Oak Ridge Today

Higgins won’t play basketball this season in order to focus on football

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This photo is property of Allen Greene. Unauthorized use of this photo is not permitted without consent.

Oak Ridge senior Tee Higgins won’t play basketball for the Wildcats this season in order to focus on football. Higgins (5), who was then a junior, scored 25 points for the Wildcats in a double-overtime 87-85 quarterfinal loss to David Crockett in the Arby’s Classic basketball tournament in Bristol on Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2015. (Photo by Allen Greene/TriCitiesSports.com)

 

Oak Ridge senior Tee Higgins, a standout in football and basketball, confirmed on Sunday that he won’t play basketball for the Wildcats this season in order to focus on football.

Higgins is a wide receiver who has committed to Clemson. He had posted on Twitter on Friday that it was his decision to not play basketball this year.

Higgins, who was listed as 6’5″ and 190 pounds earlier this football season, has been one of the most dynamic players for the Wildcats on the basketball court. He has had the ability to fire up crowds with powerful dunks. (One dunk at Gibbs in December got the attention of ESPN.) 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, with some memorable clutch free throws and three-point shots in big basketball games.

Higgins was regularly one of the top scorers for the Wildcats, and he was one of three Class AAA Mr. Basketball finalists earlier this year. (You can see the list of finalists and winners here.) He had picked up basketball scholarship offers from Tennessee, Louisville, Auburn, and others, according to PrepXtra at the Knoxville News Sentinel. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge shuts out Campbell County to win region championship, secure home-field advantage

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Oak Ridge sophomore Tre Jackson (6) ran for 99 yards and two touchdowns during a 28-0 region championship win at Campbell County on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

JACKSBORO—Oak Ridge won the regional championship and secured home-field advantage to start the playoffs with a 28-0 win at Campbell County on Thursday.

The Thursday night shutout win followed two disappointing losses this month, one at McMinn County and the other at Webb. Both games were decided by four points or less.

After giving up 393 yards at Webb a week earlier, the Wildcats (8-2, 5-0 Region 3-5A) held the Cougars to 183 yards of total offense in the regular-season finale on Thursday.

The defense played great, Oak Ridge Coach Joe Gaddis said.

“Nobody has really shut them down like we did tonight, and no one has come close to shutting them out,” Gaddis said. “Tonight, we were ready to play.” [Read more…]

Oak Ridge girls’ team runs best race of year, but finishes fourth in region; Schwartz going to state

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Genevieve Schwartz of Oak Ridge, right, finished 10th in the Region 2-AAA girls’ cross country race at Victor Ashe Park in Knoxville on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2016. Behind Schwartz is Jenna Wall of Hardin Valley Academy, who finished eighth. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

KNOXVILLE—The Oak Ridge girls’ cross country team ran its best race of the year but finished fourth in the region on Thursday, just missing the cutoff to advance to the state meet next Saturday.

Only the top three teams in the Region 2-AAA meet at Victor Ashe Park in Knoxville on Thursday advanced to the state meet in Nashville next Saturday.

However, Oak Ridge junior Genevieve Schwartz finished 10th in the 5,000-meter, or 5k, race. Anyone who finishes in the top 10 and is not on a qualifying team advances to state.

The top three girls’ teams in the Region 2 meet were West, Farragut, and Hardin Valley. West, a Knoxville school, had the top two runners, Lindsey Stallworth and Madeline Shook.

Anderson County and Hardin Valley each had two runners in the top 10, and like Oak Ridge, Farragut had one.

It will be the first trip to state for Schwartz, who finished with a time of 20:36.90. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge boys, Etheridge are Region 2 champs, headed to state cross country meet

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Oak Ridge senior Jake Etheridge finished first in the boys’ race in the Region 2-AAA cross country meet at Victor Ashe Park in Knoxville on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

KNOXVILLE—Oak Ridge senior Jake Etheridge and the boys’ cross country team finished first in the Region 2-AAA meet in Knoxville on Thursday, and they will race in the state meet next Saturday.

It’s the third regional championship in a row for the boys’ team. It’s the second year in a row for Oak Ridge to have the top male racer. Gashaw Duhamel, who ran for Oak Ridge as a senior last year, was the top runner last year.

The boys’ cross country team finished as state runner-up in 2015. Brentwood, a Nashville area school, was state champion with two of the three top runners (one a sophomore and one a junior), and that team is considered a favorite again this year. Other top teams this year include Daniel Boone of upper East Tennessee, which has been a strong team, and Wilson Central of Nashville.

Etheridge led the entire 5,000-meter, or 5k, run during the Region 2-AAA meet at Victor Ashe Park in Knoxville on Thursday.

“I got out hard, and I kept going,” said Etheridge, who finished with a time of 16:27.87. That was about 13 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher, Seth Bowden of Maryville High School. [Read more…]

Football photos: Oak Ridge shuts out Campbell County to win region championship

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Oak Ridge Coach Joe Gaddis was pleased with the performance of the Wildcats’ defense, which is shown here trying to stop Cougars quarterback Zach Rutherford (12) during a 28-0 region championship win at Campbell County on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

JACKSBORO—The Oak Ridge Wildcats shut out Campbell County 28-0 on Thursday to win the Region 3-5A championship, making them a top seed going into the playoffs and giving them home-field advantage in at least the first two rounds, assuming they get a win in round one.

