Anderson County’s Conner Dabney dives safely back to first base ahead of a pickoff attempt during the Mavericks’ Class 3A sectional game against Greeneville at Pioneer Park. Anderson County carried a 2-0 lead into the seventh inning before the defending state champion Green Devils rallied for four runs to claim the victory and end the Mavericks’ season, one win shy of the state tournament. - Tony Cox
Anderson County High School narrowly missed making a return trip to Murfreesboro and the Class AAA state baseball tournament.
The Mavericks, who won the District 4-AAA regular-season championship, finished runner-up in both the District 4-AAA tournament and the Region 2-AAA tournament to earn a trip to the sectional round of the state playoffs.
Anderson County’s opponent in the best-of-three series was defending state champion Greeneville.
Things didn’t go the Mavericks’ way as they were swept by the Greene Devils at Tusculum University.
Anderson County got off to a good start in Game 1 of the series, which was played Wednesday, May 13, but fell 9-1 in the opener.
Greeneville scored nine unanswered runs after Mavericks leadoff hitter Nolan Benson scored the game’s first run with the help of an error by the Greene Devils.
Benson went 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored, while Wil Ridenour singled and drove in a run.
Clinton Middle School introduced Jessica Harrell as its new girls basketball coach last week.
Harrell replaces Jason Love, who recently vacated the position to join coach Alicia Daugherty’s staff as an assistant at Clinton High School.
She is no stranger to the sports scene in Clinton. Harrell has a daughter, Henley, who is a rising eighth grader at CMS and plays for the Lady Hawks.
“I’ve been involved in basketball for about the last 15 years in Clinton, whether it’s at South Clinton or in Upward,” Harrell said. “I’ve had almost all of these girls, and I’ve had Myla Queener and Tora Beeler, who are moving on to the high school.
“For me, it’s all about development. My goal has always been development, whether it’s in elementary school, middle school, travel ball or wherever. I can’t hang wins on the wall, but I want to help you take the next step and get there.”
Oliver Springs recently hired its new football coach, and he’s no stranger to the local high school football scene.
Rodney Ellison was tapped to take the helm for the Bobcats, and he said he’s grateful to be taking his next coaching job in Oliver Springs.
“Oliver Springs has a great football tradition. Oliver Springs has always been a place that appealed to me,” said Ellison, who was offensive coordinator at Knoxville’s West High School in 2025 after spending the previous three seasons as head coach at Jefferson Middle School in Oak Ridge. “When I was the head coach in Wartburg, I was always impressed with their program when we played against them.”
Anderson County’s Reese Russell returns a backhand shot during the TSSAA Class A state tennis tournament in Chattanooga. Russell advanced to the semifinals after winning his quarterfinal match in straight sets. - Ellie Hatmaker
A pair of Anderson County High School tennis players wrapped up their 2026 seasons on Tennessee’s biggest stage at the TSSAA Class A State Championships at Champions Club in Chattanooga.
Senior Reese Russell represented the Mavericks in the boys singles tournament and advanced to the state semifinals before his season came to an end.
Russell, a three-sport standout who also plays football and basketball for Anderson County, opened the tournament Thursday with a dominant 6-1, 6-1 victory over Huntingdon’s Shawn Simpson in the quarterfinals.
His run ended later in the day with a 6-2, 6-1 loss to Hume-Fogg’s Elliot Parker in the semifinals.
A successful 2026 campaign came to an end earlier this month for Norris Middle School’s baseball team.
The Senators came just short of reaching the state tournament, falling to Grandview, 9-5, on Thursday, May 7, at Anderson County High School.
Norris finished the season with a 19-8 record.
Hunter Wade had a big day at the plate for the Senators, going 3-for-4 with a double, a home run, three runs scored and an RBI.
Eli Lindsay went 2-for-3 with a run scored and two RBIs. Jacob Pierce collected the other hit for the Senators, who struggled defensively, committing seven errors. Those miscues led to six unearned runs for the Eagles.
Norris advanced to the Grandview game with a 5-1 victory over Sweetwater in the region championship game May 2.
Cooper Downs started on the mound and went 5 2/3 innings. He allowed one run, three hits and three walks while striking out eight.
Downs also pitched the final 1 1/3 innings in relief and struck out one.
At the plate, Downs and Pierce both doubled and scored for the Senators.
Oak Ridge players celebrate in a dogpile after sweeping Kingsport Dobyns-Bennett in the Class 4A state sectional series and clinching a return trip to Murfreesboro for the 2026 TSSAA state baseball tournament. - Izzy Smith | ORHS Sports Media
For the third consecutive season, the Oak Ridge High School baseball team is headed to the TSSAA Class 4A state tournament.
The Wildcats punched their latest ticket to Murfreesboro and Spring Fling by sweeping Kingsport Dobyns-Bennett in a best-of-three state sectional series at Bobby Hopkins Field.
Oak Ridge cruised in the opener against the Indians, rolling to a 15-1 victory in five innings. The second game wasn’t quite as easy, as the Wildcats withstood some self-inflicted adversity and a late rally from the visitors.
