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…]