It started with a good plan.

Shortly after winning the Mideast Regional Championship on October 26, Orange cross country coach Brian Schneidewind combed through the results and times from the other results from across the state. He presciently concluded that his team’s top challenger in the state championships would be North Lincoln.

“They have a phenomenal program,” Schneidewind said. “They have been running consistently great times. I told my wife on Saturday that our goal is to beat North Lincoln. If we finish third, I could handle that. But if beat them, I thought we could take it.”

Orange’s runners either improved or maintained their times from the regionals to a road that ended in solid gold.

After winning the Mideast Regional championship three of the past four years, Orange emerged from Kernersville with its first North Carolina High School Athletic Association Cross Country 3A State Championship in school history on Saturday. The Panthers finished with 63 points to pace 21 other teams at the Ivey Redmond Sports Complex. North Lincoln came in second place at 96 points.

It is the eighth state championship in Orange athletics history and the first since the Orange softball team won the 2017 3A crown by sweeping Piedmont in a best-of-three series at N.C. State. The last Orange men’s team to win a state championship was the 2012 wrestling squad, who defeated Southwestern Randolph 34-30 under legendary head coach Bobby Shriner.

In 2023, Orange finished second in the team standings behind Croatan. In 2022 and 2023, Orange’s Gabriel Schmid won the 3A State Individual championship, the second Panther runner to ever win a state crown.

It was two juniors that led the pack for Orange. Myles Jermyn, the son of Duke cross country coach Kevin Jermyn, finished sixth at 15:56.06. Right behind Jermyn was his teammate, Lucas Van Mater, who came in eighth at 16:04.59.

While Orange’s two juniors led the pack, it was the senior co-Captains that paved the way to a championship. In his final race as a Panther, Peter Musser shaved a minute off his personal record. Musser, who was seeded 100th, wound up finishing 31st at 17:06.06.

“We wouldn’t have won if it wasn’t for him,” said senior Aiden Viola. “A handful of people are always going to have a rougher race because they’ll feel pressure, or there will be a larger group on your back or the course will be kind of rough. We had enough guys pull through and place ahead of where they were supposed to be placed.”

Another senior co-Captain, Cyrus Neal saved his best for last. Neal scored nine points with a time of 16:29. Orange junior Nolan Hufner finished 153rd at 19:41.73.

“This was four years in the making,” Musser said as he wore his state championship medal around his neck. “Last year was in the back of our minds. I’m just so glad that I could help out the team. I’m so glad I get this final victory for the team. This is one final hurrah for us.”

It was truly a team championship. To keep his runners updated about their status, members of Orange women’s cross country team were stationed throughout the 3.1-mile course. So were junior varsity runners Benji Loter and Cayden Beneville. They all counted the places between the Orange runners and the North Lincoln runners, as well as updated them on their times.

“They played a very pivotal role in locating the North Lincoln runners,” Schneidewind said. “Throughout these massive packs of runners that were traveling around and telling them where they were. It’s a cool things of how our program operates. I put it to the runners how they wanted to communicate. If our girls had messed up and started checking their phones instead of paying attention, we wouldn’t have won.”

In a field of 172 runners from around the state on a warm November day, Jermyn and Van Mater made the All-State team. Neal missed earning a spot on the all-state squad by nine seconds. Orange’s race was the last of eight state championship races, counting the women’s events.

“Our coach had a very detailed plan for what we were all supposed to do,” Musser said. “We all did our job. He broke everything

Grant Schmid, the younger brother of Gabriel Schmid, finished 23rd.

“It was pretty nerve wracking,” Schmid said. “It’s not like another easy meet. It’s definitely competition. If even one of us had not done our job, we wouldn’t have won today. But everybody did their job and did even better than what they were supposed to.”

Cedar Ridge senior Nathan Walters finished 41st as the Red Wolves finished tenth overall in the team standings. In 2023, the Red Wolves had just one runner qualify for the state championships. This year, they qualified as a team. Junior John Ngunjiri came in 46th (17:22.89). Henry Alexander finished 53rd (17:25.75) while junior Ryan Matthews finished 78th (17:55.79).

After years of celebrating Gabriel Schmid as an individual champion, the entire squad can celebrate a state championship as a team.

