The Oak Ridge boys’ and girls’ basketball teams both won their second games of the regular season on Friday.
The boys (2-0) beat Bearden (2-1) 66-63 at the Stone Memorial Thanksgiving Showcase at Stone Memorial in Crossville.
The Wildcats play McCallie at the showcase at 1:30 p.m. Saturday in Crossville. [Read more…]
Pictured above from left are Oak Ridge senior basketball players Tee Higgins, Tajion Jones, Anthony Gibson, Tyshawn Young, and E.J. Bush. (Photo by Oak Ridge High School boys basketball)
Oak Ridge senior Tee Higgins will play basketball this year, his senior year.
Higgins, a Class AAA Mr. Basketball finalist last season, confirmed his decision on Friday.
“The band is officially back together for one last tour,” the Oak Ridge Wildcats basketball team posted on Twitter, sharing a picture of Higgins with seniors Tajion Jones, Anthony Gibson, Tyshawn Young, and E.J. Bush.
Higgins had earlier planned to not play basketball in order focus on football. He’s a wide receiver who has committed to Clemson. He’s a Mr. Football finalist again this year.
The 6-foot-5, 190-pound senior has been one of the most dynamic players for the Wildcats on the basketball court and, for fans, one of the funnest players to watch. Higgins played as a freshman on the 2014 runner-up team in the state championship game, and since then, he’s been a key part of the team and a regular starter and a top scorer. He had picked up basketball scholarship offers from Tennessee, Louisville, Auburn, and others. Earlier this year, he said he was no longer considering playing basketball in college, although he had considered playing both sports. [Read more…]
The Oak Ridge basketball teams open the 2016-2017 regular season at Christian Academy of Knoxville, or CAK, today.
The Lady Wildcats’ game is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. today, Thursday, November 17. The Wildcats’ game begins at 7:30 p.m.
CAK, a Class AA school, is at 529 Academy Way in Knoxville. (Oak Ridge is Class AAA.)
The Oak Ridge Schools’ Turkey Trot has been rescheduled to Thursday, December 1, due to unhealthy air quality in the area, officials said.
Information from WYSH Radio
Windrock Park is opening a new uplift assisted mountain bike park in Oliver Springs. The bike park features nine trails, including a new flow trail and improved intermediate terrain.
“The terrain at Windrock Park is amazing, and anyone who has ridden the mountain bike trails can see that the potential has always been huge,” said Neko Mulally, professional mountain bike rider who, along with fellow professional biker Sean Leader, designed and built the park. “When the opportunity came up to develop the trails into something bigger, I had to jump on it.”
The bike park is laid out on 550 acres nestled in the Cumberland Mountains on the Windrock Park’s property, which is a total of 72,000 acres. The park includes five trails ranging from one mile to 1.5 miles long, each dropping 1,100 vertical feet taking an average of five to 10 minutes to complete. There are connector trails to give riders the option to combine trails. [Read more…]
Information from WYSH Radio
Clinton High School football coach Josh Kerr has resigned after six years on the Dragons’ sideline.
Kerr took over in 2011 and led the Dragons to back-to-back playoff appearances in 2014 and 2015, but he saw the team finish 1-9 this past season. Kerr’s record as Clinton’s coach was 18-44. Kerr informed his players of his departure Friday afternoon.
On Monday, Kerr talked a little about his decision to step down, citing the fact that he has two young daughters and a son on the way in the spring. He said he wants to take a step back and spend a little more time being a father. He plans to continue coaching but indicated he is not interested in being a head coach at this time. [Read more…]
The Roane State Shooting Sports Team places second nationally at the Scholarship Clay Target Program (SCTP) National College Championships. From left are Nathan Hembree, Nathan Wattenbarger, Ty McCaskey, Madeline Kittrell, Assistant Coach Kevin Hembree, Head Coach Kenneth Carey, Assistant Coach James Wattenbarger, Lauren Sanders, Andy Carey, Andrew Smith, and Codey Dean. (Submitted photo)
By Bob Fowler
CROSSVILLE—These marksmen—and women—are among the nation’s best.
