editor@oakridgesports.com KNOXVILLE--Oak Ridge hasn’t lost a district soccer game in 11 years. To the surprise of probably no one, the old district status quo played out true to form once again Tuesday night as Oak Ridge pounded West 4-1 on Bill Wilson Field in a match that wasn’t as close as the score might indicate. Coach O.J. Sheppard’s No. 2-ranked girls improved to 10-3 overall and 5-0 in district play while West dropped to 6-3. Read More Here |
Posted 6 p.m. September 4, 2006
4-0 in tourney, awaits Farragut next
editor@oakridgesports.com The balance of power in area girls’ high school soccer has shifted more towards Oak Ridge than Farragut in recent years. Lady Wildcats’ soccer coach O.J. Sheppard hopes that pendulum swings even more his team’s way Wednesday night when the two longtime powers collide at the Oak Ridge Soccer Stadium. Action starts at 7:30 between Sheppard’s No. 2-ranked Lady Wildcats, 6-0, and Farragut (6-2). Oak Ridge is coming off a strong showing over the weekend as it hosted the prestigious Katie Hunter Invitational. Oak Ridge swept all four of its matches over the weekend in the 10th installment of the KHI. The Lady Wildcats opened with a 2-1 decision over highly regarded mid-state foe Siegel Friday night. Siegel jumped on top 1-0 thanks to a goal by Paige Prescott. Oak Ridge pulled even at the half as Trenna Howell found net. Jamie Grigsby tallied the game-winning goal at the 28:13 mark of the second half. Angela Lee assisted on both goals for the Ridgers. On Saturday night, OR edged Hendersonville in a 3-2 thriller after blanking Maryville 3-0 earlier in the day. The Lady Wildcats also fell behind 1-0 against Hendersonville before Howell embarked on her hat trick. Howell scored the first of her three goals in the first half to make it 1-1 at the break. Hendersonville went up 2-1, but Howell countered with scores at the 12:23 and 23:45 marks. Sheppard’s Lady ’Cats got assists from Lee, Jessie Coile and Brianna Buckley. OR downed the Lady Rebels earlier in the day as Courtney Brackins (Shaina Riciputi assist) kicked off the scoring. Howell powered in two more goals thanks to assists from Maggie Alexander and Rachel Johnson. Rebekah Dotson, who opened in goal the first three games of the tournament, had five saves for Oak Ridge. On Sunday, Oak Ridge stopped Bowling Green (Ky.) 4-1 to finish off a 4-0 weekend. Howell continued her torrid pace by slamming home two more goals to stake OR to a 2-0 first-half edge. Callie Linden got Bowling Green on the board, but Howell and Lee answered with two more scores to make the final margin three goals. Buckley, Coile and Alexander all recorded assists for the Lady Wildcats. Lauren Fritts went all 80 minutes in goal for OR. Sheppard said he hopes the momentum of his team’s performance in the tournament carries over to Farragut, which was ranked No. 11 in the state in the preseason poll. “The Farragut game has been a tremendous tradition,” said Sheppard. “That’s one of the teams that historically we’ve had a lot of problems with. I guess we’ve played about .500 ball with them over the years, but we’ve won three of the last four regions.” Last year the teams met just once in the regular season with the game ending up 1-1. While Oak Ridge enters Wednesday’s game as the favorite, Sheppard said Farragut is, well, Farragut. “Farragut is after us because we’ve won three of the last four (region) titles. We’re after them because it’s Farragut.” Despite the fact that he has only four senior starters, Sheppard said his Lady Wildcats have come together quickly this season. “The team is doing really well. Against Hendersonville we started three freshmen and at one time had five freshmen on the field.” After going an impressive 24-3-1 and losing to Collierville in the 2005 state Class AAA championship game, Sheppard isn’t shy about imposing some lofty expectations on this year’s team. “Last year we had a great team, but this year we’re jelling even more. We had two big wins (in the KHI) over Siegel and Hendersonville. We played really well.” After playing Farragut Wednesday night, Oak Ridge’s next outing is a Sept. 12 home date against Powell. Hunter results Despite going 4-0 in the tournament, Oak Ridge watched as St. Agnes was crowned champions. Based on a tie-breaker involving goals scored, goal differential and shutouts, St. Agnes blanked Franklin 4-0 on Sunday to claim the tournament