“This is the culmination of four years of hard work for me, Aiden and Peter,” Neal said. “Three years for the rest of the guys.”

For the first time ever, Hillsborough’s two 3A high schools finished in the top two spots in the Mideast Regional Men’s Cross Country championships.

Orange continued its dominance, winning its third regional championship in four years at Owens Recreation Park in Louisburg last Saturday. Buoyed by a 2nd place finish from junior Myles Jermyn and a third place finish from Lucas Van Mater, the Panthers finished with 42 points.

Cedar Ridge, which came in seventh last year, rocketed to a runner-up finish behind strong performances from juniors Henry Alexander and John Ngunjiri. Last year, the only Red Wolf to qualify for the state championships was Ryan Matthews. This year, they qualified as a team.

Orange won four Central Conference championships and three regional titles under head coach Brian Schneidewind. The Panthers earned their latest title despite the graduation of Gabriel Schmid, a two-time 3A Individual State champion who led the Panthers to a runner-up finish in the 3A State Championships last November in Kernersville. Orange also lost Alden Cathey, an All-Regional defenseman on Orange’s lacrosse team.

“Even though they graduated, I don’t think all of our great runners have left,”  Schneidewind. “I try to remind the runners today that it was specifically the class of 2022 with Nick Pell and Ethan Horton and Spencer Hampton that had took that big step in terms of work ethic. They instilled the mindset that running outside of practice needs to become the norm, which has continued to be embraced by this group. That’s a huge part about any success that we have.”

Jermyn, who won the individual conference championship, finished 2nd individually in the regional with a time of 15:46.06. Van Mater came in third at 16:04.66.

“Both our guys and girls teams have phenomenal human beings,” Schneidewind said. “One of the ways that they’re great individuals is their work ethic and willingness to go after a goal for intrinsic reasons rather than all the hoopla that’s probably not going to come with running. So their desire to set goals, academically or athletically, is another huge part of what’s been happening.”

Ethan Rich of Western Harnett, who finished 2nd in the region last year behind Jermyn, wound up winning the individual regional championship at 15:25.56.

“Myles and Lucas are the gym rats, so to speak,” Schneidewind said. “They’re not only getting in the miles outside of practice, but doing all the supplemental stuff. The little things to avoid injury.”

Orange finished with four of the top nine runners. Sophomore Grant Schmid, Gabrier’s younger brother, finished seventh (17:05.78). Senior Cyrus Neal, who was voted a co-Captain, came in ninth at 17:10.38. Another senior co-Captain for Orange, Peter Musser, finished 22nd at 18:20.88.

Van Mater, whose sister Katelyn was a three-sport athlete at Orange before graduating in 2023, is in his third year on the varsity cross country team. He also runs track & field in the spring.

“Another area where I’m crazy lucky in what I do is that these families set a great foundation of hard work,” Schneidewind said. “They set a balance of academic, athletics and helping the community. Lucas’ sister played a large part in his development and his older brother (Josh) ran cross country, as well. That’s the case of many of the parents of many of our athletes.”

In the women’s regionals, Orange freshman Reilly Jermyn finished fourth overall, which propelled the Lady Panthers to a third-place finish. Myles and Reilly Jermyn are the children of Duke University  cross country coach Kevin Jermyn.

“I’ve never been around someone who knows as much about running as Kevin does,” said Schneidewind. “I told Reilly this last week. As good of a coach as Kevin is, and he’s a very good collegiate coach, but he’s even better as a father. I’m incredibly impressed with his ability to put being a father over being a coach. He think of his children as people before he thinks of them as athletes.”

Orange freshman Ava Bishop finished 10th in the women’s race as Orange qualified as a team for the state championships, which will be contested today (Saturday) at the Ivey Redmon Sports Complex in Kernersville.

Cedar Ridge had four runners finish in the top 17 out of a field of 117 participants. Alexander came in 8th overall at 17:07. 53. Ngunjiri finished 10th at 17:11.22. Senior Nathan Walters crossed the finish line 14th at 17:18.53. Ryan Matthews came in 17th at 17:44.59.

“Our top four have all made huge jumps in terms of fitness,” said Cedar Ridge cross country coach Jared Buddington. “Especially with John.”

