Month: February 2022

Since he started as a freshman at Cedar Ridge at 106-pounds, Fernando Martinez has always had a goal of wrestling inside the Greensboro Coliseum for the state championships.

Last week, he finally got there–possibly two years overdue.

In 2020 as a freshman, Martinez reached the semifinals of the Mideast Regionals at Cape Fear High School in Fayetteville. He was one win away from qualifying for the state championships, but was injured against Chapel Hill’s Lucas Daily in the championship round. He was forced to forfeit his consolation semifinal match against Southern Durham’s Ashton O’Neal.

Last year, the pandemic forced major changes. For starters, the NCHSAA moved the season to June, leading to sweltering conditions in gyms across the state. Also, Eastern Guilford High School in Gibsonville hosted both the Mideast Regionals and the state championships. Martinez got a highly questionable draw at 120 pounds and lost in the quarterfinals to Southern Durham’s ShyHeem Davis. With no consolation bracket to fall back on, Martinez was eliminated and his dream of wrestling in Greensboro was dashed for a few more months.

After winning the 113-pound Mideast Regional Championship at Union Pines High School in Cameron last week, Martinez made his first trip to the Greensboro Coliseum one to remember.

On Saturday, Martinez pinned West Carteret’s Skylar Oxford in 3:57 to finish 5th in the state at 113 pounds. It is the best-ever result by a Cedar Ridge wrestler in a 3A Tournament. The only other Red Wolf to place in a 3A Tournament is Colin Davis, who finished sixth in the 2018 State Championships at 182 pounds.

Martinez became the first Cedar Ridge wrestler to place in the top five of the state Wrestling Championships since Adam Howard finished 5th in the 2013 2A Tournament at 152 ponds. Josh Collins is the only Red Wolf to win a state championship, taking the 189-pound title in the 2005 2A/1A Tournament.

Martinez ends his junior season 42-10. He will enter his senior season with 97 wins and is line to become the first Red Wolf with 100 career wins since Ethan Knapp won 107 matches from 2003-2007.

This season, Martinez competed in weight classes ranging from 113-to-126 pounds in hopes of becoming more well-rounded. He says what made the difference in placing in the state championships was improved conditioning.

“I put in more work this year than past years,” Martinez said in the week leading up to regionals. “I haven’t been able to pin as many people this season so I had to go longer in matches. Conditioning has been a part of my daily routine this year.”

After a victory over South Brunswick’s Ethan McCullough on Thursday in the opening round, Martinez led Caleb Haynes of North Gaston 2-0 at the end of the first period in the state quarterfinals on Friday morning. Haynes started from the top in the second period, quickly gained an advantage and pinned Martinez in 2:38.

In the consolation bracket, Martinez defeated South Johnston’s Ethan Brownlee 8-1. Martinez pinned Elkin’s Devean Huskey in 3:55 to move into the consolation semifinals.

Martinez’s top-5 finish capped an overall solid year for Cedar Ridge wrestling. The Red Wolves finished 3rd in the Central Carolina Conference, their best as a 3A team.

Cedar Ridge sophomore Kaden Tatro won two matches in the consolation round. After falling to Salif Conneh of Eastern Guilford in the opening round, Tatro pinned Crotan’s Blake McCabe in 2:20. Tatro scored a 13-1 major decision over Triton’s Nathan Williams in the next round.

Orange had nine wrestlers qualify for the state championships. Sophomore Jared Hutchins came closest to placing at 132 pounds. Hutchins defeated Christian Klutz of Jimmy Carson in the consolation round in 3:49. Hutchins edged Western Harnett’s Cameron Curva, the Mideast Regional Champion, 8-7 in the next round. Hibriten’s Ross Watts, who finished fifth, eliminated Hutchins.

