Wildcats’ grapplers fall just short at Sectionals

February 18, 2026 by Ken Lay

The first season in recent memory has come to an end for the Oak Ridge High School wrestling teams.

The Wildcats and Lady Wildcats turned heads throughout the winter, but the 2025-26 campaign closed Saturday at the Class AA State Sectional Tournament at West Ridge High School in Blountville.

Oak Ridge will not have a representative at this week’s TSSAA State Championships at the Williamson County Expo Center in Franklin. Still, the Wildcats and Lady Wildcats had three wrestlers reach the blood round, finishing one match shy of earning a trip to the state’s biggest stage.

“We had a great year. We finished tied for second in the district and went toe-to-toe with some of the best teams and wrestlers in the state,” Oak Ridge coach Bam Thomas said. “We battled with West, beat Central twice and hung in there with Pigeon Forge.

“We had three wrestlers reach the blood rounds, and they were one match away from making it to the state.”

Haylee Rackleff represented the Lady Wildcats in the 120-pound weight class and narrowly missed a berth in the state tournament.

For the Wildcats, Nick Engelhart competed at 106 pounds and Joey Marin Shipp wrestled in the 215-pound division in Northeast Tennessee.

With a foundation now in place, Oak Ridge will shift its attention to the offseason.

“We’ll have a full offseason and get ready for next year,” Thomas said. “We had a great season, but we’re not going to sneak up on anybody next year. That’s a good problem to have.”

Thomas said the wrestling community has played a key role in the program’s early success.

“The wrestling community has been great,” he said. “They’ve helped us with everything we’ve needed and told us to call anytime.”