Month: September 2021

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is men’s soccer co-Captain and wingback Jasper Tyll. Last week, Tyll scored the game-winning goal as Orange defeated Person 4-1 at Panther Soccer Park. It was Orange’s first win in the Central Carolina Conference. Tyll broke his left wrist early in the season against Chapel Hill, but he hasn’t missed any action. He has remained on the pitch while wearing a cast. Against Graham on August 30, Tyll sent a free kick from 23 yards to the doorstep of the Red Devils net, which was kicked in by Orange striker Darius Corbett. Tyll also had a goal and an assist in a 3-0 win over Riverside on September 9 in Hillsborough, which avenged an earlier loss to the Pirates. Orange continues to battle teams tough. On Tuesday, Orange took Northwood to overtime, ending regulation 2-2 in Pittsboro. The Chargers prevailed 4-2. Tyll and the rest of the Panthers will return to action against Eastern Alamance later this week. Next week, Orange hosts Western Alamance on Monday before traveling to Walter Williams.

Women’s Tennis:

Orange 7, Cedar Ridge 2: For the third year in a row, the Orange women’s tennis team will have a winning season.

Not only that, but with one more win, the Lady Panthers will have its most wins since they returned to the 3A ranks in 2012.

On Wednesday, Orange completed a season sweep of Cedar Ridge with a 7-2 win at Orange Tennis Courts. It concluded a long 48-hour stretch fo the Lady Panthers that started on Tuesday when they completed a suspended match against Walter Williams, then played an entire dual match against the Bulldogs.

Against the Red Wolves, Orange (11-4 overall, 5-3 in the Central Carolina Conference), senior Tea Jones had two wins on the day. At #4 singles, Jones won 6-4, 6-2. Jones teamed with senior Jinkie Andrews to win at #3 doubles 8-4. So far in 2021, Jones has an overall record of 16-8.

Cedar Ridge sophomore Cameron Mayhew also earned two wins on the afternoon. Mayhew captured her match at #1 singles 6-3, 7-5. After dark, Mayhew teamed with senior Chloe Patz at #1 doubles to win over Finley White and Grace Pell 8-1.

Pell, a sophomore, improved to 11-4 in singles action this year. At #2 singles, Pell prevailed in a three-set match over Patz 6-3, 2-6, 10-7 (10-point tiebreaker). It was the fifth time this year that Pell has played in a three-set match, and the second time it happened against Patz.

Senior Jinkie Andrews won 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 at #3 singles for Orange. Sophomore Erin Sollars and freshman Shannon Sollars earned singles victories for Orange.

Jera Hargrove & Erin Sollars won at #2 doubles 8-3.

Cedar Ridge 5, Northwood 4: On Monday, Cedar Ridge became the first women’s tennis team two hand Northwood a loss in CCC action.

After nearly three hours of action, the entire dual match came down to the final doubles match. Cedar Ridge’s freshmen duo of Ella Caltabiano and Adeline Cummings defeated Northwood’s Kaylee Fisher & Kendall Leberge 8-3 to earn the Red Wolves biggest win of the season.

Cedar Ridge captured three of the five singles matches. Sophomore Cameron Mayhew pulled out a tight match over Evelyn Lippers 7-6 (7-5), 7-5. Mayhew is 6-2 in singles action this year.

The Red Wolves won both singles matches that went to three sets. At #2, Patz defeated Julia Earnshaw 1-6, 6-2, 10-8. At #5 singles, senior Olivia Kelly defeated Fisher 6-2, 2-6, 10-8. Cummings won at #6 singles 6-1, 6-2.

Walter Williams 5, Orange 4: In the completion of a suspended match from earlier this month, Williams held off to take sole possession of 2nd place in the CCC.

The completion of the suspended match wasn’t decided until the final doubles match. Williams’ Kaori Naruse & Lauren Taylor defeated Andrews & Jones 9-7 to take the match. Pell and Andrews won singles matches for Orange.

Orange evened the overall dual match with wins at #1 and #2 doubles. Finley White and Grace Pell teamed to win at #1 doubles 8-6. At #2 doubles, Erin Sollars and Jera Hargrove won 8-2.

Williams 5, Orange 4: Another match that wasn’t decided until #3 doubles. White & Pell won at #1 doubles 8-5, while Hargrove & Sollars captured the #2 doubles match 8-1.

Pell won at #2 singles 8-3. Shannan Sollars won the only other Orange player to win a singles match, defeating Lauren Turner 8-5.

Orange is 11-4 overall, 5-3 in the CCC with two dual matches remaining in conference play. Orange will hold its senior night match next Thursday against Roxboro Community School.

