The Lee University golf squads were honored by the NAIA as Scholar Teams for 2012-13, and the Lady Flames made their fourth consecutive selection even better by being the Scholar Team of the Year for all NAIA sports -- in the Cleveland school's last year in the association. Madison Alexander, Kristin Bourg, Bernadette Little, Chelsea Rakestraw, Courtney Shelton and Sloane Skinner led all NAIA teams with a 3.93 aggregate grade point average in addition to participating in this year's national tournament. "This award really means a lot to our team," coach John Maupin said in a Lee release. "They take a great pride in their academics and have put in the time to be successful. It's been such a privilege getting to coach this group. It's a special group of kids. ... I also think this award speaks highly of our faculty. There a lot of challenges that go into being a student-athlete, and these ladies do a great job of handling those challenges." The Lee men's golfers had a 3.33 aggregate GPA. Comprising Maupin's Flames were Taylor Davis, JB Eksteen, Matt Emery, Zack Lawson, Florian Loutre, Scott Murray, Peyton Sliger, Tyler Smith and Hunter Vest.
Auto Racing
• Eric Boyd of Flintstone won the $1,500 top prize in the Super Pro class Saturday night at the Brainerd Optimist Drag Strip. Boyd, a 25-year competitor at the strip, won with a 4.87-second burst on a 4.87 dial in his dragster with a modified Chevy engine with injected alcohol and nitrous oxide assist. His was the fastest car in the meet. Ron Lee of Ooltewah finished second with a 5.34 run on a 5.33 dial in a 1927 Ford Roadster using a 400 Chevy engined prepared by Marvin Crutcher, and Bob Trint and Tony Helms were third and fourth. Mike Grief of East Ridge won the Foot Brake class with a 7.55 run on a 7.52 dial in his 1977 Camaro SS. Jason Early of Copper Hill was second in a '65 Ford Falcon. Kaleb Winters of Soddy-Daisy was the Junior Dragster winner with Ryan Dennis second. The strip plans a heads-up race paying $5,000 to win this Saturday.
Basketball
• Cameron Tackett of Franklin, Tenn., became Tennessee Temple University's latest basketball signee Monday afternoon, and he came from close by at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where he has been a student the past two years. The 6-foot-5 Tackett averaged 15 points and nine rebounds a game as a 2010-11 senior at Franklin High School and got some NAIA scholarship offers but wasn't sure if he wanted to continue in basketball. While at UTC, though -- as just a student -- he decided he wanted to teach and coach and thought returning to playing status would help. So he sent out a videotape package and got some takers. Temple was one of those, and he followed that up with a phone call and a campus visit and workout. "I liked the city already, and once I came here, this was where I wanted to play," said Tackett, now a secondary education major with plans to go into Temple's leadership master's program. "He was an all-district player in high school," Temple assistant coach Ezell Dodd said. "I know he had a chance to walk on at [NCAA Division I] Lipscomb, and Trevecca and some other NAIA schools were interested. We brought him in and he had great footwork to go with his big body, and he can shoot it midrange. He doesn't mind bullying people down low, and he showed leadership even in the workout." Tackett has three years of eligibility left.
Baseball
• The Chattanooga Cyclones won three of their first four pool games at the 16-under Perfect Game Wood Bat National Championships, including a 9-1 defeat of the Florida Mustangs in which Cade Evans had two hits, two RBIs and two runs, Nick Gaddis also had two hits and drove in a run and Hunter Mercer scored twice and had an RBI in support of Justin Glover's pitching. Hunter Oliver had a two-run double and Jackson Bell and Aaron Granger pitched well in a 5-4 win over the SBA Canes, and Cory Edgemon and Hayden Moss each had two hits and an RBI in a 7-6 come-from-behind victory over the Double Day Rockies. Edgemon stole two bases in that game, and Gaddis got the pitching win with a save from Tyler Hisey. The loss was 10-2 to Bullet Baseball; Edgemon and Moss had the Cyclones' RBIs.