Month: January 2025

The Roman era may be winding down for Orange swimming, but it’s still leading to familiar results.

For the third year in a row, Orange’s Luke Roman was named the Central Conference Male Swimmer of the Year after he paced the Panthers to the Central Conference championship at the Orange County Sportsplex on Saturday afternoon.

In an event he has dominated, Roman won the 500 yard freestyle for the fourth consecutive year, setting the pace for Orange to take the Orange the conference title for the fourth straight season.

It was also the end of an era for Orange swimming. It was the final home meet for Roman, Alex Andre, Nick Baczara, Ayden Twiddy and Noah Jones, five swimmers who have propelled the Panthers swimming program to new heights. Together, Orange has won four conference championships and a runner-up finish in the Central Regionals last year at the Greensboro Aquatic Center.

Once again, Roman, Baczara, Andre and Jones would team together to take two relay conference championships. In the past two years, the quartet has won four conference championships.

Roman, Baczara, Andre and Jones would win the 200 yard medley relay and the 400 yard freestyle relay.

Roman became the second Orange men’s swimmer in school history to win a state championship last year. At the Triangle Aquatic Complex in Cary, Roman won the 500 yard freestyle. He joined Ben Scott, who won the 2018 100 yard freestyle state championship.

Alex Andre would finish 2nd in the 500 yard freestyle behind his own teammate.

Roman has received interest from several colleges about swimming at the next level, along with balancing his aspirations to attend medical school.

Orange finished with 402 points to take the team championship. Cedar Ridge finished 2nd at 326 points.

In addition to winning the 500 freestyle, Roman also repeated as champion of the 200 yard freestyle, where he held off Twiddy, who finished in 2nd place.

Andre also captured two individual championships. He repeated as the champion of the 200 yard individual medley as he touched the wall at 2:04.08. Cedar Ridge senior Philip Cauwels finished 2nd at 2:15.75. He also came away with the 100 yard butterfly championship with a time of 55.33 seconds. Andre has won three individual conference championships in his Orange career.

In 2024, Andre won the 200 yard individual medley regional championship, edging Carrboro’s Matt Strada by .22 of a second for the title.

It was a solid meet for Cedar Ridge’s younger swimmers. Sophomore Christopher Seawell earned his second individual conference championship in the 100 yard backstroke. Seawell finished at 59.78 seconds, holding off Jones, who came in at 1:07.03. Orange junior Colin Wuthrich finished third at 1:13.00. Last year, Seawell won the 50 yard freestyle.

Cedar Ridge freshman J.E. Sandor continued an outstanding rookie campaign by winning the 100 yard breaststroke. In the closest men’s race of the day, Sandor beat Walter Williams sophomore Liam Miller to the wall by less than one second. Sandor finished at 1:07.91, while Miller finished at 1:08.26. Baczara, the defending champion, finished third at 1:13.28.

Orange’s 200 yard freestyle relay team also captured a conference championship. Baczara, Twiddy, sophomore Jason Spey and Wuthrich finished at 1:44.31. Cedar Ridge’s team of Jacob Olmstead, Landon Rogers, Zion Green and Davis Golden came in second at 1:57.77.

Walter Williams junior Eamon Hipps swept the 50 yard and 100 yard freestyle races. Hipps held off Seawell in the 50 yard freestyle, finishing at 22.64 seconds. Seawell came in at 23.51 seconds. Hipps won the 100 yard freestyle at 50.53 seconds, beating Orange’s Ayden Twiddy, who touched the wall at 51.81 seconds. Wuthrich finished third (1:03.03).

Orange and Cedar Ridge will set their sights to the Greensboro Aquatic Center for the 3A Central Regionals on Saturday night.Last year, Orange had its best-ever showing as a team finishing second behind Carrboro, who claimed its third straight regional title.

Individual success is nothing new for Sophia Stinnett.

Going into Saturday, she had already won three individual championships at the Central Conference Championships, starting with the 200 yard freestyle in her freshman year.

This year, Stinnett and fellow senior Quinn McCrimmon added a team conference title to their lengthy list of achievements.

Stinnett won two individual gold medals as the Cedar Ridge women’s swimming team won the Central Conference championship at the Orange County Sportsplex on Saturday afternoon. For the second year in a row, Stinnett won the 500 yard freestyle and also captured the 100 yard backstroke, where she is the defending 3A Central Regional champion.

McCrimmon won her second individual conference championship in the 200 yard freestyle during the tightest race of the day. McCrimmon beat Western Alamance’s Elizabeth Merlette by .22 of a second, finishing at 2:08.45. Last year, McCrimmon won the 100 yard butterfly.