Women’s Golf:

In the fourth Central Carolina Conference meet of the season, Cedar Ridge senior Olivia Aitkins had her best finish of the season at Caswell Pines Golf Course in Blanch. Aitkins finished with a 49 and wound up tied for fifth in a eight-team meet.

Aitkins, who committed to play softball at Amherst College last week, was the highest placer among any of the Hillsborough participants.

Orange’s Samantha Durham had her best round of the season with a 50, which was best among the Lady Panthers. Orange senior Sarah Durham had a 57. Shannon Dorsi, Kayla Pope and Lucia Godinez also participated.

Eastern Alamance’s Emily Matthews finished first with a 33. Western Alamance’s Makayla Martinez finished 2nd with a 39, and the Warriors won the overall team standings with 137. Northwood was second with 144.

The cross country course at Northwood High School is one of the premier sites in the state. It has hosted conference and regional championships.

Only two months after nearly winning a state championship in track & field, Orange’s Spencer Hampton continued a stellar start to the fall season in Pittsboro.

On Monday, Hampton finished first in a Central Carolina Conference meet that also included Cedar Ridge, Northwood, Eastern Alamance and Western Alamance. Hampton had the top time of the day at 17:37.03, pacing a pack of 64 runners.

Hampton’s finished led Orange to come in 2nd in the team standings with 47 points. Northwood, which had four of the top seven runners, finished first with 23 points.

Orange’s Abezu Delvecchia was the only other Panther in the top 10, coming in 9th at 19:00.62.

Cedar Ridge came in fourth in the team standings with 98 points. Junior Roman Morrell came in fourth overall for the Red Wolves with a time of 18:00.90.

On September 10, Hampton finished 2nd in the Friday Night Lights Festival at the Ivey Redmon Sports Complex in Kernersville among 238 runners in the men’s invitational race. In June, Hampton led most of the race in the 3,200 meters at the 3A State Track & Field Championships at North Carolina A&T University. He finished 2nd behind Williams

In the Friday Night Lights Festival, Orange’s Gabriel Schmid finished 11th, crossing the finishing line at 16:43.60.

In the Northwood meet, Cyrus Neal came in 11th, while Schmid finished 21. Freshman Aiden Viola, sophomore lien Cathey, seniors Gabriel Jamison and Ethan Horton, Josiah McCoy and Jospeh Bernardo all finished in the top 50 for Orange.

For Cedar Ridge, Grayson Weisenfeld, sophomore Ethan Benner, Ryan Rakouskas, freshman Ryan Capps, junior John Stephenson, freshman Shea Spiller, and senior Mason Meyer all had top-50 finishes.

In the women’s race at Northwood, the top finisher from a local school was Orange junior Sophia Schultz, who crossed the finish line at 24:38.01.

The Cedar Ridge women’s team finished third among six teams. The Red Wolves had four runners finish in the top 20, including junior Sarah Fenwick, who came in 15th. Senior Sarah Tucker, who has competed in cross country and track & field at Cedar Ridge since she was a freshman, came in 17th.

Cedar Ridge’s Caroline Fowlkes, who qualified for the 3A State Track & Field Championships in the pole vault as a freshman, finished 21st.

Freshman Celine Galla came in 22nd, while Serena Summers and Georgia Roney finished 25th and 27th, respectively.

The Orange women’s team came in 5th in the overall standings. Abby Hengsterman, Harper Trost, Maggie Saunders, Avery Hengsterman, and Margaret Hales all had top 40 finishes for the Panthers. Junior Kate Barger also crossed the finish line for Orange.

In the Friday Night Lights Festival, freshman Caroline Cathey was the top Orange finisher on the women’s team with a time of 23:11.00. She finished 123rd out of 210 runners. Kassi Scarantino, Schultz, Saunders, and Hales also ran for Orange in Kernersville.

Cathey’s time in Kernersville was the top time by a female Orange runner so far in the young season.

The stakes were high in the rematch between Cedar Ridge and Northwood on the volleyball court inside Red Wolves Gymnasium on Thursday night. For obvious reasons, so was the intensity.

For all intents and purposes, Northwood had its hopes of winning the Central Carolina Conference on the line. A victory would tie Cedar Ridge for first place. A loss would put them two games behind the Red Wolves with four CCC league games remaining. Essentially, it would be a three game deficit since the Red Wolves would control the head-to-head tiebreaker with a win.

Even after 41 victories since August 2019, winning hasn’t grown tired for Cedar Ridge. Even when they lose the opening set, they remain emotionally balanced.

All of which led the Red Wolves to another convincing win.

After dropping the first set 27-25, the Red Wolves bounced back to defeat the Chargers 3-1 on scores of 25-27, 25-17, 25-13 and 25-20. Cedar Ridge (15-1, 8-0 in the Central Carolina Conference) has won 17 consecutive conference games dating back to October 2019.

