Sports Archives - Oak Ridge Today

USA Cycling selects Oak Ridge for individual time trial championships

Posted at 8:57 am June 7, 2018
By John Huotari 1 Comment

USA Cycling has selected Oak Ridge for one of three national championships in East Tennessee this month.

The USA Cycling Professional Road, Individual Time Trial (ITT), and Criterium National Championships will be in Knoxville and Oak Ridge from June 21-24.

The ITT National Championships will be on Melton Lake Drive on June 21, kicking off the championships, a press release said.

The City of Oak Ridge is hosting the ITT National Championships in partnership with Visit Knoxville, the press release said. [Read more…]

Van Berkel finishes fourth in girls discus at state track meet

Posted at 4:32 pm May 24, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge junior Erin Van Berkel finished fourth in the girls discus at the state track and field meet in Murfreesboro on Thursday, May 24, 2018. (Photo by ORHS track fan)

Oak Ridge junior Erin Van Berkel finished fourth in girls discus in the state track and field meet in Murfreesboro on Thursday.

Van Berkel had a throw of 118.5.

Oak Ridge is competing in events at the Tennessee Secondary Schools Athletic Association championship track and field meet at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro on Thursday.

Besides girls discus, the Wildcats are competing in the girls 1,600-meter run, the boys 4×800-meter relay, the boys 4×100-meter relay, and the girls 4×100-meter relay. [Read more…]

Big 12 Rowing Championships in Oak Ridge this weekend

Posted at 11:45 pm May 11, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Kansas State competed in the SIRA Championship Regatta on the Clinch River (Melton Hill Lake) in Oak Ridge on Saturday, April 21, 2018. The Wildcats will also race in the 2018 Big 12 Rowing Championships in Oak Ridge on Saturday, May 12, and Sunday, May 13, 2018. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

Note: This story was last updated at 12:30 a.m.

The 2018 Big 12 Rowing Championships are in Oak Ridge on Saturday and Sunday.

The races will feature some of the top rowing programs in the country. The eight participating teams, including No. 3 Texas, will compete for an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships set for May 25-27 in Sarasota, Florida, according to TexasSports.com.

Besides Texas, other teams competing in Oak Ridge this weekend are Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, and West Virginia, in addition to rowing affiliate Alabama, Old Dominion, and Tennessee.

The Big 12 Championships begin at 2 p.m. Saturday with preliminary heats. Final heats start at 9 a.m. Sunday. [Read more…]

Soccer: Undefeated in district, Wildcats play Karns in championship Wednesday

Posted at 3:37 pm May 9, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Pictured above is Oak Ridge sophomore Jonathan Rodriguez (11) during a 3-2 loss to Hardin Valley at home on April 26, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Pictured above is Oak Ridge sophomore Jonathan Rodriguez (11) during a 3-2 loss to Hardin Valley at Oak Ridge High School on April 26, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Undefeated in the district this season, the Oak Ridge Wildcats will play Karns in the championship game in the District 3-AAA tournament at home tonight.

The game is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 9, at the Pro2Serve Soccer Complex at Oak Ridge High School.

Oak Ridge beat Powell 3-0 in a semifinal game on Monday to advance to the district championship. Nathan Kidder, Carson McGhee, and Jordan Snyder scored goals for Oak Ridge in that game. [Read more…]

Baseball: Regular season ends this week, district tournament begins

Posted at 7:44 pm April 29, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge senior pitcher Seth Caldwell (0) is pictured above during a 9-1 win over Campbell County at Bobby Hopkins Park in Oak Ridge on Tuesday, April 24, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was updated at 8:05 p.m.

The regular baseball season ends this week, and the district tournament begins.

As of Tuesday, Oak Ridge was 15-11 overall and 7-6 in District 3-AAA.

In their last district game, at home on Tuesday, the Wildcats beat Campbell County 9-1. They were scheduled to play their final regular-season district game, a rescheduled game, at Campbell County this afternoon (Sunday, April 29).

Oak Ridge will play a a non-district game at Walker Valley in Cleveland on Monday and a throwback game using wooden bats at Farragut on Tuesday.