Last year, Ngunjiri struggled with shin pain most of the year and raced just once. After a strong indoor track & field season, his shin problems returned last spring, sidelining him from the outdoor track season.

“He really hasn’t had the opportunity to race since last winter,” Buddington said. “This year, he ran a personal best of 18:15 in his first race. He’s run 16:48 this year, which is the top time on the team. He’s stepped up.”

Last year, Walters started the season running around the 22-minute range in the 5K. By the end of the year, he brought that down to the 18:57. This year, he’s gotten the time down to 16:58 in just his second year of running.

“He wasn’t a runner coming into the program,” Buddington said. “He’s just stuck with it. He really likes the community and being around like-minded people. He really be his true self when he’s around the team. It brings out his true personality.”

Hi everyone! Just click on the banner below. It will take you to another screen. Press play and enjoy the game!

Hillsborough Sports | Hillsborough Sports’s live audio

Hillsborough Sports is on Mixlr. Mixlr is a simple way to share live audio online. Broadcast using any source and invite others to listen and chat in real-time.

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is senior wide receiver Kingston Purefoy-Farrington. This season, Purefoy-Farrington has scored six touchdowns, including three against Walter Williams in Burlington last month. He finished with 200 yards receiving against the Bulldogs, his second 200-yard receiving game of the season. In the season opener against Southeast Alamance, Purefoy-Farrington had 220 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Purefoy-Farrington also had 86 yards receiving against Person with a touchdown. In the spring, Purefoy-Farrington runs track and field in the 100 and 200 meter dash. Last year, he qualified for the 3A State Championships at North Carolina A&T State University in the 4×100 meter relay team. He has a goal of qualifying individually for the 100 meters next spring just before he graduates. Hunter Albert scored two touchdowns in Orange’s win over Cedar Ridge for Homecoming. Albert earned his first touchdown of an interception return. Later, he caught a pass from quarterback Kyse Devore as the Panthers retained the victory bell. Albert starts as a wide receiver on offense and as a defensive back. He has 43 solo tackles this season. Albert has three career interceptions. Orange will conclude its season with a trip to Mebane to face Eastern Alamance on Friday night at the John Kirby Sports Complex. You can hear the game on Hillsboroughsports.com starting at 6:50.

Orange Panther of the Week: Kingston Purefoy-Farrington; Defensive Player of the Week: Hunter Albert

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is senior wide receiver Kingston Purefoy-Farrington. This season, Purefoy-Farrington has scored six touchdowns, including three against Walter Williams in Burlington last month. He finished with 200 yards receiving against the Bulldogs, his second 200-yard receiving game of the season.

The past two years have brought the longest sustained success for the Orange volleyball program. They have won two Central Conference regular season championships, a Central Conference Tournament championship, eight state playoff victories and the 2023 3A Eastern Regional championship. They have a combined record of 45-14. On Tuesday night, the Panthers took J.H. Rose, the #1 ranked team in the 3A East Region, to the limit in the state quarterfinals. It was the final match for senior Abby Silinski, Karleigh Johnson and Peyton Sigmon. This season, Silinski was the starting libero for the Panthers and led the team with 336 digs. Silinski also had 33 aces, which was tied for fourth. Silinski had some crucial aces late in the second set against Rose, which led to the Rampants losing their first set in the state playoffs. Johnson was another important defensive player for the Panthers in 2024. Johnson had 70 digs. Sigmon’s mother attended Orange High School and was in the Class of 1991. Sigmon had several aces in the Panthers senior night win over Walter Williams earlier this month. Together, Silinski, Johnson and Sigmon got to take the most important walk in state volleyball last year. They stood under the spotlight inside Reynolds Coliseum as they were introduced in the 3A State Championship match. It’s a memory now, but some memories last forever.

Orange volleyball seniors Abby Silinski, Karleigh Johnson & Peyton Sigmon discuss their final year

The past two years have brought the longest sustained success for the Orange volleyball program. They have won two Central Conference regular season championships, a Central Conference Tournament championship, eight state playoff victories and the 2023 3A Eastern Regional championship. They have a combined record of 45-14.

