Rising Rock is excited to showcase some of our best audio stories from this past semester in a continued partnership with Scenic Roots.
Check out the individual audio stories here or listen to the entire showcase on WUTC
Continue reading “Rising Rock Radio Showcase 2025”Written By Kayelyn McCaslin
Patterned ties knotted at the neck and bright dresses swished with each stride. Frilly hats, white gloves, and leather shoes stayed on despite the heat. A Sunday afternoon in 1950s Chattanooga, Tennessee, called for the best fashion. Only this crowd had already been to church, and they were headed for another kind of sanctuary: Engel Stadium. “I can picture my father with his tie on, sitting in the stands on a Sunday after church,” said Mickey McCamish, former President of The Engel Foundation. “Growing up, Engel Stadium and The Lookouts were a social fabric of Chattanooga. It was the center place.”
Now, those Sunday games are long gone. After decades of negligence and decay, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) has announced that Engel Stadium will be demolished in 2026 and replaced with a women’s sports center. This decision has stirred both nostalgia and frustration from the Chattanooga community, especially those like McCamish who knew the stadium as the hub of social life in town.
McCamish first saw Engel as a ten-year-old selling Coca-Cola in the stands. Now a Navy veteran and Executive Director of Friends of the Festival, he watches as the fabric of Engel Stadium fades.
Continue reading “A Stadium’s Last Stand”Written by Zoie Denton
Greatness wears many faces. For 18-year-old martial artist Joel Westbrook, greatness is carved into every determined push of his wheels. As the first ever male wheelchair athlete selected for the U.S. Para-Karate National Team, he has become a living symbol that limitations don’t define a person. His journey is proof that true strength is not bound by the body, but by the fire that drives it forward.
Westbrook was born with spina bifida, a condition that affects how the spine and nerves develop. He can walk short distances using braces and crutches, but his wheelchair is where he feels strongest and most comfortable. Despite the challenges he faces, he has never felt limited.
When Westbrook was around eight years old, he saw a television show with a character performing martial arts in a wheelchair. For most viewers, it was simply a character, but for Westbrook, he saw himself represented in a sport that had always seemed inaccessible. Under the guidance of his physical therapist, Westbrook and his family discovered Green’s Karate in Chattanooga, Tennessee, a dojo known for adapting karate for all students.
Continue reading “The Seated Champion”Written by Carter Graham
As “Voodoo Child” blares from the arena speakers, Gage Bell’s mind isn’t on Jimi Hendrix’s famous guitar licks or the roaring crowd. Instead, he is mentally preparing for a fight against an opponent he’s never met or seen..
If someone had told Bell three years ago he would have been entering the cage of a Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fight, he would have called them crazy. His path to combat sports was different than most, he didn’t grow up wrestling or fighting, instead he focused on baseball and basketball.
It wasn’t until his junior year of high school that Bell had even considered a different sport.
Continue reading “Modern Gladiator”Written by Silas Panktraz
A high-pitched beep cuts through the air, just as it does every three minutes during training sessions at the YMCA Y-CAP boxing gym in Chattanooga, Tennessee. This beep is soon followed by a clash of gloved fists and padded heads, as two opposing forces wish to refine their fighting skills in the ring.
For the past twenty-five years, this same beep has been heard by countless fighters, young and old, several of which would go on to become national and even international champions in their sport. Today, however, the gym hosts the final night of training before the 15th annual Guns and Hoses charity boxing night.
Continue reading “Friends Fight”Written by Carter Graham
In the chaos of high school extracurriculars, where the color guard rehearses their routines with large bright flags sweeping back and forth, the marching band walks in unison with the distant sounds of football pads colliding from a practice field. It’s a typical Tuesday night at Heritage High School, and the Girls Varsity Flag Football team is about to kick off.
Led by Junior linebacker and wide receiver, captain Addi Dills’ face is painted with the familiar eye black spectators many see on Saturday or Sunday, reminiscent of Ray Lewis or John Randle. Dills, a three-sport athlete, also plays basketball and runs track.
Continue reading “For the Girls”Written by Maya Spratley
The low patter of footsteps and the occasional labored breath can be heard throughout downtown Chattanooga. A group of strangers gather due to their shared interest in running, but in the process, they gain community.
Those exploring North Chattanooga early Saturday morning might run into the Chattanooga Run Club.
The idea that someone actively chooses to push their body in a way that causes their heart to race, blood to pulse, and sweat to drip can seem daunting to some. The Chattanooga Run Club aims to change that perspective on running. According to the club’s founder, Lucas Gallon, the club prides itself on welcoming all speeds and experience levels.
Continue reading “Run Nooga Run”
Rising Rock is excited to showcase some of our best audio stories in a continued partnership with Scenic Roots. To listen to Scenic Roots, visit https://www.wutc.org/scenic-roots.
Ava Nessell spoke with Wendy Reynoso, the student success and services coordinator at La Paz Chattanooga, about her experience finding a community in Chattanooga after immigrating from Guatemala.
Continue reading “Rising Rock Radio Showcase”Written by Abby White
Gravel and dust kick up while passing through the iron gates branded “BZ” after a scenic ride through rural Alabama. Blue heelers circle cars as guests are welcomed by the roaring banter of bullfighters and riders. You’ve landed at Bioz Zoe, a home away from home for many.
Located in Boaz, Alabama, Bioz Zoe provides a community for beginner, intermediate, and professional riders and fighters attracting people from all walks of life, including bull rider and inspirational speaker, Brylan Miller.
Continue reading “The Boys in Boaz”Written by Noah Camacho
Surrounded by ramps, rails, ledges, and skateboards, families gather to spend a couple of hours learning how to skateboard. Alongside trained instructors, beginner skateboarders learn the basics of skateboarding at the Learn to Skate Clinic.
Outdoor Chattanooga hosts a learn-to-skateboard class at the Chatt Town skatepark in downtown Chattanooga. During this class, equipment is provided ranging from helmets to kneepads—and most importantly, skateboards.
The class was led by Gray Joyce and Patrick Sheel, local skateboarders who are highly skilled and have extensive skateboarding knowledge.
According to Joyce, beginners should start the class by having a group stretch, which is crucial in skateboarding as it mostly involves their legs. The skateboarders are then taught how to ride a board properly and how to find their center of gravity.
Learning to push and having good foot positioning during this sport is one of the most important things to learn as a beginner, and one must have a firm understanding of both of these before they can move onto bigger obstacles.
Continue reading “Chatt Town Skate Clinic”