Oak Ridge Today

Young cancer survivor meets with Destiny, gets a dunk from Tee

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AJ Cucksey, a six-year-old cancer survivor and kindergarten student at Farragut Primary, sits on the Oak Ridge Wildcats sideline next to senior Tee Higgins (5), who dunked for AJ during a 68-38 win over West during a Region 2-AAA quarterfinal game at Wildcats Arena on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017.

AJ Cucksey, a six-year-old cancer survivor and kindergarten student at Farragut Primary, sits on the Oak Ridge Wildcats bench next to senior Tee Higgins (5), who dunked for AJ during a 68-38 win over West during a Region 2-AAA quarterfinal game at Wildcat Arena on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017.

 

He’s already performed “Rocky Top” for Peyton Manning and become friends with Joshua Dobbs and his family.

Now six-year-old cancer survivor AJ Cucksey, who has seven inoperable brain tumors, has met two of Oak Ridge’s best athletes: junior Destiny Kassner and senior Tee Higgins, both basketball players.

AJ was at the Friday night game, when Destiny helped the Lady Wildcats beat Bearden in a regional tournament quarterfinal. He was back again on Saturday, when Tee helped the Wildcats in a win over West, also in a quarterfinal game.

AJ, a kindergarten student at Farragut Primary School in Farragut, met Destiny and Tee on Friday, and he sat on the bench next to Tee on Saturday. Tee, who spent time talking to AJ, dunked for him.

AJ, a football fan, was asked what he thought about meeting Tee, a top football recruit who has been named a Mr. Football finalist in Tennessee for the second year in a row.

“Cool,” AJ said. [Read more…]

ORHS tennis team raises money for storage building at home courts

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The Oak Ridge High School Tennis Team raised $2,246.53 in January 2017 thanks to Time To Shine Car Wash. Funds raised were used to purchase a storage building at the school's home courts. (Submitted photo)

The Oak Ridge High School Tennis Team raised $2,246.53 in January 2017 thanks to Time To Shine Car Wash. Funds raised were used to purchase a storage building at the school’s home courts. (Submitted photo)

 

The Oak Ridge High School tennis team raised $2,246.53 in January thanks to Time To Shine Car Wash, a press release said. Funds raised were used to purchase a storage building at the school’s home courts, the press release said.

The ORHS tennis team hosts every one of its regular-season matches this year.

“Being able to store our equipment on-site will help make these matches and practices run smoothly,” said Coach David Bowman.

The first match of the season will be a scrimmage against Christian Academy of Knoxville on Thursday, March 2, at the Oak Ridge High School tennis courts, which are located at 1450 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

Girls basketball photos: Oak Ridge-Bearden

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Pictured above are the top two scorers in the Region 2-AAA quarterfinal elimination game at Wildcat Arena on Friday, Feb. 24, 2017. Oak Ridge sophomore Jada Guinn (24) scored a game high and career high 32 points for the Lady Wildcats in a 62-56 win over Bearden, and Lady Bulldogs junior Trinity Lee (2) scored 25. (Photo by Luther Simmons)

Pictured above are the top two scorers in the Region 2-AAA quarterfinal elimination game at Wildcat Arena on Friday, Feb. 24, 2017. Oak Ridge sophomore Jada Guinn (24) scored a game high and career high 32 points for the Lady Wildcats in a 62-56 win over Bearden, and Lady Bulldogs junior Trinity Lee (2) scored 25. (Photo by Luther Simmons)

 

The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats eliminated Bearden 62-56 in a Region 2-AAA quarterfinal game at home on Friday, despite a high-scoring second-half rally by the Lady Bulldogs. Here are photos by Luther Simmons. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge eliminates Bearden, despite second-half rally by Lady Bulldogs

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Oak Ridge juniors Jaymi Golden (32), left, and Desiree Bates (20), center, play defense against Bearden junior Trinity Lee (2), who led the Lady Bulldogs with 25 points, in a 62-56 loss to the Lady Wildcats in a Region 2-AAA quarterfinal game at Wildcat Arena on Friday, Feb. 24, 2017. (Photo by Luther Simmons)

Oak Ridge juniors Jaymi Golden (32), left, and Desiree Bates (20), center, play defense against Bearden junior Trinity Lee (2), who led the Lady Bulldogs with 25 points in a 62-56 loss to the Lady Wildcats in a Region 2-AAA quarterfinal game at Wildcat Arena on Friday, Feb. 24, 2017. (Photo by Luther Simmons)

 

The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats eliminated Bearden 62-56 in a Region 2-AAA quarterfinal game at home on Friday, despite a high-scoring second-half rally by the Lady Bulldogs.

