Month: May 2022

Caroline Fowlkes started her Cedar Ridge career by qualifying for the state championships in pole vaulting.

This week, she will end it there.

On Friday, Fowlkes earned her first regional championship, easily taking first place in the pole vault. In the 3A Mideast Track & Field Regional Championship at Franklinton High School, Fowlkes cleared eleven feet, outdistancing her nearest competitor by three feet.

Fowlkes has pole vaulting in her genes. Her mother competed at the University of Florida. Her father was a pole vaulter at the University of South Alabama in Mobile.

At Franklinton, Fowlkes added to her trophy case in what’s been her most successful outdoor season. Last month, she won the Central Carolina Conference championship with a personal best of 11-feet, six-inches at the John Kirby Sports Complex at Eastern Alamance High School in Mebane.

As a freshman in 2019, Fowlkes qualified for the state championships and finished ninth after she cleared ten feet.

In all eight events that Fowlkes has competed in this season, she has finished in first place. She has also competed in the high jump and finished in first place in a dual meet against Orange at Auman Stadium on April 20.

Fowlkes will have plenty of company during the 3A State Outdoor Track and Field Championships at North Carolina A&T State University on Friday.

For the second year in a row, Orange’s Spenser Hampton has captured a regional championship. In what turned out to be a 1-2 finish among Orange Panthers, Hampton won the 3,200 meters with a time of 9:51.41, narrowly holding off his teammate Gabriel Schmid, who clocked in at 9:52.98.

Cedar Ridge’s Roman Morrell finished sixth at 10:33.59. Morrell also finished fifth in the 800 meters at 2:01.06.

Hampton also finished 2nd in the 1,600 meters, an event he won in the 2021 Mideast Regional Championships at Southern Lee High School in Sanford. This year, Hampton came in at 4:33.05, only behind Carrboro’s Quinn Baker. Schmid also qualified for the state championships in the 1,600 with a third-place finish.

In continued a strong season for Orange’s long-distance running. Last fall, Hampton and Schmid were the top two runners for Orange’s cross county team that won the Mideast Regional championship and finished 3rd in the state.

Last June, Hampton won the Mideast Regional Championship in the 1,600 meters. At the state championships, Hampton finished 2nd in the 3,2000 meters.

Orange had three men’s relay teams qualify for the state championships.

Hampton and Schmid joined Ethan Horton and Nick Pell in setting a new school record in the 4×800 relay. Hampton, Schmid, Horton and Pell finished at 8:15.56. Northwood was the only team to finish ahead of Orange. The Chargers crossed the finish line at 8:14.78.

Orange’s 4×100 relay team came in fourth place at 43.67 seconds. The 4×200 team also wound up fourth at 1:31.79.

The Orange men’s track & field team finished in second place with 73.5 points, behind only Southern Nash. It was the best regional for an Orange men’s track & field team since they became a 3A team in 2012.

Orange senior Devin Goss came in 2nd in the 300 meter hurdles. Goss, who will make his first appearance in the state championships, finished at 42.08 seconds. Cape Fear’s Yazeare Pearsall came in first at 41.45 seconds.

Jeffrey Faulkner, Orange’s top sprinter, qualified for the state championships for the first time. In the 400 meter dash, Faulkner finished at 50.80 seconds. Clifton Davis of Walter Williams claimed the regional championship at 49.90. Faulker finished sixth in the 200 meter dash.

In women’s track and field, Orange’s Grace Pell finished tied for third in the high jump at 4-feet, 10-inches.

This Week’s Orange Panther of the Week is sophomore pitcher Cross Clayton. In March, Clayton became a permanent part of the Panthers’ starting rotation. That was one of the moves that led to Orange winning the Central Carolina Conference regular season championship. In his first year at the varsity level, Clayton leads the team with eight wins, the most by an Orange player in a single season since Bryse Wilson won ten in 2016. On Tuesday night, Clayton came on in relief and got the victory over Cedar Ridge in nine innings. Clayton is 8-2 with a 2.45 ERA this season. Clayton has a 23-inning scoreless streak that spanned four games, starting on April 8 against Person when he shutout the Rockets in a 10-0 win. He’s also made his presence with his bat. On April 12, Clayton hit a solo home run against Northwood. In the eighth inning of that game, Clayton hit the game-winning single off the fence in centerfield. On Thursday, Clayton earned the start in the Panthers’ 8-5 victory over Terry Sanford in the second round of the 3A State Playoffs. Clayton has been an instrumental part in the winningest Orange team since 2016. 

