The Magnificent 7, Week 10: Farewell to a joyous Fall

When you pull into Reynolds Coliseum on the first Saturday in November, you know one of the teams you’re covering has done something right.

Two years ago, the Cedar Ridge volleyball team was that squad. Last Saturday, it was Orange volleyball’s turn.

And what a day it was. Not just in Raleigh, but also in Kernersville. Gabriel Schmid ended the most accomplished cross country career in Orange High history with a first-place finish at the 3A State Championships at the Ivey Redmon Sports Complex. The only regret I have on the day was that Orange volleyball’s state championship match against Kings Mountain started at noon. Originally, the match was slated to start at 7, which would have allowed a lot of Orange officials to make a full day out of it.

Orange cross country competed for the state title on Saturday morning. They had the best finish of any Orange team ever in a state championship, finishing second behind Croatan.

It was a memorable fall on so many levels. The Cedar Ridge men’s soccer team nearly became the first soccer team in Hillsborough history to win a conference championship. They were one win away. For the first time ever, the Orange men’s soccer team reached the state playoffs in back-to-back years.

Cedar Ridge volleyball captured the Central Carolina Conference Tournament championship. For a squad that lost eight seniors, including the top two attackers in school history in Cameron Lloyd and Cameron Lanier, along with Julie Altieri, Melissa Benkowitz and Anaya Carter, they still banded together to win a conference title. Cedar Ridge was the only team to beat Orange in Panther Gymnasium this year, something that J.H. Rose, Carrboro or Falls Lake couldn’t do.  Cedar Ridge’s senior class, which includes Greylinn Serge, Rachel Alverson, Addie Reid and Natasha Buchler-Fosado, will have a lot to look back on and smile about in the future.

Let’s go back to October 15-21 for this week’s Magnificent 7, the top seven performances from the week in no particular order.

1. Claire Hargett, Soph. Cedar Ridge: A mammoth performance against Orange in the CCC Tournament championship match. Hargett had a season-high 24 kills as the Red Wolves pulled the upset against Orange. The Red Wolves were the only team in the CCC to beat Orange this year. Cedar Ridge claimed a share of a conference title for the fourth straight year.
2. Naomi Dyreng, Jr. Cedar Ridge: Dyreng won the CCC women’s cross country individual championship on October 18. Dyreng crossed the finish line at 21:50.18. Her teammate, Abigail Klaitman, came in second at 22:00.56. Cedar Ridge finished second as a team, only behind Walter Williams.
3. Myles Jermyn, Jr. Orange: While Schmid won the conference championship for Orange men’s cross country, his teammate made sure the Panthers captured the team championship for the third year in a row. Jermyn came in second at 17:37.41. Jermyn’s father is the cross country coach at Elon University. The Orange athletic program has already won two conference championships and two regional championships this year.
4. Erik Galunas, Soph, Cedar Ridge: The Cedar Ridge goalkeeper had a tremendous clean sheet during a scoreless tie against Western Alamance on October 16. Galunas made eight saves. Afterward, head coach Chauncey Brummell thought Galunas played well enough to get signed by a professional academy. He wasn’t joking.
5. Annabeth Lundberg, Sr. Cedar Ridge: Lundberg won two matches for the Cedar Ridge women’s tennis team in its victory over Orange in the opening round of the 3A State Dual Team Playoffs. Lundberg won at #6 singles, then teamed with Raven Mowles-Airing to win at #3 doubles as the Red Wolves edged the Lady Panthers 5-4 to advance to the second round.
6. Katie Silcott, Soph. Orange: Had 14 digs and 38 assists against Western Alamance in the CCC Tournament semifinals. Silcott surpassed 1,000 assists for the 2023 season during the 3A State Playoffs, which could very well be a single-season school record. She surpassed 1,000 assists for her career in the final week of the regular season. Is another 1,000 assist season possible for 2024? Orange returns outside hitter Aubrey Jordan and Ava Wilkerson next year. And, likely, in 2025, as well.
7. Shannon Sollars, Jr. Orange: A strong finish to the season for Sollars. She won both of her matches in Orange’s final dual match of the season against Cedar Ridge. Sollars defeated Ella Caltabiano at #2 singles 6-3, 6-0. She teamed with her sister, Erinn, one final time in a dual match to defeat Cameron Mayhew and Adeline Cummings 9-8 (7-5 tiebreaker).