For the second year in a row, the Cedar Ridge women’s wrestling team crowned a champion at the Red Wolf Invitational.
In fact, they crowned two.
Chloe Pankratz claimed her first individual championship at 138 pounds, pinning all three of her opponents in a round-robin tournament that featured four other competitors.
At 100 pounds, Thalia Paterno defeated top-seeded Eva Serrano of Panther Creek in the semifinals and went on to claim the championship. She scored pins in both of her matches as the Red Wolves finished 4th in the women’s team standings with 54 points. Panther Creek captured the women’s team championship with 141 points.
Pankratz, who didn’t play in the 132-pound tournament last year, pinned Aaliyah McNeill of South Garner in 15 seconds in her opening match. Pankratz defeated Cece Maldonado of Southeast Alamance in 31 seconds. With the championship at stakge, Pankratz pinned Caroline Cook of Seaforth to clinch her first individual championship.
Last year, Cedar Ridge’s Zoey Moreno won the 120-pound title at the Red Wolf Invitational. Moreno pinned Adriana Gruner of Northern Durham in 15 seconds to take the 2023 championship.
The 100 pound championship turned into an all-Hillsborough matchup. After Paterno pinned Serrano, Orange’s Elyse Wilscam pinned Alexus Pementhal of West Rowan in 14 seconds to reach the final. Paterno pinned Wilscam in 1:03 to earn her first individual championship.
Orange’s Ava Lytle finished 3rd at 126 pounds. After Gianna Susser of Garner, the eventual champion, won in the opening round, Lytle Andrea Thornton of Asheboro via pinfall in 1:32. In the consolation final, Lytle pinned Aaliyah Pearson of Southeast Raleigh in 18 seconds.
Pankratz started the season with a runner-up finish in the Atkins Invitational at Atkins Academic and Technology High School in Winston-Salem on November 14. Pankratz scored three pins on her way to the final. She defeated Leora Hein of Oak Hill Academy in 36 seconds. She pinned Ashley Hernandez of Oak Grove in 1:12, then pinned 2nd-seeded Amelia Martino of East Mecklenburg in the semifinals in 5:13. Top-seeded Jadyn Magallanes of West Forsyth claimed the championship.
Paterno also reached the finals of the Atkins Invitational at 100 pounds. In a five-competitor field, Paterno pinned Naria Selomith of West Forsyth in 14 seconds. Victoria Pioquinto of West Forsyth pinned Paterno in 3:36 in the final, though Paterno did have a 5-1 lead with 1:00 remaining in the second period.
Also at the Atkins, Cedar Ridge’s Melissa Avendano won her opening round match at 165 pounds. In the quarterfinals, Avendano defeated Aaliyah Page of East Mecklenburg. Isabelle Clemmons of Atkins Academic won the championship over Janiyah Quidachay of Southeast Alamance in the final.
The Cedar Ridge women’s team has grown to the point that they’re now holding standard dual meets against Central Conference opponents. Last week, the Red Wolves women’s team won its first dual match when they defeated Person 24-12, though all of the matches were forfeits because Cedar Ridge had four wrestlers who were unrivaled in their respective weight classes. Caroline Donjuan, Pankratz, Paterno and Mariana Duqum all claimed victories.
Also in the tri-meet against Person, Cary defeated Cedar Ridge 42-18. Of the three matches that didn’t end in forfeit, Cedar Ridge won two of them. Pankratz defeated Treasure Harvest at 138 pounds via pinfall. At 100 pounds, Paterno pinned Angela Chen.
The Orange women’s team started the season at the Wolverine Challenge at Wakefield High School in Raleigh on November 16. At 100 pounds, Wiscam finished in third place after she pinned Alena McNaughton of Panther Creek in 2:56. In the opening round, Wiscam advanced to the semifinals with a pinfall victory over McNaughton in 3:30.
Orange’s Ava Lytle was the top seed in the 126 pound tournament and finished fourth. Lytle pinned Miracle Lester of Hoke County in the consolation round. In the consolation semifinals, Lytle pinned Vanity Martinez of Currituck County.