At the conclusion of the film Wall Street, a wise character named Lou Mannheim tells Bud Fox, played by Charlie Sheen: “A man looks into the abyss, finds nothing staring back at him. At that moment, a man finds his character. And that is what keeps him out of the abyss.”

Twice this week, the Orange baseball team had moments where their season hung precariously by a thread. It would be easy to say that Orange found its character when they trailed Cedar Ridge 2-1 going into the bottom of the seventh inning on Tuesday night. Or during the sixth inning of Thursday’s game with Terry Sanford, when it appeared the Bulldogs were set to take its first lead of the game.

The truth is Orange has spent its season building its character. Starting with its season-opening win over Northern Durham on March 1, to losing a four-run lead late against Middle Creek to a forgettable day against Perquimans in Wilson at midseason. Losses against New Hanover and Ashley all paved the way for several defining moments that paid off handsomely by senior Conner Funk on Thursday night.

Funk knocked in the game-winning run in the sixth inning, then completed his first win of the season by striking out Brady Gore for the final out to lead Orange past Terry Sanford 8-5 in the 2nd round of the NCHSAA 3A State Playoffs in Hillsborough. The Panthers advanced to face J.H. Rose, the defending 3A State Champions, on Tuesday night in Greenville.

It’s the first time that Orange (18-8) advanced to the Round of 16 in the state playoffs since 2017.

Terry Sanford, the champions of the 4A/3A All-American Conference, ends the year 19-7.

“Conner comes through in all the crucial situations,” said Orange coach Jason Knapp. “Just look throughout his career the last two years. Every crucial play, he puts his stamp on it.”

Funk, who started the game at second base, was called in to pitch by Knapp with one out in the sixth inning–a time when the Bulldogs had a tidal wave of momentum. They had just tied the game after catcher Andrew Kittinger sprayed a fastball to the right field line that landed two feet fair in front of a sprinting David Waitt. Nathan Townsend scored to even the game 5-5 after the throw to the plate went over catcher Davis Horton’s head, which allowed Gehrig Hodges to advance to 3rd base and Kittinger to second with one out.

Inheriting two runners in scoring position, Funk calmly threw to Nathan Brown, who sent a soft pop-up back to the mound. After Funk made the catch, he struck out Alex Smith to end the inning and keep the score tied 5-5.

“Those were the biggest outs of our season,” Knapp said of Funk’s clutch pitching. “That kept the score tied and it gave us a chance to go ahead. No better guy I’d rather have the ball in that situation than him”

Jackson Berini walked to start the bottom of the sixth, which turned out to be the final batter for Brown, the Bulldogs’ starter. After Waitt bunted Berini to second, Ryan Hench sent another fly ball to right field that dropped in for a single. With Berini at third, Funk bopped a Baltimore chop over the head of third baseman Cameron Seagroves and into left field to score the game-winning run. Sophomore Cameron Gunetensberger lined a single up to the middle to bring in Hench and increase Orange’s lead to 7-5. Connor Nordan popped up a fly ball to foul ground in right field. Instead of letting it drop foul, Gore opted to catch it, which allowed Funk to score on a headlong, joyous dive to home plate for another insurance run as Funk celebrated with a joyous group of Orange reserves.

On a unseasonably cool mid-May night with overcast skies and occasional soft rain, the play was often just as peculiar as the weather. There were no less than three Baltimore chop base hits, including Funk’s game-winning RBI.