After scoring only 15 points in the first half, the Bearden girls scored 41 in the second, narrowing an Oak Ridge lead of 24 points in the third quarter to three points late in the fourth.

“It was a fun ball game,” Oak Ridge Coach Paige Redman said. “They did not back down. They did not quit…They went on a great run. We managed to contain it.”

Bearden (24-4) struggled to make three-point shots in the first three quarters. They made only two, both by junior Trinity Lee. That changed in the fourth quarter, when Lee hit four. She led the Lady Bulldogs with 25 points and had 17 of Bearden’s 27 points in the final quarter. She had all six of Bearden’s three-point shots.

Oak Ridge (27-3) was led by sophomore guard Jada Guinn with 32 points, a game high and career high. Like Lee, Guinn also made six three-point shots. She knocked down four in the second quarter alone. [Read more…]

Jones named MVP as Wildcats win fifth straight district championship

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The Oak Ridge Wildcats won their fifth straight District 3-AAA championship with an 86-58 victory over Powell at Clinton on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2017. (Photo by Luther Simmons)

The Oak Ridge Wildcats won their fifth straight District 3-AAA championship with an 86-58 victory over Powell at Clinton on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2017. (Photo by Luther Simmons)

 

CLINTON—Oak Ridge senior Tajion Jones was named most valuable player as the Wildcats won their fifth straight District 3-AAA championship with an 86-58 victory over Powell at Clinton on Tuesday.

Oak Ridge (26-2) will play West, which finished fourth in District 4-AAA, in a first-round Region 2-AAA game at Wildcat Arena at 7 p.m. Saturday. West (15-17) lost to Hardin Valley 64-58 in the third-place District 4 game on Tuesday.

The Wildcats, the top seed in the District 3-AAA basketball tournament, advanced to the district championship at Clinton High School on Tuesday by beating Clinton, which had been the number five seed, 111-77 in a semifinal game on Saturday.

Oak Ridge was led against Powell on Tuesday by senior Anthony Gibson. He scored a game-high 24 points, with 22 of those in the first half. Gibson knocked down three three-point shots.

Jones scored 21, with 12 of those on four three-point shots. Jones, a Mr. Basketball finalist in Class AAA, also had a baseline drive for a dunk. [Read more…]

Boys basketball photos: Oak Ridge-Powell

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Oak Ridge senior Tyshawn Young (4) is pictured above during an 86-58 win over Powell in the District 3-AAA championship at Clinton High School on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2017. (Photo by Luther Simmons)

Oak Ridge senior Tyshawn Young (4) is pictured above during an 86-58 win over Powell in the District 3-AAA championship at Clinton High School on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2017. (Photo by Luther Simmons)

 

CLINTON—Oak Ridge senior Tajion Jones was named most valuable player as the Wildcats won their fifth straight District 3-AAA championship with an 86-58 victory over Powell at Clinton on Tuesday. Here are photos from the basketball game by Luther Simmons. [Read more…]

Basketball: District tourneys done, focus turns to regions

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Information from WYSH Radio

District basketball tournaments wrapped up on Wednesday. The final championship to be decided was in District 3-A and was played in Tellico Plains, where the Grace Christian boys knocked off Harriman 68-66 to claim the title. Third place went to Tellico Plains, which beat Meigs County 52-44.

That sets up the Region 2-A tournament, which will begin on Friday at 7 p.m. with girls’ action. Here is information about that tournament, as well as the Region 2-AA and Region 2-AAA tournaments. [Read more…]

Girls basketball photos: Oak Ridge-Powell

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Oak Ridge junior forward Mykia Dowdell (34) was named most valuable player and she led the Lady Wildcats with 21 points during a 59-34 win over Powell at Clinton during the District 3-AAA championship at Clinton on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2017. (Photo by Luther Simmons)

Oak Ridge junior forward Mykia Dowdell (34) was named most valuable player and she led the Lady Wildcats with 21 points during a 59-34 win over Powell at Clinton during the District 3-AAA championship at Clinton on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2017. (Photo by Luther Simmons)

 

CLINTON—Oak Ridge junior Mykia Dowdell was named most valuable player and the Lady Wildcats won their second straight District 3-AAA championship with a 59-34 victory over Powell at Clinton on Tuesday. Here are photos from the basketball game by Luther Simmons. [Read more…]

Dowdell named MVP, leads girls in District 3 championship

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The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats won the District 3-AAA girls' basketball championship in 59-34 victory over Powell at Clinton High School on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2017. (Photo by Luther Simmons)

The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats won the District 3-AAA girls’ basketball championship in a 59-34 victory over Powell at Clinton High School on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2017. (Photo by Luther Simmons)

 

CLINTON—Oak Ridge junior Mykia Dowdell was named most valuable player and the Lady Wildcats won their second straight District 3-AAA championship with a 59-34 victory over Powell at Clinton on Tuesday.

