wrestling

* UTC wrestling coach Heath Eslinger has announced the addition of two transfers to his Mocs' roster for 2017-18: Chad Pyke from North Carolina State as a graduate student in business adminstration and Justin George from Lawrenceville, Ga., by way of Shorter, where as a freshman last season he won the Georgia College Open and the Wisconsin Open at 157 pounds. George was undefeated as a senior at Class AAAAAA Mountain View High School. Pyke was 12-9 at both 157 and 165 last season for the Wolfpack and finished seventh in the Southern Scuffle hosted by UTC. A state champion and All-American as a senior at Woodward Academy in McDonough, Ga., he has one year of college eligibility left. "We are extremely excited to add two quality individuals to our program," Eslinger said in the release. "Not only do they help fill immediate needs in our lineup, but they will also be outstanding representatives of our university."

Fishing

* Wesley Strader from Spring City is 11th after the first round Thursday in the FLW Tour bass tournament on Beaver Lake in Arkansas, and Andy Morgan of Dayton is 24th. Strader's bag totaled 12 pounds, 9 ounces, and Morgan's weighed 11-5. Cody Meyer of Auburn, Calif., leads at 16-1.

Softball

* Chattanooga State's first-place TCCAA softball showdown with visiting Walters State did not take place Thursday as scheduled but is set for doubleheaders starting at 4 p.m. and noon Saturday. The schools' baseball teams will start at those same times.

* Except for one losers-bracket game, Point edging St. Andrews 4-3, the Appalachian Athletic Conference softball tournament was rained out Thursday in Kingsport, Tenn. Bryan and Truett McConnell will resume the event in a losers matchup at 9 this morning, followed by Tennessee Wesleyan against top-seeded and nationally 16th-ranked Reinhardt at 11.

* Brenau junior outfielder Kelsey Payne from East Hamilton made the All-SSAC softball first team for 2017, and junior catcher Savannah Moore from Soddy-Daisy joined her as a Gold Glove honoree. Moore led the SSAC in the regular season with a 1.000 fielding percentage and had the most chances and putouts in the league, while batting .290 with 58 total bases and 29 RBIs for the NAIA's No. 2-ranked Golden Tigers. Payne hit .368 with five home runs, 89 total bases and 35 RBIs. She was 1-for-2 and scored a run and Moore also had a hit in their 7-1 win over Bethel in the tournament opener Thursday in Decatur, Ala.

* Katie Pritchett from Heritage High School in Ringgold was 1-for-2 with the deciding fifth-inning RBI single as top-seeded Carson-Newman edged Queens 4-3 in the South Atlantic Conference tournament in Hartsville, S.C. CNU is 40-11.

* The Lady Moc RBI Club is hosting a softball game-day breakfast Saturday at Wally's Restaurant on McCallie Avenue, and UTC assistant coach Scottie Kilgore will be the guest speaker. It starts at 9 a.m. and the public is invited; reservations are not needed.

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