“It was probably the field maintenance guy’s fault,” joked Knapp, who obsesses over Orange’s field like Michael Myers does Haddonfield, Illinois. “The ball was hitting the front lip of the infield and it got some elevation.”

There were several pop fly balls to right field that ordinarily would have been comfortably caught that instead dropped harmlessly to the ground.

Orange bolted out to a 4-0 lead after two innings. After Berini led off the first with a single, Ryan Hench hit his team-leading fifth home run of the season over the infamous Panther porch in left field. In the second, Nordan drew a leadoff walk. Horton reached on an error at second base. With one out, Orange third baseman Neo Best sent the first Baltmore Chop of the night to the left side of a drawn-in infield, where it floated over the head of shortstop Brent Smith. Nordan scored to increase Orange’s lead to 3-0. With two out, Waitt grounded a single into left field to bring in Elijah Santos, a courtesy runner for Horton.

Clayton retired the first seven Bulldogs in order on just 17 pitches. Alex Smith reached on a single to right field in the third inning. With two outs, Brent Smith drew a key walk, which led to Seagroves sending a three-run homer to left field to cut Orange’s lead to 4-3.

“We weren’t shaken after that,” Knapp said. “We have dealt with adversity all season long. We’re seasoned for tough guys. Nothing shakes these guys confidence because that’s why we play these games in the regular season. To put ourselves in a position to win. When they hit that three-run bomb, we weren’t shaken one bit.”

Funk reached second to lead off the bottom of the third with another fly ball to right field somehow dropped between three Bulldogs. After Nordan walked, Horton singled to right-centerfield, but Funk was held at third. With the bases loaded, Codey Snipes was hit by a pitch, bringing in Funk.

Townsend sent the first pitch of the fourth inning down the left field line, where he landed fair by five feet across from the fair pole. Once again, Orange’s lead was cut to one run at 5-4.

Clayton, who earned the win in Tuesday’s win over Cedar Ridge after throwing two innings of relief, was going for his team-leading eighth win of the year. He came away with a no-decision in five-and-one-thirds innings.

J.H. Rose, the #1 seed in the 3A East Region, defeated Southern Lee 10-0 in five innings on Thursday.

It’s hard to narrow down the clutch plays that Conner Funk made for the Orange baseball team on Thursday night. Suffice it to say, if Thursday’s win over Terry Sanford was Funk’s final game at Orange High Field, he truly saved his best for last. On the mound, Funk replaced starter Cross Clayton in the sixth inning with the Panthers tied 5-5 against the Bulldogs. Funk entered the game just moments after Terry Sanford’s Adam Pittinger tied the game with a double down the right field line, putting runners at 2nd and 3rd base with only one out. Funk forced an infield pop-up for the second out, then struck out Alex Smith to keep the game tied 5-5. In the bottom of the sixth, Funk chopped a fastball over the third baseman’s head into left field to score Jackson Berini, which turned out to be the game-winning run. For good measure, Funk scored the game’s final run on a sacrifice fly to right field hit by Connor Nordan. Funk earned his first win of the season in the seventh inning, closing the game with a strikeout of Terry Sanford’s Brady Gore. Orange will travel to Greenville to face J.H. Rose, the defending 3A State Champions, for the third round of the 3A State Playoffs on Tuesday. It will be Orange’s first trip to the Round of 16 in the state playoffs since 2017. 

After years of waiting to reach the Eastern Regional Championship game, the Orange lacrosse team didn’t reach its previously uncharted plateau with a last minute goal or a big save in the waning seconds. Instead, the Panthers simply dominated Carrboro 13-4 in the fourth round of the 3A/2A/1A State Playoffs on Thursday night at Auman Stadium in Hillsborough. Junior Tigh Metheny scored five goals. Metheny’s classmate, Jake Wimsatt, notched three goals, three assists and 16 face-off wins. Connor Kruse added two goals and three assists as the Panthers extended its school record for most wins in a season with 17. Sophomore goalkeeper Katie Wolter had four saves as the Panthers secured a spot in the 3A/2A/1A Eastern Regional Championship game for the first time in school history. Thus far in the state playoffs, Orange has defeated Carrboro, South Brunswick and Walter Williams by a combined score of 48-19. The Panthers will get the weekend off, then prepare to face the winner of Saturday’s other Eastern Regional semifinal game between Croatan and First Flight. Orange will host the Eastern Regional Championship game on Tuesday night at Auman Stadium. 

