Month: December 2016

With the return of four players to the lineup after the sudden conclusion of football season, the Orange boys basketball team found its footing with two victories over the course of 48 hours.

The Panthers defeated Southern Alamance 76-58 in Mebane on Wednesday night behind 30 points from Connor Crabtree. Senior Logan Vosburg added 15 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field, along with 13 rebounds.

This week marked the varsity debuts of Ryan Sellers, Devondrez Moore, Eli Haitchcock, and Kendall Whitted, all of whom reported directly to basketball practice on Monday after Orange’s football season ended last week against Havelock. Senior Keshawn Thompson, who came off the bench last season, also is back.

Despite the return of upperclassmen, freshman Joey McMullin continued a strong start to his Orange career. In only his third game, McMullin finished with 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting on the field, including 3-of-4 from three point range.

With the win over the Patriots, Orange evened its record to 2-2. The opening two losses came two weeks ago during the HighSchoolOt.com Season Tip-Off at Millbrook High School, where the Panthers played with only ten players, three of whom were freshman.

Orange returns to Millbrook on Saturday to face the Wildcats in the 3rd Annual Millbrook Winter Showcase. Tipoff is at 6PM in Raleigh.

A second consecutive Big 8 Individual Conference Championship was more than enough for Cedar Ridge’s Ian Elliott to be named the Big 8 Male Runner of the Year on Wednesday.

Elliott, a senior, earned the honor for the second consecutive year. He finished first in three separate events this year, including the Big 8 Championship at Chapel Hill High School. His time of 16:42.28 edged out Chapel Hill’s Ryan Combs by eight seconds.

On top of that, he ran while the temperature was 89-degrees—in mid October.

“It was a lot grittier this year,” said Elliott, who won the 2015 Big 8 championship at Pittsboro’s Northwood High. “I feel like I’m good running in the heat. We put in a lot of miles during the summer. Although I knew this would feel awful, it’s just running.”

Elliott also set his personal best time of 16:30 at the Adidas XC Challenge at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary.

Through plenty of success during his high school years, Elliott doesn’t see cross country in his immediate future.

“I’m not looking to run competitively in college,” said Elliott. “I’d love to stay in shape and run for a club. Maybe run a “Fun Run 5K.” Maybe take a race every now and then just to see where I’m at. I think after this upcoming track season, I’ll be done with competitive running.”

Two Orange runners earned at-large spots: Andrew Sollars, who had the highest finish for the Panthers in the Big 8 Championships, and Sam Rasinske.

On the girls side, Cedar Ridge’s Elizabeth Zarzar was named to the All-Conference team following a third place finish at the Big 8 Championships. Last month, Zarzar was honored with the WRAL Extra Effort Award.

“I was proud of my run that day, especially because of the heat,” said Zarzar. “I didn’t get my personal record. My time was still a lot better than I thought it was.”

Like Elliott, Zarzar runs indoor and outdoor track. Last spring, she finished 3rd in the Big 8 Conference in the 3200 meters. She also finished 3rd in the region in the same event.

Also making the All-Big 8 Conference from Cedar Ridge was Julie Averette, who finished eighth in the 3A Mideast Regionals with a time of 20:31.

For Orange, Adalyn Fleming made All-Big 8. Flemming, who started basketball season with Orange on Tuesday in a season-opening victory over East Chapel Hill, finished first in Orange’s opening home meet on September 7th against Burlington Williams. After finishing 11th in the Big 8 Championships, she came in 13th at the Mideast Regionals.

Earning At-large sports for Orange in girls cross country was Ava Heffernan.

Cedar Ridge’s senior co-captains Tess Johnson and Leah Thompson, sophomore Kate Millner and freshman Olivia Ward were named to the Big 8 All Conference team on Wednesday.

Orange Coach Andy Brown was honored as Big 8 Coach of the Year. Brown, who hinted at retirement during October’s Big 8 Tournament, led the Panthers to a 6-6 record after the Panthers went 1-12 in 2015.

Johnson, who attended Governor’s School in Raleigh during the summer, was the top singles player for a Cedar Ridge team that captured its first conference championship in school history. She also qualified for regionals for the second consecutive year.

The Red Wolves went 19-2, 12-0 in the Big 8. Johnson and Ward were also the top doubles team, which went 7-4 during the season.

Thompson finished 14-2 as a singles player. She also qualified for the 3A Mideast Regional in doubles with Alana Lutz.

Millner teamed with Senera Sauers to win the Big 8 Doubles Championship at Orange High Tennis Courts. The duo defeated teammates Thompson and Lutz 8-2.

Ward, the daughter of Person High tennis coach Lynn Ward, also qualified for regionals after going 14-4. She played #2 singles as a freshman.

The Orange doubles team of Ashley Tilley and Natalie Darveaux were also named to the All-Big 8 team. Tilley and Darveaux finished fourth in the Big 8 Doubles Tournament and qualified for regionals.

Chapel Hill’s Gabby Kmiec was named the Big 8 Player of the Year. Southern Durham earned the Sportsmanship Award.