Sean Ryan third in 1500 in U.S. world trials

photo Swimmer Sean Ryan

Hixson resident and former McCallie School star Sean Ryan finished third in the 1500 freestyle Tuesday at Indianapolis in the United States trials for the swimming world championships. His time of 15 minutes, 4 seconds was three seconds off his best for the distance. Ryan, who just finished his junior year at the University of Michigan, will swim in the 200 freestyle today and the 400 and 800 later in the week. He will leave July 6 for the World University Games in Russia, where he will compete in the mile freestyle. From there he will go to Barcelona, Spain, and represent the U.S. in the World Championships in the 10-kilometer open-water swim.

Tennis

• The honors keep coming for Sewanee tennis player Jenny Liles, who graduated this spring as valedictorian of the prestigious university and earned NCAA Division III All-America status in both singles and doubles. She also was an ITA Scholar Athlete and a CoSIDA Academic All-American and the first Southern Athletic Association Woman of the YIear. Now she has become the third Sewanee athlete this year and the 30th in the institution's history to be awarded an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship, following swimmers Phillip Link and Sara Neil. Liles, who is from Little Rock, Ark., will be using her $7,500 scholarshp for medical school at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. She had a 4.0 grade point average at Sewanee with majors in biochemistry and English.

• Manker Patten's 40-over men's 3.5 tennis team, the Chattanooga Levitators, won the USTA state team championship this past weekend in Knoxville. The Levitators went 5-1 against teams from Memphis, Johnson City and Knoxville and will represent Tennessee in USTA Southern sectional play Aug. 22-25 in Mobile, Ala. "We had a lot of fun competing in the tournament," Chris Peoples said in a team release, "and we are very proud that we overcame all our obstacles and managed to win the tournament in the final match on Sunday." One Levitator played all six matches with a ruptured disk in his back, and Dan Barnett won Sunday afternoon despite the grief of seeing his father buried the day before. Other team members were Amar Singh, Howard Bickerstaff, Jack Greer, Jeff Johnson, Keith Michaels, Randy Finnell, Stuart Dickerson, Tom Thomas and Charles McBrayer.

Softball

• The Lighthouse Lookouts/Athletic Shop of Chattanooga went 6-0 in winning the Tennessee Senior Olympics 50-over men's slowpitch softball championship last week in Franklin. The team managed by Rex Elmore is 15-0 this year against senior competition with three undefeated tournament runs and 8-6 in open tournaments. The Lighthouse Lookouts won the SPA Mid-South NIT in April in Cartersville, Ga., and the ISSA Smoky Mountain Senior Classic in early June in Maryville. At Franklin they beat the defending age-group state champion from the Nashville area, the Power, 19-11 in the winners-bracket semifinals and won 24-4 over the Franklin Legends before taking the title with a four-inning 36-15 romp past Knoxville's Boys of Summer. Rodney Waters was 4-for-4 with three home runs and nine RBIs in the championship game for Lighthouse, and Steve Moffett, Mike Wood and Bobby Adams also went 4-for-4, Moffett and Wood with two homers each and six and four RBIs. For the tournament, Waters hit .826 with 10 homers and 35 RBIs, Adams batted .800 with 17 RBIs, Wood hit .727 with five homers and 21 RBIs and Van Shumaker hit .720 with 11 RBIs and excellent defense at shortstop. The team's primary pitcher, Butch Womack, hit .640 with 11 RBIs also. Other team members are Terry Bartley, Tony Bartley, Al Cox, Steve Faircloth, Kevin Highsmith, Jeff Jones, Scottey Lewis, Art Pendergrass and Mark Talley. Bud Pressley and Van Allison are coaches. In the women's 50-over division, the Chattanooga Lady Lookouts earned the bronze medal after taking silver the past two years.

Fishing

• In conjunction with the Walmart FLW Tour on Lake Chickamauga presented by Chevy being held Thursday through Sunday out of Dayton, Don Ledford Automotive in Cleveland is hosting "Chevy Pro Night" from 5 to 7 tonight, and the public is invited. Chevy-sponsored bass anglers Luke Clausen, Anthony Gagliardi, Dion Hibdon, Jimmy Houston, Larry Nixson, Bryan Thrift and Jay Yelas are lined up to sign autographs, pose for photographs and "give tips and strategies and swap fishing tales with fans" at the dealership at 4595 North Lee Highway.

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