Month: January 2020

Orange’s Matthew Geib, Noah Jamison, Abby Dease and Ashley Behringer have all ensured a trip to the Greensboro Aquatics Center next week, and possibly another one after that.

On Wednesday night, the Orange and Cedar Ridge men’s and women’s swimming teams competed in the Big 8 Swimming Championships at the Taisean Aquatics Center at Duke University.

Though no Panthers or Red Wolves came away with individual conference championships, several qualified for the 3A Mideast Regionals, which will be held next Friday at the Greensboro Aquatics Center next to the Greensboro Coliseum.

Orange’s Matthew Geib qualified for the Mideast Regionals in three different events. In the 200 yard medley relay, Geib teamed with Noah Jimison, Cross Roman and Owen Rasinske to finished 3rd at 1:43.63.

Geib also finished 2nd in the 100 yard butterfly at 52.82 seconds. In the 100 yard backstroke, Geib finished 4th at 57.15, which earned him a spot at regionals.

Rasinske also qualified for regionals in three events. In addition to the 200 relay, Rasinske finished 3rd in the 50 yard freestyle at 23.49 seconds. In the 100 yard freestyle, Rasinske also finished third at 51.44.

Orange’s Roman picked up a spot in regional qualifying in the 50 yard freestyle, as well, with a 5th place finish at 23.64 seconds.

Jamison broke the Orange High School record in the 200 yard individual medley at 2:05.44. He finished 4th to earn a spot next week in Greensboro.

Cedar Ridge senior Devin Bunner came in second in the 200 yard individual medley, the highest finish of any Red Wolf swimmer. Banner touched the wall at 2:02.27, behind only Chapel Hill’s Peter Bretzmann.

Orange’s Ashley Behringer automatically qualified for the Mideast Regionals in three events. She finished fifth in the 200 yard individual medley at 2:21.11, just under the NCHSAA-mandated automatic regional qualifying team of 2:21.99. Behringer also qualified in the 100 yard butterfly, where she finished third at 1:02.92. East Chapel Hill’s Emily Regelsberger captured the 100 butterfly championship.

Orange’s 200 yard medley team of Behringer, Brooke Walker, Abby Dease and Calla Walker qualified for the Mideast Regionals. They finished 2nd at 1:59.76. East Chapel Hill’s Sofia Georgallis, Mary Holmes, Regelsberger and Bri Acome finished first at 1:58.94.

Orange’s Calla Walker finished 2nd in the 50 yard freestyle at 25.81 seconds, behind only Northern Durham’s Bridgette Ervin. Walker also finished 7th in the 100 yard freestyle at 59.44 seconds.

Orange’s Abby Dease qualified for two regional events. In addition to the 200 relay, she finished 2nd in the 200 yard freestyle at 2:07.96. East Chapel Hill’s Margaret Sept came in first at 2:00.69.

For Cedar Ridge, Olivia Aitkin finished 13th in the 50 yard freestyle at 27.37 seconds. Aitkin could potentially finish on the All-Big 8 Conference team, which would be the second sport she’s received league honors this year. Aitkin made All-Big 8 in women’s golf during the fall. Her main sports is softball, which starts practice in three weeks.

The regionals will start at 4 o’clock next Friday afternoon.

In addition, Orange diver Stasz Zitko has qualified for the 3A Mideast Men’s Regional Diving Championships next week. Zitko, who won the 2019 Big 8 Conference Men’s Diving Championship, will compete Thursday morning. He qualified for the state championships last year.

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is senior swimmer Devin Bunner. On Wednesday night, Bunner finished 2nd in the Big 8 Conference Swimming Championships in the 200 individual medley at the Taisean Aquatics Center at Duke University. His time of 2:02.28 automatically qualified him for next week’s 3A Mideast Regionals at the Greensboro Aquatics Center. Bunner also joined Cedar Ridge in the 4×400 relay to end the night. Bunner is focused on qualifying for the 3A State Championships, which he can do next week in Greensboro. Devin is also a percussionist for the Cedar Ridge band. Like many people throughout the world, he was saddened by the death of legendary Rush drummer Neil Peart two weeks ago. Bunner will return to action next Friday for the Mideast Regionals.