Oak Ridge (26-3) will play Bearden in a first-round Region 2-AAA tournament game at Wildcat Arena at 7 p.m. Friday. The Lady Bulldogs (24-3) lost to Hardin Valley 58-50 in a third-place District 4-AAA game at Hardin Valley Academy on Monday.

Dowdell led the Lady Wildcats with 21 points in the District 3 championship game against Powell on Tuesday, and she had at least six rebounds. She had eight points in the first quarter alone, and another six in the second.

While Dowdell was named MVP, three other Oak Ridge players were also named to the District 3-AAA All Tournament Team on Tuesday: senior Courtney Ellison, junior Jaymi Golden, and sophomore Jada Guinn. [Read more…]

Basketball: Wildcats, Lady Wildcats to play for district championships today

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The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats will play for the District 3-AAA basketball championship against Powell at 6 p.m. Tuesday, February 21, at Clinton High School. The Lady Wildcats are pictured above with Coach Paige Green in the championship game of the Andrew Johnson Bank Ladies Classic in Greeneville on Saturday, Dec. 31, 2016. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

CLINTON—The Oak Ridge Wildcats and Lady Wildcats will both play Powell for District 3-AAA championships today. The girls’ game starts at 6 p.m. Tuesday, February 21, at Clinton High School, and the boys’ game begins at 7:30 p.m.

The Lady Wildcats (25-3) advanced to the championship game by beating Anderson County 61-45 in a District 3-AAA semifinal game at Clinton on Saturday.

It’s the second year in a row that Oak Ridge is playing for the district championship. Last year, the Lady Wildcats won the title by beating Campbell County 52-34 at Anderson County High School. That was their first district championship since 2010.

Oak Ridge went on to play in the state tournament and finished as runner-up in Class AAA. [Read more…]

Photos: Construction work on eighth rowing lane

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Rail work on the eighth rowing lane on the Oak Ridge rowing course is pictured above on Monday, Feb. 20, 2017. (Photo by Laurel Patrick/First Place Finish)

Rail work on the eighth lane of the Oak Ridge rowing course is pictured above on Monday, Feb. 20, 2017. (Photo by Laurel Patrick/First Place Finish)

 

Construction work continues on the eighth lane of the Oak Ridge rowing course.

Here are three recent photos by Laurel Patrick of First Place Finish, the contractor. The work includes a precast concrete block retaining wall and associated dredging and site work.

The construction of the eighth rowing lane is funded by a combination of state appropriations, City Capital Improvement funds, and a state tourism grant awarded to the Anderson County Tourism Council specifically for the eighth lane project. The Oak Ridge Rowing Association (ORRA), Explore Oak Ridge (the Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau), and Visit Knoxville also contributed. [Read more…]

Wildcats put on show. The highlight: A between-the-legs dunk

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Oak Ridge senior Tee Higgins (5) crosses the ball between his legs, from his left hand to his right, on a dunk during a 111-77 semifinal win at Clinton in the District 3-AAA tournament on Saturday, Feb. 18, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

CLINTON—You’ve probably never seen this in a high school basketball game before. You might not ever seen it again. A between-the-legs dunk.

It happened Saturday night in Clinton. Oak Ridge senior Tee Higgins told Coach Aaron Green at halftime during a District 3-AAA semifinal game that he was going to do the between-the-legs dunk if he had a chance.

That was okay, Green said, as long as Higgins made it. He did.

Higgins was wide open on a break from half court, and after launching into the air, he moved the basketball between his legs from his left hand to his right before winding up and slamming it through the hoop with his right.

The move fired up fans. Even Clinton fans enjoyed it.

Green said you might not even see that kind of dunk in college or NBA games.

“Those are dunks that are done in dunking contests,” he said. “I wish I could do that, to be honest with you.” [Read more…]