In Game 1, Oak Ridge (33-9-1) faced an early deficit as Dobyns-Bennett plated a run in the top of the first inning to take a 1-0 lead.
The Wildcats, who earned the right to host the sectional series by defeating four-time defending state champion Farragut to win the Region 2-4A title in West Knox County, didn’t trail the Indians for long.
Oak Ridge exploded for seven runs in the bottom of the first. The Wildcats added five more in the second and three in the third.
The Wildcats pounded out 11 hits, with leadoff hitter Warren East setting the table throughout the game. He went 2-for-3 and drove in six runs. He had two doubles, a stolen base and a sacrifice fly.
Moody, Hall claim top spots at state championship meet
by Ken Lay
Anderson County’s Ava Moody sets the pace early in the TSSAA Class AA 3,200-meter state championship race at Tom Black Track at the University of Tennessee on Tuesday, May 21. Moody captured the state title with a winning time of 11 minutes, 18.06 seconds. She closes her high school career with a combined eight state championships in cross country, indoor track and field, and outdoor track and field. - Tony Cox
The 2026 Class AA high school track and field season is in the rearview mirror, and it has left Anderson County High School Coach Harrison Calhoun and his staff with a wide range of emotions.
“The season is over, and at the end of the season, it’s always bittersweet,” Calhoun said after watching two of his athletes combine to win three state championships Tuesday, May 19, at the University of Tennessee’s Tom Black Track in Knoxville.
“I think about what I did right and what I did wrong. It’s all just always bittersweet.”
And then, there is bidding farewell to the seniors.
“That’s another thing,” Calhoun said. “We’re losing some great kids.”
Two of those seniors brought home state championships.
Lady Mavericks distance specialist Ava Moody closed out her high school career as one of Anderson County’s most-decorated athletes. She won eight combined state titles in indoor and outdoor track, along with two Class A/AA state cross country championships.
Moody won both the 1,600-meter run and the 3,200-meter run, pulling off the distance double for the first time in her high school career. She crossed the finish line in 5 minutes, 1.68 seconds in the 1,600 and finished the 3,200 in 11:18.06.
The inaugural season of TSSAA-sanctioned flag football in East Tennessee is in the books, and both area teams came up just short of reaching the state championships in Murfreesboro.
In Class AA, Clinton High School won the regular-season region championship. The Lady Dragons finished the 2026 campaign with an 8-2 overall record and went 6-1 in region play. They also reached the region tournament championship game before being eliminated by Bearden.
The Lady Dragons were well-represented on the all-region team.
Clinton’s Brittany Siler was named Coach of the Year, while Addi Gamble was named Player of the Year.
Lanee Carmichael, Josie Moody, Natalie White and Hanna Harvey were named to the all-region team.
In Class A, Anderson County also played for a region championship. The Lady Mavericks went 11-7 overall and won six region games.
Anderson County’s Anaya Witkowski was named Defensive Player of the Year.
The Lady Mavericks also had five players named to the All-Region team: Keiana Gillum, Jocelyn Amos, Chloe Freeman, Carly Whitson and Shaya Cotton.
Oak Ridge’s Mikee Teasley, center, was named Mookie Betts Tennessee Class 4A Mr. Baseball for the second-consecutive year. Teasley is pictured with finalists Travis Brummitt Jr. of Farragut High School and Brody Carr of Jefferson County High School. - Allen Etheridge | ORHS Sports Media
For the second-consecutive season, Oak Ridge High School baseball player Mikee Teasley was named the Mookie Betts Tennessee Class 4A Mr. Baseball winner.
Teasley, who also claimed the award in 2025, said he was surprised to earn the honor for a second straight year after the ceremony Wednesday, March 20, in Murfreesboro.
“I wasn’t expecting to go back-to-back even though I had the stat line for it,” said Teasley, a University of Tennessee signee. “I’d like to thank my team because they gave me the chance to win this.
“I just left it up to God and trusted him.”
Teasley and the Wildcats experienced a whirlwind of emotions on the day.
Just hours after receiving the Mr. Baseball award, Mikee Teasley — who pitched and played third base for Oak Ridge — made his final start. He improved to 11-0 on the season and set the school record for career victories as Oak Ridge defeated Shelbyville Central 6-1 in an elimination game. - Joseph Moseley | ORHS Sports Media
It was after midnight Wednesday, May 20, when a long day of baseball — and the 2026 season — came to an end for Oak Ridge High School.
The Wildcats, who reached the Class 4A state tournament for the third-consecutive season, saw their campaign end with a 7-5 loss to Ravenwood at Siegel High School in Murfreesboro.
Oak Ridge scored first with a run in the bottom of the first inning on a wild pitch by the Raptors’ Jack Lauer, the eventual winning pitcher.
After Ravenwood took a 2-1 lead in the top of the third, Oak Ridge pulled even on a sacrifice fly by senior and two-time defending Class 4A Mr. Baseball Mikee Teasley.
Teasley, a University of Tennessee signee, had a big tournament at Spring Fling. He went 7-for-10 at the plate, doubled twice in an 11-8 opening loss to state finalist Houston, drove in four runs in three games and scored a run against the Mustangs.