Orange senior Noah Jimmerson finished 4th in the 200 individual medley on Wednesday night in the Big 8 Conference Championships at Taishoff Aquatics Pavilion at Duke University. Jimmerson broke the school record with a time of 2:05.44, meaning he is under consideration for next week’s 3A Mideast Regionals at the Greensboro Aquatics Center. Orange’s Owen Rasinske finished 3rd in the 50 yard freestyle. His time of 23.49 seconds means he is also under consideration for the regionals. Rasinske automatically qualified for the 100 yard freestyle, where he finished third after he touched the wall at 51.14, a full second ahead of the 3A qualifying standard mandated by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association. The Mideast Regionals will take place next Friday the Greensboro Aquatics Center next to the Greensboro Coliseum.

Orange’s Abby Dease finished 2nd in the 200 yard freestyle on Wednesday night inside Taishoff Aquatics Pavilion at Duke University. Dease finished with a time of 2:06.47. She also was part of Orange’s women 200 yard medley relay team, which also included Abby Behringer, Brooke Walker and Calla Walker. The Panthers relay team finished 2nd behind a group from Chapel Hill. They qualified for regionals with a time of 1:59.76. Abby’s father Dean is the former Orange High baseball coach who won over 500 games. Her mother Jan also helps with Orange’s swimming team during workouts at the Orange County Sportsplex. Abby will now focus on the 3A Mideast Regionals, which will take place next Friday at the Greensboro Aquatic Center, next to the Greensboro Coliseum.

Hello everyone! In this edition of the ramble: not every team gets a prediction for one of their games as I said I would do last week because it’s already Tuesday night as I write this and I have been doing the whole college thing more so than usual this week. Also of note, I’m only doing analysis on 6 teams this week and we might stay at 6 from here on out because of the overwhelming number of irrelevant teams in the conference right now. Anyways, let’s get on with it. 

Duke

Duke has taken a bit of a fall lately coming off a bad loss at Clemson and another loss at home to Louisville. That being said, they just bounced back with a huge victory over Miami. Miami is a really bad team, and Duke did what great teams do to bad teams. K’s squad has some issues defensively with Wendell Moore still out with an injury, but the W against the Hurricanes is a step back in the right direction for the Blue Devils.

NC State

NC State is coming off a solid week. While a 60-54 win over Clemson and a 53-51 win over a struggling Virginia team don’t necessarily look that good on paper, those are games the Pack don’t win a year ago. Markell Johnson is a baller, and he finally has a supporting cast with guys like CJ Bryce. This gives State a secondary scoring option to Markell Johnson and CJ has taken advantage of his opportunity. Now a message to State fans, you literally won the game against Virginia. Stop complaining about the officiating in a game that you won, that’s not something that has historically happened for the Pack. You’ve been angry (and for good reason) long enough. Celebrate, y’all. Winning should be fun!

North Carolina

What is there left to say about Carolina? They are turrible (no, that is not a typo.) Say what you want about Roy Williams comment about this being the “least gifted” team he has coached, but that statement was 100 percent true. Maybe when Cole Anthony is back the Heels can get a win against NC State or something.There’s not really anything else to look forward to if you’re a Carolina fan.

Syracuse

The Orange just needed to figure out how to win games without relying on the 3 point shot. Against Virginia Tech, they did just that. Buddy Boeheim took some drives to the hoop, as did Elijah Hughes. And some solid paint minutes for Quincy Guerrier got the job done for the Orange in Blacksburg. Syracuse has now won 3 consecutive games. Cuse has finally found their stride and will start creeping closer to the projected field of 68 if they keep it up.

Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech is so much fun to watch. The team shoots 3 after 3 after 3 and when you have shooters like the Hokies do, it’s a pretty sight. The issue for Tech remains though in that they have no paint defense. Syracuse exposed their interior defense on Saturday. Look for their opponents to start feeding the low post from here on out. Earth to Carolina: feed Garrison Brooks in the post Wednesday night.

Notre Dame

John Mooney is one of the best rebounders in the country, but he can’t win games for the Irish alone. Notre Dame finally got a scoring performance from someone not named Mooney. Prentiss Hubb gashed Georgia Tech for 25 points in a hard fought victory in Atlanta. Notre Dame has an outside shot at the tournament, but they’re going to need somebody to consistently help out John Mooney. Prentiss Hubb looks like he might fit the part.

Power Rankings

1. Florida State
2. Louisville
3. Duke
4. NC State
5. Syracuse
6. Virginia Tech
7. Virginia
8. Clemson
9. Notre Dame
10. Pittsburgh
11. Georgia Tech
12. Miami
13. Boston College
14. Wake Forest
15. North Carolina

Predictions

Syracuse at Notre Dame: Syracuse 78-77

North Carolina at Virginia Tech: Virginia Tech 83-68

Clemson at Louisville: Louisville 73-62

NC State at Georgia Tech: Georgia Tech, 65-62

Virginia at Wake Forest: Virginia 55-51

Last week’s picks: 6-2

Season record: 25-14

When this countdown series started in November, there was virtually no question that Cedar Ridge volleyball’s upset of Chapel Hill would claim the top spot.

Here’s a larger question: was this Cedar Ridge’s biggest regular season win in any sport since they jumped to 3A in 2014?

I think you can say it is.

Certainly Cedar Ridge women’s tennis Big 8 Conference championship had some big wins in the regular season, including two against Chapel Hill. But the Tigers didn’t even make the playoffs that year.

Cedar Ridge softball has won consecutive softball conference championships in 2018 and 2019. They defeated Eastern Alamance to start the 2018 season, and the Eagles would go on to win the 2019 3A State Championship. But that 2018 team didn’t have Kenna Rae Dark pitching for it. The 2019 team did, and that’s a big difference.

Going into its match against Chapel Hill on September 10, Cedar Ridge volleyball had just suffered its first loss of the season the night before against Jordan in Durham.

The Tigers, with seven seniors, were powered by the finishing skills of Kaya Merkler (who finished with 423 kills this season), Julia Charney (204 kills) and Courtney Zwikker, the daughter of former UNC basketball center Serge Zwikker.

Cedar Ridge was powered by freshmen. Skilled freshmen like Cameron Lloyd, Julie Altieri and Cameron Lanier. They had led the Red Wolves to a 6-1 start, but could they stay on the same floor against a Chapel Hill team that had played for the 3A Eastern Regional championship the year before? And played for the state title the year before that?

The answer was yes.

A tight first set proved predictive of how the rest of the match would be. No team led by more than four, and Chapel Hill battled back from two different deficits to level the score at 20-all and 22-all before Cedar Ridge took three of the final four points. As a Tiger hit the ball into her half of the net to clinch the first frame for the home team, the first drop of reality seemed to set in on the Cedar Ridge sideline – maybe this really could happen.

Chapel Hill won sets two and three.

As the page turned to the fourth set, the left-side success Merkler and fellow senior outside Julia Charney had in the second and third sets started to dry up, thanks in large part to an improved Cedar Ridge block anchored by freshman Cameron Lanier. But while Lanier’s performance at the net was notable, her effort at the service line bordered on legendary. With set four even at 8 apiece, Lanier head back behind the line and steered her team to a 7-0 run, with five of those points coming from Lanier aces. Chapel Hill finally sided her out and battled back to level the set at 23, but then the other two standout Red Wolf freshmen came through – setter Julie Altieri delivered a setter kill for set point, and outside Cameron Lloyd did the rest by tooling the block to tie the match. 