Orange senior Brendon Worsham pinned North Brunswick’s Tristan Marks in the opening round of the 182-pound tournament. Central Academy’s Brady Ross, the eventual state champion, defeated Worsham in 5:29. Hiroki Cruz of Western Carteret, the Eastern Regional Champion, defeated Worsham in the consolation round 7-5. Worsham ends the year 29-8. He qualified for the state championships three times in his career.

At 220 pound, Orange’s Elijah Acosta earned his 30th win of the season with a pinfall victory over Jeffrey Klugh of Currituck in 4:06 of a consolation round. Acosta ends his junior season with a 30-6 record and individual championships in the Jim King/Orange Invitational and the Quentin Crosby Invitational in Greensboro.

Orange’s Acoya Isley, who claimed three individual tournament championships this year, won a consolation round match. He ends his first varsity season 23-8.

Life moves fast.

Just ask Joey McMullin.

In 2016, he had been a high school student for only three months before he found himself, much to his surprise, playing extensive minutes as a freshman for Orange’s varsity basketball team.

After graduation, McMullin was isolated and mired in a northeast winter. He was barely playing at Division III Bryn Athyn College, a liberal arts college in Philadelphia.

A year later, he’s closer to home with his basketball prospects blindingly bright.

On Friday, McMullin was named the Region 10 Player of the Year for Sandhills Community College after the Flyers held off Central Carolina Community College 110-103 in overtime in the Region X Tournament Championship Game in Pinehurst. It was McMullin’s first championship of any kind since his freshman year at Orange, when the Panthers won the Big 8 Regular Season title.

The Flyers found themselves climbing out of deep holes throughout the tournament. In the semifinals, they trailed Lancaster Community College by eleven points in the second half. In the championship game, they trailed the Cougars by 13. McMullin scored 18 points against CCCC to spark a comeback.

In 32 games this season, McMullin averaged 14.5 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. The Flyers, who have won 15 of its last 16 games, are 25-7 overall, 11-1 in Region X.

The Flyers will face Region 20 Tournament Champion Prince George Community College in Largo, MD on Saturday. The winner will advance to the National Junior College Athletic Association Division III Tournament.

“It is a big game,” McMullin said. “But I’m ready for the national championship.”

In addition to being named to the All-Region team, McMullin was also named Co-Region 10 Freshman of the Year with Sandhill’s Bryan Quiller.

“Coming into this year, I didn’t think I was going to be player of the year,” McMullin said on Saturday. “We had a lot of returners so it was a shock to me when I got it.”

After the championship ceremony in front of a packed gym, McMullin immediately called his old high school coach, Greg Motley, to inform him of the news. Motley, now the head coach at Southern Durham High School, had just won the Northern Lakes Conference Tournament Championship on Friday night with a 76-74 victory over Carrboro in Stem.

“I am proud of him,” Motley said. “I’m proud of how he has continued to pursue his dream of getting an education and playing basketball. He is a great example of what hard work and determination looks like. I’m excited to see what the future holds for him.”

It was a dramatic rise to prominence after a demoralizing year in Philadelphia. McMullin found himself at Bryn Athyn because he felt it was his only path to college basketball at the time. Early on, the pandemic led to an inconsistent schedule. When the games did take place, it was always in empty gyms and McMullin was usually on the bench.

“Philadelphia really humbled me,” McMullin said. “I wasn’t playing any and I was just mad at myself. I was really close with two of my teammates there, but being a kid from the country area I missed by family and friends.

After just a few months, McMullin decided to transfer to Sandhills. Along the way, he decided to work out every day, something he really couldn’t do in Philadelphia gyms due to COVID.

“The first time I visited Sandhills, they treated me like family,” McMullin said. “They really care for you on and off the court, which is huge to me. I’m not really a kid to flaunt my accolades and post highlights on my social media. I enjoy doing work when nobody is looking. Coach Motley really instilled that in me as soon as he started coaching me.”

