Oak Ridge Today

Two JMS students competing in Junior Olympics this week

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Josie Fellers, Muskaan Vohra, and Zoe Marczak with Coach Sam Roberts

Zoe Marczak of Jefferson Middle School, second from right, was one of three Oak Ridge seventh-grade girls who competed in the state middle school cross country championships in Knoxville in October 2014. Zoe and her twin sister Maxine are competing in the Junior Olympics from Aug. 3-8, 2015, in Norfolk. Va. Also pictured above are Josie Fellers of Robertsville Middle School and Muskaan Vohra of Jefferson. At right is Coach Sam Roberts. (File photo by Shellie Fellers)

 

Maxine and Zoe Marczak, two students from Jefferson Middle School, are running in the Junior Olympics in Norfolk, Virginia, this week.

They are the daughters of Oak Ridge Schools Assistant Superintendent Chris Marczak and his wife Sheila. Maxine and Zoe compete in cross country and track, and they are eighth-grade students at Jefferson.

The identical twins are running the 1,500-meter and 3,000-meter runs in the Junior Olympics this week. That’s about one and two miles each.

Chris Marczak said the two ran the 1,500-meter on Tuesday morning. Maxine, or “Max,” placed 37th in the country in the 14-year-old category with a time of 5:34.24, while Zoe finished 60th with a time of 6:11.06. [Read more…]

Van Druff, McGhee finish No. 4, No. 8 in state cross country meet

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Jordan Van Druff

Jordan Van Druff, an eighth-grade student at Jefferson Middle School in Oak Ridge, finished fourth in a state cross country meet in Knoxville on Saturday. (Photo by Nicholas Rhodes)

 

KNOXVILLE—It wasn’t the result that Jordan Van Druff wanted.

He trained diligently at the beginning of the season for this state cross country meet, hoping to finish first. Van Druff also put in extra miles, running up to 25 to 30 miles per week at his peak.

On Saturday, the eighth-grader at Jefferson Middle School led all runners near the one-mile mark in a two-mile boys race during the Tennessee Middle School State Cross Country Championships at Victor Ashe Park in Knoxville. But then, one by one, three runners passed him.

“I didn’t get what I wanted,” said Van Druff, who was undefeated in all of Jefferson’s regular season races during his three-year middle school career. “I wanted to finish first.”

Still, it was an improvement from his fifth-place finish last year and a sixth-place finish the year before, said his mother, Reneé Van Druff.

Van Druff, who finished with a two-mile time of 11:42.55, was one of two Oak Ridge runners who made All State during the state cross country championships on Saturday. The other was Faith McGhee, a fourth-grade student at Woodland Elementary School. She finished eighth in the one-mile girls race during the Tennessee Elementary School State Cross Country Championships. McGhee had a time of 6:19.50. [Read more…]

JMS cross country teams sweep city championships

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

2014 JMS Boys Cross Country Team

The 2014 Jefferson Middle Schools boys cross country team is pictured above. The JMS boys and girls cross country teams were city champions this year. (Submitted photos)

 

Jordan Van Druff

Jordan Van Druff of Jefferson Middle School, the boys city champion. Van Druff was undefeated in all of Jefferson’s regular season races during his three-year career.

By Steve Reddick

Both Oak Ridge middle school cross country teams wrapped up their seasons at the City Championship meet held Tuesday, September 29, on the Jefferson Middle School campus.

Battling hard against determined Ram and Lady Ram teams, the JMS Eagle and Lady Eagle cross country teams emerged as City Champions in the meet.

Led by standout runner Jordan Van Druff, the Eagles captured 18 of the first 20 places in the boys race, including the top five positions, to finish the race with a perfect score of 15 points.

Robertsville Middle School’s top runner, seventh-grader Christopher Van Hook, placed sixth overall. [Read more…]