The term “uncharted waters” has been a term used well beyond the point of redundancy dove the past two years, mainly in regards to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tonight, the Orange lacrosse team has a chance to reach uncharted waters in a much more beneficial way. They could become the first lacrosse team in school history to reach the Eastern Regional Championship game of the NCHSAA 3A/2A/1A State Playoffs.

On Tuesday night, the Panthers turned back to the challenge of Walter Williams 17-10 at Auman Stadium in front of the strongest home crowd of the season in the State Playoffs. Orange (16-2) defeated the Bulldogs for the third time this season to advance to the State Quarterfinals.

Junior midfielder Jake Wimsatt scored a season-high five goals and nine points, while sophomore Connor Kruse added four goals and two assists. Kruse now has 75 goals and 131 points this season.

Wimsatt, a tight end for the Orange football team, also won 22 face-offs.

Junior Joe Cady had his second consecutive hat trick in a state playoff game. Cady has scored 42 goals and eight hat tricks in 2022.

Sophomore goalkeeper Katie Wolter finished with six saves before being replaced by senior Austin Dillard in the fourth quarter.

Andrew Harris and Tigh Metheny each scored two goals for Orange. Josh Crabtree tacked on another. Josh Cowan scooped up four ground balls.

The Panthers advanced to the state quarterfinals for the second straight year. Last season, Orange knocked off Northwood in the round of 16, only to lose to East Chapel Hill to end its campaign.

Orange coach Chandler Zirkle, in his fifth season, has taken a program that was largely in the shadow of crosstown rival Cedar Ridge in 2016 and has won back-to-back conference championships and playoff wins in the last three state tournaments. His father Franklin, who won the 2006 North Carolina Lacrosse Association State Championship at East Chapel Hill and over 200 games at East and Leesville Road, joined the Orange staff as an assistant this season.

Chandler Zirkle played lacrosse for his father at East Chapel Hill, a sport that had high expectations and lots of success. Chandler also played football at East, which had low expectations and, in his own words, “terrible teams.”

But the leadership under then-East football coach Darian Harris and his staff wasn’t terrible. Harris, a former wide receiver at Hillside High School in the early 90s, introduced Chandler to a leadership council. During Chandler’s senior year, Harris worked with him on a leadership book.

This past winter, Chandler dug up that book and figured it could come in handy for his 2022 Orange team that had just five seniors and lost its top scorers, Ryan Merrill and Caleb Davis, from last year.

“I really enjoyed working with Darian,” Chandler said. “I found my old book. I thought it would be worthwhile for players who hadn’t played a lot to learn their own leadership styles and how to handle it. Early on this year, we had some bickering. It’s just the growing pains of how to handle things and situations during preseason play.”

On Mondays, Zirkle led leadership development sessions with 10-12 players. They would gather on Mondays to learn end-of-game situations, how Zirkle would communicate with them, how to react when a team is down by three goals with ten minutes remaining, and how to react when they’re leading by five goals going into the fourth quarter.

“We still need to handle that part a little better,” Zirkle said.

The final four teams in the East Region in the 3A/2A/1A State Playoffs are Orange, Carrboro, First Flight and Croatan. First Flight defeated Cedar Ridge 14-10 in Kill Devil Hills on Tuesday night.

Tonight’s game will be Carrboro’s fourth of the state playoffs. After losing to Cedar Ridge in the regular season finale two weeks ago, the Jaguars opened the state playoffs with a first round victory over Terry Sanford 8-5 at Jaguars Stadium. In the second round, Carrboro held off Vance Charter 6-4 in Henderson.

If Orange wins tonight, they will host the Eastern Regional Championship game on Tuesday night at Auman Stadium.