The eight-member Roane State Community College Shooting Sports Team was on target for runner-up high overall national champion team, along with two national runner-up wins and a third place finish in the Scholarship Clay Target Program (SCTP) National College Championships.
“We’re very proud of the team and their accomplishments,” volunteer head coach Kenneth Carey said of the squad’s achievements in the SCTP competitions, held October 28-30 in Marengo, Ohio. “They have an excellent work ethic. Their practice and ability and skill proved to be a force nationally.”
Some 271 athletes representing teams from 16 states participated. The Raiders are in the Division 3 category—squads with 10 members or less. That division was “by far the most competitive,” Carey said, because 14 teams were involved.
Roane State’s Raiders competed against teams from the University of Alabama, Arizona State, and Florida State, among others. [Read more…]
Oak Ridge senior Jake Etheridge led the Wildcats, finishing 11th in the Class AAA boys’ cross country meet at Percy Warner Park in Nashville on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Led by senior Jake Etheridge, the Oak Ridge Wildcats finished third in the state boys’ cross country meet on Saturday. Etheridge, a senior, was the 11th-place runner.
Here are pictures from the meet, which was at Percy Warner Park in Nashville. [Read more…]
Led by senior Jake Etheridge, third from right, the 11th-place individual runner, the Oak Ridge Wildcats finished third in the state boys’ cross country meet in Nashville on Saturday. Pictured from left are Christian Borden, Reid Dukes, Jose Villegas, Will Jeter, Etheridge, Daeton Byars, and Dalton Morgan. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
NASHVILLE—Led by senior Jake Etheridge, the Oak Ridge Wildcats finished third in the state boys’ cross country meet on Saturday.
Etheridge finished 11th among the 181 top male runners from across Tennessee in the large Class AAA high schools. His time was 16:18.72.
The other top four runners among the seven Wildcats who competed were:
The scores of the top five runners on each team are included in the team score. [Read more…]
Oak Ridge senior wide receiver Tee Higgins (5) catches a 17-yard pass from junior quarterback Johnny Stewart before falling backward into the end zone for a touchdown near the left pylon, putting the Wildcats ahead of the Clinton Dragons 42-7 with 2:57 left in the first half at Clinton on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2016. Higgins is defended here on his second TD catch by Clinton senior J’Quan Thomas (5). (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Note: This story was last updated at 12:30 p.m.
He won the Mr. Football award last year, and Oak Ridge High School senior Tee Higgins is a semifinalist again this year.
The semifinalists were announced by the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association, or TSSAA, on Friday.
Higgins is one of four semifinalists for Division I Class 5A Back of the Year. The other three semifinalists are Caden Harbin of Halls High School in Knoxville, Jordan Mason of Gallatin High School, and Jacob Murprhee of Dickson County High School.
Higgins, a 6-foot-5 wide receiver who has committed to Clemson, had 59 catches for 901 yards and 17 touchdowns during the regular season. A wide receiver who also plays cornerback and punt returner, he’s also returned at least one interception—he had a 90-yard return against Webb—and at least two punts for touchdowns this season.
Higgins had two interceptions that led to Oak Ridge touchdowns in the season-opener against Clinton, and he became the all-time leader in career receiving yards for the Wildcats during that game.
The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Clinch Valley has 2016-2017 basketball sign-ups from October 3 to November 14.
The sign-ups are for boys and girls ages 5-14. Children must be five prior to January 1, 2017.
Team Drafts are the week of November 17.
The activity fee is $30. [Read more…]
The first-round playoff game between Oak Ridge and Walker Valley will start at 7 p.m. Friday, November 4, on Blankenship Field. Oak Ridge Coach Joe Gaddis talks to the Wildcats after a 28-0 region championship win at Campbell County on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
The first-round playoff game between Oak Ridge and Walker Valley will start at 7 p.m. Friday, November 4, on Blankenship Field.
The gates open at 5:30 p.m. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
All tickets are $8. No passes will be honored. There is no charge for pre-schoolers.
No pass lists will be honored, according to information from Oak Ridge High School. Everyone must pay.
Tickets are on sale in the Main Office at ORHS until 2 p.m. Friday and at The Ferrell Shop in Jackson Square. [Read more…]
