Oak Ridge Today

St. Mary’s brings home volleyball gold for second consecutive year

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St. Mary's Volleyball TeamSubmitted

Several area middle schools were invited to Knoxville Catholic High School on August 15 to participate in the 2015 KCHS Volleyball Feeder Fest Tournament.

The tournament lasted more than eight hours, with some teams playing up to six games each. The varsity volleyball team from St. Mary’s School in Oak Ridge took first place in the overall pool and continued its winning streak through the finals, securing its second consecutive Feeder Fest championship.

The St. Mary’s Junior Varsity team also did very well, as they took first place in their pool and second overall in the finals. Both teams are coached by Laura McKenna and Rob Halcrow.

Coach McKenna said: “Both the JV and varsity teams have exceeded expectations in play, team bonding, and sportsmanship. The girls have laid a strong foundation for another spectacular season. As a coach, I could not be more proud of the hard work and dedication the team has shown and I look forward to helping the girls gain confidence in their volleyball skills and grow on and off the court.” [Read more…]

ORHS Wildbots going to world championships after regional robotics win

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Secret City Wildbots FIRST Robotics Team

Oak Ridge High School’s “Wildbot” #4265 was among the winners at the Smoky Mountains Regional Robotics Challenge held this past weekend, and the team will now go to St. Louis for the World Championship. (Photo by D. Ray Smith)

By Mike Wehrenberg

The Smoky Mountains Regional High School Robotics Competition had an extremely successful event this past weekend, and Oak Ridge High School was one of the three regional winners. Collierville High School outside Memphis won the Rookie All Star award.

Both of these Tennessee high schools will receive an invitation to the world championships at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, where the Rams football team plays. About 50,000 people will be in attendance at the end of April for that competition.

This was our fourth year of competition at the Knoxville Convention Center in a game called Aerial Assist. Thirty-five teams from Tennessee competed, along with 14 teams from the surrounding states of Missouri, Kentucky, West Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. It was a fantastic, “graciously professional,” and exciting event, with all the teams representing themselves, their STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) programs, and their ability to set and achieve goals in an powerful and emotional way.

Other Tennessee news of note: [Read more…]