Cedar Ridge sophomore Pierce Prescod has attacked this wrestling season with a fervor comparable to a man on a mission.
That’s because he’s on one–to reach the 3A State wrestling tournament.
In a season that’s already featured several milestones for Cedar Ridge wrestling, Prescod added another on Wednesday night. He recorded his 100th career pin with victories over Jayden Batten of Eastern Alamance and Kenzo Kinoshita of Panther Creek. Prescod is now in fourth place in school history with 140 career wins. He is only behind Chandler Collins, who holds the school record with 166 wins; Kaden Tatro, Prescod’s former teammate, who finished with 159 wins last February; and Josh Collins, a member of the original Cedar Ridge wrestling team that recorded 151 wins from 2001-2005.
Prescod improved to 28-4 with 14 pins this year.
As a sophomore, Prescod won two individual championships as he went into the regional tournament held at Cedar Ridge in February 2024. He faced South Johnston’s Carson Cori in the consolation semifinals of the 120 pound tournament. The winner would reach the state tournament. Just seconds into the match, Prescod slammed Cori, who began holding his back. Cori claimed he couldn’t continue and won on an injury stoppage. Prescod, with 44 wins on the season, was denied a chance to reach the Greensboro Coliseum.
On Wednesday, Cedar Ridge defeated Eastern Alamance 65-18 to improve to 3-1 in the Central Conference.
Alejandro Briones earned two more wins on the night. He defeated Ilia Anokhin of Panther Creek 16-4 in a major decision. Following a forfeit win over Eastern Alamance, Briones is now 28-4 with 15 pins this season.
At 190 pounds, Will Meyer pinned Yugo Hibi of Panther Creek in 18 seconds. Later, he pinned Christopher Schild of Eastern Alamance in 1:40. Meyer is 13-9 with ten pins this year.
Cedar Ridge senior Ryan Rakouskas scored his first technical fall victory of the year, beating Eastern Alamanace’s Carson Gardner 20-3. Following a forfeit win over Panther Creek, Rakouskas improved to 27-2 on the season
Graylon Collins pinned Brayan Acosta in 1:35 to improve to improve to 18-11. It was his seventh pin of the season.
Cedar Ridge is now 14-8 overall.
Both Cedar Ridge and Orange will compete in the Eagle Invitational at the Mebane Arts Center later this afternoon. The tournament will conclude on Saturday.
Person 68, Orange 12: The Person Rockets wrestling team has the inside track on winning the Central Conference regular season championship for the first time after beating the Panthers at Rockets Gymnasium on Wednesday night.
Orange freshman Jordan Barbee, who won all five of his matches at the Rumble in the Jungle at Carrboro High last Saturday, pinned Christian Burwell in the final match of the night. Barbee is a seven-match winning streak and is 13-4 with nine pins.
Orange’s only other victory on the night came from senior Braden Crawford, who pinned Kai Montgomery at 138 pounds. Crawford is 13-4 with nine pins this season.
Person won all 12 of its matches by either pinfall or technical fall. Rockets senior Trevquan Gary, the 2024 3A State Heavyweight Champion, scored a technical fall over Orange’s Eli Clayton 15-0.
Person is 13-0 with wins over both Hillsborough schools. The Rockets edged Cedar Ridge 34-32 on November 26 in Roxboro.
Indoor Track and Field: Orange three-sport athlete Adelyn Alvis qualified for the State Indoor Track and Field Championships during the first Eastern Alamance Polar Bear event of the season in Mebane on Tuesday. Alvis, who was a starter for the women’s tennis team last fall, finished second in the 500 yard dash at 1:18.66. She came in just .54 of a second behind East Chapel Hill’s Ava Maughan.
The State Championsship qualifying standard is 1:22.24.
Orange senior Kingston Purefoy-Farrington came in second in the 55 meter dash at 6.70, just behind Southeast Alamance’s Augustine Koroma, who finished one-hundreth-of-a-second ahead at 6.69.
Orange junior Lucas Van Mater qualified for the State Indoor Championship earlier this fall in the 3,200 meters. It will be his second straight year in the State Championships, which will be held at the JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem on February 14 & 15.