Oak Ridge Today

Volleyball photos: Oak Ridge-Hardin Valley

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

oak-ridge-hardin-valley-vollebyall-region-2-semifinal-8-oct-11-2016-web

Oak Ridge lost in three sets to Hardin Valley during the Region 2-AAA semifinal at Farragut on Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2016. Pictured above is senior Alex Sherles (25). (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

FARRAGUT—Oak Ridge kept it close through three sets during a Region 2-AAA tournament semifinal at Farragut High School on Tuesday, but their effort wasn’t enough to hold back Hardin Valley, which eliminated the Lady Wildcats and advanced to the regional championship volleyball game against Farragut. Here are photos from the Oak Ridge-Hardin Valley semifinal. [Read more…]

Volleyball: Hardin Valley eliminates Oak Ridge in Region 2 semifinal

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

oak-ridge-hardin-valley-volleyball-region-2-semifinal-29-oct-11-2016-web

Oak Ridge lost in three sets to Hardin Valley during the Region 2-AAA semifinal at Farragut on Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2016. Pictured above is senior Alex Sherles (25). (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

FARRAGUT—Oak Ridge kept it close through three sets during a Region 2-AAA tournament semifinal at Farragut High School on Tuesday, but their effort wasn’t enough to hold back Hardin Valley, which eliminated the Lady Wildcats and advanced to the regional championship volleyball game against Farragut.

Oak Ridge and Hardin Valley were usually within a point or two and they were often tied, with the Lady Wildcats (20-11, 8-0 District 3-AAA) sometimes ahead. But the Lady Hawks (30-8-1, 6-2 District 4-AAA) had the lead at the end of all three sets, when it mattered most. The final scores were 25-21, 26-24, and 25-22.

“They played their hearts out,” Oak Ridge Coach David Kolodney said. “It’s a matter of inches. It’s a matter of a couple of points.”

The Lady Wildcats, who played without senior Stella Powell on Tuesday, fought through injuries and rotations this season, and played as a team, Kolodney said. [Read more…]

LeMond Composites to make carbon fiber, composite bicycles—invest $125 million, create 242 jobs

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

lemond-composites-greg-lemond-2-oct-12-2016-web

Greg LeMond, three-time Tour de France champion, celebrated the opening of LeMond Composites, a new company he co-founded, during a ceremony on Wednesday afternoon, Oct. 12, 2016, at Horizon Center in west Oak Ridge. The company is expected to make composite bicycles and carbon fiber, and invest $125 million and create 242 new jobs. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A new company co-founded by Greg LeMond, a three-time Tour de France champion, will make composite bicycles and carbon fiber for other products in Oak Ridge, and the business, called LeMond Composites, will invest $125 million and create 242 new jobs, officials said during a Wednesday afternoon ceremony.

Among the officials celebrating the opening on Wednesday were LeMond, and Tennessee Economic and Community Development Commissioner Randy Boyd.

Carbon fiber has advantageous properties, but cost has been a barrier to using it, said Connie Jackson, chief executive officer of LeMond Composites. She said the manufacturing process has been changed to reduce production cost.

“We have overcome a significant part of the cost barrier,” Jackson said.

Carbon fiber is light, stiff, and strong, making it the perfect material for advanced composites in a variety of applications. It can be used to improve efficiency, save energy, and build or repair vehicles and planes, wind turbines and containers, and bridges and tunnels. [Read more…]

Soccer: Lady Wildcats beat Central Tuesday, play Powell for district championship Friday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

oak-ridge-central-soccer-leah-scudder-oct-11-2016-web

Oak Ridge senior Leah Scudder (22) scored after a breakaway and beating two defenders in the 27th minute of a 1-0 win over Central in a District 3-AAA semifinal game at home on Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Oak Ridge beat Central 1-0 in a girls’ soccer district semifinal game on Tuesday and will play at Powell for the district championship on Friday.

The Lady Wildcats (10-6-1, 3-1 District 3-AAA) outshot the Lady Bobcats 38-5 at Oak Ridge High School in the district tournament semifinal game on Tuesday.

The shots-to-goal ratio should be closer to 10:1 or better, Oak Ridge Coach Jeff Trombly said.

“We’ve got to finish a lot better than that,” he said. “We had plenty of chances. We made it too close.”

Central came into the game undefeated, with a 16-0 overall record and a 6-0 district record. But the Lady Bobcats hadn’t played the top two seeds in the tournament, Powell and Oak Ridge. (Other district teams that did not play Powell or Oak Ridge and instead took 3-0 forfeits were Campbell County, Clinton, and Gibbs.)

Trombly said Oak Ridge needs a crowd to travel to Powell on Friday. [Read more…]

Cross country: Oak Ridge boys, girls finish first in Cherokee Invitational

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

oak-ridge-cross-country-boys-oct-8-2016

The Oak Ridge Wildcats boys’ cross country team finished first in the Cherokee Invitational in Knoxville on Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. (Photo by Nichole Zawisza)

 

The Oak Ridge boys’ and girls’ cross country teams finished first in the Cherokee Invitational in Knoxville on Saturday. Senior Jake Etheridge was the top overall runner in the boys’ 5k, or 5,000-meter race. Junior Genevieve Schwartz finished second overall in the girls’ race, and senior Abbey Greenhalgh was third.

The Oak Ridge boys had seven of the top 14 runners, and the girls had six of the top 13.

The first-place finish for the boys on Saturday came one week after they finished first in the Wendy’s Invitational in Charlotte, North Carolina, where Etheridge was also the top overall runner.

Oak Ridge Coach Allen Etheridge said Saturday’s race on Cherokee Boulevard in Knoxville is a hard race that was run during Fall Break, when the team is out of the normal school rhythm. The team has to run to “get its work in,” but is never “super satisfied,” Etheridge said. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge plays in District 3-AAA girls’ soccer semifinal game on Tuesday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

 

The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats soccer team will play in a District 3-AAA semifinal tournament game at home on Tuesday.

