State swim meet in Knoxville on Friday, Saturday

Several area athletes will take center stage Friday and Saturday as Knoxville hosts the Tennessee State High School Swimming and Diving Championships.

Action starts at 9:30 a.m. each day, with finals at 6 p.m. at the Allan Jones Aquatic Center on the University of Tennessee campus.

“They’ll be about 900 swimmers across about 90 different high schools,” said Tennessee Aquatics coach Marshall Goldman. “Hardin Valley will be in the hunt for the women’s championship with Harpeth Hall.”

Goldman pointed to several local athletes to watch for during the meet.

Hardin Valley senior Erica Laning was the 2016 Tennessee Female Swimmer of the Year. Laning, who earlier this year broke the national high school record in the 400-meter freestyle, will swim for Arizona State next year.

“Hardin Valley’s 400 freestyle relay also broke the national record earlier this year,” said Goldman.

Bearden junior Caleb Harrington is the defending state champion in the 100 butterfly.

L&N Stem Academy senior Alex Hines, a Virginia Tech signee, is seeded first in the 200 individual medley and the 100 breast.

L&N Stem is also well represented in women’s diving. Senior Emily Bretscher, who has signed with Purdue, is the returning state champion.

Showdown Saturday: It’s time for the annual boys basketball showdown between Oak Ridge and Fulton.

The game tips off at 8 p.m. on Saturday at Fulton. The Falcons are ranked No. 3 in the latest Class AA poll while the Wildcats are No. 2 in Class AAA.

The much-anticipated game has become an instant classic since it was moved to the last week of the regular season in 2014.

Ironically, the loser of the last three Oak Ridge-Fulton games has gone on to play for the state championship.

A year ago, the Oak Ridge played near-perfect basketball in an 81-31 win over Fulton at Wildcat Arena.

However, the Falcons rebounded to win their next 10 games on their way to the state championship.

The previous two meetings between the teams saw Oak Ridge prevail (59-58)  in 2015 and Fulton win (57-53) in 2014.

The girls game is likewise building a tradition of its own as No. 10 Fulton hosts No. 3 Oak Ridge at 6:30 p.m.

The Lady Falcons won last year’s meeting in Oak Ridge, 30-26.

The Lady Wildcats used that game as a springboard to the state championship game where they lost to Riverdale.

Morgan’s Milestone: Veteran McMinn Central girls basketball coach Johnny Morgan won the 900th game of his career on Tuesday as the Chargerettes (23-3) raced past McMinn County, 87-69.

Morgan is 900-330 in his 39-year coaching career at McMinn Central, which is ranked No. 3 in the state in the latest Class AA poll.

McKinney Stars: It was quite a performance on Monday for Coalfield standout Parker McKinney as the Class A Yellow Jackets notched a decisive 68-45 home win against Class AAA Farragut.

McKinney, a 6-foot-3 junior point guard, came tantalizingly close to registering a quadruple double.

He totaled 30 points, seven rebounds, nine assists, seven steals and two blocks. McKinney was 11 of 12 from the field and he hit all four of his 3-point shots.

“He manages the offense from his point guard position very well,” said Yellow Jackets coach Jason Hill. “He gets people in their sets and gets them involved.”

McKinney’s performance was nothing new.

He averages 21.8 points, 7.1 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 3.6 steals a game.

Tyler Keathley added 11 points as Coalfield improved to 15-10.

The game also marked a milestone for Hill as he recorded his 100th career victory at Coalfield.

Mike Blackerby is a freelance contributor.