Oak Ridge Today

Soccer: Wildcats have young, winning team

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The 2018 Oak Ridge Wildcats boys soccer team is pictured above. (Submitted photo via Tom Gorman)

The 2018 Oak Ridge Wildcats boys soccer team is pictured above. (Submitted photo via Tom Gorman)

 

The Oak Ridge Wildcats boys soccer team lost 11 seniors last year, but this year’s young team has a winning 6-2-2 record, Coach Tom Gorman said Tuesday.

Gorman said he has been pleased with the team’s growth. The Wildcats have three seniors and 11 juniors, and only three starters returned from last year.

Despite that turnover, though, the boys have had district wins over Powell and Campbell County, and they will play district games at Halls on Tuesday and at home against Karns on Friday next week. If they win those two district games, they would be the top seed, which would get them through the district championship and into the regional tournament semifinal.

Gorman, who is coaching both boys and girls soccer this year, previously coached the girls team from 2010-2013. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge junior has top discus throw in state

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Oak Ridge High School junior Erin Van Berkel throws the disc 120 feet and 10 inches in a track and field meet at Oak Ridge High School on Tuesday, April 10, 2018. That's the top discus throw among high school girls in Tennessee this year. (Photo by ORHS Track Fan)

Oak Ridge High School junior Erin Van Berkel throws the disc 120 feet and 10 inches in a track and field meet at Oak Ridge High School on Tuesday, April 10, 2018. That’s the top discus throw among high school girls in Tennessee this year. (Photo by ORHS Track Fan)

 

Oak Ridge High School junior Erin Van Berkel threw a disc 120 feet and 10 inches in a track and field meet at Oak Ridge High School on Tuesday. That’s the top discus throw among high school girls in Tennessee this year.

Van Berkel had been ranked number three in the state going into Tuesday’s meet, said Luke Hadden, Oak Ridge throw coach. The top two had been girls at Alvin C. York and Jefferson County, and they had throws of about 116 feet and 113 feet.

Van Berkel’s throw is the farthest throw by an Oak Ridge athlete in a long time, said Allen Etheridge, Oak Ridge track coach. The school record of 128 feet and 8 inches was set by Sarah Gundlach in 1978.

Van Berkel beat her previous meet best by about eight feet on Tuesday.

“It was a great throw,” Etheridge said. “It was brilliant.” [Read more…]

Oak Ridge varsity, junior varsity baseball schedules for 2018

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You can see the 2018 Oak Ridge varsity and junior varsity baseball schedules here. [Read more…]

Boys soccer schedule for 2018

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 Oak Ridge High School

Boys Soccer

2018 Match Schedule

First Practice Date

  1. Feb 12, 2018

Scrimmages

  1. Feb 17 – Jamboree in Knoxville (A) 11:30 – Jefferson County/12:30 – Morristown East
  2. Feb 20  – Catholic (A) 5PM/7PM
  3. Feb 27 –  Morristown West (A) – 7PM
  4. Mar 5 – Alcoa (A) – 5PM/7PM
  5. March 8 – South Doyle  – South Doyle (A) – 5PM/7PM

Regular Season [Read more…]

New sports complex opens at Clinton High School

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Photo courtesy Johanna Whitley/Anderson County Schools

Photo courtesy Johanna Whitley/Anderson County Schools

 

Clinton High School officially opened its new sports complex on March 1.

“The complex was a dream of so many in the community,” Anderson County Schools said on its website. “ACS would like to thank everyone who had a part in making this dream a reality.

“A special thanks goes to Mr. Joe Hollingsworth…his dedication to our community will be a gift to the students and families of Clinton for generations to come. Thank you, Mr. Hollingsworth.” [Read more…]

Basketball: Lady Wildcats’ season ends at Daniel Boone

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In this photo from 2017, Oak Ridge's Desiree Bates (20), who is now a senior, plays defense against Daniel Boone's Macie Culbertson (4), who is also now a senior, during a 61-44 win for the Lady Wildcats in a Class AAA sectional at Wildcat Arena on Saturday, March 4. Culbertson led the Lady Trailblazers with a game-high 25 points during a 62-51 win over the Lady Wildcats in this year's Class AAA sectional, which was played at Daniel Boone on Saturday, March 8, 2018. (File photo by Luther Simmons)

