Orange Panther of the Week: Kassi Scarantino

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is rising junior Kassi Scarantino. Last fall during her sophomore season, Scarantino finished in the top ten at the Central Carolina Women’s Cross Country Championships at Northwood High School in Pittsboro. Scarantino went on to finish in the top 30 of the 3A Mideast Regional championships among 106 runners. In addition to cross country, Scarantino was part of the Orange women’s soccer team’s run to the 3rd round of the 3A State Playoffs this spring. Scarantino was a midfielder for the Lady Panthers. She played for Orange in a 5-3 win over Harnett Central, which was the Lady Panthers’ first playoff win since 2017. It was a long night for Orange, who had to travel to Lillington for the game, then endured two lightning delays. Later that week, Orange traveled to Cape Fear and defeated the Colts 5-2 in the second round of the state playoffs. It was the first time ever that Orange reached in 3rd round of the state playoffs in the 34-year history of the program. Scarantino is preparing to start another cross country season this September. Last fall was among the most successful cross country season’s in Orange history. The men’s team won its first regional championship, in addition to Scarantino’s top ten CCC finish.