The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's Isaiah Mack has racked up two more honors, adding to a long list that includes being named the Southern Conference football defensive player of the year. Mack on Friday was named to the Phil Steele FCS All-American first team and the Athlon Sports FCS All-American squad. The Mocs' senior defensive tackle from Northwest Whitfield High School previously was honored as an AFCA FCS All-American, a first-team Associated Press FCS All-American, a first-team HeroSports.com FCS All-American, a first-team STATS FCS All-American and a Walter Camp FCS All-American. Also Friday, UTC freshman defensive lineman Devonnsha Maxwell was named to Phil Steele's Freshman All-American first team. He earlier was selected for the SoCon all-freshman team and as a HeroSports.com FCS Freshman All-American.
» UTC's wrestlers lost 35-4 to 13th-ranked Virginia Tech and won 21-15 over Kent State as the Virginia Duals began Friday in Hampton. Senior 125-pounder Alonzo Allen, the reigning SoCon wrestler of the week, scored the Mocs' four points against the Hokies with an opening 10-2 major decision and improved to 18-4 for the season with an 8-2 decision against the Golden Flashes. Also winning decisions against Kent State were Chris Debien at 141 pounds, Tanner Smith at 149, Ryan Resnick at 157, Drew Nicholson at 165, Hunter Fortner at 174 and Rod Jones at 197.
» The Mocs Club's Drive for 25 reached its goal and became a drive to 50 (thousand) in scholarship money for UTC athletes. Launched on Giving Tuesday (Nov. 27), the fundraising campaign attracted the goal of $25,000 from individuals and groups in the community by Dec. 31, and as promised an anonymous donor matched those funds. According to a release Friday, there were 126 total gifts and the donors included 32 new ones. A quarter of the campaign was reached on the first day. "I am truly humbled and blown away by the unbelievable support of the Drive for 25 campaign," UTC vice chancellor and athletic director Mark Wharton said in the release. "We called on everyone to step up and make a donation for our student-athletes, and they did exactly that."
Fishing
» Series rookie Miles Burghoff of Hixson was in sixth place Friday after the second round of the FLW Tour's season-opening bass tournament on Sam Rayburn Reservoir in Texas with 42 pounds, 8 ounces. The top 30 pros go back on the lake today, led by Terry Bolton of Kentucky, whose 54-3 total included a whopping 33-9 Friday. Nick LeBrun of Louisiana was second at 48-4. Buddy Gross of Chickamauga finished 68th out of 170 pros at 24-2. Three-time Tour points champion Andy Morgan and fellow Dayton resident Michael Neal did not take part. They now are in the Major League Fishing Bass Pro Tour, as are Harrison's Jacob Wheeler and Spring City's Wesley Strader from the Bassmaster Elite Series. The MLF season kicks off Jan. 29.
Basketball
» The Sewanee women won 67-47 but the men endured their second loss of the season, 69-64 in overtime, in Friday's Southern Athletic Association basketball doubleheader at Berry College. Sue Kim was 5-of-7 on 3-point shots in combining 17 points with five assists for the female Tigers (7-8, 1-3), while Bella Taylor had 13 points and seven rebounds, Kinsley Logan scored 11 points with three 3s and Ellie Treanton made four steals. For the Sewanee men (13-2, 2-2), Luke Smith had 27 points, six assists and three steals, Jordan Warlick had 11 points and nine rebounds and Cam Caldwell added eight rebounds. Elijah Hirsh had 24 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots for Berry (10-4, 3-1).
» Will Crumly had 29 points and 13 rebounds as the Covenant men rose to 7-0 in the USA South and 8-6 overall with a 77-59 home win over Methodist (7-9, 5-3). James Mitchell added 15 points with five 3s and three steals, Bailey Spragg had 11 points and five assists and Mitchell Hollis also had five assists for the Scots.