Oak Ridge Today

Wildcats play for state championship Friday

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The Oak Ridge Wildcats beat the South Doyle Cherokees 14-0 on Blankenship Field this past Friday, Nov. 27, 2020, in a semifinal game to advance to the state final for the first time since 2005. (Photo by Barry Houchin, used with permission)

Oak Ridge will play for a state football championship this Friday.

The Wildcats (11-3) beat South Doyle 14-0 this past Friday in a semifinal game to advance to the state final for the first time since 2005.

Oak Ridge will now play Summit (13-1) of Spring Hill in the Blue Cross Bowl Class 5A state championship at Tennessee Tech in Cookeville at 7 p.m. Friday.

The Wildcats scored early in the first quarter against South Doyle (10-4) on Blankenship Field last Friday after a fumble recovery by Jacob Berven. Oak Ridge senior quarterback Mitchell Gibbons rolled right and threw a four-yard touchdown pass to Cole Adams, who was able to push past two South Doyle defenders and reach his right arm into the end zone near the right pylon.

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Soccer: Hardin Valley, regional champ, plays defending state champion Thursday

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Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today

Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today

 

Note: This story was updated at 2:03 p.m.

HARDIN VALLEY—Hardin Valley will play defending state champion Clarksville on Thursday in the quarterfinal round of the state soccer championship in Murfreesboro.

Update: The soccer tournament had originally been scheduled to start on Wednesday, but the start has been delayed by one day after heavy rain “for the safety of the athletes and the preservation of the fields for further use during the tournament,” officials said Wednesday.

It’s the second consecutive trip to the Class AAA state tournament for the Lady Hawks (16-3-2). Last year, they lost to Ravenwood 4-1 in the first round.

Hardin Valley, the Region 2 champion, beat Tennessee High of Kingsport 2-0 in a sectional game on Saturday to advance to the state tournament. Tennessee was the Region 1 runner-up.

Scoring for Hardin Valley after a scoreless first half on Saturday were Macey Lindsey on a crossing pass from Jaclyn Denton and Gwen Breslin on a pass from Reagan Ely. [Read more…]

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…]

Spotlight: Hunt donates to ORHS boys’ basketball team for state tournament

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Brian Hunt and Aaron Green

Brian Hunt, left, a candidate for Anderson County Juvenile Court judge is pictured above with Oak Ridge Wildcats boys’ basketball coach Aaron Green. (Submitted photo)

Brian Hunt, a candidate for Anderson County Juvenile Court judge, recently made a donation to the Oak Ridge Wildcats boys’ basketball team.

The boys team traveled to Murfreesboro in March to play in the state championship game for the first time in 51 years.  The Wildcats lost 60-58 to the Blackman Blaze 60-58 in the championship game, but they were named 2014 State Runner-Up.

“I want to acknowledge and commend the team and their head coach for all their hard work this year and let them know their community is proud of their efforts,” Hunt said in a press release.

Wildcats’ lead slips away in fourth quarter of state championship

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Oak Ridge Wildcats 2014 State Runner Up

The Oak Ridge Wildcats were named Class AAA State Runner-Up after a 60-58 loss to the Blackman Blaze in Murfreesboro on Saturday.

MURFREESBORO—The Oak Ridge Wildcats gave up an 11-point lead in a series of turnovers in the fourth quarter before losing to the Blackman Blaze 60-58 in a state championship game in Murfreesboro on Saturday.

Wildcats senior Jaylin Henderson had a game-high 24 points in the Class AAA final, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the combined scoring of four Blaze players who scored 10 or more each. The Wildcats were named 2014 State Runner-Up.

Oak Ridge (32-8) looked like it was headed to victory in the third quarter and early in the fourth, but the Blaze (28-6) stepped up the pressure and the Wildcats weren’t able to protect the ball.

Oak Ridge Coach Aaron Green said a series of five fourth-quarter turnovers, including back-to-back steals, shifted the momentum. Many of the Wildcats’ turnovers led to easy layups, and the Blaze went on a 14-0 scoring run at the Murphy Center at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro. [Read more…]

Wildcats will play for state championship after beating Arlington 57-56

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Oak Ridge Wildcats and Arlington Tigers

The Oak Ridge Wildcats found a scoring formula that worked well on Friday: get the ball inside to senior Isaac Merian (#33) and let him fake out a defender before shooting in double and triple coverage.

