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Sports

Back-to-back brilliance

Moody, Dark repeat as state champs for Anderson County


Ava Moody, Anderson County’s distance specialist, repeated as champion in the 3,200-meter race. Moody, a junior, finished the race with a time of 10:56.48.
Two Anderson County High School track and field athletes repeated as state champions last week at the TSSAA Class AA state championships in Murfreesboro.

Inclement weather forced the meet to stretch over two days, Tuesday and Wednesday, May 20-21, but the Mavericks and Lady Mavericks found success at Middle Tennessee State University’s Dean Hayes Stadium.

Lady Mavericks distance standout Ava Moody and Mavericks thrower Luke Dark — both juniors — successfully defended their 2024 state titles at the Spring Fling.

Moody won the girls’ 3,200-meter run for the second consecutive year, posting a time of 10 minutes, 56.48 seconds.

Already one of the state’s top distance runners, Moody added the title to an impressive list of accomplishments that includes the 2024 cross country state championship in Hendersonville and a 1,600-meter title at last year’s Spring Fling.

This year, Moody added a second-place finish in the 1,600-meter event, clocking in at 5:03.71.

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Clinton’s Butz clears final hurdles

Senior track standout wraps career with two top-four state finishes


Lucas Butz finished his Clinton Dragons track career on a high note. The senior hurdler made back-to-back appearances at the TSSAA state championship meet in Murfreesboro, finishing in fourth place in both the 110- and 300-meter hurdles.
For the second consecutive season, Clinton High School’s Lucas Butz capped his year by competing in the TSSAA Class AA state track and field championships.

Butz participated in both the 110-meter and 300-meter hurdles Tuesday, May 20, at Middle Tennessee State University’s Dean Hayes Stadium.

After placing fifth in the 300 hurdles in 2024, Butz closed out his high school career on a high note at this year’s Spring Fling. He finished fourth in both events, clocking 15.53 seconds in the 110 hurdles and 40.93 seconds in the 300.

“We’re going to celebrate what Lucas has done and then we’re going to move forward,” Dragons Coach Tim Kumes said. “We have a great coaching staff, and we’re going to start looking ahead to next year.”

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Mavs’ season ends in Murfreesboro

by Ken Lay


Alex Bond pitched a complete game against Munford on Wednesday, May 21. Bond faced 29 batters and hurled 64 strikes in the Mavericks’ 4-2 loss to the Cougars.
The Anderson County High School baseball team capped a memorable 2025 season with a return to the Class 3A state tournament — its first since 2008.

This came after capturing the District 4-AAA regular-season and tournament titles, winning the Region 2-AAA championship, and taking two of three games in a sectional series against Unicoi County.

After rain postponed the tournament’s opening day at Blackman High School, Anderson County opened its state run Wednesday, May 21, with a 4-2 loss to Munford, despite outhitting the Cougars 7-6.

The Mavericks (31-13) struck first in the top of the first inning. Jeremiah Owens grounded into a double play that plated a run, and Easton Beaty followed with an RBI single to left, giving Anderson County a brief 2-0 lead.

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Russell makes history, battles injury at state

by Ken Lay


Junior Reese Russell became the first Anderson County High School tennis player to qualify for state tournament play.
Reese Russell made history last week for Anderson County High School’s tennis program.

Russell, a junior and the Mavericks’ No. 1 singles player, became the first player in school history to qualify for the TSSAA Class AA state championships.

He earned his spot by winning both the district and region singles titles in 2025.

At the Spring Fling in Murfreesboro, Russell faced a tough draw in the state quarterfinals, taking on 2024 singles state champion Rich LaLance, a senior from Murfreesboro Siegel.

“Reese played the guy who won state last year,” Anderson County Coach Robert Byers said.

“The Adams Tennis Center is a beautiful outdoor complex, but indoors, where MTSU plays their matches, there are scoreboards with his [LaLance] name all over the place,” he said. “A lot of his family has played there and had success.”

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Wildcats fall in state semis thriller

by Ken Lay


Warren East makes the throw to second base after fielding a deep ball in the Wildcats’ 10-inning marathon state tournament game against Clarksville. - ORHS Sports Media
A historic season came to an end for the Oak Ridge High School baseball team Friday night.

The Wildcats reached the Class 4A state tournament for the second consecutive season in 2025, making the state Final Four for the first time in school history.

Oak Ridge finished third at the tournament in Murfreesboro, falling in 10 innings to Clarksville, 7-6, in a battle of Wildcats at Oakland High School.

Clarksville advanced to Saturday’s title game — where it finished as runner-up to four-time defending champion Farragut — on a walk-off single by Cade Abernathy.

Oak Ridge (36-9) pounded out 11 hits in its final game.

Leadoff hitter Warren East went 2-for-5 with two runs scored and two stolen bases, while Parker Free was 2-for-3 with a double, three RBIs and a run scored.

Class 4A Mr. Baseball Mikee Teasley went 2-for-5 and scored twice.

Cy Stephens finished 2-for-4, while Peyton Witter doubled and drove in a run. Whit Renegar singled and scored a run.

The 36 wins set a new program record, surpassing the previous mark of 28 wins, set last season.

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Greenhalgh claims state silver, runs ‘like a pro’ in 800

by Ken Lay


Mason Greenhalgh took second place in the 800-meter run at the 2025 TSSAA state championship meet in Murfreesboro. - ORHS Sports Media
When Mason Greenhalgh won the Class AAA boys 800-meter run last spring at the TSSAA state championships in Murfreesboro, he became the first Oak Ridge High School athlete in more than a decade to capture a state title in a traditional sport.

Then a sophomore, Greenhalgh had the opportunity to defend his title in 2025 as a junior.

A three-sport standout who also runs cross country and swims for the Wildcats, Greenhalgh got that chance last Thursday at Spring Fling 32 in Murfreesboro.

And while Greenhalgh came up just short of repeating as champion, Oak Ridge Coach Tom Sauer praised his performance at Middle Tennessee State University’s Dean Hayes Stadium.

“It was the opposite of last season,” Sauer said. “Mason came in second and Evan Beeler, the kid from Farragut, came in first.

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Mikee Teasley is Class 4A Mr. Baseball

by Ken Lay


Oak Ridge senior and University of Tennessee commit Mikee Teasley was named the 2025 Tennessee Class 4A Mr. Baseball title. - ORHS Sports Media
Oak Ridge High School wrapped up its 2025 baseball season Friday night with a third-place finish in the Class 4A state tournament in Murfreesboro.

It was a banner year for the Wildcats, who went 36-9 and captured the District 3-4A regular-season and tournament titles.

Oak Ridge also won the Region 2-4A championship and swept Science Hill in the sectional round to punch its second consecutive ticket to Spring Fling.

The Wildcats’ 36 victories broke the school’s previous single-season record of 28 wins, set in 2024. This year also marked the program’s first-ever trip to the state Final Four.

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