In fact, it was Motley who delivered McMullin the first big surprise of his basketball career. When he started at Orange in October 2016, McMullin figured he would be on the junior varsity squad. What he didn’t know was that Motley needed some bodies immediately for the Panthers’ opening games against Leesville Road and Rolesville at Millbrook High School in Raleigh. Some key role players, like Ryan Sellers, Eli Haitchock, Kendell Whitted and Morgan Paschall, were still in the midst of a deep playoff run with the football team. Thus, McMullin found himself playing varsity ball, often starting, as a freshman alongside All-Big 8 Conference selections Connor Crabtree and Logan Vosburg. In the first game of his career against Leesville Road, McMullin scored ten points.

He never saw a minute of JV ball.

McMullin would be a freshman starter on an Orange team that would win the Big 8 regular season championship, sweep the regular season series from rival Southern Durham, win the Eastern Guilford Holiday Hoops Championship (beating Eastern Guilford on its own floor in Gibsonville for the title), and advanced to the state quarterfinals of the 3A State Playoffs.

McMullin would conclude his Orange career in February 2020 with over 1,000 points. As fate would have it, as McMullin was about to earn the biggest accolade of his basketball career last week, the 1,000 point club at Orange got a new member.

Jerec Thompson, who played alongside McMullin for two years at Orange, earned his 1,000th point at Western Alamance last Monday in the opening round of the Central Carolina Conference Tournament. Thompson could wind up playing against McMullin next season in a junior college somewhere.
“I wasn’t really surprised by that,” McMullin said of Thompson. “He works really hard. Hard work pays off in the long run.”

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is freshman wrestler Leo Oguntoyinbo. This season in his first year at the varsity level, Oguntoyinbo qualified for the 3A Mideast Wrestling Regionals at 138 pounds. Oguntoyinbo immediately made a statement in his first night at the varsity level. On November 17, Oguntoyinbo won three matches in Cedar Ridge’s opening dual matches of the year. He pinned Panther Creek’s Nasir Henderson in 3:18 in his first high school match. Also that same night, he pinned Jordan’s Joshua Zacharias in 1:43. In his first Central Carolina Conference meet, Oguntoyinbo got a forfeit win over Person. Against Orange on December 8, Oguntoyinbo defeated the Panthers’ Miles Adams via pinfall in 5:56. Oguntoyinbo hasn’t even started in his best sport yet at Cedar Ridge. After the Mideast Regionals last week, Oguntoyinbo has started workouts with the Cedar Ridge lacrosse team, where he is expected to start as goalkeeper under new head coach Cole Churchill. Leo’s older brother, Roman, was the leading scorer for Cedar Ridge last season as the Red Wolves made the 3A/2A/1A State Playoffs. Cedar Ridge lacrosse will start its season at Jordan on March 1.

When an adolescent Jerec Thompson played in the Mebane Parks and Recreation Department on a pee-wee team, he was so shy about entering games, his father Jeremy, who was also the head coach, begged him to go out on the floor and play.

Eventually, it worked, but it took a lot of pleading.

On Wednesday night, Thompson came full circle. His Orange career ended against Northwood–but he didn’t want to leave the floor in Pittsboro.

And he certainly didn’t want to take off his Orange uniform for the last time.

Thompson, who surpassed 1,000 points for his career against Western Alamance on Monday, scored 24 points in his final game for Orange. Northwood (20-3) relied on 20 points from 6-foot-11 center Kenan Parish to beat the Panthers 65-52 in the Central Carolina Conference Tournament semifinals.

As the clock wound down on this chapter of his life, Thompson ended it the same way he started it. He pulled up from ungodly distances to shoot, even making a 30-footer in the third quarter. When the game was no longer in doubt late in the fourth quarter, Thompson still sprinted after a loose ball going out of bounds, only to run into a metal stair handle that leads into the bleachers at Northwood. Momentarily, it was a scary moment, but as they say in the pro wrestling world, Thompson “didn’t sell it.” He just ran back on the floor as the final seconds of his career ticked down, showing no signs of pain.