Photo by Abigail Pfeiffenberger 

Orange Middle 28, Northern Roxboro 20: It was expected that the showdown between Orange Middle and Northern Roxboro on October 23 in Person County would be the biggest threat to the Chargers unbeaten streak to start the year.

Indeed, the Raiders and the Chargers were tied 20-20 with 1:30 remaining in the fourth quarter. After the Raiders scored the game-tying touchdown, the Chargers got a huge kickoff return from Cam Royster, who was finally downed at the Norther 18-yard line. As dusk set on a field without lights, quarterback Brayden Robbins scored the game-winning touchdown, then added a two-point conversion. The Orange defense held up to secure the victory.

Royster, Wilbert To rain and Jakob Silinski also scored touchdowns for Orange Middle.

Orange Middle 36, Culbreth 6: The Chargers ensured that it would host the Orange-Person Athletic Conference Championship game on November 13 with a home victory over the Cougars in Hillsborough on Wednesday.

Wilbert Torain scored two touchdowns, one on offense and another on defense. Torain made an interception and returned it for a touchdown. Asher Devore, Brayden Robbins and Cam Royster also had touchdowns for the Chargers.

Orange Middle will host Gravelly Hill for 8th grade night next Wednesday for the regular season finale.

The Chargers will face Northern Roxboro for the OPAC Championship at Auman Stadium at Orange High School on November 13 at 5PM.

Volleyball: The Stanback Bulldogs have won the Northern Division championship in the OPAC. Stanback, coached by Izzy Sheppard, a member of Cedar Ridge volleyball’s 2021 3A State Championship team, went 10-2 during the regular season. They will face Smith Middle School for the OPAC Championship on November 7. Earlier this month, the Bulldogs defeated Orange Middle to win the division title.

Orange Middle fell to 9-2 after the loss.

Stanback’s junior varsity team won their division title, also finishing with a 10-2 record.

Under the definition of unlikely champions, the Cedar Ridge women’s cross country team would likely fit the description.

Not because of talent, but due to circumstances.

Yet that didn’t stop the Red Wolves from winning the 3A Mideast Regional championship at Owens Recreation Park in Louisburg on Saturday. Senior Naomi Dyreng, the individual Central Conference champions, finished second overall as the Red Wolves came in with 74 points, holding off runner-up Carrboro, who registered 84.

Freshman Isabella Taylor-Hall finished eleventh while another freshman, Illa Diaz, came in 15th. Cedar Ridge, which won the Central Conference championship in Burlington earlier this month, went from finishing fourth in the Mideast Regionals last year to a championship in 2024.

When head coach Jared Buddington started workouts in August, he wasn’t expecting a high level of success so quickly. Abigail Klaitman, the Red Wolves’ second-most experienced runner who finished 7th in the Mideast Regionals last year, has missed most of this season because of injuries.

“I really didn’t expect to be as good as we are,” Buddington said. “We’re really young. We have a lot of underclassmen. Gracie Whitaker has been a huge factor in our success. So has Isabella and Illa. It’s been a pleasant surprise.”

Taylor-Hall showed up on the first day of practice after being absent during summer workouts. Buddington thought Taylor-Hall would be a nice addition to increase participation numbers. Then in the first Central Conference race of the year, Taylor-Hall finished 5th overall to help Cedar Ridge win a tri-meet at Orange. Since then, she’s shaved off nearly three-and-a-half minutes from her personal best.

“She’s sort of become our #2 runner,” Buddington said. “Without Abigail, Isabella has really stepped up to fill that role of the second runner.”

Whitaker, who finished 21st in regionals, has made the eighth biggest improvement in the state from freshman to sophomore year. Last year, her personal best was 25:15.90 . This year, it’s 21:44.09.

“At the very beginning of this year, she said I want us to be a good team,” Buddington said of Whitaker. “She started putting in a lot of miles as soon as soccer season ended. She’s been really consistent.”

Another multi-sport athlete, sophomore Kate Finnegan, finished in 25th place at regionals.

“Without Kate making a big jump, I don’t think the girls would have won the region,” Buddington said. “She was one of our best runners.”