In this photo from last year, Oak Ridge’s Desiree Bates (20), who is now a senior, plays defense against Daniel Boone’s Macie Culbertson (4), who is also now a senior, during a 61-44 win for the Lady Wildcats in a Class AAA sectional at Wildcat Arena on Saturday, March 4, 2017. In this year’s sectional, Culbertson led the Lady Trailblazers with a game-high 25 points during a 62-51 win over the Lady Wildcats at Daniel Boone on Saturday, March 8, 2018. (File photo by Luther Simmons)

 

The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats’ basketball season ended Saturday with a 62-51 loss at Daniel Boone High School in a Class AAA sectional game. The eight sectional games across Tennessee determine which eight teams go to the state tournament in Murfreesboro this week.

It was the last high school game for five talented, experienced Oak Ridge seniors: Desiree Bates, Destiny Kassner, Jaymi Golden, Mykia Dowdell, and Terrika Dean. They are part of a team that finished as Class AAA state runner-up in 2016 and made it to a state quarterfinal last year.

“This will be the biggest hit that we’ve taken,” Paige Redman, who has coached the Oak Ridge girls for three seasons, told broadcaster David Clary at Prepradio.com. “This was the group that we started with.”

Oak Ridge (25-7) advanced to the 2017 state tournament last year by beating Daniel Boone 61-44 in a sectional game at Wildcat Arena—after trailing early and being tied 20-20 at halftime.

In this year’s rematch in Gray, which is in upper East Tennessee, the two teams traded leads six times, and they were tied three times.

The Lady Trailblazers took the lead for good, 51-49, on a three-point shot late in the fourth quarter. [Read more…]

Sixty players at Oak Ridge-Grace Christian tennis match

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Oak Ridge High School tennis team introductions (Photo submitted by David Bowman)

Oak Ridge High School tennis team introductions (Photo submitted by David Bowman)

 

There were 60 players and more than 30 parents at Oak Ridge’s home tennis match against Grace Christian Academy on Monday, February 26. That’s the largest number of people at the site for any match the Wildcats and Lady Wildcats tennis teams have had during the past three years.

The Oak Ridge tennis team has 13 Wildcats and 25 Lady Wildcats. Grace Christian also had a large contingent available to play during the scrimmage, 16 girls and six boys, Oak Ridge Coach David Bowman said.

“As a result during the four-hour event, a total of 39 singles and 15 doubles matches were played by both teams,” Bowman said. “It was a perfect storm of competition on the courts for the novice and beginner players. They gained valuable experience while learning tennis rules and etiquette.”

Highlighting the day for Oak Ridge were singles wins by starters Archer Marlow, Haley Smallwood, and Elizabeth Lowman, Bowman said. [Read more…]

Second in region, Lady Wildcats play for chance to go to state tonight

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The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats finished as Region 2-AAA runner-up in a 57-45 loss at Bearden on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2018. The girls will play in a sectional game, which determines who goes to the state tournament, at Daniel Boone in upper East Tennessee on Saturday, March 3, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats finished as Region 2-AAA runner-up in a 57-45 loss at Bearden on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2018. The girls will play in a sectional game, which determines who goes to the state tournament, at Daniel Boone in upper East Tennessee on Saturday, March 3, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

BEARDEN—The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats finished as runner-up in the regional basketball tournament at Bearden on Wednesday, and they will play in a sectional game, which determines who goes to the state tournament, at Daniel Boone in upper East Tennessee this evening (Saturday, March 3).

The runner-up in Region 2-AAA (Oak Ridge) plays at the winner of Region 1-AAA (Daniel Boone). The runner-up in Region 1-AAA (Jefferson County) plays at the winner of Region 2-AAA (Bearden). The games start at 7 p.m.

The eight girls’ teams that win in the Class AAA sectionals in Tennessee will advance to the state basketball tournament at Middle State State University in Murfreesboro on Wednesday.