He hugged classmates J.J. Thompson and Joshua Jackson. Together, they started playing recreation ball together, stuck through Stanford Middle School. On weekends and during the summer, they were together with the Mid State Magic in AAU travel ball. Center Hunter Burch, Orange’s fourth senior, eventually joined the Thompsons and Jackson in their journey together.

The Chargers, who are 13-0 against CCC opponents this year, will host Person on Friday night for the Central Carolina Conference Tournament Championship.

Orange ends the year 8-17.

While the Chargers beat the Panthers for the third time this year, Orange was competitive for the entire 32 minutes more than any other meeting this year against the CCC regular season champions. Thompson hit a 3-pointer early to give Orange its only lead of the game at 8-7. The Charges responded with an 8-0 run, five of which came from Parrish, to go ahead 16-7. Thompson and Burch finished the quarter with back-to-back field goals to trim the Charger lead to 16-11.

Burch scored on a finger roll to open the second quarter, but Northwood’s Max Frazier retaliated to snap the 6-0 Orange run. Northwood sophomore Drake Powell electrified the home crowd when he picked off a pass thrown by Orange and threw a laser to Frazier, who had it bounce off his hands. Powell sprinted down the floor, galloped down the lane and dunked spread eagle one-handed to send the fans into a frenzy.

Orange center Isaiah Seymour provided six points in the first half as the Panthers trailed 31-25 at the half.

The Chargers exploited its size advantage with Parrish, Frazier and Powell to push its lead to as much as 16 points in the second half. Thompson scored 13 points in the second half, while J.J. Thompson drained two 3-pointers in the third quarter to keep the Panthers within striking distance until the very end.

The game not only marked the end of the Orange careers of four seniors. It was the close of a vital chapter for Orange head coach Derryl Britt.

He started at Orange in the summer of 2018. It was the most tumultuous time ever for Orange’s men’s basketball program. Greg Motley, the winningest coach in school history, had resigned the previous spring after 20 years. A year later, Motley would take over at Southern Durham High School as men’s basketball coach while still teaching at Orange. One December day In 2019, Motley gave an Economics final exam to J.J. Thompson at Orange, then coached against him when the Panthers played the Spartans later that night in Durham.

Needless to say, it left Britt in a peculiar position. He started as a head coach in high school at North Carolina School of Science & Math, which is a two-year high school. After that, he stayed at Warren County for two years.

This was the first time that Britt had started with a group of freshman at a school and watched them grow to become seniors. Regardless of sport, the task of replacing a winning coach can be a thankless task. The seniors who are leaving Orange helped bridge that difficult transition to something more palatable to where Britt has become widely embraced by parents, students and school officials.

Britt said the thing he will remember about this team is resilience, particularly after Thompson missed the opening three games of the season after suffering a injury after he was undercut going up for a dunk during a preseason jamboree event in Franklinton. It was an injury that left Thompson in the hospital and various people connected to the Orange program furious.

In his first game back, Thompson scored 41 points against Science and Math on December 2, a career high.

“This team had to deal with COVID and injuries,” Britt said. “Everything I asked them to do, they did. This has been a special group. This is the first time I’ve had kids from their freshman through senior years. This group will always be special to me. JJ, Jerec, Josh and Burch. I’ll never forget them. There were a lot of tears in the locker room just now. The wins will come, but this was a great group to have.”

After winning his first regional championship, Cedar Ridge’s Fernando Martinez has advanced to the state quarterfinals in the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 3A State Wrestling Championships.

Competing inside the famed Greensboro Coliseum on Wednesday afternoon, Martinez defeated Ethan McCullough of South Brunswick 13-3 in the opening round of the 113-pound tournament. It was the first time that a Cedar Ridge wrestler advanced to the state quarterfinals since Darius McLeod defeated Zach Winterstein of Clayton in the 2019 tournament at 132-pounds.

Also on the opening day of the state championships, Orange senior Brendon Worsham pinned Tristan Marks of North Brunswick in 5:29. Worsham, who is making his third consecutive appearance in the state tournament, is now 29-6 on the season. This is the first time that Worsham has advanced to the state quarterfinals.

