Month: August 2022

Collectively, last spring may have been the greatest season in the history of Hillsborough lacrosse.

For the first time ever, Orange hosted the 3A/2A/1A Eastern Regional title game after winning its second consecutive conference championship. At Cedar Ridge, the Red Wolves won a state playoff game for the first time since 2017, when they won the Eastern Regional Championship. Under first year head coach Cole Churchill, the Red Wolves finished third in the Mid-Carolina Conference.

Now, the top scorers from each of the two teams have been named All-Americans by USA Lacrosse.

Orange sophomore Connor Kruse and Cedar Ridge’s Roman Oguntoyinbo, who graduated in June, received the honors following a vote by coaches in the geographic region. Over 500 players from across the country earn All-American status. Kruse and Oguntoyinbo, who both played for the Carolina Hilltoppers club lacrosse program, were among eleven players from North Carolina public schools named All-Americans.

Kruse, who was named the Mid-Carolina Player of the Year in July, set school records with 77 goals and 136 points in 2022. He led the most successful team in school history, which set a new mark for wins in a season (17), conference wins (11) and winning percentage (.850). The Panthers reached the state semifinals for the first time ever.

Kruse, the son of former UNC and Johns Hopkins midfielder Travis Kruse, opened the season with hat tricks in each of Orange’s opening three games. He scored five goals in a season-opening 19-5 win over Vance Charter, then scored another five goals in a 14-11 win over East Chapel Hill at Dave Thaden Stadium in Chapel Hill. It was Orange’s first-ever win over the Wildcats, a traditional power that Orange head coach Chandler Zirkle played for in high school.

Kruse had a career-high seven goals against South Brunswick in the opening round of the 3A/2A/1A State Playoffs on May 5. He followed with four goals in an 17-10 victory against Walter Williams.

Oguntoyinbo finished his Cedar Ridge career scoring 78 goals, the most in school history for a single season. It was the only time in his high school career where Oguntoyinbo played a full season after the pandemic cut the 2020 season short after just three games. In 2021, Oguntoyinbo scored 26 goals in a season limited to nine games.

In his final game inside Red Wolves Stadium, Oguntoyinbo scored a career-high nine goals as the Red Wolves rolled past Western Alamance 18-5 in the second round of the state playoffs. In his final game, Oguntoyinbo scored two goals and two assists against First Flight, who would go on to win the Eastern Regional Championship.

Oguntoyinbo had 13 hat tricks in the 2022 season. He opened the campaign with four goals in a 10-8 win over Jordan at Claude Currie Stadium in Durham on March 1. Two nights later, Oguntoyinbo scored a hat trick in a 6-4 victory over J.H. Rose in Greenville.

For his career, Oguntoyinbo scored 119 goals and 214 points. If he had had standard-length sophomore and junior seasons, he likely would have broken the career school record of 146 goals and 245 points set by Sean Tobin, who played from 2013-2017. Tobin and Jack Widman (59 goals in 2017) was the 1-2 scoring punch that led the 2017 Cedar Ridge team to the 3A/2A/1A Eastern Regional Championship, still the only lacrosse team from Hillsborough to reach the state championship game.

Oguntoyinbo earned an invitation to play in the Bull City All-Star Game at Koskinen Stadium at Duke University in June. After graduating from Cedar Ridge, his family moved to Andover, Massachusetts this summer. Roman will play for Northfield Mount Herman Prep in Gill, Massachusetts for a season of postgraduate lacrosse this winter. His brother Leo, who played goalkeeper and wrestled at Cedar Ridge during his freshman year in 2021-2022, is now at Phillips Academy in Andover, MA.

Joe Kiger: On July 26, Kiger won the Mod 4 Feature race at Orange County Speedway in Rougemont. Kiger, racing in the #12 Blalock’s Towing and Recovery car, starting on the outside flanked along pole-sitter Jon Fish. Kiger, who played linebacker/running back at Orange and graduated in 2020, passed Fish and cruised to victory. Andrew Weaver finished second.

Bryse Wilson: After several weeks with the Indianapolis Indians, Wilson returned to the Pittsburgh Pirates in mid-July. On July 17, Wilson faced the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field in Denver. Wilson threw three-and-one-thirds innings and surrendered two runs off four hits with three strikeouts in a no-decision. The Pirates won 8-3.

On July 26, Wilson threw six innings in a 3-0 loss to the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Wilson gave up three runs off six hits. He struck out two with one walk.

Wilson is 1-6 with a 6.31 ERA with Pittsburgh this season. He will start against the Milwaukee Brewers tonight (Tuesday night) at 7:05 at PNC Park.

