Roger Hilley and Slade Corvin from Chattanooga's Y-CAP boxing program both won gold medals Saturday in the Ringside World Championships at Independence, Mo. Both won four bouts in the four-day event - with 1,600 participants, the largest competition in the world for amateur boxers as young as 8 and for masters and female fighters. Corvin, 18, beat Kawelo Alcos of Waipahu, Hawaii, in the Youth Open 17-18 age-division 108-pound Red final. Hilley, 21, won the Men's Senior Open (ages 19-40) 132-pound Blue title over Eliseo Duran Jr. of Las Vegas. The Y-CAP team's head coach is Andy Smith, assisted by Chad Henley. Dale Dagnan from Jasper, a volunteer coach for the Y-CAP program, lost to Brandon Burrage of Marietta, Ga., in the Men's Masters 35-over 205-pound final.
Soccer
* Going into Lee University's first year of Gulf South Conference and NCAA Division II postseason eligibility, the Cleveland school was picked to win the conference in women's soccer and finish fifth in men's soccer. Both Lee teams won National Christian College Athletic Association national championships last fall, and the Lady Flames had closed out their NAIA membership with four national titles in five years. They had the GSC's best regular-season record last year, 10-1, and were 15-4-2 overall in Matt Yelton's last year as coach. He since joined his brothers at Samford in NCAA Division I, and assistant Chris Hennessey has moved up to head the Lee program, which got all 10 first-place votes in the coaches' preseason voting and is currently on a playing tour of England. Sophomore forward Summer Lanter from Soddy-Daisy and senior defender Laura Thacker, both of whom redshirted last year, were picked on the 11-player preseason All-GSC team, and Lady Flames forwards Mia Hollingsworth and Lauren Peters were predicted to be among the top newcomers. The Lee men, who were 12-9-2 in 2014, got senior goalkeeper Tom Halsall and junior forward Quade Marinell on the preseason All-GSC team that also included some Chattanooga Football Club players Leo De Smedt and Sean Rutter from Alabama-Huntsville and Christian Brothers, respectively. Lee freshmen Jake Brown and Danny Johnston were among the projected top newcomers along with Shorter's Darwin Lom from Calhoun, Ga.
General
* Longtime area sports official Barry Young of Fort Oglethorpe died Thursday of cancer, and that set off a collection of Facebook tributes. Visitation has been set for Tuesday from 4 to 9 p.m. at Spring Creek Road Baptist Church in East Ridge, where a celebration of life service will be held Wednesday at 11 a.m. "Barry refereed middle school softball, football, baseball and basketball games in North Georgia for many years, and if you say the name 'Barry' in regards to officiating, everyone knows exactly who you are speaking of," Lance James from Chattanooga Valley Middle School, the president of the North Georgia Athletic Conference, wrote in an email to the Times Free Press. "He always had control of the game he was officiating. He always knew the rules. But most of all, he cared about the kids playing the games." A post by Kim Fleming Klein included: "My boys always looked forward to you officiating their basketball games. Thanks for always taking time out to explain to my boys why they got a foul and allowing them to learn from their mistakes. You made a lasting impact on so many lives." Posted Charlie Stephens, who knew Young best as a softball umpire: "Barry was a great man in all aspects of life. He loved the game of softball and loved the players of the game as well. We as a softball community have lost a true friend." Memorial gifts in Young's name will be accepted through Tennessee Valley Credit Union, according to James.
Volleyball
* The Sonoraville High School volleyball team opened its 2015 season Friday night and won three matches before falling to Heritage in the championship match of Sonoraville's Midnight Spike tournament. Heritage won the final 25-20, 25-17, after the host Phoenix beat Ridgeland 25-19, 25-17 and Rockmart 25-12, 25-22 in pool play and Rockmart again, 27-25, 26-24, in single-elimination play. Emalie Hicks had 33 kills and Savannah Wilbanks had 71 assists and six blocks for Sonoraville in the tournament, with Maris Irick contributing 17 kills and 12 digs, Becca Cheeks 16 kills and 10 blocks and Delaney Bell 18 digs.