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Golf

Jags' Wilson makes first team All-America

Augusta State junior Oliver Wilson became the first Jaguar to earn first team All-America honors when the Golf Coaches Association of America named the 10-member squad Sunday.

The Mansfield, England native had seven top-10 finishes this year, and tied for 27th at the NCAA Championships last week, leading Augusta State to a best-ever fifth place finish. He finished with a 72.56 stroke average and was ranked as high as ninth during the year.

Ryan Hybl of Georgia, Troy Matteson of Georgia Tech and D.J. Trahan of Clemson also were named to the first team.

Trahan won the Jack Nicklaus Award as the top collegiate golfer of the year. Other award winners included Coach of the Year Bruce Heppler of Georgia Tech, Matteson (Arnold Palmer Award for NCAA medalist) and David Skinns of Tennessee (Freshman of the Year).

Juniors Aaron Black of Australia, who led the Pacers with a 73.16 stroke average, Wes Byars of Cabot, Ark., and Scott Usher of Bennettsville, S.C., were the team's three representatives. All were named to the third team.

USC Aiken has now had 30 golfers earn All-American status in just 11 seasons. The Pacers finished fifth at the NCAA Division II Championships this year.

Coble put together rounds of 72-73-73-218 at the par-72 Georgia National Golf Club in McDonough.

A four-time winner of the Georgia State Golf Association's women's player of the year award, Coble was participating in the event for the first time. The event previously was limited to entrants from the metro Atlanta area.

Baseball

South Carolina's Peters gets honor

South Carolina first baseman Yaron Peters was named national player of the week by Collegiate Baseball after he earned MVP honors at the NCAA Regionals in Columbia this weekend.

Peters went 10-for-16 with six home runs and eight RBI in the four games South Carolina played. He belted two homers in a 3-1 victory over North Carolina that clinched the regional championship for the Gamecocks, sending them to a best-of-three Super Regional matchup against Miami.

Peters is batting .392 for the year, with a school-record 27 home runs and 89 RBI.

Swimming

Local swimmers earn victories

Katherine Welling of Aiken was the overall winner in the female division of the inaugural Lowcountry Splash meet held over the weekend in Charleston, S.C.

Welling, competing in the masters division, was one of 13 Aiken-Augusta Swim League members who participated in the event.

Other top winners included Rebekah Moody of Evans, first place in the 15-19 female division; Ginny Millar of Augusta, first in the 14 and under; and Teddy Torgesen of North Augusta, first in the 14 and under.

Several other local swimmers finished in the top six in their age category, including Trey Charlton, Justin Kata, Alex Bush, Chris Lietzow, Peter Borchelt, Christian Kata, Katie York and C.J. Hendry.

Boxing

Tyson hugs gay protester

Mike Tyson hugged a demonstrator Sunday who shouted "stop homophobia" at him.

Tyson, in town to fight heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis on Saturday, got out of a sport utility vehicle outside a fitness center and walked over to nearby gay rights activists.

"I was shouting stop homophobia and holding up my sign, and then he just came up and hugged me and said he wasn't homophobic," said Jim Maynard, vice-chair of Equality Tennessee and one of three demonstrators.

"I was totally shocked," Maynard told The Commercial Appeal. "I didn't really know what to do. So I just posed with him and smiled for the cameras. It's a step in the right direction."

Tyson signed autographs for approximately 20 people and then went inside for his workout.