Cedar Ridge won the women’s team championship with 382 points. Orange, the two-time defending conference champions, finished second at 361 points. Western Alamance came in third with 310 points.

“It’s a little bit of a story arc,” McCrimmon said. “We’ve always been trying to beat Orange for some reason and we finally did. It was such a shocker that we won but I’m really proud of everyone for how hard we’ve worked this season.”

In addition to swimming in the morning with her teammates, McCrimmon usually returns to the pool for a two-hour workout after a full day of school.

The Red Wolves likely would have likely earned more points, but the event was in limbo because of Tuesday night’s snow cancelling school on Wednesday and Thursday. With the Mid-State Conference Championships booked for the SportsPlex on Friday night, the only other time the Central title meet could fit in was Saturday.

It led to twelve Cedar Ridge swimmers missing the event.

“I’m really proud of the ones that came,” said Cedar Ridge swimming coach Amanda Jones. “They had a really great meet today.”

Stinnett captured two Central Regional championships last year at the Greensboro Aquatic Center. She came in the 3A State Championships in the 100 yard backstroke, but had never won a team conference championship until Saturday.

“It’s been really great having them as seniors,” Jones said. “They are really able to do well behind the blocks on relays. I’m really proud of them and I’m honored to see how far they’ve come since they were freshman.”

In December, Stinnett formally signed to swim at Le Moyne College in DeWitt, New York.

It wasn’t just the end of the Central Conference season for Stinnett and McCrimmon, but it was also their final meet inside the Orange County SportsPlex. Stinnett has swam in the SportsPlex pool since she was six years old. She practices at the SportsPlex with her teammates, as well as competitors from Orange, every weekday morning at 6AM.

“It’s definitely bittersweet knowing this is the end of my career here,” Stinnett said. “It’s really exciting because we had never won a conference championship before at Cedar Ridge.” Zoe

Orange junior Piper White repeated as champion of the 50 and 100 yard freestyles. White, who had won three state championships in relay events over the past two years,  won the 50 at 26.51 seconds, beating out Walter Williams Sophia Shideler. Cedar Ridge freshman Eden Pollard finished third.

White captured the 100 yard freestyle at 59.63 seconds, again beating out Shideler. Cedar Ridge junior Hala Zafar came in third at 1:02.87.

White, Ainsley Rasinske, Zoe Jones and freshman Addison Moore won two relay championships. They took the 200 yard medley at 2:02.68. Cedar Ridge’s team of Stinnett, McCrimmon, Zafar and Natalie Kunz finished 2nd at 2:05.38.

White, Rasinske, Jones and Moore also claimed the 400 yard freestyle relay at 4:09.98. McCrimmon, Kunz, Zafar and Stinnett got another runner-up finish (4:16.79).

Orange freshman Reilly Jermyn won the 100 yard breastroke. Jermyn, who was the top runner for Orange’s women’s cross country team last fall, earned her first conference title at 1:18.74, well ahead of Ale Gonzalez Palacios of Williams (1:23.94).

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is senior wrestler Pierce Prescod. On Saturday, Prescod won his third consecutive Central Conference championship at 120 pounds at Williams High School in Burlington. Earlier this month at Williams High, Prescod won his 150th career match. During the past four years, Prescod has been a vital part of unprecedented success for the Cedar Ridge wrestling team.  During his sophomore season, Cedar Ridge won the Central Conference Tournament at Orange High School, where he pinned Person’s Taveon Moss for his 1st individual conference title. In his junior year, Cedar Ridge won the Central Conference regular season championship. On December 6, 2023, Prescod earned a pinfall victory as the Red Wolves defeated crosstown rival Orange for the first time in school history. In February 2024, Prescod and his teammates made the long trip to Currituck County and defeated Carrboro and Person to reach the state quarterfinals of the 3A State Dual Team Tournament. In the beginning of his junior season, Prescod won the Red Wolf Invitational. He ended his junior year with 48 wins. Next month, Cedar Ridge will once again compete in the state dual team playoffs after finishing 2nd in the Central Conference this season. Prescod will compete in the Mideast Regionals at Cedar Ridge High School and will aim to earn an elusive trip to the 3A State Individual Tournament at First Horizon Coliseum in Greensboro.

Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week: Pierce Prescod

This week’s Cedar Red Wolf of the Week is senior wrestler Pierce Prescod. On Saturday, Prescod captured the Central Conference championship at 120 pounds at Williams High School in Burlington. It continues a season of milestones for Prescod, who secured his 100th career pinfall victory earlier this month.