Overall, there were nine wrestlers from Orange who qualified for the state championships. In addition, Cedar Ridge sophomore Kaden Tatro made his first state tournament appearance at 170 pounds.

Coming off the regional championship, Martinez needed only nine seconds to get McCullough’s back for the opening takedown. After a restart, Martinez got a back cradle and earned three near fall points before McCullough got to his side. Martinez led 5-0 at the end of the first period.

The only danger that Martinez faced came early in the second period. Starting from the bottom, Martinez attempted an escape, but McCullough bodied up and drove Martinez’s back to the canvas, nearly getting his shoulders down. Martinez immediately escaped to go ahead 6-2. With 53 seconds remaining in the second period, Martinez was poked in the eye. After restarting from a neutral position, Martinez engaged in a collar-and-elbow tie-up and scored a reversal to go ahead 8-2.

In the third period, Martinez was penalized a point for stalling, but gained McCullough’s back again shortly afterwards. McCullough had both of his arms tied up by Martinez, which led to three more near fall points in the final minute.

Martinez, a junior, now has 93 career wins. He will face North Gaston’s Caleb Haynes in the state quarterfinals on Thursday.

Worsham, who was knocked out in the opening round of the 3A State Tournament at 182 pounds last June, will face Brady Ross of Central Academy in the state quarterfinals.

Of the nine wrestlers for Orange competing in the state championships on Wednesday, seven appeared for the first time. Only Worsham and junior Dillon Heffernan returned from last year. Heffernan, competing at 126 pounds, dropped his opening match to Asheboro’s Diego Gutierrez 11-4. Heffernan is now 26-8.

Orange freshman Braden Crawford (120 pounds), sophomore Jared Hutchins (132), senior Avery Clark (145), sophomore Andre Hill (160), junior Acoya Isley (182), junior Elijah Acosta (22) and junior Hugo Vazquez (heavyweight) all made their first appearance in the state tournament.

Acosta, who leads Orange this season with 29 wins, lost an 8-3 decision to Ledford’s Cory Cranford.

The consolation round will start on Thursday morning. Last season, Orange only had one wrestler place in the top five. Hayden Horne finished fourth at 220 pounds. Because of the pandemic, there were no consolation rounds contested in the 2021 3A State Tournament, which was moved to Eastern Guilford High School in Gibsonville.

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is sophomore Katie Belle Sikes, the 2022 3A State Women’s Swimming Champion in the 50 yard freestyle. Sikes is the first female swimming state champion in Orange High School history. Last Saturday at the Triangle Aquatic Center in Cary, Sikes won the 50 yard freestyle with a time of 23.24 seconds, earning her All-American consideration. Sikes also finished 3rd in the 100 yard freestyle. Already in her high school career, Sikes won a silver medal as a freshman in the 50 yard freestyle. Unlike her freshman season, Sikes found herself competing around large crowds and more competitors. Sikes credits her experience competing at the Junior Winter Nationals in Greensboro last month in helping her face the size of the crowds that she went against in Cary last weekend. Last month, Sikes won two Central Carolina Conference championships at the Orange County SportsPlex. As spring approaches, Sikes will be competing in various club competitions as she prepares for her junior season at Orange. But she has already cemented her name into the history books as the most successful female swimmer in Orange High history. Sikes is also the #1 ranked sophomore female swimmer in North Carolina.

Photo by Angie Carden Hurdle

Jaden Hurdle: The Patrick Henry Community College softball team went 3-1 in its opening doubleheaders of the season last weekend. On Friday, the Lady Patriots mauled USC Union in a doubleheader by scores of 14-2 and 21-8. Hurdle had a huge game in the opener, going 4-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs scores. She also had two triples and a double. On top of that, Hurdle earned the win as pitcher, throwing six innings. She struck out five in six innings. Hurdle surrendered two runs off five hits. In the second game, Hurdle hit her first home run of the season. She went 2-for-3 with four runs scored and two RBIs. On Sunday, Spartanburg Methodist defeated Patrick Henry 11-3 in Spartanburg, SC. Hurdle went 1-for-3 . She also took the loss as a starting pitcher. She threw five innings. The Lady Patriots defeated Spartanburg Methodist 10-1 in the nightcap of the doubleheader. Hurdle hit two home runs, including a two-run shot. She finished 3-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored.