championship. St. Agnes came in ranked No. 1 in the state in the Division 2 private school poll. Other tournament results over the weekend included: Friday -- Dobyns-Bennett 3, Shelbyville 1; Henry County 4, Cumberland Gap 0; Tates Creek 2, Beech 0; St. Agnes 4, Farragut 0; David Lipscomb 3, Kingston 0; Oak Ridge 2, Siegel 1; Greeneville 2, Maryville 1; Powell 1, Coffee County 1; Anderson County 1, St. Cecilia 1; Hendersonville 1, Bowling Green 0. Saturday -- St. Agnes 6, Tates Creek 0; Beech 1, Shelbyville 0; Siegel 2, Clarksville 0; David Lipscomb 2, Coffee County 2; Hendersonville 2, Greeneville 1; Farragut 4, Graves 2; Franklin 4, Collierville 0; Powell 6, Cumberland Gap 1; Oak Ridge 3, Maryville 0; Anderson County 1, Henry County 1; St. Cecilia 5, Kingston 0; Dobyns-Bennett 2, Maryville 0; Oak Ridge 3, Hendersonville 2; Siegel 2, Tates Creek 0; Kingston 4, Powell 1, Coffee County 2, Anderson County 2; David Lipscomb 11, Cumberland Gap 0; St. Agnes 6, Beech 0; Farragut 6, Shelbyville 0; Franklin 2, Clarksville 0; Henry County 2, St. Cecilia 1; Collierville 7, Graves 1; Greeneville 1, Bowling Green 0. |
editor@oakridgesports.com The 10-0 games are probably over for a while for Oak Ridge’s Lady Wildcats. At least until after this weekend’s appearance in the prestigious Collierville Soccer Invitational. Coach O.J. Sheppard’s Lady Wildcats blew past overmatched Powell 10-0 Tuesday night at the Oak Ridge Soccer Complex. The win moves No. 2-ranked Oak Ridge to 8-0 on the season heading into what promises to be a stern test of soccer this weekend in West Tennessee. “You can’t disrespect the game, but everybody was already looking ahead to the weekend,” said Sheppard. “We worked on a few things and tried to sharpen up our runs.” The game was played almost exclusively on Powell’s (2-6-1) end of the field as the Lady Panthers didn’t get off one shot on goal all night long. Meanwhile, the Lady Wildcats – 3-0 in district play -- fired off 62 shots. Oak Ridge led 3-0 at the half before exploding for seven goals in the final 40 minutes of action. “We played everybody,” said Sheppard. “Our starters played maybe a third of the game.” OR’s Trenna Howell registered another hat trick. Howell got the Lady Wildcats’ first goal just 1:21 deep into the action courtesy of a Rachel Johnson assist. Howell also assisted on Oak Ridge’s other two first-half goals by Maggie Alexander (6:07) and Thanh Lay (26:32). Alexander squeezed her goal in the sliver of a space between the Powell goalie and the bar on the left side of the net. Lay converted after taking the feed right in front of the net and pounding it in from point-blank range. Howell opened the second-half scoring on an unassisted goal at the 8:38 mark. Her third goal came following an Angela Lee assist at 11:59. Oak Ridge’s other scores in the second half were: Brianna Buckley (Danielle Young) at 16: 50, Jennifer Lee (Alexis Franco) at 20:48, Leah Wolff (unassisted) at 30:15, Franco (Wolff) at 33:39 and Lee (Kathryn Grabenstein) at 35:34. Oak Ridge opens play in the Collierville tournament on Friday against No. 3-ranked Germantown Houston. On Saturday, OR tangles with Battle Ground Academy. Sunday’s much-anticipated rematch of the 2005 state title matchup features the Lady Wildcats and preseason No. 1 and defending champs Collierville. Oak Ridge doesn’t return home until Oct. 5 against Bearden. |
| Lady Wildcat Soccer team beats Farragut 1-0!!! Read Story Here |
editor@oakridgesports.com Chris Cole is one of those rare athletes who is on the brink of going from very good to great. Cole, a junior on the defending Class AAA champion Oak Ridge High School cross country team, is that good. But the difference from very good to great is that fine. From here on out, it’s the small things that will determine if Cole can make the transition to elite status. Read More Here -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
editor@oakridgesports.com Melanie Kulesz is a chip off the old block. Melanie, a sophomore on the Oak Ridge High School cross country team, is the younger sister of former Lady Wildcats standout Deanna Kulesz. Deanna, a standout runner in her own right who graduated from ORHS in 2002, plied her trade for Western Carolina in college. Read More Here |
| September |
editor@oakridgesports.com
Oak Ridge coach O.J. Sheppard would take it even a step further. Read More Here |