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is senior golfer Shannon Murphy. This season, Murphy qualified for the 3A State Championships at Longleaf Golf and Family Club in Southern Pines. Murphy was the top placer for the Orange women’s golf team this season and finished among the top 75 3A players in the state. She qualified at the Central Golf Championship at The Valley Golf Course in Burlington in October. For the past four years, Murphy has been a member of the Orange varsity women’s basketball team. Murphy has had to battle knee injuries throughout her career after suffering a torn ACL as a freshman. This year, she has helped Orange to a strong start under new head coach Josh Underwood. On December 27, Murphy scored a career-high 18 points, including 5-of-6 shooting from 3-point range in a double overtime loss to Southeast Alamance in the Southeast Alamance Holiday Hoopla Tournament in Haw River. Murphy had the top nine-hole average on the Orange women’s golf team this season. It was her third year playing golf for Orange. Next month, Murphy will be honored for Orange’s senior night in a game against Eastern Alamance. She aims to help the women’s basketball team reach the state playoffs for the fourth straight season.

Orange Panther of the Week: Shannon Murphy

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is senior golfer Shannon Murphy. This season, Murphy qualified for the 3A State Championships at Longleaf Golf and Family Club in Southern Pines. Murphy was the top placer for the Orange women’s golf team this season and finished among the top 75 3A players in the state.

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After winning his 100th career match in November, Ryan Rakouskas became the latest Cedar Ridge wrestler to celebrate 100 career pins.

In the quarterfinals of the Coach T Memorial Classic at Riverside High School in Durham on Saturday, Rakouskas pinned Topsail’s Luke Williams in 4:00 for his 100th career pinfall. It came two weeks after Rakouskas teammate, Pierce Prescod, earned his 100th career pin.

Rakouskas competed against Williams twice. In the consolation final, Rakouskas pinned Williams again, this time in 3:43, to earn third place in the tournament. Rakouskas improved to 39-6 on the season with 27 pins. He surpassed Randy Greenough for sixth on the all-time schools career win list.

Speaking of which, senior Pierce Prescod continues to move closer to the all-time record, held by Chandler Collins, with 166 career wins. Prescod is now at 152 wins after finishing 2nd in the 120-pound weight division. In the semifinals, Prescod pinned Santos Marin of Wakefield in 3:01 for his 152nd career victory, surpassing Josh Collins for third place on the all-time list. Prescod, who is looking to qualify for the state championships for the first time, lost in the finals to Cape Fear’s Mac Johnson, who was the #3 seed.

Kaden Tatro, who graduated from Cedar Ridge, is #2 in school history with 159 wins.

In the women’s tournament, Cedar Ridge freshman Thalia Paterno continued an impressive rookie year with a second place finish at 100 pounds. In a round-robin event, Paterno score pins in each of her opening three matches, none of which exceeded one minute. Paterno pinned Kaleigh Poteat of Southeast Alamance in 13 seconds; pinned Ashley Smith of Wakefield in 37 seconds and finished Anai Carrillo of Cardinal Gibbons in 50 seconds.

It set up a championship match with Morgan Carpenter of Pine Forest, who had also won her opening three matches. Carpenter scored a pin at 4:49. This season, Paterno has won three individual championships at the Red Wolf Invitational, the Jim King/Orange Invitational and the Eagle Invitational in Mebane.

At 113 pounds in the men’s tournament, Cedar Ridge junior Favio Jaramillo captured 3rd place in a tournament where he scored three wins to boast his record to 37-8 on the season. Jaramillo, who won the championship of the Eagle Invitational last month, dominated Bennett Teague of Southern Alamance 16-3 in the 3rd place match. Jaramillo, seeded #2, scored a technical fall over Jaxton Couch of Pine Forest 19-3. In the consolation semfinals, Jaramillo defeated Jacob Keel of Rolesville 19-11. Top-seeded Spencer Sterling of Cardinal Gibbons won the 113-pound championship with an 11-4 decision over Jacob Pope of Topsail.

Sophomore Alejandro Briones had tough luck in a fourth-place finish at 144 pounds. Briones, who is 37-8 on the year, won his quarterfinal match over Troy Crain of Seaforth. Broughton’s Benjamin Zeren scored a takedown in the third period to defeat Briones in the semifinals 9-6. Briones pinned Wesley Taylor of Cape Fear to reach the third place match. Cardinal Gibbons’ Derek Mason a takedown with :08 remaining to edge Briones 10-9 in the consolation final.

In the women’s tournament, Cedar Ridge’s Chloe Pankratz finished fourth at 138 pounds. Pankratz, a senior who won the JKO tournament in December, opened with a pin over Izabella Roldan of Curritcuk County. Italia Squicciarini of Topsail pinned Pankratz in the second round robin match. Katie Lloyd of Southeast Alamance pinned Pankratz in the 3rd place match.