Mia Davidson: The Mississippi State softball team opened the season by going 1-3 in the Mark Campbell Invitational in Irvine, California last weekend. Mia Davidson hit the 70th home run of her career in the Bulldogs’ 5-3 loss to Loyola Marymount at Smith Field in Los Angeles on Sunday. She is now one shy of the Southeastern Conference record, held by Florida’s Lauren Haeger. Davidson’s 2-run homer in the 7th was her only hit of the day against the Lions. Mississippi State started the weekend by beating Loyola Marymount 4-2 at Bill Barber Park in Irvine, AC on Friday. Davidson went 2-for-2 against the Lions and scored the first Mississippi State run of the season off a home run by Matalasi Faapito. Later on Friday, #1 Oklahoma defeated Mississippi State 9-0 in five innings. Davidson went 1-for-2 with a double, one of only two hits for the Bulldogs. It was the 22nd straight game where Davidson reached base, a school record. On Saturday, #3 UCLA shutout Mississippi State 8-0. Davidson went 0-for-3.

Montana Davidson: Montana started at third base for Mississippi State in the opener against Loyola Marymount and went 0-for-3. She entered the Oklahoma game as a reserve and finished at first base. On Sunday, Davidson was a pinch hitter in the loss to Loyola Marymount and went 0-for-1.

Tori Dalehite: The former Cedar Ridge 2nd baseman made the first start of her college career during the Felsberg Invitational at Florida International University in Miami. The Spartans went 1-3 during the three-day event. On Friday, Florida International held off UNCG 4-3. Dalehite entered the game as a pinch runner and scored a run off a 2-run homer by Makenna Matthijs in the seventh inning that put the Spartans within a run. On Saturday morning, UNCG edged Maryland 6-5. Dalehite entered the game in the second inning as a pinch hitter in place of Anna White. She spent the rest of the day at first base and went 0-for-4. Later on Saturday, Maryland knocked off the Spartans 5-3. Dalehite made her first official start at first base. She also drove in her first college run off a sacrifice fly to centerfield in the sixth inning, which evened the game 2-2. Dalehite went 0-for-2.

Maddie Bartlett: The Wake Tech Community College softball team started its season against the William Peace Junior Varsity squad on Sunday. Peace defeated the Eagles 9-2 in the opening game of the doubleheader. Maddie Bartlett started as leadoff batter for the Eagles, playing shortstop. She went 2-for-3 with a double and two stolen bases. Bartlett scored the Pacers first run. In the second game of the doubleheader, Peace completed a sweep with a 14-5 win. Bartlett went 2-for-3 with a run scored and two doubles. Bartlett scored in the first inning off a double by Jesse Dillon.

Kara Tackett: A former Orange Lady Panther, Tackett also started both games for Wake Tech against William Peace JV. In the opening game, Tackett went 1-for-2 with a triple and a run scored. Tackett plated Bartlett in the first inning for the Eagles’ first run of the season. In the nightcap, Tackett went 0-for-1. She also entered the circle and threw the final two innings. Tackett didn’t allow a hit and gave up only two hits, striking out four with one walk.

Will Walker: The Pitt Community College baseball team defeated the Mount Oliver junior varsity squad 8-7 in the season opener on February 2. Walker entered the game as a pinch hitter and went 0-for-2 with a run scored. On February 9, Pitt hammered the Barton College junior varsity team 19-0. Walker entered the game as a pinch-hitter and went 0-for-2. He finished the game at first base.