With the Central Conference Cross County championships two weeks away, the Orange men’s team appears poised to take its fourth consecutive league crown.
On Tuesday, Orange took the top four spots in winning its second conference meet of the season. Junior Lucas Van Mater finished 1st as Orange had the top four runners in the reached at Lake Cammack Course in Burlington. Van Mater, the younger brother of former Orange women’s basketball forward Katelyn Van Mater, led the group of 65 runners with a time of 18:03.05. He beat out his teammate Myles Jermyn, who finished only .45 seconds behind in second place.
Orange sophomore Grant Schmid finished third (18:45.26) while Panther senior Cyrus Neal came in fourth (19:44.67). The Panthers came in first as a team with 21 points. Walter Williams finished a distant second with 72 points.
Orange had six runners in the top 12 with Aiden Viola in 11th place (21:16.67) and senior Peter Musser in 12th (21:19.55)
Cedar Ridge finished fifth. Henry Alexander was the top placer for the Red Wolves in 18th place. The Red Wolves claimed spots 18-22 including John Ngunjiri (19th), junior Ryan Matthews, and senior Nathan Walters.
It was the second straight first place finish for Van Mater. On Saturday, he took first place in the 40th Greensboro Invitational race at Hagan Stone Park in Pleasant Garden. Van Mater led a pack of 159 runners with a time of 16:29.49. Out of 23 teams, Orange finished 2nd with 79 points. Grace Christian School, a private school out of Raleigh, finished first with 56 points.
Women’s Cross Country: In the women’s race on Tuesday, Cedar Ridge senior Naomi Dyreng finished 2nd overall. Dyreng crossed the finish line at 23:33,07, less than a second behind the winner, Ava Childress of Walter Williams (23:32.26).
Orange had a third place finish as they placed runners 3-through-5. All three of the Lady Panthers top placers were freshmen. Ava Bishop finished 3rd (23:36.45), followed by Kinsey Ross (24:32.58) and Reilly Jermyn (24:33.00).
Cedar Ridge’s Elaina Sobus came in 24th while Kate Finnegan finished 25th. Western Alamance finished 1st in the team standings with 46 points. Orange and Williams finished tied for 2nd with 59 points each, but the Bulldogs earned the tiebreaker since Childress won the individual meet.
Women’s tennis: Orange 9, Southern Alamance 0: Orange celebrated Senior Night by maintaining second place in the Central Conference with a victory over the Patriots on September 26. In a prematch ceremony, seniors Shannon Sollars and Aubrey Petrosanu were honored.
Sollars, whose older sister Erin returned to the team as an assistant coach after graduating last June, defeated Madalyn Corbett 8-0 in the #1 singles match. Petrosanu played doubles with Samantha Gover. They teamed to defeat Cayla Shaw and Presley Lawton 8-2.
Sollars teamed with standard doubles partner Molly Kruse at #1 doubles to defeat Corbett and Gabby Canup 8-0.
Freshman Kalynn Mason won at #2 singles over Canup 8-1. Sophomore Ellie Wilson defeated Ava Lynch 8-1. Junior Oakley Gaddy defeated Cherish Ray 8-2. Orange’s Adelyn Alvis knocked off Cayla Shaw 8-1. Junior Casey Robinson completed a sweep of singles play with a 8-1 win over Presley Lawton 8-1.
At #2 doubles, Evelyn Gover and Kyla Mehl defeated Lynch & Ray 8-2.
After a win in its final dual road match of the season over Eastern Alamance on Wednesday night, the Lady Panthers are 13-2 overall, 10-1 in Central Conference play. On Monday night, Orange will host Walter Williams. If Orange wins, they will tie for the Central Conference championship. On August 21, Williams edged Orange 5-4 in Burlington.
Women’s golf: Orange golfer Gianni Burnette finished highest among local golfers in the latest meet at Roxboro Country Club hosted by Person High School on September 23. Brunette, coming off shooting a 45 in a meet with Williams, finished with a 49, good enough for seven overall individually. Burnette’s teammate, Kayla Pope, was only one stroke back with a 50, tied with Western Alamance’s Layne Pittard. Orange’s Shannon Murphy carded a 54.
Cedar Ridge’s Laci Sykes and Victoria Matthews each shot a 61.