Month: February 2020

Stanford and Stanback wrestling: While the Orange wrestling team’s string of dominance in the Big 8 Conference ended last week, the Stanford Chargers’ run continues. In front of a large crowd inside Charger Gymnasium, Stanford defeated Stanback 51-45 on Friday afternoon. The victory completed the Chargers’ 20th consecutive Orange-Person Athletic Conference championship and its 18th straight undefeated regular season. Earlier in January, the Chargers defeated the Bulldogs by one point at Stanback.

Five Stanford wrestlers completed undefeated seasons. Wyatt Hedrick scored a pin at 85 pounds. At 92 pounds, Kale Womble earned an 11-4 decision to give Stanford an 15-0 lead. Jared Hutchins pinned his opponent in 31 seconds at 108 pounds. Josh Cowan completed a perfect regular season with a pinfall victory in 2:00 at 115 pounds. At 134 pounds, Jace Womble earned a pin in 3:10.

Unlike the matchup on January 10, Stanford got off to a strong start, winning the first three matches. Luke Stitz earned a pin to open the match at 76 pounds. Wyatt Hedrick picked up a forfeit win at 86 pounds, which was followed by Kale Womble’s victory to put Stanford ahead 15-0.

Stanback’s Pierce Prescod, who won his match against Stanford in their initial meeting, scored a pin in 90 seconds on Friday. Then the Chargers reeled off consecutive pins from Hutchins and Cowan. The tightest match of the day came at 122 pounds, where Stanford’s Luke Nevius defeated Stanback’s Abinijah Lewis 9-7 in overtime.

Stanford’s Colton Jones claimed a 7-3 decision for a victory at 128 pounds.

For Stanback, Kaden Tatro earned a pin at 140 pounds in 2:20. Marcos Esparza squeezed out a 7-5 decision at 162 pounds. At 172 pounds, Joe O’Melia scored a pin in 20 seconds. Marcos McNeil picked up a forfeit win at 184 pounds. Stanback’s Carlos Vera de Lara pinned his opponent at 197 pounds in 2:00 minutes to reduce Stanford’s lead to 51-33.

At 222, Stanback’s Kellan McMullen won via forfeit. He completed his own perfect regular season at 11-0.

At 154 pounds, Stanford’s Sasha Van Praag earned a pin in 50 seconds, which turned out to be the final win of the day for the Chargers. The Chargers’ Luciano Grimaldo also earned a pin in 30 seconds. Colton Jones earned a 7-3 decision for the Chargers at 128 pounds.

The Orange-Person Athletic Conference Tournament will take place on Saturday.

On January 29, Stanback defeated Gravelly Hill 84-24. Among the winners for the Bulldogs: Flavio Jaramillo Esparza via pinfall (78 pounds), Gavin Stone (85 pounds), Tommy Heckler (92, via a forfeit), Prescod, Zoey Morendo (108 pounds), Oguntoyinbo, Ryan Rakouskas, Juan Estrada Parra (128, via pinfall), Edwin Hernandez Huerta (who finished the season at 9-2 at 134 pounds), Tatro (ended the year 12-0), Esparza (162, who claimed a forfeit win and is now 10-0), O’Meila (10-1 on the year), McNeil, and McMullen.

Gravelly Hill boys basketball: The Gravelly Hill Grizzles claimed the OPAC Northern Division championship by beating Northern Roxboro 46-28 in Person County last Thursday. Landon Dalehite led the Grizzlies with 23 points, a career-high. Kai Wade added 12. Sincere Hanner had five. Nathan Sorrells added four and Crawford Farmer had two. The Grizzlies will complete the regular season against McDougle on Tuesday in Efland, they play in the OPAC Championship game at a time to be determined.

Stanford girls basketball: The Lady Chargers defeated Southern Roxboro 30-19 in Hillsborough on January 28. Evelyn George led the Chargers with eleven points. Shannon Murphy added five. Katie Wolter and Dyreshia Farrish each had four. Olivia Jones scored three, and Samiya Baldwin scored two.

Stanford defeated Northern Roxboro 36-27 on January 30.

Icez Barnett: Erskine defeated the Division II Chowan women’s basketball team 60-57 on Saturday in Due West, S.C. Barnett didn’t play. Last Tuesday, #21 Belmont-Abbey defeated Chowan 95-84. Barnett scored two points in three minutes. The Hawks are 4-16, 4-12 in Conference Carolinas.

