Oak Ridge Today

Boys, girls cross country teams run tough at state championship

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Wildcats Gashaw Duhamel 2014 State Cross Country Meet

Junior Gashaw Duhamel of Oak Ridge finished 11th in the 2014 TSSAA Class AAA State Boys’ Cross Country Championship in Nashville on Saturday. (Photos by Kindell Moore) 

 

The Oak Ridge High School boys’ and girls’ cross country teams, both coming off fantastic first-place finishes at regionals in late October, competed in the state championship 5k run in Nashville on Saturday. The boys’ team finished third, and the girls finished ninth.

Girls Team

The girls ran better than their ninth-place finish suggests. Freshman Katharina Gallmeier led the way in running for the Lady Wildcats with a 46th place finish at 20:30:95, followed shortly by senior Aislyn Peacock. Peacock ran a 20:37:41 and finished 49th.

Following closely behind these two was junior Megan Peters, who finished 57th with a time of 20:49:08. Freshman Robyn Wood finished 70th with a 21:05:81, and sophomore Maddie Zawisza finished 72nd with a 21:10:75. Freshman Esther Gallmeier finished 98th with a 21:42:37, and junior Mallika Vohra rounded out the team with a 22:04:80 finish at 109th. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge boys, girls cross country sweep region, prepare for state

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Oak Ridge Boys Cross Country 2014 Region 2-AAA Champions

The Oak Ridge boys cross country team won the regional championship during a Region 2-AAA meet at Victor Ashe Park in Knoxville on Thursday. (Photos by Nichole Zawisza)

 

KNOXVILLE—For the first time since 2008, the Oak Ridge boys and girls cross country teams swept the regional championships, and the two high school teams will compete in the state meet in Nashville next Saturday.

Boys Team

The Wildcats saw some stiff competition at the Region 2-AAA meet at Victor Ashe Park in Knoxville on Thursday, but the Oak Ridge boys’ team had no trouble collectively running past all challengers in the 5,000 meter run. Although Dartanian Oakley of Hardin Valley took home first place, three Oak Ridge runners followed right behind him. Gashaw Duhamel finished second with a time of 16:22:08, Wesley Robinson finished third with a time of 16:25:57, and Tyler Boullie finished fourth with a time 16:32:36. Both Duhamel’s and Robinson’s finishes met the national silver standard, which is finishing a race before the 16:30:00 mark.

The rest of the Oak Ridge boys’ team finished strongly as well. Jacob Etheridge finished seventh with a time of 16:52:39. Shortly behind him were Daniel Beckett running at 16:54:74 to finish 10th and Thomas Colburn running 16:57:14 to finish 11th. Rounding out the seven runners for Oak Ridge was Jose Villegas, who finished 17th with a time of 17:13:91. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge cross country competes in Cherokee Invitational

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Cherokee Invitational Cross Country

Cross country runners pictured above are, starting at left, Megan Peters of Oak Ridge, 10th place; Esther Gallmeier of Oak Ridge, 9th; Maddie Zawisza of Oak Ridge, 8th; Selena Robinson of William Blount, 7th; Lauren Cole of Maryville, 6th; Aislyn Peacock of Oak Ridge, 5th; Sara Bowden of Maryville, 4th; and Katharina Gallmeier of Oak Ridge, 3rd. (Photos by Nicole Zawisza)

 

KNOXVILLE—The Oak Ridge High School cross country teams competed in the Cherokee Invitational in Knoxville on Saturday.

Here is an edited version of notes from the meet by Coach Allen Etheridge:

Cherokee Invitational is a small meet that follows up the Knoxville schools’ KIL meet, which was held on Thursday, October 9.

We generally run well at this meet because it’s not as crowded or as intense as the big meets we attend, like the Great American Cross Country Festival earlier this month. [Read more…]

Wildcats cross country: Great result in only second race

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Oak Ridge Wildcats Boys Varsity at McCallie Invitational

The Oak Ridge Wildcats boys varsity team is pictured above in September at the McCallie Invitational in Chattanooga. (File photos/Photos by Nichole Zawiswa)

 

CARY, N.C.—The Great American Cross Country Festival is the largest and most competitive cross country meet in the Southeast. This year’s event included US #2 LaSalle, Rhode Island, as well as most of the top 15 teams in the Southeastern United States. The top event is the Race of Champions, and the meet includes several other varsity and junior varsity events.

The Oak Ridge girls were in the Seeded Invitational, while the boys got a last-minute invitation to the top-level Race of Champions. The Cross Country festival was in Cary, North Carolina, this past weekend.

The Wildcats’ best result of the day came in the ROC, where the boys finished 11th of 21 really competitive teams. LaSalle won with 132 points. Daniel Boone (Tennessee) was third with 144 and Brentwood (Tennessee) fifth with 216. Oak Ridge scored 291. The Wildcats set a school record for fastest team average on a 5K course at 16:18.

“Great result for us in only our second race of the season,” Oak Ridge cross country coach Allen Etheridge said. “Most of these teams have run between five to eight races this season and are race sharp already. That’s going to take us a few more races, which is fine. We ran well today and lined up well with our Tennessee competition.” [Read more…]

Wildcats cross country teams finish in Top 3 in Chattanooga

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Oak Ridge Wildcats Boys Varsity at McCallie Invitational

The Oak Ridge Wildcats boys varsity team finished first at the McCallie Invitational in Chattanooga on Saturday. (Photos by Nichole Zawiswa)

 

Four Oak Ridge Wildcats cross country teams finished in the Top 3 in 5k races in Chattanooga on Saturday.

The varsity boys team finished first in the McCallie Invitational, the varsity girls finished third on a tie-breaker, the junior varsity boys team finished second, and the junior varsity girls finished third.

It was the full team debut for the cross country teams, coach Allen Etheridge said. He said the McCallie Invitational selects the most elite teams they can get for a small field of 10-15 teams.

The Wildcats teams travel this weekend to Cary, North Carolina, for the Great American Cross Country Festival, which is one of the most competitive meets in the nation.

Results from Saturday’s races are available here. [Read more…]

Second-place finish for boys’ cross country sends ORHS to state

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Oak Ridge Cross Country's Wesley Robinson

Wesley Robinson, a junior and top finisher for the Oak Ridge High School boys’ team, finished sixth in a 5K race during a cross country regional championship at Victor Ashe Park in Knoxville on Thursday. (Photos by Nichole Zawisza)

KNOXVILLE—The Oak Ridge High School boys’ cross country team finished second in a regional championship in Knoxville on Thursday and will race in the state championship in Nashville on Saturday, Nov. 2.

The girls’ team ran well but finished fourth, meaning they won’t get to compete in the state championship. It’s only open to the top three teams in the region.

Finishing first in the 5K race for the Oak Ridge boys, and sixth overall, was junior Wesley Robinson. He had a time of 16:44.31. That was his best race all year, Robinson said.

“I was very happy with my race,” he said. The course—two loops around Victor Ashe Park in Knoxville and a downhill finish—had several difficult hills and some rocky areas, Robinson said. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge cross country working back to the top

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Oak Ridge Cross Country Girls Team

The Oak Ridge Cross Country Girls’ Team is pictured above. (Photos by Allen Etheridge)

Oak Ridge Cross Country has a legacy of winning at the state level.

“I plan to be at that level every year,” Head Coach Allen Etheridge said. “I go into every year thinking that we may have a shot at winning.”

His teams have backed that up with girls’ state titles in 2007, 2009, and 2010, and boys’ titles in 2005, 2006, and 2007. [Read more…]