Lady Wildcats enter district tournament with momentum
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Oak Ridge’s Edie Westin led Oak Ridge scoring with three goals in the Lady Wildcats’ 9-0 win over Campbell County. - Kaylin Dimmer | ORHS Sports Media
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Outside hitter Camryn Mcginnis led the Lady Wildcats’ hitting attack with eight kills in the 3-0 sweep of Camp- bell County last Thursday night. - Kaylin Dimmer | ORHS Sports Media
Oak Ridge High School endured a roller-coaster 2024 regular season, but now the Lady Wildcats are right where they want to be heading into the District 3-AAA Tournament.
Oak Ridge entered the tournament as the No. 3 seed and was scheduled to play No. 6 Campbell County in the opening round on Tuesday at Powell.
A win over the Lady Cougars would put the Lady Wildcats in today’s semifinals in Northwest Knox County. A first-round win would set them up against the winner of Tuesday’s game between Karns and Knox Central.
Oak Ridge (10-16) closed out the regular season last week with three road wins, including two sweeps. The Lady Wildcats have high expectations for the postseason.
“We’re all 0-0 as we start the district tournament, and we’ve been up and down this season, but we’re going in with three straight wins, and we plan on winning the district tournament,” Lady Wildcats coach Audrey Sherles said. “The district tournament is not going to be easy.
“I like that the district tournament is going to be competitive. The games are going to be tough and competitive, and that shows our district is going in the right direction.”
The Lady Wildcats ended the regular season with a 25-14, 25-13, 25-18 league victory over Campbell County in Jacksboro on Thursday night.
Marissa Kenworthy narrowly missed a triple-double in the match, finishing with 10 service aces, 10 assists, and nine digs. Camryn McGinnis led the Lady Wildcats’ hitting attack with eight kills.
Peyton Uptgraft finished with seven kills, five aces, and 18 assists. Christian McGinnis had six kills, and Shelby Yassu added five.
On Tuesday, Oct. 1, Oak Ridge defeated the host Lady Beavers at Karns, 25-19, 25-19, 25-27, 25-12.
Maggie Williams recorded 18 kills, and Camryn McGinnis added 10. Uptgraft had a big night with 30 assists, nine digs, six kills, and five blocks. Kenworthy contributed 18 digs.
The Lady Wildcats opened the final week of the regular season with a 3-0 sweep of Christian Academy of Knoxville on Monday, Sept. 30.