Henderson sets UTC 5000 record and other sports news

Saturday, April 5, 2014

Cross country All-American Teghan Henderson set a University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's record in the track and field 5000-meter run by nearly seven seconds Friday in the Stanford Invitational. Henderson's first-place time (by almost 19 seconds) was 16 minutes, 13.03 seconds; the old record was Kathleen Turchin's 16:19.74 in 2007.

• Tennessee Temple's Rick Barry and Anthony Riddle won field events Friday in the Margaret Simmons Invitational track and field meet at Murray State University, with mostly NCAA Division I teams participating. Barry won the long jump at 6.47 meters, and Riddle won the high jump at 6 feet, 4 inches and was sixth in the long jump. Temple's Jovan Jones was seventh in the 100-meter dash, and Michael Briggs was seventh in the 400. Temple got eighth-place finishes from Quadrea Spear in the women's 100 and Blaine Ketchem in the men's 800.

Volleyball

• Bryan College volleyball coach and local club coach David Shumaker is entering the USA Volleyball High Performance Coaching Pipeline with his invitation to serve as an apprentice coach in the USA National A3 training program. That's the third tier for the national High Performance emphasis for youth volleyball. Shumaker will work at the Colorado Springs A3 Camp in July. "I am extremely excited by this opportunity," Shumaker said in a Bryan release. "As I look ahead to becoming an empty-nester within a few years, I have been looking for a way both to grow as a coach and to give back to the volleyball community. I believe that this will be one way that I can do just that."

Baseball

• Kevin Roberts was 2-for-4 with two homers and three RBIs as Bryan College beat visiting Milligan 6-3 in the opening game of their Appalachian Athletic Conference baseball series Friday night. L.J. Rowden was the winning pitcher with relief from John Cain and a save from Kenny Knudsen. Cody Rhinehart and Tyler Latham each had two hits, an RBI and a run for Bryan (23-16, 9-7). Brandon Malone was 2-for-4 with a homer and Cody Hyder also homered for Milligan (16-12, 8-8).

• The Covenant College baseball team trails Ferrum 8-4 in the bottom of the eighth inning in the first game of their weekend series on Lookout Mountain. It was suspended Friday night because of darkness and will resume at 1 p.m. today, followed by the scheduled doubleheader. Covenant trailed 7-1 before David Lockwood's three-run double in the fifth inning. He is 2-for-4 so far, while Will Cleland is 3-for-4 with a run scored for the Scots.

Softball

• Bianca Bell's three-run walk-off home run capped a four-run seventh inning that gave LSU a 7-4 win over visiting Tennessee in the first game of their Southeastern Conference softball series Friday night in Baton Rouge, La. That was the first loss in 22 decisions this season for second-ranked Tennessee's Ellen Renfroe, the reigning national player of the week. The winning pitcher was former Chattanooga State national-championship star Ashley Czechner (7-8), who allowed seven hits and no earned runs. A.J. Andrews hit a second-inning three-run homer for LSU (21-15, 3-7). Madison Shipman was 2-for-4 and Hannah Akamine scored twice for the Lady Vols (31-4, 8-2).

• Mary Beth Smith was 6-for-8 with two home runs and four runs scored and Jessica Long also was 6-for-8 with three doubles and four first-game RBIs as Averett College won 13-3 and 13-10 in USA South softball Friday at Covenant. Meredith Rudisill was 4-for-5 with four RBIs in game two for Averett (24-8, 18-4). Jordan Brett and Morgan Lane each was 2-for-3 in the first game for Covenant (10-24, 3-19), Brett with an RBI and a run. Lauren Johns was 2-for-2 with three RBIs while Madison Quirk and Kaitlyn Sirmons each was 2-for-4 with an RBI in game two, when Chandler Shepherd also had two hits and matched Lane with two runs.

• UTC softball assistant coaches Michell Fuzzard LaCourse and Brigette Del Ponte will be special guests at a "game day breakfast" hosted by the Lady Moc RBI Club at 9 this morning at Wally's Restaurant on McCallie Avenue, and the public is invited to attend and order off the menu. Reservations are not needed. UTC will host Elon in a Southern Conference doubleheader today and a single game Sunday.

Auto Racing

• After having its scheduled program washed out last Saturday night, Boyd's Speedway is primed for good weather today and action tonight in five regular divisions: Steel-head and Crate Late Models, A and B Hobby and Mini. Gates open at 4:30 p.m. and racing should start about 7 at the oval dirt track near the Georgia-Tennessee state line on Scruggs Road between Highway 41 and Cloud Springs Road. General admission costs $12 for adults; pit access is $25.

Football

• The Tennessee Train women's tackle football team begins its season tonight at Savannah, Ga., against the Savannah Sabers and will play the next two Saturdays at 7 p.m. at home at Hixson High School against the Atlanta Phoenix and the Cincinnati Sizzle. The second-year Train, directed by Starlisa Horton and coached by Steve Lewis, belong to the Women's Football Alliance. General admission costs $10, or $5 for seniors and students with their IDs, with no charge for children under 12. Season tickets cost $30 for four Train home games. Chattanooga's older full-contact women's team, the Locomotion of the Independent Women's Football Lague, begin their season next Saturday by hosting the Huntsville Tigers at 7 p.m. at Red Bank High School.