MURFREESBORO—The Oak Ridge boys’ basketball team will play for a state championship for the first time in 51 years after beating the Arlington Tigers 57-56 in a semifinal game in Murfreesboro on Friday. It was a victory decided by a tie-breaking free throw with only a few seconds remaining.

The Wildcats (32-7) will now battle the Blackman Blaze (27-6) in the Class AAA state tournament finals in Murfreesboro on Saturday afternoon.

Senior Isaac Merian overcame double and triple teams on Friday to lead all scorers with 21 points. He often faked a shot, let a defender go by, and then fired.

“I just kept playing my game, and my shots kept falling,” said Merian, a 6-foot-6 power forward who also had three blocks. “It’s probably one of the most memorable games. I’ll tell this one to my kids.” [Read more…]

Wildcats headed back to state tournament after 62-55 win over Dobyns-Bennett

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Seth Davis Oak Ridge and John Fulkerson Dobyns-Bennett

Dobyns-Bennett’s John Fulkerson (#20) and Oak Ridge’s Seth Davis (#5) scramble after a loose ball. (Photo by Ned Jilton II/Kingsport Times News)

Note: This story was last updated at 12:05 p.m. March 5.

The Oak Ridge Wildcats will play in their second consecutive state tournament after a 62-55 win over Dobyns-Bennett in Kingsport on Tuesday.

It was another comeback victory for the Wildcats, who had been down 27-35 at halftime.

“We won the game in the second half defensively,” Oak Ridge Coach Aaron Green said.

He said senior Kevin Steen, who led the Wildcats with 16 points, sparked the team with 10 points in the third quarter, including a two-handed dunk off a rebound. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge boys’ cross country team finishes sixth in state championship

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Oak Ridge Cross Country Wesley Robinson

Junior Wesley Robinson had the top finish for the Oak Ridge Boys Cross Country team at the state championship in Nashville on Saturday. Robinson finished 29th overall, and Oak Ridge placed sixth. (Photos courtesy of Karen Fitchpatrick)

The Oak Ridge boys’ cross country team finished sixth in the state championship in Nashville on Saturday.

It was the Wildcats’ best finish since 2009, when Oak Ridge placed second, Coach Allen Etheridge said.

“It’s a really solid step for us,” Etheridge said.

He said the young team ran okay on the Percy Warner Park Steeplechase Course in Nashville, but it wasn’t Oak Ridge’s best race. Etheridge said the five-kilometer (3.1-mile) course and the intensity of the competition and other factors might have surprised the boys a bit. [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…]

First Wildcat Day for all sports draws players, fans, Coach Gaddis

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Oak Ridge High School Wildband at Wildcat Day

Members of the Oak Ridge High School Band play at the opening of a Wildcat Day pep rally at the Ben Martin field on Saturday.

Enthusiastic fans and players flocked to Oak Ridge High School on Saturday for a first-of-its-kind pep rally that incorporated all sports and featured a football coach that helped the Wildcats win their last state championship and is leading the team once more.

The pep rally was part of what had officially been proclaimed Wildcat Day by the Oak Ridge City Council. The rally featured short cheerleader routines, music by members of the Oak Ridge High School Band, short speeches from city and school officials, an introduction to the ORHS Wildcats football team and coaches, and fireworks. [Read more…]

Former football coach Joe Gaddis coming back to Oak Ridge

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Note: This story was last updated at 3:31 p.m.

Former Oak Ridge High School football coach Joe Gaddis is returning to Oak Ridge, school officials announced Monday.

Gaddis will be a teacher and head football coach at Oak Ridge High School. He will replace Scott Blade, who resigned to accept a position in Williamson County.

Gaddis has an overall 258-112 record in his 30 years as head coach. Almost half of those wins—or 119 of them—came while he served as head coach at Oak Ridge High School, where he coached from 1988 until 1998, an Oak Ridge Schools press release said.

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