Lauren Cates: The Wake Tech women’s basketball team edged Bryant & Stratton College 62-59 on Saturday at Maury High School in Norfolk, VA. Cates, who graduated from Orange in 2019, finished with four points, one rebound, two assists and two steals. She shot 1-of-5 from the field. On Wednesday, Louisburg College defeated Wake Tech 80-66 in a game where the two teams combined for seven technical fouls. Cates finished with six points. Wake Tech is 15-5 overall, 8-4 in Region X of the National Junior College Athletic Association.

Jamar Davis: The N.C. State indoor track & field team competed at the Texas Tech Invitational in Lubbock, TX over the weekend. Davis finished 11th in the triple jump with a leap of 15.38 meters.

Braden Homsey: Over the weekend, the Division III Ferrum Panthers wrestling team finished 16th at the Pete Wilson Invitational at Wheaton University in Wheaton, IL. Homsey came in 7th at 197 pounds, one of three Panthers to place individually. Homsey finished 5-2 with two pins in the tournament. This season, Homsey is 24-9 with two pins.

Next weekend will start the spring sports season for many college across the state. Hillsborough will be represented in baseball, softball and men’s lacrosse. Here are some of the local athletes that will return to action at colleges across the southeast.

Mia Davidson: The Mississippi State catcher was named a Preseason All-American by Softball America. Davidson, who led Orange to the 2017 3A State Championship, is 10th among active players with 45 home runs in her first two years in Starkville. She led Mississippi State in batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, hits, runs, RBIs and total bases in 2019. Davidson was a top-10 finalist for USA Softball’s Collegiate Player of the Year in 2019.

Montana Davidson: Montana will join Mia Davidson for a Mississippi State team that hired Samantha Ricketts as its new head coach in the offseason. After Montana received a medical redshirt during her sophomore season due to a knee injury, she started all 58 games for the Bulldogs in 2019. As a redshirt sophomore, she hit .269 with seven doubles and 21 RBIs. Mississippi State will play Missouri State to start its season on Friday during a weekend series in Clearwater, FL. That series will also include N.C. State, Louisville, and Liberty.

Amy Stutzer: Stutzer, a 2019 Cedar Ridge graduate, will start her softball career at Division III Salem College in Virginia against Southern Virginia on February 14.

Brad Debo: This upcoming season will be the senior campaign for Debo, who was the catcher for four consecutive Big 8 Conference championship teams for the Orange Panthers. Last season for N.C. State, Debo appeared in 59 of the Wolfpack’s 61 games. He hit .242 with 47 hits, 16 doubles, one triple, four homers and 39 RBIs. The Wolfpack will start its season against James Madison on February 14.

Brandon Andrews: Andrews will start his junior season with the Nicholls Colonels against Southern Illinois-Edwardsville in Thibodaux, LA on February 14. Andrews appeared in 24 games as a pitcher last season for the Colonels. He was 1-2 with a 3.24 ERA and two saves.

Jaylin Jones: The Division II Pfeiffer men’s lacrosse team has become Hillsborough south. There are three former Orange and Cedar Ridge players who will suit up for the Falcons this year. Jones will start his junior season in Misenheimer. In his sophomore season, Jones made six starts and played in 16 games. He scored two goals and added three assists for the Falcons.

Zach Berry: The former Cedar Ridge goalkeeper transferred from the Virginia Military Institute to Pfeiffer last season. In his only year at VMI, Berry was between the pipes for five games. He gave up seven goals in 55 minutes and made six saves.

Luke Hernandez: Also now at Pfeiffer. Hernandez played in one game for the Falcons last season. Pfeiffer faces Emmanuel in Franklin Springs, GA on Saturday.

Bowen Collins: A former star at Orange, Collins is now at redshirt senior at Division Lenoir-Rhyne. Last season, Collins played in 15 games for the Bears. He scored seven points with ten shots on goal.

Zach Wright: Now a senior at Division II Mars Hill, Wright had nine goals in 15 games last season. Mars Hill hosts Montevallo on Saturday.

Aidan Poole: A former defenseman at Cedar Ridge, Poole is now at Division III Greensboro College. Greensboro opens its season on February 15 against Virginia Wesleyan at Pride Field in Greensboro.

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is men’s basketball guard Chris Tinnen. On Friday night, Tinnen led the Red Wolves with 21 points as Cedar Ridge defeated Orange 66-60. The win completed a regular season sweep by the Red Wolves of its crosstown rival for the first time since 2015. After Orange made a run in the third quarter, Tinnen scored 14 points in the second half, including nine in the third quarter. Tinnen has been an instrumental part of Cedar Ridge’s most successful season since Tinnen’s freshman year. Chris’ brother, Justin, previously played for Cedar Ridge. Tinnen will play his final home game against East Chapel Hill on Friday night at Red Wolves Gymnasium.

