Tom Sauer Archives - Oak Ridge Today

Graham, Van Berkel the No. 2 seeds in state track meet

Posted at 4:40 pm May 22, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge senior Jordan Graham placed second in the boys 100-meter dash with a time of 10.90 seconds in the Division I Large Section 1 Championships at Hardin Valley Academy on May 11, 2019, qualifying for a spot in the state track meet in Murfreesboro on Thursday, May 23. (Photo courtesy Oak Ridge High School Track and Field Head Coach Tom Sauer)

Oak Ridge senior Jordan Graham is the number two seed in the boys 100-meter dash in the state track and field meet on Thursday, and senior Erin Van Berkel is the number two seed in girls discus.

Graham had the second-best time—10.90 seconds—in the boys 100-meter dash during the Division 1 Large Section 1 Championships at Hardin Valley Academy on May 11.

The top seed in the state meet in the boys 100-meter dash, Elijah Young, a junior at South-Doyle High School, also comes from Section 1. Young had the fastest time, 10.76 seconds, at the sectional championships at Hardin Valley on May 11.

Oak Ridge senior Erin Van Berkel placed second in the girls discus at the TSSAA Division I Large Section I Championships at Hardin Valley Academy on May 11, 2019, with a throw of 117′ 9″, advancing her to the state track and field championship meet in Murfreesboro for the second straight year. (Photo courtesy Gary J. Van Berkel)

Van Berkel had the second-best throw—117 feet and 9 inches—at the sectional championships at Hardin Valley earlier this month.

As in the boys 100-meter dash, the top seed in the state meet in girls discus also comes from Section 1. The top seed is Jefferson County High School junior Jaycee Schroeder, who had a throw of 127-10 on May 11.

[Read more…]

Cross country photos: Oak Ridge at Region 2 meet

Posted at 5:11 pm October 29, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Pictured above is Oak Ridge senior Jose Villegas, who finished second in the boys 5,000-meter cross country race in the Region 2 Large Division Championships at Victor Ashe Park in Knoxville on Thursday, Oct. 26, 2017. (Photo by Maddie Zawisza)

The Oak Ridge boys and girls cross country teams have both qualified for the state meet in Nashville on Saturday, and the Wildcats had one runner finish second in the region and another finish fourth on Thursday. It’s the first time since 2014 that both teams are going to state together.

Here are photos from the regional meet on Thursday by Wallace Bowden and Maddie Zawisza along with Oak Ridge Today file photos. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge boys, girls cross country teams both going to state meet

Posted at 1:35 pm October 29, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge boys and girls cross country teams have both qualified for the state meet in Nashville next Saturday, Nov. 4, 2017, finishing third in the Region 2 Large Division Championships at Victor Ashe Park in Knoxville on Thursday, Oct. 26.

It’s the first time since 2014 that both teams are going to state together.

Both teams finished third in the Region 2 Championships for the Division I Large Division at Victor Ashe Park in Knoxville on Thursday. The top three teams in the regional meets advanced to the state cross country meet at Percy Warner Park in Nashville on Saturday, November 4.

Oak Ridge senior Jose Villegas finished second in the region in the boys 5,000-meter run at Victor Ashe Park on Thursday, and senior Genevieve Schwartz finished fourth in the girls race.

“You always want to get at least one team to state, but ultimately, you want to get both,” Wildcats Coach Ed Wright said after the Region 2 Championships. “Today was a good day.” [Read more…]

ORHS pantry provides food, clothing, toiletries, cleaning products to students in need

Posted at 7:08 pm January 25, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

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A pantry started about a year ago at Oak Ridge High School provides food, clothing, toiletries, and cleaning products to students in need. The Oak Ridge Board of Education toured the pantry with ORHS administrators and teachers on Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2017. From left to right are Laura McLean, Angi Agle, Allen Etheridge, Beth Estep, Leslie Shelton, Bruce Lay, Bob Eby, Bruce Borchers, and Keys Fillauer. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was updated at 1:25 p.m. Jan. 26.

A pantry started about a year ago at Oak Ridge High School provides food, clothing, toiletries, and cleaning products to students in need.

It’s known as the RISE Pantry. RISE stands for Raising Individual Students to Excellence.

The pantry started with a cabinet. It’s now housed in a former classroom on the third floor of the high school.

Items stored there include, among other essentials, backpacks and notebooks, pants and shirts, shoes and boots, and soup and beans.

“You can’t learn if your basic needs aren’t met,” said English teacher and coach Allen Etheridge, one of those who started the pantry. “(If) a kid asks, we will bring them down here.” [Read more…]

‘End of the road’: Etheridge resigns after 13 years as head coach, six state titles

Posted at 5:08 pm January 6, 2017
By John Huotari 1 Comment

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Pictured above are Oak Ridge cross country coach Allen Etheridge, center, and assistant coaches Ed Wright, left, and Tom Sauer at the Class AAA cross country meet at Percy Warner Park in Nashville on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was updated at 3:30 p.m. Jan. 7.