Oak Ridge (10-6-1, 3-1), the number two seed, will play Central (16-0-1, 6-0), the number three seed, at Oak Ridge High School at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Central (16-0-1, 6-0) beat Gibbs 1-0 on Saturday to advance to the seminal game against Oak Ridge. Gibbs was the number six seed.

Oak Ridge and Central did not play during the regular season. [Read more…]

McMinn County gives Oak Ridge first loss, 28-24

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

oak-ridge-wildcat-football

Note: This story was updated at 1:55 a.m

ATHENS—When the Oak Ridge Wildcats traveled to Athens on Friday night to face McMinn County, despite the Cherokees’ impressive 5-1 record, they probably were not expecting a loss.

But that’s exactly what happened, as the two teams swapped leads throughout the contest, and the Cherokees just barely escaped with the win, 28-24.

“They whipped us,” Oak Ridge head coach Joe Gaddis said. “To their credit, they whipped us. And I think they whipped us on both sides of the ball.”

McMinn County burned seven minutes and 20 seconds off the clock on their first offensive possession, with all but one of the plays designed runs, and concluded the drive with a Zane Byas touchdown carry to put the Cherokees ahead 7-0. [Read more…]

Soccer: Lady Wildcats fall to Bearden

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

KNOXVILLE—It was not what Jeff Trombly was looking for.

The Oak Ridge girls soccer head coach spoke plainly about his team’s performance after an 0-4 loss to Bearden Thursday night, saying that he would grade it as an F.

“There was no effort,” Trombly said. “There was no connecting the passes. There was no spirit involved in the team at all. Worst game we’ve played all year.”

The Lady Wildcats traveled to Knoxville hoping to gain a late-season victory over the defending Lady Bulldogs.

Instead, Oak Ridge (10-6-1, 3-1 District 3-AAA) fell behind early in the contest, and struggled to gain any momentum. [Read more…]

Temporary greenway closure due to work on eighth rowing lane

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

oak-ridge-melton-lake-greenway-closure-2

A section of Melton Lake Greenway will be temporarily closed during construction of the eighth lane on the Oak Ridge Rowing Course.

The project will require approximately 500 feet of greenway to be removed and replaced at the end of construction, a press release said. The affected area is located along Melton Lake Drive between Amanda Drive and Palisades Parkway.

Due to the restricted project work zone, a temporary bypass is not expected to be feasible, the press release said. The specific start date for the closure has yet to be determined, but signs will give notice to those in the area once the closure begins. Trail users are asked to be cautious and observe all trail closure barricades and signage. [Read more…]

Volleyball: Region 2 tournament is Tuesday at Farragut

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

orhs-lady-wildcats-district-3-volleyball-championship-at-karns-2b-oct-5-2016

The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats swept the Anderson County Lady Mavericks in three close sets to win the District 3-AAA volleyball championship at Karns on Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The Region 2-AAA volleyball tournament is Tuesday evening at Farragut.

The first matches, both semifinal games, start at 5 p.m. Tuesday, October 11. Court 1 will feature Farragut, the District 4-AAA champion, and Anderson County, the District 3-AAA runner-up. Court 2 will feature Oak Ridge, the District 3-AAA champion, and Hardin Valley Academy, the District 4-AAA runner-up. [Read more…]

Lady Wildcats sweep Anderson County to win District 3 volleyball championship

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

orhs-lady-wildcats-district-3-volleyball-championship-at-karns-2b-oct-5-2016

The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats swept the Anderson County Lady Mavericks in three close sets to win the District 3-AAA volleyball championship at Karns on Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 1:50 p.m. Oct. 6

KARNS—Oak Ridge swept Anderson County in three close sets to win the District 3-AAA volleyball championship at Karns on Wednesday.

All three sets were decided by four points or less: 25-21, 28-26, and 25-22.

“It’s really exciting to beat our biggest rival of the entire season,” said senior Alex Sherles, who played outside hitter and was named most valuable player of the tournament and will go to East Tennessee State University next fall. “This is what we worked for the entire season.

“Everything just came together,” Sherles said, citing blocking, setting, coverage, and attacking.

Oak Ridge, the top seed in the district tournament this year, lost to Anderson County in the District 3-AAA championship last year, but has won the district tournament three of the last four years, Sherles said.

Oak Ridge Coach David Kolodney said Sherles had big, timely kills on offense on Wednesday. [Read more…]

Sixth-grade girl plays wide receiver, cornerback for Robertsville Rams

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

isabella-steade-sept-29-2016-web

Isabella Steade (11) plays wide receiver and cornerback for the Robertsville Middle School Rams football team. She is pictured above during the City Championship game with Jefferson Middle School on Blankenship Field on Thursday, Sept. 29, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

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

A sixth-grade girl played wide receiver and cornerback for the Robertsville Middle School Rams this season.

It’s unusual but not unprecedented for a girl to play football, although it’s not clear if one has played wide receiver and cornerback before. Other girls have played for Robertsville before, but Steade might be the first one who wasn’t a kicker, Rams Coach James Branson said. He said RMS had a female kicker, Reagan Madden, a few years ago.

Oak Ridge Wildcats broadcaster David Clary said there were two females who played in the early 2000s, and one, Lori Niemeyer, kicked an extra point in a game against Sevier County in 2002. Niemeyer is the only female Wildcat to score in a football game, Clary said.

“There have been a couple of others that have played middle school though,” he said.

Other schools have also had female kickers. This year, Lenoir City High School senior Hailey Abston is the goalkeeper on the school’s soccer team and also the kicker on the football team. [Read more…]