By the time the fifth set arrived, much of the crowd that remained got to its feet. Chapel Hill held the advantage in the early going, but never led by more than two. The visitors were first to what Seethaler conceded was that pivotal tenth point, but with the Tigers ahead 11-10, Lanier stepped back to the line and delivered two more service aces to flip the script. Chapel Hill coach Ross Fields called a timeout. The teams traded points, as Merkler finished off another back row kill to make it 13-12 Cedar Ridge. From there, the Red Wolves’ gameplan was simple: feed Cameron Lloyd. It had worked all season, it had worked all game, and it worked when it mattered most: Lloyd delivered the game’s final two kills, both set up by Altieri, placing the match-winning point precariously over the net, pinpointing it into the middle of the back row for a 15-12, five-set victory. 

Cedar Ridge would be the only team to beat Chapel Hill the entire season. The Tigers would lose only two sets for the rest of the regular season. From September 17 to October 22, the Tigers didn’t lose a set, a span of 12 matches. On November 9, they defeated West Henderson 3-1 to win the elusive state championship.

Cedar Ridge’s season ended after the first round of the 3A State Playoffs against Terry Sanford. But Red Wolves Coach Anna Seethaler has had to spend part of this winter thinking back to one night in September where her team beat the very best in the state.

And she has to be smiling about the future, as well.

Jamar Davis: The 2018 Orange High graduate has qualified for the long jump in the 2020 ACC Indoor Track & Field championships. On Saturday, Davis had a jump of 23’11” at the Gamecock Opener in Columbia, S.C. He finished 5th. Davis’ teammate, freshman Chris Alexander, won the event with a leap of 25’02.50″. In the triple jump, Davis finished 2nd. He had a leap of 50’03.50″, behind only Marc McCoy of Bethune-Cookman. Davis has also qualified for the ACC Championships in the triple jump. While Payton Wilson has been named to the All-Decade team by the Raleigh News and Observer, Davis’ resume at Orange may have been the most versatile in school history. He qualified for the Penn Relays in track & field, winning the North Carolina High School Athletic Association MVP for the 3A State Championship meet. Davis won four state championships. He also won the leading scorer for the Orange men’s soccer team his senior year, leading them to a victory in the state playoffs. Plus, he was a wrestler for three years, where Orange won three Big 8 Conference and two 3A Eastern Regional Championships. Alternating between 182 and 195 pounds, Davis went 73-28 with 40 pinfall victories.

Marvin Jones:  Former Cedar Ridge star Marvin Jones won the high jump event at the JDL January College Kickoff in Winston-Salem on Saturday. Jones leaped 2.06 meters for North Carolina Central for the victory. It was Central’s first event since winter break. In December, Jones finished 2nd in JDL Kickoff Classic. He has now qualified for the MEAC Indoor Track & Field Championships in Landover, MD starting February 20.

Icez Barnett: On Monday, the Division II Chowan women’s basketball team lost to North Greenville 73-59 inside Hayes Gymnasium in Tigerville, S.C. Barnett came off the bench to score two points and grab five rebounds in eight minutes. She also fouled out. Chowan is now 3-14, 3-10 in Conference Carolinas.

Kaylen Campbell: The Division III Trinity women’s basketball team is on a three-game winning streak and is 12-4 overall. On Friday, the Bantams defeated Wesleyan (Connecticut) 77-58 in Silloway Gymnasium in Hartford, CT. Campbell came off the bench to play 13 minutes and had two points, two assists and one rebound. In a 61-52 victory over Babson on January 14 in Babson Park, MA, Campbell had two points in ten minutes. She added two assists and two rebounds.

Lauren Cates: On Saturday, the Wake Tech Community College women’s basketball team defeated USC Salkehatchie 81-63 in Raleigh. Cates started for the Eagles and scored 14 points off 5-of-8 shooting. She was 2-of-4 from 3-point range. On January 15, Wake Tech romped past Brunswick Community College 77-43, its seventh win in eight games. Cates scored ten points. She was 3-of-6 from the field with two 3-pointers. On January 13, Wake Tech defeated Caldwell County College & Technical Institute, Cates scored three points. Wake Tech is 12-4, 7-3 in Region X of the National Junior College Athletic Association. They host Spartanburg Methodist on Thursday. The Eagles are tied for 2nd in Region X with Bryant & Stratton. Catawba Valley Community College, who defeated Wake Tech earlier this month, is in first place in the region with a 6-0 record.