The Chargers (13-4, 6-2) will host Person in Pittsboro on Thursday. The loser will be mathematically eliminated from the CCC regular season championship race.

Northwood came out strong behind the attack of senior Hannah Forbes, who has committed to play at UNC Wilmington, and sophomore Asia Thigpen, the daughter of UNC co-Defensive Coordinator Tommy Thigpen. Northwood built a 9-4 lead after erratic serving from the Red Wolves early. The Red Wolves drew closer with a 4-0 run after kills by Cameron Lloyd and Cameron Lanier. Cedar Ridge had a set point after a block by Addie Reid, but Northwood finished the set with three straight points, including a kill by Forbes on set point that was ultimately ruled to have hit the floor, despite an initial ruling from the chair umpire that Cedar Ridge had won the point. It was just the seventh set the Red Wolves have dropped this year.

“I think it was good serves by Northwood,” said Cedar Ridge volleyball coach Fiona Cunningham. “They put a lot of pressure on us. We just didn’t match it. I don’t think it was anything really horrible on our end. I think they played really great.”

Cedar Ridge’s serving was much better for the rest of the night. The Red Wolves never trailed in the second set and leapt out to an 8-3 lead. With Lloyd serving, the Red Wolves had an early 6-0 run that featured a block by Reid and a kill by Lanier. Lanier racked up four kills in the second set, and Julie Altieri finished set point with a kill assisted by libero Grace Young.

The second set started 7-7 before Young went to serve after a Cedar Ridge side out. The Red Wolves proceeded to reel off seven straight points, which included three aces by Young. After Thigpen notched another finish to reduce the Charger deficit to 17-9, the Red Wolves went on another 6-0 spurt, complete with three more kills from Lanier.

With its backs against the wall, Northwood pushed out to a 7-2 lead in the fourth set behind an ace from Thigpen. Cedar Ridge responded with a 5-1 run to reduce the gap to 7-6. The Chargers led 19-17 before a Northwood return went into the net. Cedar Ridge finished the set with five of the last six points, including a kill by Anaya Carter and another from Lloyd. On match point, Lloyd set up for another kill. The block attempt by Forbes landed wide of the boundary and the Red Wolves secured a season sweep of the Chargers.

“Our girls are very determined to win,” Cunningham said. “As soon as you take a knock at that, they bounce right back. They don’t want any pressure put on them. And as soon as you do, they will rise to it.”

Cedar Ridge will travel to Orange on Thursday.

There’s an old saying that if you do more than you’re supposed to do for someone else, you get back twice as much.

That’s Julie Altieri in a nutshell. For two-and-a-half years, she’s been Cedar Ridge’s version of Chris Paul, setting up outside hitters Cameron Lloyd and Cameron Lanier for kill after kill on the volleyball court. Since Altieri, Lloyd and Lanier started together as freshmen under former head coach Anna Seethaler, the Red Wolves have gone 41-8. They’ve won 17 consecutive conference games and are two wins away from a second straight conference championship.

No one in the history of Cedar Ridge volleyball has served up more assists that Altieri.

That may be the main thing she’s remembered for once she graduates in June 2023, but it won’t be the only thing.

She probably leads Cedar Ridge in making her teammates laugh, photo bombing video interviews while unsuspecting players digest questions and finding ways to keep the ball off the court after it takes wild bounces off overhanging basketball rims, a teammates’ foot or even the roof (which actually happened last night).

On Tuesday night before Cedar Ridge’s game against Northwood, Altieri was honored for her 1,000th career assist, a milestone she reached against Eastern Alamance on September 9. Two days after the win over the Eagles, Altieri had a season-high 36 assists in a sweep of Western Alamance. Her career-high is 44 against Vance County on September 24, 2019.

Joining Altieri in the surprise ceremony were her parents and grandparents, along with Cedar Ridge volleyball coach Fiona Cunningham, Athletic Director Andy Simmons and Principal Dr. Carlos Ramirez.

Altieri’s rapport with Lanier and Lloyd started long before the fall of 2019. At the age of 7, Altieri began playing at the Orange County Recreation Department before transferring over to White Cross. At the time, she went to New Hope Elementary School with Lanier. The two were also teammates at Stanback Middle School. On the recreation court in White Cross, Altieri first stepped onto a court against Lloyd, but they weren’t teammates.

“We were still developing as players, so we really couldn’t spike the ball that hard yet,” Altieri said. “But I knew she could play.”

“I’ve played with Julie for many years and it’s good to see all her hard work pay off,” Lloyd said. “Every hitter needs a setter. My favorite memory is when we received our medals from Minnie Mouse at AAU Nationals, but every big high-school win has been fun with Julie. The excitement of competing & the thrill of the win.”