Orange senior Grace Andrews scored 14 points in the Lady Panthers’ 54-40 win over Cedar Ridge at Red Wolves Gymnasium on Friday night. She scored 12 points in the second half as Orange improved to 10-8, 4-6 in the Big 8 Conference. In previous years, Andrews didn’t have to score in order for Orange to put together wins. But this season, Orange has lost Mary Moss Wirt, Jarmil Wingate, and freshman center Erin Jordan-Cornell, in addition to the four senior starters who graduated last June. Andrews had 15 points against East Chapel Hill in Hillsborough, and followed with eleven points in Vance County on Tuesday night. Andrews and the rest of the Lady Panthers will host Big 8 leader Northwood on Tuesday night in Hillsborough. 

Tori Dalehite played volleyball for four years and women’s basketball for three years inside Cedar Ridge Gymnasium. She even held her commitment ceremony to sign with UNC Greensboro for softball inside the new gym. On Friday night, she played her final game inside the place where she’s spent so much of her young life against Orange. While the Red Wolves didn’t come out on top, Dalehite did everything she could. She led the Red Wolves with 14 points. The Cedar Ridge women will play its final three games on the road for this season. During basketball season, Dalehite has prepared for her final softball season at Cedar Ridge with weekly workouts. The Cedar Ridge softball team has won back-to-back Big 8 Conference championships and has reached the third round of the 3A State Playoffs in 2018 and 2019. Dalehite was the 2018 Big 8 Hitter of the Year, which was her sophomore season. 

Whether its a date, a kiss or another of life’s pleasures, you never forget your first time.

Coach Jaison Brooks’ won’t forget his first home game against Orange. Not only because his Cedar Ridge Red Wolves defeated the Panthers 66-60 to complete its first regular season sweep of Orange since 2015.

With a spring in his step evident from the pregame warmups, Brooks appeared to be more eager for tipoff than his players.

“It’s a great rivalry,” Brooks said. “So to be able to participate in it is an awesome thing. The fans showed up tonight and it was a great environment.”

When its Cedar Ridge-Orange, there’s no need for a pregame speech that would make Ric Flair proud to get players ready to play. Despite a 27-point loss to Chapel Hill on Tuesday, Cedar Ridge emerged confident and vibrant right from the start. It was a 180-degree change from last season, when the Red Wolves labored through a 1-win campaign.

Of course, there’s another lesson that sank in for millions of basketball fans around the world this week. It’s called treasuring the moment.

Brooks, a Los Angeles Lakers fan, was one of many devastated by the death of Kobe Bryant on Sunday.

“We’ve all been thinking about Kobe’s death,” Brooks said. “We don’t know when our last day is going to come. We have to live each day to the fullest. So our mantra for tonight was ‘no regrets.’ By the end of the night, we wanted to say we played to our fullest capabilities, whether we won or lost.”

That made Friday night all the better for Chris Tinnen, Jai’Kel Gibbs, Zach Holmes, Andrew Altieri, K.J. Barnes, Grayson Ramon and Cameron Hartley, all of whom survived the 2018-2019 season to enjoy a senior night worth savoring.

The emotion of the packed Cedar Ridge student section knocked Orange back early. Orange only led for 14 seconds in the entire game after Joey McMullin scored on a stickback bucket with 3:18 remaining in the first quarter.

Then Gibbs entered the game. Barely off the bench, Gibbs hit three 3-pointer in less than two minutes to push the Red Wolves ahead 20-14 at the end of the first quarter.

“We know Jai’kel can shoot,” Brooks said. “Then he gets into the game and he shows it. We asked everybody to step up. We weren’t sure how much each player would play, but when they stepped out on the floor, they needed to do what they were supposed to do. Jai’kel did that tonight. We are super proud of them.”

Cedar Ridge (5-14, 3-7 in the Big 8 Conference) hit eight 3-pointers in the first half and led 37-23 at halftime. Mekai Collins, who played at Orange last season after spending two years at Cedar Ridge, scored ten points for the Red Wolves in the first half. He finished with 16.

Orange narrowed its deficit down to 43-39 midway through the third quarter after Kendrell Brooks scored seven points to open the stanza. Tinnen connected on three straight field goals, while Gibbs hit a critical three late in the quarter to keep Cedar Ridge from being challenged again.

Jason Franklin led all scorers with 24 points, while Joey McMullin added 20 for Orange. The Panthers (8-12, 2-8) have won only once since December 26.