The district tournament starts on Thursday, and games will be hosted by the top two seeds, which could be Karns and either Halls or Powell. [Read more…]

USA Cycling has Time Trial championship race in Oak Ridge in June

Posted at 2:50 pm April 24, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Image by USA Cycling

The USA Cycling Pro Road, Time Trial, and Criterium National Championships will be in Oak Ridge and Knoxville in June, and the first of those races, the Time Trial races, will be in Oak Ridge on Thursday, June 21.

The Oak Ridge races will kick off the championships, according to Explore Oak Ridge and Adventure Anderson County.

The Time Trial championships will be hosted by Visit Knoxville and the City of Oak Ridge, the two tourism organizations said.

They said the Time Trial course is a seven-mile section of roadway that will include part of Melton Lake Drive, which is along the Oak Ridge waterfront, and Union Valley Road. The professional and elite women will complete two laps for a total distance of 14.1 miles. The professional and elite men will complete three laps for a total distance of 21.25 miles.

The course allows spectators to see athletes pass multiple times from one viewing location, Explore Oak Ridge and Adventure Anderson County said. [Read more…]

Tennis: Oak Ridge played Maryville Thursday, has home matches this week

Posted at 12:54 pm April 15, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Pictured left to right are Oak Ridge Wildcats Levi Parrish and Miko Jakowski meeting Maryville’s Blake Miles and Nathan Vaughn during team introductions for doubles matches on Thursday, April 12, 2018. (Photo courtesy David Bowman)

Pictured left to right are Oak Ridge Wildcats Levi Parish and Miko Jakowski meeting Maryville’s Blake Miles and Nathan Vaughn during team introductions for doubles matches on Thursday, April 12, 2018. (Photo courtesy David Bowman)

The Oak Ridge Wildcats tennis team played Maryville last Thursday.

At number one singles, Archer Marlow won against Maryville’s Matthew Gideon 8-5, and Wildcat Andrew Brady defeated number three Devon Jones 9-7.

Archer partnered with Stuart Dorman at number two Oak Ridge High School doubles to win 8-1 against Maryville’s Devon Jones and Nick Van Son.

For the Lady Wildcats, number one singles Jasleen Narula was narrowly defeated by Maryville‘s Rebecca Birdwell 9-8 (3).

A big win at number four doubles was had by Stephanie Romanoski and her partner Morgan Loggins 6-2 against Lady Rebels Faith Kirby and Brooklyn Kahn. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge junior has top discus throw in state

Posted at 2:14 pm April 11, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

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…]

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

Posted at 5:15 pm March 3, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

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

Posted at 3:01 pm March 2, 2018
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

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…]

Basketball: First round of Region 2 tournament starts at home Friday night

Posted at 12:45 pm February 23, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats won the District 3-AAA basketball tournament championship for the third year in a row with a 60-38 victory over Campbell County at Halls on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The first round of the Region 2-AAA basketball tournament starts at home tonight (Friday, February 23).

The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats (23-5), the District 3-AAA champion, will host Hardin Valley (22-7), the fourth-place team in District 4, at Wildcat Arena at 7 p.m. Friday. The doors open at 6.

The Oak Ridge Wildcats (20-7), the District 3-AAA runner-up, will host Knoxville Catholic (21-7), at Wildcat Arena at 7 p.m. Saturday. Doors for that game also open at 6.

[Read more…]

Basketball: Lady Wildcats win third straight district championship

Posted at 2:22 pm February 19, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Note: This story was updated at 10 a.m. Feb. 25.

HALLS—Oak Ridge pulled away from Campbell County in the second half to win its third straight district championship in the girls’ basketball tournament at Halls on Saturday.

The Lady Wildcats led by just six points, 25-19, at halftime in the District 3-AAA tournament championship. But they outscored the Lady Cougars 35-19 in the second half to beat Campbell County 60-38.

Oak Ridge junior Jada Guinn, who was named most valuable player of the tournament, led in scoring with 23 points. Twelve of those were in the fourth quarter.

Oak Ridge senior Mykia Dowdell added 17.

Campbell County junior Skylar Boshears, who scored 11 points for the Lady Cougars, was hurt less than a minute into the second half and had to be helped off the floor and into the locker room. But she was back in the game a few minutes later. [Read more…]