Throughout the 1990s, an inescapable song was “These are the Days” by 10,000 Maniacs.
You heard it on the Album Oriented Rock Radio stations, the top 40 stations, and eventually the Adult Contemporary stations.
These are the days you’ll remember. And sure enough, these next few weeks could bring unprecedented achievements for several local teams.
On Monday night, Cedar Ridge will compete in merely the biggest soccer game in school history. They travel to Western Alamance with both teams tied for first place in the Central Carolina Conference with a 7-1-1 league record. If the Red Wolves win, they will hold the all important tiebreaker against the Warriors. Cedar Ridge defeated Western Alamance 1-0 on September 20. The Warriors haven’t lost since.
There has never been a men’s soccer conference champion at Orange or Cedar Ridge High Schools.
The Orange volleyball team will enter the Central Carolina Conference tournament #1 in the 3A East Region RPI rankings. That means if Orange can hold on to the top spot, they will have home court advantage for the 3A State Playoffs for the first time in school history. Orange will host either Southern Alamance or Western Alamance in the semifinals of the CCC Tournament on Tuesday. If the Panthers secure a win on Tuesday, they will host the CCC Tournament championship match on Wednesday night.
We’ve completed playing catch up, so here’s the Magnificent 7 for the week of October 1-October 7. These are the seven best performances from last week in no particular order.
- Ava Wilkerson, Orange, Soph.: As a middle blocker, Wilkerson had a career-best 19 kills in Orange’s 3-0 win over Person in Roxboro. Wilkerson also had one block. Two days later, Wilkerson finished with eight kills, three blocks and an ace in Orange’s 3-1 win over Southern Alamance, which clinched the Lady Panthers first conference championship in volleyball in 18 years.
- Salomon Hernandez, Cedar Ridge, Jr.: Hernandez notched the first hat trick of his career in Cedar Ridge’s 7-2 win over Southern Alamance on October 4. Hernandez scored the final goal on a penalty kick in the final minute. Hernandez, who trains with Wake FC in Holly Springs during the spring and summer, has six goals this season for a Cedar Ridge team that is bidding for a conference championship.
- Adeline Cummings, Cedar Ridge, Jr. In the final full week of the women’s tennis regular season, Cummings had five wins for Cedar Ridge. In a 5-4 victory over Durham School of the Arts, Cummings defeated Sadie Miller at #3 singles 6-1, 6-2. Cummings also won her doubles match with partner Cameron Mayhew 6-4. Cummings also won singles matches against Eastern Alamance and Western Alamance.
- Makayla Davis, Orange, Sr: In Orange’s 7-2 win over Southern Alamance on Senior Night in Hillsborough, Davis had a singles win over Madalyn Corbett at #3 singles 6-0, 6-2. Later that night, Davis teamed with Molly Kruse to defeat Morgan Isley and Morgan Edmunds 8-0. Earlier that week, Davis won her singles match against Person.
- Abigail Klaitman, Cedar Ridge, Jr.: In a CCC women’s cross country meet at Lake Cammack Course in Burlington, Klaitman finished first in a field of 44 runners. Klaitman finished with a time of 22:23.23, barely holding off her teammate, Naomi Dyreng. The Cedar Ridge women finished third out of six teams.
- Ryker Stein, Orange, Sr.: Scored a goal to lead the Orange men’s soccer team past Walter Williams at Orange Soccer Field. It is believed to be the first time that Orange has ever defeated the Bulldogs in men’s soccer. Stein is a senior who notched his second marker of the season. Orange is looking to make the state playoffs in back-to-back seasons for the first time in school history.
- Addie Reid, Cedar Ridge, Sr.: Just a few weeks after being named Homecoming Queen, Reid led Cedar Ridge with ten kills in its 3-0 win over Eastern Alamance. Reid also had two blocks. Reid is a rare three-sport athlete. She has been the starting goalkeeper for the Cedar Ridge women’s soccer team. Last year, she played forward in basketball.