University of Tennessee at Chattanooga sophomore wrestlers Hunter Fortner at 174 pounds and Matthew Waddell at 184 won their weight classes Saturday at the Appalachian Open in Boone, North Carolina, and Fabian Gutierrez was second at 125. The Mocs' Aidan Murphy (141), Tyler Shilson (157), Drew Nicholson (165) and Rodney Jones (197) earned third-place finishes at the tournament hosted by Appalachian State, which also will be the site of the Southern Conference postseason tournament in March. Fortner and Waddell each went 3-0, Fortner ending with a 9-0 major decision and Waddell with an 8-3 win after two pins that required less than a minute each. The Mocs return to competition when they host Appalachian State at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 2, in McKenzie Arena.
Tennis
* There were some close matches, but the UTC men's tennis team won 7-0 Saturday at Austin Peay and now is 3-1 for 2020. Niklas Gerdes won 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-3) at No. 1 singles and Simon Bustamante prevailed 6-2, 6-7 (4-7), 1-0 (10-7) at No. 5. Those two and Tomas Rodriguez, Kerim Hyatt and Jeffrey Dewald all won in doubles and singles, while Luke Plaisted helped in a doubles victory and Jacob Marshall won at No. 6 singles.
Track & Field
* UTC's Makenzie Jones, Emily Poole and Sophia Neglia finished first through third in the women's 5000-meter run Saturday at the UAB Green and Gold Invitational indoor track and field meet in Birmingham, Alabama. Jones pulled away for the victory in 17 minutes, 51.59 seconds, and Poole and Neglia followed in 18:27.02 and 18:56.21.
* Lee University's women's distance medley relay team of Celine Ritter, Amber Littlejohn, Charlee Boxall and Chloe Flora finished second in a program-record 11:38.54 - a provisional Division II national qualifying time - Saturday in Boston at the BU John Thomas Terrier Classic. And Christian Noble set a Lee record in the men's 5000-meter run with a third-place 14:01.61, an automatic qualifying time. Friday, Littlejohn in the 400 and Ritter in the 3000 set Lady Flames records with eighth-place finishes, and they and Flora (15th in the 3000) and Boxall (19th in the mile) provisionally qualified for the indoor nationals.
Fishing
* Bryan College anglers Ethan Shaw and Thaddeus Simerly finished fourth Saturday in the season-opening Carhartt Bassmaster College Series tournament on Toledo Bend Reservoir in Louisiana. Their third-day haul of 18 pounds gave them 48 pounds, 15 ounces for the tournament that started with 248 boats. Bethel University's Cody Huff and Dakota Pierce won by more than 6 pounds at 60-7. Duos from East Texas Baptist and Kent State were second and third.
Basketball
* Lee's fifth-ranked Lady Flames beat visiting Delta State 66-44 and Lee's men erupted in the second half for an 87-56 romp in Gulf South Conference games Saturday. Both Lee teams lead the league. Senior guard Abby Bertram made five of eight 3-point tries and had 25 points, seven rebounds, five assists and four steals for the Lady Flames (19-1, 11-1). For the Flames (15-4, 10-2), Ryan Montgomery had 17 points, six rebounds and three steals, while Quay Kennedy and Jayce Willingham scored 13 and 12 points with three 3s apiece and Jason Landman contributed nine rebounds with 12 points. Parker Suedekum and Beyuan Hendricks had six and five assists.
* Huntingdon College held off visiting Covenant 72-71 in USA South men's play Saturday. Covenant (10-7, 7-3) rallied from a 14-point deficit, but the hosts (9-9, 6-5) made just enough free throws to win. Will Crumly had 21 points and six rebounds in defeat for the Scots, and Zack Allen scored 14 points with four 3s. Chris Barnette had seven rebounds and five assists.
* Despite Ruthie Moore's career-high 22 points and her six assists, the Covenant women lost 75-63 in their USAS home game against Piedmont (12-8, 8-3). Margo Koby had 14 points and 14 rebounds for the Lady Scots, and Michaela Price and Hannah Monday scored 11 and 10 points.
* Cleveland State swept visiting Volunteer State in Tennessee Community College Athletic Association play, 76-42 in the women's game and 87-76 in the men's. Asjah Harrell had 26 points and seven assists, Britnay Gore 19 points and 10 rebounds and Cassidy Nihoff six steals for the Lady Cougars (12-6, 8-2). Jakobey Hitchens scored 27 points for the Cougars (8-11, 5-5).
* Sewanee lost 98-59 to the host Rhodes women and 85-76 to the Rhodes men in SAA games Friday night. Adrian Thomas had 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting, seven rebounds and four steals for the Sewanee men (9-10, 3-5), while Jordan Warlick had 16 points and nine rebounds and Ryan Starr scored 13 points. The Sewanee women (7-12, 2-6) were led by Kinsley Logan with 16 points and Ellie Treanton with 12 points and four assists.
Compiled by Ron Bush. Contact him at rbush@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6291.