Oak Ridge Today

First ORHS Middle College class at Roane State about to graduate

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Oak Ridge High School Roane State Community College Middle College 2020
Pictured is the first class of Roane State Middle College students from Oak Ridge High School. Seated from left are Aamariah Crow, Isabella Kelly, Chloe Mallett, Savannah Shropshire, Selena Sterling, and Christina Thomas. Standing from left are Caroline Webb, Katie Swigert, Haley Snyder, Jacob Wright, Shaelyn Deal, and Cameille Schubert. Not pictured: Cameron Malone and Marissa Colvais. (Photo courtesy Roane State Community College)

By Bob Fowler, Roane State staff writer

One wants to be a doctor. Another, a lawyer involved in immigration cases. Two plan to become engineers, another wants to be involved in mission work, and one intends to work as an ultrasound technician.

They are among 14 Oak Ridge High School students who are members of the first Roane State Community College Middle College class, and they’re getting ready to graduate this spring, both from high school and college.

Although they have varying career goals, they have several things in common. They all say they have enjoyed their Middle College experiences, they’ve all been accepted to colleges and universities to continue their educations, and they’re fans of their advisor and English instructor, Assistant Roane State Professor Margaret “Maggie” Bouldin.

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Oak Ridge junior has top discus throw in state

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Oak Ridge High School junior Erin Van Berkel throws the disc 120 feet and 10 inches in a track and field meet at Oak Ridge High School on Tuesday, April 10, 2018. That's the top discus throw among high school girls in Tennessee this year. (Photo by ORHS Track Fan)

Oak Ridge High School junior Erin Van Berkel throws the disc 120 feet and 10 inches in a track and field meet at Oak Ridge High School on Tuesday, April 10, 2018. That’s the top discus throw among high school girls in Tennessee this year. (Photo by ORHS Track Fan)

 

Oak Ridge High School junior Erin Van Berkel threw a disc 120 feet and 10 inches in a track and field meet at Oak Ridge High School on Tuesday. That’s the top discus throw among high school girls in Tennessee this year.

Van Berkel had been ranked number three in the state going into Tuesday’s meet, said Luke Hadden, Oak Ridge throw coach. The top two had been girls at Alvin C. York and Jefferson County, and they had throws of about 116 feet and 113 feet.

Van Berkel’s throw is the farthest throw by an Oak Ridge athlete in a long time, said Allen Etheridge, Oak Ridge track coach. The school record of 128 feet and 8 inches was set by Sarah Gundlach in 1978.

Van Berkel beat her previous meet best by about eight feet on Tuesday.

“It was a great throw,” Etheridge said. “It was brilliant.” [Read more…]

Jefferson girls finish second in state in track, field

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Jefferson Middle School 4x400 Relay Team State Runner-up 2016

The Jefferson Middle School girls’ track and field team finished as state runner-up in the first-ever state meet for Class A middle schools at Austin Peay University in Clarksville on Saturday, May 21, 2016. Members of the girls 4×400-meter relay team, which finished second at the state meet, are pictured above. From left to right they are Grace Wilson, Katie Swigert, Aaliyah Hall, and Khamari Mitchell. (Submitted photo via Barbara Gritzner)

 

The Jefferson Middle School girls track and field team finished as state runner-up in a first-ever state track and field meet for middle schools in Clarksville on Saturday. The girls team finished second in two events and third in another.

The Jefferson Middle School team of Katie Swigert, Aaliyah Hall, Grace Wilson, and Khamari Mitchell finished second in the 4×400-meter relay, Coach Bill Byas said. And Muskan Vohra finished second in the girls 800-meter run and third in the 1,600-meter run.

The girls team earned enough points to finish as state runner-up. The JMS boys team finished eighth.

It was the first state track and field meet for Class A and Class AA middle schools. It was held Saturday, May 21, at Austin Peay University in Clarksville.

“I expected a great outcome because they worked so hard all season long,” Byas said. “We’ve been going at it since February, and these kids have just consistently improved.” [Read more…]