Here are photos from the game by John Huotari of Oak Ridge Today. [Read more…]

Cross country photos: Oak Ridge girls finish fourth in Region 2-AAA meet

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Genevieve Schwartz of Oak Ridge, at right in the group of three above, finished 10th in the Region 2-AAA girls’ cross country race at Victor Ashe Park in Knoxville on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2016. At center is Mollie Longmire of Anderson County, who finished seventh, and at left is Jenna Wall of Hardin Valley Academy, who finished eighth. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

KNOXVILLE—The Oak Ridge Wildcats girls’ cross country team finished fourth in the Region 2-AAA meet at Victor Ashe Park in Knoxville on Thursday.

The top three teams in the regional meet advance to the state cross county meet in Nashville on Saturday, November 5. Since Oak Ridge finished fourth, it does not advance.

But Genevieve Schwartz of Oak Ridge finished in the top 10, so she will compete in the state meet next week.

Here are photos from the Thursday meet by John Huotari of Oak Ridge Today. (See a story on the race here.) [Read more…]

Cross country photos: Oak Ridge boys win Region 2-AAA championship

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Oak Ridge senior Jake Etheridge finished first in the boys’ race in the Region 2-AAA cross country meet at Victor Ashe Park in Knoxville on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

KNOXVILLE—The Oak Ridge Wildcats boys’ cross country team finished first in the Region 2-AAA meet at Victor Ashe Park in Knoxville on Thursday. It was the third year in a row that the boys have won the regional championship.

The boys will race in the state cross country meet in Nashville on Saturday, November 5.

Oak Ridge senior Jake Etheridge finished first in the regional meet on Thursday. Sophomore Dalton Morgan was fourth. Daeton Byars was eighth, Reid Dukes was 10th, Will Jeter was 15th, Christian Borden was 21st, and Jose Villegas was 29th.

Here are photos from the Thursday meet by John Huotari of Oak Ridge Today.

[Read more…]

Some periodic park, greenway closures for fall deer hunts

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Haw Ridge Park Parking Lot

Part of the Melton Lake Greenway is pictured above at the Haw Ridge Park parking lot.

 

Haw Ridge Park, North Boundary Greenway, and Gallaher Bend Greenway will be closed periodically for Oak Ridge Wildlife Management Area managed quota hunts this fall, a press release said.

The closure on Haw Ridge includes the portion of Melton Lake Greenway adjacent to the park, from the lake to the parking lot on Edgemoor Road, the press release said.

The hunts, which are open only to those pre-selected in a Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) quota drawing, will take place on the following dates: [Read more…]

Speed limit to be reduced, part of greenway closed as construction starts on eighth rowing lane

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Officials and referees used Oak Ridge Rowing Association boats to monitor the races on the seven-lane course at the 2016 SIRA Championship Regatta in Oak Ridge on Sunday, April 17, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The speed limit on a section of Melton Lake Drive will be temporarily reduced for at least three months starting Monday while the eighth rowing lane is built, and part of the Melton Lake Greenway will be closed as necessary, city officials said.

The speed limit will be reduced from 45 miles per hour to 25 mph along Melton Lake Drive between Amanda Drive and Palisades Parkway, a City of Oak Ridge press release said. The change will remain in place for a minimum of three months beginning Monday, October 31. Signs will be installed to warn drivers of the reduced speed limit.

The project will also require about 500 feet of greenway to be removed and replaced at the end of construction, the press release said. As a result, a section of Melton Lake Greenway between Amanda Drive and Palisades Parkway will be temporarily closed.

Due to site preparation work, the greenway will close Friday, October 28, but will reopen for the weekend. The closure will be put back in place for the duration of the project on Monday, October 31, the press release said. [Read more…]

Hike near Norris Dam State Park on Saturday

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The trail in a greener season. (Photo courtesy Joe Feeman)

The trail in a greener season. (Photo courtesy Joe Feeman)

 

The Norris Municipal Watershed, situated adjacent to Norris Dam State Park, is a 2,300-acre area that is the watershed of Clear Creek; it is managed for water quality protection, sustainable forest management, and public recreation. A network of about 30 miles of forest roads and single-track trails are managed by the Norris Watershed Board.

A Saturday, October 29, outing will include a hike up Clear Creek Trail to Lower White Pine Trail, up Raccoon Run Trail to Red Hill Trail, and then to the White Oak Spring Trail and back down Clear Creek Trail to the start.

“As we walk, we’ll learn about the forest and discuss the history of this area,” a press release said. [Read more…]

Wildcats football starts at 7 p.m. at Webb

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The Oak Ridge Wildcats football game at Webb starts at 7 p.m. today (Friday, October 21), rather than at the normal 7:30 p.m.

It’s a non-region game. The Webb Spartans are 6-1 overall and 3-0 in Division II, Class A, East and Middle Region.

The new start time was announced by Webb School of Knoxville earlier this week. [Read more…]

Soccer: Lady Wildcats upset Powell to win district championship

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The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats upset the Powell Lady Panthers 2-0 in the District 3-AAA championship game at the Powell Soccer Complex on Friday, Oct. 14, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was updated at 5:45 p.m. Oct. 15.

POWELL—Oak Ridge upset Powell 2-0 to win the District 3-AAA championship on Friday.

It was an especially satisfying victory for the Lady Wildcats after losing the district championship to the Lady Panthers last year. Powell won that one in a penalty kick shootout after two 10-minute overtimes and two five-minute sudden death overtimes. It was believed to be the first-ever district soccer title for the Lady Panthers.

The Lady Panthers also won the last two regular-season games 4-1 (one this year and one last year), and Oak Ridge last beat Powell in 2013. Powell (12-3-1) was the number one seed in the district tournament this year, and Oak Ridge (12-6-1) was number two.

“Our entire team was focused on winning, and we wouldn’t accept anything else,” said Lady Wildcats senior Olivia Hoyt, who played midfielder Friday. “It was kind of a grudge match.” [Read more…]