Tonight’s game is the first sectional game on the road for the Lady Wildcats since 2005 at Greeneville, according to broadcaster David Clary. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge tennis teams had first match Monday, play Catholic Tuesday

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Pictured above from left to right are Inna Diawara, Kaitlin Summers, McKenna Norris, Teagan Russell, Alexis Hammond, Anthony Filigenzi, Stephanie Romanoski, Christina Thomas, Morgan Loggins, Hyeji Bang, Audrey Chrisman, Jacky DeLeon, Elizabeth Lowman, Savannah Shropshire, Haley Smallwood, Abby Magee, Mily Vidal, Liza Williams, Archer Marlow, Joey Kelley, Justin Blanchard, Wilder Dodson, Ethan Brady, Anhaar Ajaz, Andrew Brady, Mikolaj Jakowski, Jina Jiang, Brigitte Turner, Levi Parish, and Rose Farahi. (Submitted photo)

Pictured above from left to right are Inna Diawara, Kaitlin Summers, McKenna Norris, Teagan Russell, Alexis Hammond, Anthony Filigenzi, Stephanie Romanoski, Christina Thomas, Morgan Loggins, Hyeji Bang, Audrey Chrisman, Jacky DeLeon, Elizabeth Lowman, Savannah Shropshire, Haley Smallwood, Abby Magee, Mily Vidal, Liza Williams, Archer Marlow, Joey Kelley, Justin Blanchard, Wilder Dodson, Ethan Brady, Anhaar Ajaz, Andrew Brady, Mikolaj Jakowski, Jina Jiang, Brigitte Turner, Levi Parish, and Rose Farahi. (Submitted photo)

 

The Oak Ridge High School Wildcat and Lady Wildcat tennis teams braved a recent 37-degree wind chill to start their 2018 season. They will host 12 home matches this spring on the public courts located Oak Ridge High School at 1450 Oak Ridge Turnpike, across from the Oak Ridge Civic Center.

The 14 Wildcats and 26 Lady Wildcats worked hard to prepare for their first match this past Monday (February 26) with Grace Christian Academy, a press release said. The team had its annual pancake breakfast fundraiser at Aubrey‘s on South Illinois Avenue on Saturday, February 24. Funds raised during the breakfast will be used for items like the new storage shed located at the courts and ball machines purchased by the Tennis Booster Club.

“This equipment has provided quality teaching tools sorely needed to help a large number of players hone their skills and compete successfully on the courts,” said Coach Joanne Bowman. The ball machines have given students the opportunity to hit thousands of balls during the season, helping advanced and novice players build confidence in their ball striking skills, Bowman said.

You can see the season schedule below. All are home matches except for Halls and Powell. [Read more…]

See the 2018 ORHS tennis schedule here

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The Oak Ridge High School tennis schedule for 2018 is pictured above. (Submitted image)

The Oak Ridge High School tennis schedule for 2018 is pictured above. (Submitted image)

 

The Oak Ridge High School tennis schedule for 2018 is pictured above.

Oak Ridge eliminates Catholic in Region 2 quarterfinal

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The 2018 Region 2-AAA boys' basketball tournament bracket.

The 2018 Region 2-AAA boys’ basketball tournament bracket.

 

Oak Ridge eliminated Catholic in a Region 2-AAA quarterfinal game at Wildcat Arena on Saturday.

The Wildcats (21-7) advanced to play Bearden (34-1) in a regional semifinal game at Bearden High School at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Oak Ridge was the District 3-AAA runner-up this year, and Bearden was the District 4 champion.

The winner of Tuesday’s semifinal will play in a state sectional game, which determines who goes to the state tournament, and the Region 2-AAA championship at 7 p.m. Thursday. The Tuesday night semifinal is an elimination game, so the season will be over for the loser.

The other semifinal Tuesday is between Powell (20-10), the District 3 champion, and Maryville (25-6), the District 4 runner-up. It’s scheduled to start at 6 p.m. Tuesday, just before the Oak Ridge-Bearden game. [Read more…]

Basketball photos: Oak Ridge vs. Powell in boys’ district championship

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Josh Woods of Powell (12) is pictured above during the 60-58 District 3-AAA championship win over Oak Ridge at Halls on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Josh Woods of Powell (12) is pictured above during the 60-58 District 3-AAA championship win over Oak Ridge at Halls on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

HALLS—Oak Ridge hadn’t lost a district game in four years, but Powell ended the Wildcats’ long 70-game win streak during the district championship at Halls last week. The Panthers outscored the Wildcats 14-9 in the final quarter for a 60-58 upset victory to win the District 3-AAA basketball championship at Halls High School on Saturday, February 17.

Here are photos from the game.
[Read more…]