It was in White Cross that the coaches encouraged Altieri to remain a setter. When she was 12, she started playing for the Chapel Hill Area Volleyball Club alongside Lanier. In her second year with CHAVC, Altieri, Lanier and Lloyd finally became teammates. establishing a bond that would lead to championships.

Even after winning a conference title in 2020 and still riding an impressive conference winning streak that has spanned three years, Altieri says her most memorable win came when she was a freshman as the Red Wolves stunned defending 3A State Champion Chapel Hill at Red Wolves Gymnasium.

“That was our first really big win,” Altieri said. “We were all just speechless. We couldn’t believe that it happened. We didn’t think we could win. We just hoped for the best.”

Afterwards, the teamed enjoyed dinner together at Pueblo Viejo Mexican Restaurant, which has become the official postgame victory headquarters. Naturally, after Altieri was presented with a golden volleyball after Tuesday’s win over Northwood, pictures from Pueblo Viejo emerged in social media hours later, complete with the obligatory chips and salsa.

In 2020, Altieri started every game in a pandemic-shortened season, where the Red Wolves claimed its first Big 8 Championship in five years. Cedar Ridge finished the regular season 8-0, defeated Union Pines in the opening round of the 3A State Playoffs before falling to eventual 3A State Champion D.H. Conley in the second round in Greenville.

As a freshman, Altieri led the Big 8 Conference in aces. Now a team captain, Altieri was an All-Big 8 Conference selection in 2020. For three consecutive years, she was on the American Volleyball Coaches Association Phenom Watch Lists. In 2019, she was named the best server in the 2019 Capitol Hill Classic 14 Open in Washington, D.C.

Her brothers, Eddie and Andrew, played basketball at Cedar Ridge.

With school out of session during the pandemic last October, Altieri still kept busy by playing beach volleyball. She teamed with Jordan Dailey to finish in second place in the Sinjin AVP American Open event in Raleigh. She had multiple top three finishes in junior beach volleyball tournaments before she became a teenager.

With a litany of awards and honors, Altieri could easily find herself playing volleyball in college. While she appears to be the life of the party on the court, she’s also preparing a life away from it. Altieri has a 4.2 GPA. She says no college is recruiting her. If a school does show interest, she says she would be more interested in launching a career in a medical field.

As common as winning has become, Altieri says it hasn’t grown to be ordinary. Last Thursday night, when Cedar Ridge traveled to Roxboro for its first Central Carolina Conference game against Person, there was a jam-packed student section that was anything but socially distanced. Lesser teams have wilted under the pressure in years past.

Cedar Ridge hardly blinked. They dominated the Rockets in straight sets to complete a season sweep. It was another triumph for a junior class that has stockpiled success time and again over the past three years.

Altieri doesn’t know when her volleyball career will end. But she’s savoring every moment she has with a junior class that will be remembered, years down the line, as the golden age of Cedar Ridge volleyball.

And she’s doing it one assist at a time.

The Cedar Ridge volleyball team took a big step towards its second consecutive conference championship. On Tuesday night, the Red Wolves defeated Northwood 3-1 at Red Wolves Gymnasium. Junior setter Julie Altieri was honored before the game in honor of reaching 1,000 career assists. Altieri reached that mark after serving up 29 assists in a victory over Eastern Alamance on September 9. Northwood and Cedar Ridge split the opening two sets and the third frame was tied 7-7. Junior Grace Young served up three aces in the midst of a 7-0 Red Wolves run that turned the third set into a 25-13 rout for the Red Wolves. Young had several huge digs against Northwood’s imposing duo of Asia Thigpen and Hannah Forbes. Cedar Ridge remains undefeated in the Central Carolina Conference at 8-0. They have a two-game lead over Northwood and Person, and control the head-to-head tiebreaker against both of those teams after sweeping the season series. Cedar Ridge will travel to Orange on Thursday. The Red Wolves haven’t swept a two-game season series against Orange since 2015.

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is junior midfielder Chris Mendez. Last week, Mendez scored the game-winning goal in a 2-0 win over Eastern Alamance in Mebane. Then on Thursday, Mendez scored two more goals in an 8-1 victory over Person at Red Wolves Stadium as Cedar Ridge won its third straight game. It was the Red Wolves’ longest winning streak in three years. Mendez has had three two-goal games this season. In the Hillsborough Derby on September 15, Mendez notched a pair of goals as Cedar Ridge defeated Orange 4-1 to extend the Red Wolves’ undefeated streak against the Panthers to four games. On August 25, Mendez also had two goals in a 9-0 victory over Clover Garden School. Mendez has also scored goals against Chapel Hill and East Chapel Hill. He leads the Red Wolves with nine goals this season and is trying to get Cedar Ridge in the state playoffs for the first time since 2016. Cedar Ridge will return to action next Monday with a road trip to Person.