Allen Etheridge has resigned as cross country coach at Oak Ridge High School after 13 years as head coach and six state titles.

His resignation is effective today (Friday, January 6). Etheridge was an assistant cross country coach for five years before he became head coach.

“I just have the sense that with cross country this was the end of the road,” Etheridge said. “I don’t know that I could bring anything new to the table.”

Besides the six state titles, Etheridge’s teams have won five runner-ups, three third places, one individual state championship, and 15 regional titles. The state championships were in 2005, 2006, and 2007 for the boys, and 2007, 2009, and 2010 for the girls. The individual state champion was John Sharpe in 2009.

The boys’ team finished second in the state meet in 2015 and third in 2016. The team won the Region 2-AAA meet for the third year in a row in October. [Read more…]

Photos: Oak Ridge boys win third place in state cross country meet

Posted at 11:46 pm November 6, 2016
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

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Oak Ridge senior Jake Etheridge led the Wildcats, finishing 11th in the Class AAA boys’ cross country meet at Percy Warner Park in Nashville on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Led by senior Jake Etheridge, the Oak Ridge Wildcats finished third in the state boys’ cross country meet on Saturday. Etheridge, a senior, was the 11th-place runner.

Here are pictures from the meet, which was at Percy Warner Park in Nashville. [Read more…]

Cross country photos: Oak Ridge girls finish fourth in Region 2-AAA meet

Posted at 11:09 pm October 28, 2016
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

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Genevieve Schwartz of Oak Ridge, at right in the group of three above, finished 10th in the Region 2-AAA girls’ cross country race at Victor Ashe Park in Knoxville on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2016. At center is Mollie Longmire of Anderson County, who finished seventh, and at left is Jenna Wall of Hardin Valley Academy, who finished eighth. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

KNOXVILLE—The Oak Ridge Wildcats girls’ cross country team finished fourth in the Region 2-AAA meet at Victor Ashe Park in Knoxville on Thursday.

The top three teams in the regional meet advance to the state cross county meet in Nashville on Saturday, November 5. Since Oak Ridge finished fourth, it does not advance.

But Genevieve Schwartz of Oak Ridge finished in the top 10, so she will compete in the state meet next week.

Here are photos from the Thursday meet by John Huotari of Oak Ridge Today. (See a story on the race here.) [Read more…]

Photos: Oak Ridge cross country runners, coaches, team

Posted at 1:42 pm November 9, 2015
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge Thomas Colburn and Tyler Boullie at State Cross Country Nov. 7, 2015

Oak Ridge senior Tyler Boullie (492) was 16th in the state Class AAA cross country meet in Nashville on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2015, crossing the finish line at Percy Warner Park Steeplechase Course at 16:36.85. At left is senior Thomas Colburn (493), who finished 20th at 16:40.94. Boullie was the second-fastest runner for the Wildcats, and Colburn was third. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

NASHVILLE—The Oak Ridge High School boys team finished second in Tennessee during the 2015 state cross country meet in Nashville on Saturday. Brentwood finished first.

See more photos of the runners, coaches, and team from Saturday’s race below. See a story on the race here.

Senior Gashaw Duhamel was the top runner for Oak Ridge, the runner-up in the Division I Class AAA boys race. It was a 5,000-meter, or 5k, race. Duhamel finished 10th, with a time of 16:20.01 on the muddy course on a chilly, overcast Saturday morning.

Brentwood had two of the top three runners: sophomore Brodey Hasty, who was first with a time of 15:35.09, and junior Taylor Vroon, who finished third with a time of 15:50.85.

Oak Ridge senior Tyler Boullie was 16th, crossing the finish line at Percy Warner Park Steeplechase Course at 16:36.85.

See the results here.

Oak Ridge Gashaw Duhamel and Farragut Louis Morris at State Cross Country Nov. 7, 2015

Oak Ridge senior Gashaw Duhamel (494), the top runner for the Wildcats, finished 10th at 16:20.01, and Farragut senior Louis Morris (443) finished 14th at 16:33.48 in the state Class AAA cross country meet in Nashville on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

[Read more…]

Oak Ridge Schools selects Teacher Leaders

Posted at 1:38 pm March 25, 2014
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge School system has announced its selections for Teacher Leaders for the 2014-15 school year.

The Teacher Leader initiative was conceived and launched as a result of the Tennessee Department of Education’s push to create a differentiated pay scale for teachers in all counties. The department encouraged systems to either adopt a structure where teachers receive pay bonuses based on student test scores and eliminate increases in pay for advanced degrees or years of service, or adopt programs that ask teachers to take on greater responsibilities in schools.

“When presented with the opportunity to reward teachers for their dedicated and outstanding service, we decided not to get rid of our steps and lanes that reward teachers for their time and dedication to the classroom and earning advanced degrees, but rather recognize teachers that step up and take on greater leadership roles around STEM, analyzing data, and reinforcing professional learning communities,” said Bruce Borchers, Oak Ridge Schools superintendent. [Read more…]