Month: February 2019

A tough campaign for the Cedar Ridge men’s basketball team came to an end on Monday night. Hillside defeated the Red Wolves 66-30 in the Big 8 Conference quarterfinals in Durham. Cedar Ridge ends the season 1-23. The Red Wolves were hurt by defections in the offseason. The good news is Cedar Ridge’s junior varsity boys team won ten games, its best record in recent years. Coach Clay Jones is also happy that several of his players will spend their spring playing lacrosse to keep in shape for next year. Meanwhile, Hillside will prepare for Northern Durham on Wednesday night in the Big 8 semifinals.

On Tuesday night, the Orange women’s basketball team officially sewed up a spot in the 3A North Carolina High School Athletic Association State Playoffs when they defeated Southern Durham 42-35 at Spartan Gymnasium. It was another night where guard Lauren Cates came up big in the clutch, knocking down three 3-pointers in the 2nd half to finish with a game-high 17 points. Icez Barnett added ten points. Orange clinched the second-seed in the Big 8 Conference Tournament, which starts on Monday night. Orange will host East Chapel Hill at 6 o’clock. If they win, they will host Wednesday night’s semifinal game against either Southern Durham or Cedar Ridge. The Lady Panthers completed the regular season 19-5.

The successful Orange wrestling career of Levi Anderson concluded on Saturday. In the 145-pound 3A state championship wrestling match, Spencer Leonhardt of Morganton Freedom defeated Anderson 3-0 to win his second consecutive state championship at the Greensboro Coliseum. Anderson concludes the season with a record of 52-5. This season, he won five individual championships, including the 3A Mideast Regional Championship. In addition, Anderson was among the highest scorers for the Orange men’s soccer team this past season. In his career, Anderson won over 120 matches and was a part of four conference championship teams and two regional title teams.

The wrestling career of Orange’s Avery Jenkins came to an end on Saturday afternoon at the Greensboro Coliseum. Jenkins finished 4th at 170 pounds in the 3A State Tournament. In the final win of his career, Jenkins defeated Morehead’s Charles White 7-5 in overtime. It was the second time in three weeks that Jenkins defeated Weeks in an extra session. In the 3rd place match, Caleb Kimpler of Union Pines defeated Jenkins 6-4. Jenkins concludes the year 46-13 and was a member of four Big 8 Conference Championship teams and two Eastern Regional Championship teams.

It was a special night at Orange High on Friday. It was the final regular season home game for five seniors who have helped shape the Orange women’s basketball program. Icez Barnett, Lauren Cates, Grace Dively, Kate Burgess and Namron Chapman all started on Senior Night as the Lady Panthers easily defeated Northern Durham. Together, the five Orange seniors have won 55 games, a Big 8 regular season championship and a Big 8 Tournament championship over the past three years. On Monday night, they will be right back at home when Orange faces East Chapel Hill in the opening round of the Big 8 Conference Tournament. Tipoff will be at 6 at Orange High Gymnasium. The players have meant something to Orange Coach B.J. Condron, who discussed what they’ve meant to him after the win, which improved Orange’s record to 19-5 this season.

A tough regular season for the Cedar Ridge Red Wolves ended on Friday night with a loss to Southern Durham on Senior Night in Hillsborough. Despite the defeat, seniors Justin Holes, Keshon Crisp and Zach Crane are a tribute to never giving up and staying the course despite steep odds against them. Cedar Ridge will have to plenty to build on for the future after the solid freshman play of Derrick Smith this season. Plus, captains K.J. Barnes, Chris Tinnen and Andrew Altieri return for next season. Cedar Ridge will face Hillside in the opening round of the Big 8 Conference Tournament on Monday night in Durham.