Oak Ridge’s Mason Greenhalgh celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the 800-meter run at the TSSAA Class AAA State Track and Field Championships at Tom Black Track in Knoxville. Greenhalgh captured the state title with a time of 1 minute, 52.51 seconds, marking his second championship in the event in three years. - Barry Houchen
Several Oak Ridge High School track and field athletes closed the 2026 season on the state’s grand stage recently at the University of Tennessee’s Tom Black Track.
The Wildcats’ Mason Greenhalgh won the Class AAA state championship in the 800-meter run, crossing the finish line in 1 minute, 52.51 seconds. It was his second state title in three years.
Oak Ridge’s 4x800-meter coed relay team of Amaijah Bishop, Bryson Newberry, Natalie Adams and Tyree Porter finished second.
Bishop also finished 11th in the girls 400-meter dash with a time of 59.27 seconds, while Alani Mitchell came in 13th in the girls discus with a throw of 96 feet, 4 inches.
Oak Ridge High School has tapped Denard Bertram as its next boys basketball coach.
Bertram, a Harriman High School graduate, is no stranger to the Wildcats and one of Tennessee’s most-storied basketball programs.
“I was an assistant here from 2011 to 14, and I know the tradition and the expectations here at Oak Ridge,” said Bertram, who replaces his former boss, Aaron Green. “I know the expectations, the tradition and the standard of the athletic program across the board.
“I also know about the high academic standards here, the community support and what it’s like to play at Wildcat Arena. I grew up playing at Harriman, so I’ve experienced that atmosphere before. You see everything that Oak Ridge has to offer.”
Bertram spent time coaching at Midway and Concord Christian and served as an assistant coach on Harriman’s 2017 Class A state championship team before taking over as the head coach at Austin-East before the 2022-23 season. He guided the Roadrunners to 83 victories in four seasons.
Clinton Middle School’s Levi Braden finished in 15th place in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.74 seconds. - Tony Cox
The 2026 middle school track and field season culminated recently with the state championships at the University of Tennessee’s Tom Black Track in Knoxville.
One Norris Middle School athlete closed out her middle school career in championship form.
Lady Senators eighth-grader Ella Tyler claimed state titles in both the 800-meter run and the 1,600-meter run.
Tyler, who will move on to Anderson County High School, won the 800 in 2 minutes, 26.75 seconds. She crossed the finish line in 5:27.43 in the 1,600.
Clinton Middle School’s Levi Braden finished 15th in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.74 seconds.
The Hawks’ 4x100-meter relay team also took 15th, finishing in 48.57 seconds, while Uriyah Pickett placed 13th in the shot put with a throw of 39 feet, 8.5 inches.
Clinton’s Mandy Chambers (batting), Elizabeth Graham, Sara Bishop and Maddisyn Reynolds received all-district honors for 2026. Chambers and Bryana Holt were also named to the 2026 all-tournament team. - Tony Cox
The 2026 high school softball season has concluded, and several area athletes were honored by being named to their respective all-district teams before postseason play.
In District 4-AAA, Clinton High School shared the regular-season championship with Gibbs. The Lady Dragons finished second in the district tournament as the No. 1 seed. They also picked up two wins against the Lady Eagles this season, winning one regular-season game and forcing an if-necessary game in the district tournament.
Clinton’s Mandy Chambers, Elizabeth Graham, Sara Bishop and Maddisyn Reynolds were named to the all-district team. Chambers also was named to the all-tournament team, along with Bryana Holt.
For Anderson County, the league’s coaches recognized Reece Brock, Bella Brummett and Cindle Justice. Kara Waddell and Maci Benge were named to the all-tournament team.
In District 3-4A, Oak Ridge High School had its best season in several years. The Lady Wildcats had two all-district players: Anslee Douglas and Bay Hensley.
Oak Ridge’s Kylee Primm and Amiyah King received all-league honorable mentions.
Norris Middle School’s baseball team wrapped up one of the most-successful seasons in program history earlier this month, advancing deeper into postseason play than any previous Senators squad, according to Coach Adam Smith.
The Senators finished the 2026 campaign with a 19-8 record and narrowly missed a trip to the state tournament after dropping a 9-5 decision to Grandview on May 7 at Anderson County High School.
Despite the season-ending loss, Smith said he was proud of the growth his team showed throughout the spring.
“It would have been nice to have won that last game and make it to the state tournament,” Smith said. “But we had a really good season.
“As far as I can tell, we’ve gone farther than any other Norris team has gone in the tournament. We lose nine guys, but I’m looking forward to next season.”
Mavs seek Hall of Fame nominees
Anderson County High School is accepting nominations for its Class of 2026 Sports Hall of Fame.
Nominations can be submitted by email to Athletics Director Gary Terry at gterry@acs.ac.
Past Hall of Fame inductees include Gary Houck, Larry Kerr, Peggy Stooksbury, Jamey Chadwell, Shelly Sexton, Greg Deal and Dr. John Burrell.