The championship came after a year of turmoil within the program. In 2023, a former head coach was fired in midseason, which attracted an outcry from parents and some students. Buddington, a former Cedar Ridge runner who was an assistant at Pinecrest, was thrust into the position of interim coach. Not only was he in charge of two cross country teams, he was also left trying to unite a divided household. Results didn’t come immediately.

Buddington called a team meeting in the J-wing Auditorium after the head coach’s departure. He vowed to the runners that they would be a good team and would move forward together. Conner Buddington, Jared’s sister-in-law, joined the staff last October.

“I really didn’t know what to do because I had never been a head coach before,” Buddington said. “I wasn’t sure if I was capable of taking over this program. But I had to sit down with the kids. At first, they were upset because they lost a head coach that they had grown to know. I think throughout the last year and three months, they’ve grown to appreciate what we offer the team.”

After winning the conference and regional championships, the Red Wolves will move on to the 3A State Championships at the Ivey Redmond Sports Complex this Saturday afternoon.

“I think there’s a huge value in giving kids in high school a structured running plan,” Buddington said. “I think that giving them all the tools to succeed and telling them exactly what to do each day and letting them see what they need to do really guides them to where they want to be. But I also think we also foster a strong community where we value developing runners and believing in our kids.”

Conner Buddington believes practices have become part of a fun day for the runners.

“They really enjoy being around each other,” Conner said. “They have a lot of fun as individuals, but they have a lot of fun together. So they’re not dreading going to practice. They get to come see their friends and run with their friends. The way they support each other before and after the race. The girls supporting the guys. The guys supporting the girls. It’s a lot of fun to see.”

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is junior volleyball outside hitter Kayla Stoll. This season, Stoll was second on the team in kills with 230 kills as the Red Wolves won a share of the Central Conference regular season championship. Stoll also played middle blocker and led the team with 46 blocks to help a Cedar Ridge team win three matches over Person, who reached the state quarterfinals. In the opening round of the state playoffs against Franklinton, Stoll had a career-high 15 kills as the Red Wolves won a match in the state playoffs for a fifth straight year. In the second round, Cedar Ridge swept Southern Nash in Bailey. Stoll finished with eleven kills. Kayla has been a member of the varsity for three years. This season, she was instrumental in replacing Addie Reid, who graduated last June and is now playing at North Carolina Central. Stoll had 13 kills in Cedar Ridge’s win at Person on August 27, the conference opener. She also had 12 kills against Orange in the Central Conference Tournament championship game. The Red Wolves wrapped up the season with a 18-7 record. For five straight years, Cedar Ridge has won either a conference regular season championship or a tournament championship.

Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week: Kayla Stoll

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is junior volleyball outside hitter Kayla Stoll. This season, Stoll was second on the team in kills with 230 kills as the Red Wolves won a share of the Central Conference regular season championship.

The Orange football team will end not only its season, but its stint in the Central Conference this Friday night against Eastern Alamance in Mebane. In the four years since the league was created from realignment, Orange has never defeated a team from Alamance County. Unlike previous years, the Panthers have been competitive against Central Conference teams in 2024. Orange led Southern Alamance 14-0 in the first quarter for Senior Night two weeks ago. It’s been a spectacular season for senior wide receiver Kingston Purefoy-Farrington, who has six touchdown catches. Against Walter Williams last month, Purefoy-Farrington had three touchdown catches. Junior quarterback Kyse Devore came on for an injured Hank Nunnery and threw four touchdown passes in a Homecoming win over Cedar Ridge. Devore also rushed for a touchdown. Junior defensive back Hunter Albert had an interception return for a touchdown and a reception for a touchdown. Against Person, Bradsher returned a kickoff to open the second half for a touchdown. He became the first Orange player to return a kickoff for a touchdown since Wynston Brown did it against Eastern Alamance in 2021. Orange will face Eastern Alamance at the John Kirby Sports Complex in Mebane on Friday night. You can hear the game on Hillsboroughsports.com.

Orange football’s Devore, Bradsher, Purefoy-Farrington and Albert discuss Homecoming win

The Orange football team will end not only its season, but its stint in the Central Conference this Friday night against Eastern Alamance in Mebane. In the four years since the league was created from realignment, Orange has never defeated a team from Alamance County.