The Orange men’s cross country team hasn’t won championships over the past four years.
They’ve collected them.
Though they lost two-time 3A State Individual champion Gabriel Schmid to graduation, Orange has remained in top form this fall. On Wednesday, they captured its fourth consecutive Central Conference championship at Lake Cammack Course in Burlington.
For the third straight year, Orange had the individual conference champion, as well.
Junior Myles Jermyn was the leader as the Panthers placed the three runners to win the team championship with 25 points. Cedar Ridge had a strong showing, finishing runner-up with 44 points. Red Wolf junior Henry Alexander came in fourth overall at 17:25.84. Hillsborough runners comprised five of the six placers.
Jermyn, who finished second behind Schmid last year at the conference championships, led the pack with a time of 17:10.65. He narrowly beat his teammate, junior Lucas Van Mater, who came in at 17:11.18.
Since the formation of the Central Conference in 2021, Orange has won four conference and two Mideast Regional championships. Last November, the Panthers finished 2nd in the 3A State Championships behind only Croatan.
Jermyn, whose father Kevin is the cross country coach at Duke University, earned his first conference title. In September, Jermyn finished first in a tri-meet with Cedar Ridge and Western Alamance with a time of 17:32.00. He has now run on three Central Conference championship teams in three years.
Earlier this month, Van Mater inches out Jermyn on the same course by fourth-tenths-of-a-second in a conference meet that Orange captured.
Grant Scmid, a sophomore and the younger brother of Gabriel, finished third at 17:24.37. Overall, the Panthers had five of the top ten finishers, showing off their experience and depth. Senior Cryus Neal came in 9th (18:23.72) while Peter Musser finished 10th (18:56.02).
Easton Freeman of Walter Williams, who came in fifth (17:38.24), was the only non-Hillsborough runner in the top five.
Cedar Ridge had its best showing ever in the Central Conference championships, putting three runners in the top eleven finishers. In addition to Alexander, junior John Ngunjiri Jr finished sixth (17:42.45). Senior Nathan Walters finished 8th (18:01.85) while sophomore Callum Hinson finished 11th (19:08.83).
Orange finished with 25 points. Cedar Ridge finished 2nd with 44 points. Walter Williams, who had a runner-up finish in 2023, came in third with 75 points. Southern Alamance was fourth with 97 points and Western Alamance registered 115 points.
Orange’s Aidan Viola finished 21st (20:07.28).
Cedar Ridge sophomore Landin Tillet came in 15th (19:26.14) while Red Wolf Michael O’Melia finished 16th (19:36.88) O’Melia also wrestles for head coach Scott Metcalf during the winter.
Cedar Ridge senior Elie Ndahiriwe finished 19th in a field of 41 runners. Ndahiriwe finished with a time of 20:01.43.
Orange and Cedar Ridge both qualified as team for the Mideast Regionals. That will be held at Franklinton High School on October 26.
Over the past three years, Orange has claimed the regional championship in 2021 and 2023. In 2022, Orange finished second behind Durham School of the Arts.
Orange head cross country coach Brian Schneidewind maintained a championship form despite losing several strong runners from the 2023 conference championship team. In addition to Schmid, the Panthers lost Alden Cathey, who finished 5th in the conference championships in 2023. Cathey would go on to win Orange’s first regional championship in men’s lacrosse and now attends Arcadia University in Pennsylvania, where he will likely be a long-stick defenseman.
Gabriel Schmid is currently on a Mormon mission. Once that ends, he will run at N.C. State University. Schmid is one of two runners in Orange High history to win an individual state championship in cross country. The other, Bradsher Wilkins, also won back-to-back state championships in 1997 and 1998. Wilkins was the only Panther to win a state championship at the 4A level.