Month: May 2019

The final Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week for the 2018-19 academic year is freshman Caroline Fowlkes. On May 17 at the 3A State Track & Field Championships at North Carolina A&T University, Fowlkes tied the school record in the pole vault when she cleared ten feet. She finished ninth overall. Last summer, Fowlkes moved to Hillsborough from Alabama. She comes from a family of pole vaulters. Her mother competed at the University of Florida, while her father was an athlete at the University of South Alabama. Fowlkes had four first place finishes during indoor track & field season last winter. Fowlkes’ classmate, Susan Smith, also qualified for the state championships and joined Caroline for this interview. 

Landon Riley: The 2017 Orange High graduate continues to flourish as a middle reliever at Liberty University. Over the weekend, Liberty won the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament in Conrad Park in DeLand, Florida. In a double-elimination tournament, Liberty played six games in a span of five days. After losing to Jacksonville 9-6 in ten innings on Thursday, the Flames reeled off four straight wins for their first-ever Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament Championship. In Saturday’s 5-2 win over Jacksonville, Riley earned his 2nd win of the season, replacing starter Garrett Price in the fifth inning. With Liberty needing a long relief effort to save up its pitching, Riley entered the game with Liberty trailing 2-0. He delivered four-and-one-thirds shutout innings. Liberty responded by scoring all five of its runs in the sixth inning for a 5-2 win and advance to the championship. The Flames defeated the host team, Stetson, twice to take home the title. Hours after the Jacksonville win, Liberty defeated Stetson 6-3 on Saturday, then beat the Hatters on Sunday 4-3.

It was Liberty’s first conference championship since 2013. On Monday, Liberty was placed in the Chapel Hill Regional of the NCAA Tournament. The Flames will face Tennessee on Friday night at 7 o’clock inside Boshamer Stadium. The top-seed in the Chapel Hill Regional is ACC Champion UNC, who will face UNC Wilmington on Friday afternoon to open the weekend. Tennessee defeated Liberty 7-1 on February 26 in Knoxville. Liberty is 7-3 against ACC teams this season, including two wins over Duke and Virginia Tech, and another against UNC.

Riley, a sophomore, now has 21 appearances this season. He is 2-0 with a 2.51 ERA with one save in 32.1 innings. 

Jamar Davis: Less than a year after graduating from Orange High, Davis has qualified for the National Track & Field Championships as a member of N.C. State. On Saturday in the NCAA East Preliminary in Jacksonville, FL, Davis set the personal record on his second attempt in the triple jump. Davis’ leap of 51-feet, five inches ranks eighth all-time in N.C. State history. It earned him his fourth top-ten finish in the triple jump during an event this season. The NCAA Championships will be held June 5-7 in Austin, TX. 

Brad Debo: Another 2017 Orange High graduate, Debo had a two-run single in the top of the ninth innings of N.C. State’s 6-5 win over Wake Forest in the ACC Tournament at Durham Bulls Athletic Park on Thursday night. The win ensured the Wolfpack would advance to the ACC Semifinals. Against the Demon Deacons, Debo went 2-for-4 with 3 RBIs, including a RBI double in the 7^thinning. In Saturday’s 9-2 loss to Georgia Tech, Debo went 1-for-1 with three walks. The Wolfpack has made the NCAA Tournament for the ninth time in ten seasons. On Friday, they will face Campbell in the Greenville Regional at Clark-LeClair Stadium. The other half of the regional matches up East Carolina against Quinnipiac. The Wolfpack defeated the Camels 10-1 on February 27 in Buies Creek, but the Camels edged the Wolfpack 5-3 on May 7 in Raleigh. 

In 57 games this season, Debo is hitting .242 with four home runs and 39 RBIs. 

Marvin Jones: The Cedar Ridge graduate recently completed his sophomore season with the North Carolina Central Track and Field team. On May 2-4, Jones finished 4^thin the high jump in the MEAC Track & Field Championships. On May 12, Jones finished first in the high jump in the Mount Olive Final Qualifier with a leap of 2.04 meters. Jones had four first place finishes in the high jump this season and was named the MEAC Field Athlete of the Week on March 21. 

A long trip down east paid off for the Cedar Ridge softball team on Friday night. The Red Wolves defeated West Carteret 6-3 to advance to the 3rd round of the 3A State Playoffs. Tori Dalehite blasted a two-run homer in the 3rd inning. Takia Nichols drilled her team-high eighth home run of the season in the 4th. Tionna Carter laced a two-run double in the sixth with two out. Senior Kara Wagoner lined a RBI single in the 1st inning to score Taylor Ruhl. Kymberlie Thacker made several big plays at the plate and didn’t conceded a wild pitch. Pitcher Taylor Barnes earned her 18th win of the season, the most by any Cedar Ridge pitcher in school history. The Red Wolves won’t have to travel nearly as far for its next state playoff game. They will take a 10-minute drive to Mebane on Tuesday night for a showdown against Eastern Alamance, the Mid State Conference Champions. You can hear that game on Hillsboroughsports.com at 6:25.

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is sprinter Zach Crane. On Saturday, Crane teamed with Vaughan LaNier, Brandon Garcia and Connor Blankford to finish 8th in the 4×800 relay at the 3A Mideast Regionals at Southern Lee High School in Sanford. Earlier this season, Crane finished 2nd in the 3,200 meters during a meet at Northern Durham, crossing the finish line at 11:52.1. Crane has been a member of Cedar Ridge’s 4×800 relay team for two consecutive years. He also has been a member of the Cedar Ridge indoor track team. Earlier this season, he set a new personal best in the 1,600 meters during the Big 8 Championships at Southern Durham High School.

The Orange baseball team’s season ended last Tuesday after falling to J.H. Rose in the 3A State Playoffs. It was also the end of Joey Berini’s third varsity season. This year, Berini led the Panthers with a .541 batting average. He also led the team with 33 hits, including 12 doubles. This year, Orange finished with a 14-6 record, their best season since 2016, when they captured the Big 8 Championship. Next season, Berini will be a senior and will aim to lead Orange back to the top of the Big 8 Conference. This interview with Joey was taped on April 23 after a win at Northern Durham.

In the longest playoff game in Cedar Ridge softball history, senior shortstop Tionna Carter laced a single to centerfield to score Taylor Ruhl in the bottom of the 11th inning to push the Red Wolves past West Johnston 4-3 on Tuesday night at Red Wolves Territory in the opening round of the 3A State Softball Playoffs. Carter’s single ended a long defensive stalemate where neither team scored for eight consecutive innings. The Red Wolves advance to Friday, where they will face West Carteret in Morehead City. Last season, the Red Wolves defeated West Carteret 10-0 in the 2nd round of the 3A State Playoffs in Hillsborough.