editor@oakridgesports.com Oak Ridge’s 0-3 record over the weekend in the Collierville Soccer Invitational might look disastrous on face value. But, while going winless for the three-day tournament wasn’t necessarily what Lady Wildcats coach O.J. Sheppard had in mind, the Oak Ridge skipper prefers to look at the big picture. It was a highly ranked Oak Ridge team playing against three highly ranked opponents. Read More Here |
soccer teams return to action By Mike Blackerby editor@oakridgesports.com
the latest Class AAA soccer poll. No big deal. As far as Sheppard is concerned, as long as you’re in the top 10 you’ve probably still got a legitimate shot at winning the state championship......
Coach Allen Etheridge’s Oak Ridge cross country team returns to action Saturday in Alabama in the Great American Cross County Festival. Both the Oak Ridge varsity girls and boys will be entered in the Race of Champions division of the race, which features elite teams from across the country...... |
By Mike Blackerby editor@oakridgesports.com After watching Oak Ridge go 0-3 over the weekend in the Collierville Soccer Invitational, you could kind of see this one coming. Couldn’t you? Coach O.J. Sheppard’s Lady Wildcats got back on the winning track Thursday night with an easy 5-0 blanking of homestanding Halls. Oak Ridge dominated from start to finish as the Lady Wildcats climbed to 9-3 overall and 4-0 in district play heading into Tuesday’s big match at West (7 p.m.). That game will decide the No. 1 seed in district play. “The importance of this one (Halls) was we stepped on to a football field before we play West,” said Sheppard, whose girls are ranked No. 2 in the state in Class AAA in the most recent poll. “The first half (against Halls) was a scramble in front of the goal on such a tiny football field. We’ll play on the football field at West, too. That game will determine first place in the district. The importance there is the No. 1 seed gets a bye.” Oak Ridge peppered Halls with 89 shots while holding the Red Devils without a shot. Halls crossed midfield just a couple of times all night against the Lady Wildcats. Maggie Alexander bagged two goals for Oak Ridge, which led 2-0 at the break. Others who found net for the Lady Wildcats were Trenna Howell, Jennifer Lee and Rachel Johnson. Kathryn Grabenstein assisted on Lee’s goal. Sheppard also lauded the play of Courtney Brackins. “She did a great job distributing balls and creating key openings for people.” Sheppard and the Lady Wildcats now turn their attentions to the Lady Rebels. After never playing West during the regular season in his 11 years as Oak Ridge’s coach, Sheppard and the Lady Wildcats squared off with the Lady Rebels three times in 2005. “West had never played us in the regular season until last year. Then, we played them three times in two weeks. We beat them 5-0 in the district championship and 4-1 in the region championship. I think they lost one or two key players from last year. I don’t think they’re quite as strong as last year.” After West, Oak Ridge has just one more district game (Karns) remaining down the road. Poll watching: Despite losing three games last weekend, Oak Ridge maintained its No. 2 state ranking in Class AAA behind Collierville. All told, eight of the top 10 teams lost at least one match last week. The Lady Wildcats are also ranked No. 3 in the state in the Redmond Poll, which includes both public and private schools in all classes. |
By Mike Blackerby editor@oakridgesports.com
tournament, held on the Knoxville Municiple Course. On the boys’ front, the good news was the Wildcats qualified three golfers for Monday’s regional individual tournament at Three Ridges. The bad news was that West proved to be the spoiler as the Rebels came out of nowhere in to win the team title with 308 points. Halls and Karns tied for second with 312, leaving Oak Ridge (314) as the odd team out. Only the top three teams move on to regional action. “I thought Halls was the favorite, but West snuck in there,” said ORHS coach Jody Waddell. “West had been kind of quiet all year. We played them at our place earlier in the year and beat them by 15 or 16 strokes.” Oak Ridge did manage to qualify Mason Griffin, Joe Marshall and Chris Sy for individual region play on Monday. Griffin turned in a strong 18-hole score of 75, followed by Marshall at 76 and Sy at 78. Oak Ridge’s fourth player, Michael Daugherty, turned