Sports
February 11, 2026 by Jake Nichols
Gold and silver TSSAA plaques gleamed inside Farragut’s Lynn E. Sexton Gymnasium Saturday with 56 medals laid out beside them.
Given to the team champions, regional victors and sectional qualifiers for each weight class, these awards cut a stark contrast to the bloody noses, twisted knees and general scrapes and bruises suffered by wrestlers in the 2026 Region 2-AA meet on Feb. 7.
Fourteen of those medals went to wrestlers from the Farragut area, signifying their ranking as they advance to next week’s sectional round.
Of those 14, only one shone gold, and it went to Farragut High School’s Jonathan Laney after his Region AA title in the 138-pound class.
In his championship bout, Laney defeated Halls’ Boaz Whaley to avenge his loss to the same wrestler in the Region 2-AA Duals meet on Jan. 21 at Hardin Valley.
“I was pretty pumped,” Laney said. “I was super tired, but with that adrenaline rush, it felt awesome to hear the crowd screaming for me.”
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February 11, 2026 by Ken Lay, Correspondent
Oak Ridge — Hardin Valley Academy’s basketball teams split a pair of District 4-4A games on the road Friday night, Feb. 7.
The Lady Hawks notched a 64-53 victory over Oak Ridge at Wildcat Arena, avenging a home loss to the Lady Wildcats at home earlier this season.
In the first meeting between the two teams, the Lady Hawks fell behind before nearly pulling off a comeback victory in a 49-43 loss.
“We did a good job digging ourselves a hole and we almost got out of it,” Hardin Valley coach Jennifer Galloway said after her team lost to the Lady Wildcats at HVA in January.
The Lady Hawks were behind, 31-28, at Oak Ridge Friday night at halftime, but they quickly seized the upper hand after the break, outscoring the Lady Hawks, 21-5, in the third quarter to open a 49-36 advantage heading into the final frame.
Audree Rhien and Sarah Galloway scored 14 points each late last week. Rhien had a double-double as she pulled down 11 rebounds while Galloway, a guard, grabbed seven boards.
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February 11, 2026 by Jake Nichols
On Feb. 6-7, several area swimmers and divers competed at the 2026 TISCA State Championships at Montgomery Bell Academy.
Bearden’s Garrett Bailey won the state championship in men’s 1-meter diving as the Louisville signee reached a point total of 469.75. Meanwhile, Farragut’s Olivia Kohl took 11th in the girls division with a total of 283.25.
In team results, Farragut came in 29th on the women’s side with Hardin Valley in 10th, Webb in 30th and Catholic tied with three other schools for 40th.
HVA took seventh on the men’s side with Concord Christian in 14th; Webb in 15th; Bearden 16th; and Farragut in 22nd.
In combined team scores, HVA took sixth at 186 with Webb at 11th (62 points) and Farragut at 15th (42 points).
The Aqua Hawks led the area with 10 top-10 finishes out of 24 events in total.
In the men’s 400-meter freestyle relay, HVA took eighth overall at 3:19.19 with Webb at 11th at 3:20.24, Bearden in 14th at 3:21.73 and Farragut in 15th at 3:23.55.
HVA finished in the same spot in the men’s 200-yard freestyle relay at 1:29.77 with Webb in 14th at 1:31.46 and Concord Christian after that at 1:32.04.
The Aqua Hawks also led
the area in the women’s 400-yard freestyle relay, finishing fifth at 3:35.77 with FHS in 11th at 3:46.03.
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February 11, 2026 by Ken Lay, Correspondent
Knoxville — Webb School of Knoxville’s girls basketball team got off to a fast start against Cedar Bluff rival Knoxville Catholic at home Friday night,Feb. 6.
And that would be enough to propel the Lady Spartans into the win column against the Lady Irish before a packed and spirited house at Lee
Athletic Center in a 56-41 Division II-AA East Region contest.
“I just thought we got off to a great start,” Webb coach Greg Hernandez said. “We did a good job on defense. Any time you hold a team to 41 points in a high school game, you should win.
“I thought we did a good job defensively across the board.”
The Lady Spartans’ defense stifled the Lady Irish throughout much of the contest, although Catholic enjoyed a brief spurt of momentum in the second quarter.
Webb, which led, 20-9, after the opening frame, went a bit cold offensively in the second stanza, scoring just seven points in the frame. Still, the Lady Spartans held a 27-18
advantage at the halftime break.
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February 11, 2026 by Jake Nichols
Recently, there were several notable names listed among the Tennessee Sports Writers’ Association’s golf and cross country selections.
In boys golf, Bearden senior Charlie Culbertson and Hardin Valley senior Eli Glenn were both selected in Class AA.
Culbertson entered the 2025 TSSAA state championship as an individual and finished as the state runner-up. He posted a two-day total of 140, including a 4-under, 68, in the first round. He followed with a 72 on his second day and finished only two strokes back from the state champion, the highest ever individual finish for the boys in school history.
Hardin Valley senior Eli Glenn led the Hawks to the Class AA state championship in their first appearance, shooting 73-68 to earn a tie for third place as an individual.
At the Div. II-A level, Christian Academy of Knoxville sophomore Tyler Stafford was named an All-State selection. He led CAK boys team with a tie in fifth place at state, shooting 141 over two days.
On the girls’ side, Hardin Valley sophomore Addisyn Newman was named All-State in Class AA. She led the HVA team to a second place finish at state and was the state runner-up after shooting 72-69, just one stroke behind the leader. She also led the Lady Hawks to a region championship and medaled in four regular season matches.
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February 11, 2026 by Ken Lay, Correspondent
Knoxville — The Webb School of Knoxville-Knoxville Catholic High School basketball rivalry is one of the most intense in Knox County and all of East Tennessee.
The two schools, which are separated by just a few miles, renewed acquaintances on the hardwood Friday night, Feb. 6.
The game was contested
before a sold-out house at Webb’s Lee Athletic Center and after an even first quarter, the Spartans pulled away for a 71-55 victory, completing the regular-season sweep against the Irish.
The game was declared a sell out just seconds before tipoff and the fire marshal required the stop of ticket sales.
“I don’t know how you can say there’s a better rivalry in Knoxville than this one,” Spartans’ coach Ricky Norris said. “I mean, you’re closing the doors, and this was just a great high school basketball game.
“They’re a great team and you have to play well against them to beat them, to win. This was a clean game. I’m sure there was talking because there always is, but this is just a clean and healthy rivalry.”
After the opening frame, Webb and the Irish were locked in a 15-15 tie before the Spartans grabbed the upper hand and opened a 30-25 lead by halftime.
“They came out and did a good job. They smacked us in the mouth,” Norris said. “It was a defensive first half and if you loved pitchers’ duels then you liked this.
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