Preston Elwell wins javelin youth national title - and more Chattanooga region sports news

Arkansas-SEMO Live Blog

Preston Elwell beat his previous personal best and his Signal Mountain high school record three times Saturday in the javelin throw, and the best of those gave him his first national championship. It was a 181-foot, 3-inch toss in the 17-18 age group of the USATF Youth Nationals at Bloomington, Ind. He also had throws of 174-6.75 and 174-1 one week after setting his previous record of 173-9 in the USATF state meet in Antioch, Tenn.

UTC sports

• The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga led the Southern Conference in the Learfield Sports Directors' Cup all-sports standings for 2013-14. The Mocs programs were 120th among all NCAA Division I athletic programs. UTC scored a total of 136 points in NCAA championship events in five sports, with 40 in men's golf, 25 each in women's basketball and softball, 23.5 in women's golf and 22.5 in wrestling. "We had a really strong year in competition, and that is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our student-athletes, coaches and staff," UTC athletic director David Blackburn said in a school release. "We want to continue to move up the ranks in the Directors' Cup and not only be a leader in the Southern Conference but also among all FCS institutions." UTC was 171st in Division I last year.

Auto Racing

• Classic super car dealer Ron Lane won the $1,500 top prize in the Super Pro class Saturday night at the Brainerd Optimist Drag Strip. Lane won with a 4.85-second run on a 4.85 dial in his Chevy dragster, and Cynthia Warnock was second in a dragster built by her father, Ronnie Warnock, with a 4.65 burst on a 4.64 dial. Her time and speed (149.52 mph) were the best of the night. David Bigham won the Foot Brake class in a 1969 Dodge Dart with an 8.46 clocking on an 8.44 dial; Larry Allen was second with an 8.87 run on an 8.85 dial in a Chevy-powered Ford "T" Roadster. Jake Clayton, a 13-year-old Ooltewah resident, won the Junior Dragster class with an 8.20 on an 8.20. Mattie Keener from Dunlap was second with an 8.45 on an 8.44.

Baseball

• Madison Hayes of Ooltewah is one of three 2014 national finalists in the 11-12-year-old girls' division of the Major League Baseball Pitch, Hit & Run program. She will compete on July 14 at Target Field in Minneapolis, just before the Major League All-Stars work out there. The 24 girls' and boys' finalists started among about 625,000 in more than 4,000 competitions throughout North America. Two former PHR finalists have reached the big leagues: Eric Hosmer of the Kansas City Royals and Chris Parmelee of the Minnesota Twins.

• The Chattanooga Cyclones SM and K baseball teams each went 3-1 this past weekend at the Southern Wood Bat Troy University Invitational Tournament, which included 10 teams from four states. The Cyclones K squad beat the 18-under Gadsden Titans 8-1 with Alex Barbee notching the pitching win and Brett Barbee driving in two runs and scoring two; Cade Evans stole two bases and had an RBI and a run. Quinn Smith had two hits, three RBIs and a run behind Peyton Tenant's strong pitching in a 9-1 defeat of the Sportstech Stars. Jackson Bell had the K's only hit and Smith scored the run in a 2-1 loss to Tallahassee Baseball Club 19U, when Devin Lancaster allowed only three hits in his 5 2/3 innings. Bell and Brett Barbee combined on a one-hitter and Noah Hill doubled and scored the deciding run in a 2-1 win over the Wiregrass Cardinals 18s; Evans had a steal and a run, and Logan Haga had an RBI. The Cyclones SM (20-4) got pitching wins from Matty Henshew and Ricky Vaughn in 8-2 and 5-2 defeats of the Gadsden Titans and the Huntsville Baseball Club, and Winston Whitener and Logan Fugate pitched well in a 10-3 win over the Southern Prospects. SM's loss was to the Post 70 19-under team. The team's top hitters for the tournament were Hunter Mercer, Corey Edgmon, Brody Binder, Fugate, Kyle Kapherr, Nic Gaddis and Seth Hickman.

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