in an 85. While OR is now out of the running for postseason team honors, Waddell likes his golfers’ chances in the individual competition next week. “From the region they take one team and the four top individuals not on the winning team. All three of our guys have the capability of shooting under par. Marshall shot a 34 earlier in the year at Three Ridges.” On the distaff side, the Lady Wildcats qualified for the team regional as Oak Ridge came in third with a team score of 170. Powell was first with a 153, followed by Campbell County with a 167. Oak Ridge freshman standout Savannah Schubert shot a 39 on both the front and back side to tie for second overall with a 78. Lindsey Spradlen of Powell was medalist with a 73. While Farragut is the prohibitive team favorite at the region, Waddell said Schubert has a legitimate opportunity to move on to state play. “Savannah has a shot. She has a chance to get there. I’m thinking it will take a 76 or a 78.” Oak Ridge’s girls also got rounds of 92 from Kelcee Ramsey and 94 from Jenny Stevens on Tuesday. |
editor@oakridgesports.com It was a clean sweep for Oak Ridge at Saturday’s annual running of the Tennessee Classic Cross Country Meet in Nashville. It may not be the last. Coach Allen Etheridge’s highly regarded team won both the boys’ and girls’ varsity and junior divisions as they opened their 2006 season. Read More Here |
| Chris Cole |
| Leslie Jenkins |
| Emerson Peacock (#979) and Maclean O'Donnell (#975) |
| Whitney Irby |
| Phil Riemer |
editor@oakridgesports.com The future looks bright for the Oak Ridge High School golf team. That’s the future, as in next week -- and in years to come. Coach Jody Waddell’s Wildcats and Lady Wildcats have generally had solid -- if not spectacular showings at times with regular season action winding down. Read More Here (See the golf schedule on the Events page) |
| (Above) Members of the ORHS boys' golf team (Below) Members of the ORHS girls' golf team |
editor@oakridgesports.com That splash you heard Saturday was the noise the Oak Ridge boys made on the national high school cross country scene. A cannonball, it wasn’t, Coach Allen Etheridge’s Wildcats arguably made their best showing on the national level in Oak Ridge school history as they finished 10th in the team race at the Great American Cross Country Festival in Hoover, Ala. Read More Here See Pictures Here |
editor@oakridgesports.com Oak Ridge doubled its pleasure Monday at the Region 2-AAA golf tournament at Three Ridges. Doubled its pleasure as in qualifying two players for next week’s state tournament in Murfreesboro. Coach Jody Waddell saw Oak Ridgers Joe Marshall and Savanna Schubert advance to the state tournament at the Old Fort Golf Club thanks to superlative showings Monday. Marshall, a junior, earned a trip to Murfreesboro after shooting a 74 and then surviving a four-player playoff. After all four players pared the first extra hole, Marshall and Farragut’s Joe Minor each birdied the second sudden death hole to qualify for state. Marshall bagged a 5-foot putt to qualify after two other players missed from 20 feet out. “All day long it came down to putting,” said Marshall. “I knew I had to make that 5- footer to go to state.” Halls won the team race with a sizzling one-over score of 289. Other individuals to qualify were the Farragut tandem of Hayden Anderson (71) and Brandon Rogers (72). To say that the competition was stiff would be a gross understatement. “You’ve got 40 guys out here and only nine of them go to the state -- one team and four individuals,” said Waddell. “Joe has been working hard all summer. He was out hitting balls in the rain yesterday. You could just tell he really wanted it.” Marshall started off slow and was two over after five holes. However, birdies on Nos. 6 and 8 got him back to even on the front nine as he shot 36-38 overall. “The conditions today were very wet,” said Waddell. “A 74 on this course was a very good score.” Schubert, just a freshman, carded an 80 to also make it to state for the Lady Wildcats. “That says a lot about her talent. It’s a big deal (that she made it to state) in a senior-dominated region. Powell has two strong seniors and Farragut three strong seniors. That’s just huge that somebody in her freshman year could make it to state.” OR’s boys also saw Chris Sy and Mason Griffin take a crack at making the state tournament as individuals. Both