After two runner-up finishes over the past two seasons, Orange’s Kessel Summers has claimed his first individual varsity wrestling championship.

Summers pinned Havelock’s Nate Lucio to take the 126-pound championship of the Dash Classic at Fuquay-Varina High School on Saturday afternoon. It was the second straight weekend that Summers defeated Lucio. On January 11 at the Havelock Duals, Summers defeated Lucio 14-5, a major decision which led to the Panthers beating the Rams via criteria 36-35.

Orange finished 4th in the team standings, its best tournament showing of the year. In addition to Summers, Orange’s Brendan Worsham finished 2nd at 182 pounds. Senior heavyweight Juan Navarro placed 3rd. At 195 pounds, Jackson Ollis came in fourth, the first-time he’s ever placed in a tournament.

Cedar Ridge finished tied for 20th with 34 points. Among the six Cedar Ridge wrestlers who participated, Alex Christian was the only one that placed. He tied for fifth in 182 pounds after winning via disqualification over Hillside’s James Blankston in the consolation round. Fuquay-Varina’s Melvin Colon defeated Christian 4-1 in the consolation semifinals. Christian also defeated Harnett Central’s Jose Zambrano 13-7.

Summers finished 2nd in the Quentin Crosby Tournament at Dudley High School in Greensboro on January 4. Last season, Summers finished 3rd in the 3A Mideast Regional at Southeast Guilford High School and qualified for the State Championships at 113 pounds.

Summers now leads the team with 29 wins and 18 pins this season.

For the second time this year in an individual tournament, Summers faced an opponent from Leesville Road in the semifinals. Summers defeated Cole Patterson 9-6. The decision was the only time Summers went the distance in the tournament.

After receiving a bye in the opening round, Summers opened the event by pinning Southern Durham’s Tashaun Smith in 1:15. In the quarterfinals, Summers pinned West Johnston’s Chris McHenry in 3:40.

Worsham, who played junior varsity football last fall, had his best-ever individual showing a week after he defeated Havelock’s Tate Cringan 8-0 in a major decision which led to Orange beating Havelock. After he pinned Southern Durham’s Jordan Rogers in 19 seconds, Worsham faced Cringan again. This time, Worsham pinned him in 1:29 to reach the semifinals, where he pinned Colon in 4:48. Wesley Sharpe of Voyager Academy defeated Worsham for the championship in 4:22.

Worsham finished 4th in the Quentin Crosby Tournament.

Navarro edged Ronald Reagan’s Christia Cohen’s 2-1 to win the consolation final. It’s his best finish of the year. He earned a 7-3 decision over C.J. Shepherd of Enloe to advance to the championship semifinals. Hillside’s Rodney Harris, who captured the heavyweight championship, earned a 14-8 decision over Navarro.

In the consolation semifinals, Navarro pinned Cape Fear’s Chason Bryant in 3:40.

Last season, Harris and Navarro squared off in the Mideast Regionals with a trip to the state championships on the line. In a match that stretched to three overtimes, Harris won 4-3.

Ollis lost his opening match in the championship round, but won consecutive bouts in the consolation bracket. He pinned Apex’s Elijah Gagne-Koudak in 23 seconds. then pinned Pinecrest’s Luca Peck in 1:37 to reach the consolation finals. South View’s Kyle Johnston defeated Ollis for 3rd place.

It will be a busy week for both Orange and Cedar Ridge as the season winds down. Orange, still going for its 17th consecutive Big 8 Conference championship, will host Southern Durham on Wednesday night in Hillsborough. On Saturday, the Panthers will travel to Durham for the Riverside Invitational.

On Thursday, Cedar Ridge will host its senior night in a tri-meet against East Chapel Hill and Vance County.