Mia Davidson: After playing for Triple Crown Colorado in the Canada Cup Softball Tournament in June, Davidson made her official professional softball debut with Athletes Unlimited last weekend. The unique format of Athletes Unlimited has players competing on teams as well as individually. A player can earn ten points for a single, 20 points for a double, 30 points for a triple, 40 points for a home run, ten points for a sacrifice bunt, and eight points for a walk or getting hit by a pitch. They also receive ten points for a stolen base and lose ten points when caught stealing. Each player receives ten points for each inning their team wins and 50 points for each game they win. At the end of every weekend, comprised of three-game series, the top four point getters become team captains. Each Monday, the captains select new teams for the upcoming weekend’s series. Last weekend, the first of Athletes Unlimited’s softball season, Davidson played for Team Eberle, captained by former Virginia Tech and Oklahoma State pitcher Carrie Eberle. Team Eberle went 2-1 for the weekend at the Parkway Bank Sports Complex in Rosemont, IL. Davidson played designated player in all three games, away from her traditional role as catcher. In her first game, Team Eberle defeated Team Chidester 4-3. Davidson went 0-for-2, but earned 116 points after drawing a walk in the fifth and getting hit by a pitch in the seventh. Team Eberle got 50 points in the win and earned 50 inning points.

On Saturday, Davidson scored the only run in Team Eberle’s 1-0 win over Team Ocasio. Davidson had the first base hit of her professional career with a laser down the right field line. She scored off a single by former Wisconsin first baseman Kelsey Harshman. It was the first 1-0 game in Athletes Unlimited history. Davidson also walked and earned 138 points for the day.

On Sunday, Team Zerkle defeated Team Eberle 9-3. Davidson went 0-for-2 with a walk and was hit by a pitch. She came away with 36 points. For the weekend, Davidson had 290 points and in 12th place overall.

In the Week 2 draft on Monday night, Davidson was once again selected by Team Eberle in the 12th round. At the end of week 1, Carrie Eberle leads all players with 452 points. Team Eberle will face Team Harshman on Friday night at 6:30. On Saturday, Team Eberle faces Team Mulipola at 2:30. On Sunday, Team Eberle faces Team Jaquish.

Joey Berini: Following the conclusion of the East Carolina Pirates baseball season in June, Berini spent the summer playing for the Holly Springs Salamanders of the Coastal Plain League. The Salamanders ended its regular season with an 11-5 loss to the Peninsula Pilots at War Memorial Stadium in Hampton, VA on Saturday. Berini, who played second base most of the season for Holly Springs, went 0-4 with a run scored. On Sunday, Holly Springs defeated the South Wake Shakes 8-2 in seven innings at Ting Stadium in an exhibition game. Berini hit his third homer of the season and finished 2-for-4 with three RBIs. Former Northern Durham pitcher Jackson Bishop, who graduated from high school in June, started for South Wake. Berini ended the season with a .239 batting average in 23 games with three home runs and seven RBIs.

Aidan McAllister: As he prepares to start his college career with Hofstra in February, McAllister spent the summer playing for the Carolina Disco Turkeys, a collegiate wooden bat summer team based in Winston-Salem. Among the highlights for McAllister came against the Greensboro Monarchs on July 16 when he went 2-for-3 in a 5-4 win for the Disco Turkeys at Truist Field in Winston-Salem. On July 28, McAllister had four RBIs as the Disco Turkeys won 12-4 over the Greensboro Yard Goats. The Disco Turkeys made its way to qualify for the All-American Amateur Baseball Association Tournament in Johnstown, PA. On Monday, the New Orleans Boosters defeated the Disco Turkeys 18-3. Carolina will face the Philly Bandits on Tuesday morning in the second game of pool play.

Kate Burgess: Burgess was named a captain for the UNC rowing team for the upcoming season. This past season, Burgess competed in nine races as a junior in 1V4 and 2V4. She finished first against UCF and second against Tennessee in the First Varsity 4+ boat at the UVA Invitational on March 26. Burgess was a starting center for the Orange women’s basketball team and also ran cross country.

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is Sandra McCouch. In June, McCouch graduated from Orange after a successful season on the swimming team. McCouch qualified for the 3A Central Regionals at the Greensboro Aquatic Center. McCouch teamed with Katie Belle Sikes, Melissa Campbell and Ellie Wileman to finish second in the 200 yard medley relay at the Central Carolina Conference championships at the Orange County Sportsplex in February. She also qualified in the 200 yard individual medley after a third place finish in the CCC Championships. McCouch moved to North Carolin from Philadelphia last summer in hopes of attending college. She helped the Orange women’s swimming team to a 4th place finish in the CCC Championships. An Eagles fan, McCouch walked across the stage at the Smith Center for graduation in June.