Cedar Ridge will travel to Northern Durham on Tuesday. Orange faces Northwood in Pittsboro.

CEDAR RIDGE 66, ORANGE 60

ORANGE–Jerec Thompson 3, Jason Franklin 24, Joey McMullin 20, Kyle Stanley 4, Kandrell Brooks 9.

CEDAR RIDGE–K.J. Barnes 4, Chris Tinnen 21, Andrew Altieri 4, Mekai Collins 16, Zach Holmes 2, Ian Johnson 3, Jai’kel Gibbs 15, Grady Ray 1.

With three starters injured, Orange women’s basketball coach B.J. Condron has been required to put new players in new roles this year.

After losing freshman center Erin Jordan-Cornell to a sprained ankle in practice on Monday, Orange only suited up eight players in Tuesday’s loss to Vance County.

Before Friday’s game against crosstown rival Cedar Ridge, Condron put himself in a new position. He called up three players from the junior varsity team, something he’s never done before in five years on the job.

It paid off handsomely.

In her first varsity game, Jada Reed hit two 3-pointers in the fourth quarter as Orange (10-8, 4-6 in the Big 8 Conference) defeated the Red Wolves 54-40 at Red Wolves Gymnasium on Friday night.

Orange sophomore point guard Aaliyah Harris scored 17 for Orange, including 14 in the second half after missing the bulk of the second quarter because of foul trouble. Senior Grace Andrews, in her final game against Cedar Ridge, added 14.

Another JV Gallup, Nikalya Whitted, scored a field goal in the fourth quarter as Orange defeated the Red Wolves for the seventh time in their last nine meetings.

“We have discussed bringing some players up for a while now,” Condron said. “with there not being a jv game tonight and having a short bench due to injuries and other commitments, it seemed like a good time to try them out. I thought considering the atmosphere they had to play in for their first varsity game, all three gave us some great minutes.”

Alexa Adkins made her Orange varsity debut in the first half.

Tori Dalehite, in her final game inside Cedar Ridge Gymnasium, scored 14 to lead the Red Wolves. Dalehite, who also played volleyball for four seasons, was honored on senior night along with teammates Jacori Walton, Caitlyn Lloyd and Isabella Flynt.

The four players took a party bus to the game, which was paid for by Lloyd’s father, Craig. Dalehite, Lloyd and Walton had played basketball together since their days at Gravelly Hill Middle School in Efland.

After Cedar Ridge’s Phoenix Smith sank two free throws to tie the game, Harris grabbed an offensive rebound off a missed 3-pointer and fed Jala Rainey for a five-foot jumper to give the Lady Panthers a 27-25 lead at the end of the third quarter.

Walton scored off a stickback basket to tie the game at 28 with 5:33 remaining, but Harris struck back with a 3-pointer to put Orange ahead 31-28, which was actually the largest Lady Panther lead up to that point. After Cedar Ridge missed a lay-up, Reed scored a 3-pointer to increase Orange’s lead to 34-28.

Cedar Ridge had a four-point possession to whittle the deficit to 34-32. Dalehite scored off an offensive rebound and drew a foul against Katelyn Van Mater. After the missed free throw went out of bounds, Dalehite went to her knees after a loose ball and fed Lloyd for a short jumper with 4:23 remaining.

Reed got a shooter’s bounce on a 3-pointer on the next Orange possession, which was followed by a jumper from Andrews to increase Orange’s lead to 39-32. Dalehite scored back-to-back field goals for Cedar Ridge, but Andrews drilled a critical 3-pointer with 2:23 remaining.

The first half was reminiscent of Cedar Ridge’s 44-37 upset of the Lady Panthers last year. Harris picked up two fouls and was relegated to the bench early in the second quarter, which left the Orange offense rhythmless. Nadia Oswald drilled a 3-pointer midway through the second quarter to put Cedar Ridge ahead 12-8. Orange was held to four field goals in the first half.

Cedar Ridge (1-18, 0-10) will travel to Northern Durham on Tuesday. Orange will host Northwood, who leads the Big 8 Conference with a 9-1 record.

ORANGE 54, CEDAR RIDGE 40

ORANGE: Aaliyah Harris 17, Grace Andrews 14, Jala Rainey 11, Katelyn Van Mater 1, Brenna Mehl 2, Cheyenne Mann 1, Nikayla Whitted 2, Jada Reed 6.

CEDAR RIDGE: Tori Dalehite 14, Caitlyn Lloyd 4, Isabella Flynt 2, Jacori Walton 5, Catherine Coyle 3, Nadia Oswald 8, Takia Nichols 2, Phoenix Smith 2.