fell just shy, but each turned in strong efforts. Sy carded a 77 while Griffin had a 79. “That’s very respectable,” said Waddell. “Mason shot one-over on the front (nine).” On the girls’ side, Oak Ridge ended up fourth in the team race, which was won by state favorite Farragut (142). The Lady Admirals’ Alyssa Randolph burned up the course with a 69 to take individual honors. Oak Ridge’s other entry, Jenny Stevens, shot a 101. Waddell said the next task in hand for Marshall and Schubert is to enjoy the fruits of their labor. “Both are very talented. They just need to go out and play their game. Both have a chance to finish very respectable. The main thing is they just go out and enjoy it. I’m extremely proud of both Joe and Savanna.” |
| OR boys before the race |
editor@oakridgesports.com Oak Ridge may get a huge break Friday night. Make that a huge break and a huge player. Junior lineman Alex Stuart, injured two weeks ago against Dobyns-Bennett, may return a week earlier than expected against McMinn County. That’s the word from OR coach Stanton Stevens who said today that the final decision should come down Tuesday about Stuart’s status for the game in Athens against the Cherokees. Read More Here Alex Stuart |
Lady Wildcats' cross country team By Mike Blackerby editor@oakridgesports.com Up-and-down performances are more often than not the trend in high school cross country. Oak Ridge junior Whitney Irby has shown no inclination to follow that pattern through two races this season for the Lady Wildcats of coach Allen Etheridge. To borrow a popular phrase, Irby has been like a rock. That’s rock solid and rock steady. Etheridge said Irby’s running style is well suited for consistency. “Whitney doesn’t have great wheels, but she can hold her top end for a long time and she doesn’t die at the end of races,” said Etheridge. “She also holds her nerves very well -- that’s a huge strength.” Irby has been a model of consistency in the Lady Wildcats’ first two meets of the 2006 season. She placed third on the team in the season-opening Tennessee Classic Meet at the Steeplechase Course in Nashville. Last week at the highly regarded Great American Cross Country Festival in Alabama, Irby was the first Lady Wildcats to cross the finish line. While cross country times are hard to compare since the venues vary widely in terms of terrain, it’s interesting to note that her clockings in her first two races were 21:20 and 21:33, respectively, over a pair of 5K courses. Irby said a change in strategy might have something to do with her fast start. Etheridge opted to open the season about three weeks later than normal so his Ridgers might have more in the tank for the postseason. Also, there was more of an emphasis on regional, rather than local meets. Less racing, but more bangs for your bucks. “During August, we were ready to race,” said Irby, who is one of three captains on the team. “I think starting later will really help us so we don’t get worn out. By the time the state (meet) comes around we’ll be ready to run.” Etheridge said that Irby is always ready. Period. “She’s a very coachable athlete. You’re looking at an athlete like a Sarah Damen or a Kim Roush (former Oak Ridge standouts). You’d say ‘run this distance and run this fast’ and they do it. That’s huge. Etheridge said that Irby can be as good as she wants to be with another year to build on. “Obviously, she’s still improving. Whitney could definitely be a collegiate runner. There are so many opportunities for girls to run at a good college right now.” But first things first. Irby said she’s already enjoying the quantum leap from her freshmen season to the present. “My freshmen year we were all terrified out of our minds. I’ve totally changed my outlook. Team wise, I’d love to see us be state champions.” Etheridge said Irby’s progression isn’t necessarily typical of female cross country runners, who often top out early in their careers. He said the best is yet to come for the Lady Wildcats standout. “Last year she was all-metro and 17th in the state. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say she’s (capable of being) an all-state runner.” Irby and Oak Ridge return to action this weekend in another southern regional classic. Oak Ridge will take part in Saturday’s McDonald’s Cross Country Festival in Richmond, Va., which features several of the south’s best prep cross country teams. |