Cedar Ridge’s Carolina DonJuan was the only entrant in her weight class and claimed first place at 235 pounds.

On Saturday, Cedar Ridge will compete in the Central Conference Championships at Williams High School in Broughton. Briones and Prescod each won their respective conference championships last year in Burlington.

For the first time, there will be a conference tournament for women’s wrestling. This season, Cedar Ridge had several dual women’s matches, including wins over Person, Chapel Hill, East Chapel Hill, Walter Williams and Southern Alamance.

The Orange men’s basketball team will start its final third of the season against Western Alamance on Friday night in Elon. The Panthers currently are tied with Eastern Alamance for first place in the Central Conference. The game against Western Alamance will end a string of ten consecutive games away from home for Orange, which hasn’t played inside its own gymnasium since December 20. Orange is 13-5 overall. Among their most dramatic wins came on November 22 when they defeated Mt. Zion Christian Academy 60-56 in Hillsborough. Senior Ethan Ellis drained a dramatic 3-pointer with 13 seconds remaining to put the Panthers ahead. Point guard Kai Wade led the Panthers with 18 points against the Warriors. Xandrell Pennix added 16 as Orange pulled out a dramatic win at home. Senior Michael Clark scored ten points. It was one of several vital nonconference wins for the Panthers, who would go on to beat Chapel Hill on December 10. It was the Panthers first win over the Tigers since 2019. After this Friday, Orange will have six consecutive home games to wrap up the regular season. The Panthers will try to win the Central Conference regular season championship for the second year in a row. Pennix will try to surpass 1,000 points in his career. Pennix has over 900 points after Orange’s win at Southern Alamance last week.

Orange men’s basketball’s Kai Wade, Ethan Ellis & Freddy Sneed discuss win over Mr. Zion Christian

The Orange men’s basketball team will start its final third of the season against Western Alamance on Friday night in Elon. The Panthers currently are tied with Eastern Alamance for first place in the Central Conference. The game against Western Alamance will end a string of ten consecutive games away from home for Orange, which hasn’t played inside its own gymnasium since December 20.

Photo by Ben McCormick of the Courier Times

At the risk of dating myself more than I already do, I’m a massive fan of The Who.

I sit on my couch many nights while I’m writing and listen to “Who’s Next,” “Tommy,” “Face Dances.” I even like “Who are You,” generally considered their worst album and released just as their drummer Keith Moon died in 1977.

Most Who fans that do even the most basic research about the band understand two things:

1. They haven’t really been a band since 2002 when their bassist, John Entwhistle, died in the most rock n’ roll way possible. In Las Vegas, naturally.

2. The two surviving members, Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey, hate each other.

Perhaps that bitterness is from Townshend, who wrote most of the band’s songs. Maybe he’s upset that his solo career didn’t rise to the popularity of the Who and couldn’t surpass his work from the 1960s and 1970s.

The bottom line is regardless of how much animosity exists between the two, which is plenty, Townshend and Daltrey do their best work together.

Which brings us back to January 9 in Roxboro.

The Orange men’s basketball team was down 28-9 against Person with 5:30 remaining in the first half. The Rockets had a 13-0 record and looked unstoppable. Orange wasn’t just on the ropes. They were on the verge of being knocked out of the Central Conference championship race before MLK Jr. Day.

In prior years, Orange may have turtled up inside its shell, got blown out by 25 points and traveled back up Highway 57. Instead, Xandrell Pennix came up with his best game ever in Roxboro, scoring 19 points. Orange made 11-of-14 shots in the third quarter, including 6-of-9 from 3-point range. Orange trailed by nine at halftime. By the end of the third quarter, they were up nine.

The fact they didn’t have their point guard, Kai Wade, because of foul trouble didn’t stop them. Ethan Ellis, Freddy Sneed, Jalen Crayton, and Michael Clark all made big plays down the stretch.

The fact that a conference championship race hung in the balance wasn’t lost on both times. That’s why trash talk went back-and-forth and the night continued.

In other words, it was a rivalry.

And they brought out the best in each other.

And it’s been one for a long time. Some of my earliest memories as a high school student go back to being a camerman for the Orange junior varsity basketball team in the early 1990s. Winning at Person was HARD. I’ve seen Orange men’s basketball play in Roxboro at least 15 times. The win two weeks ago was only  the second time I ever saw Orange beat Person.

Plus, when I was 15, Person’s gym felt mammoth. I was used to bandbox gymnasiums. The fact that Person had a second deck where you coach watch the games down below made it seem like it was Madison Square Garden in my sheltered mind.

For over two decades, that rivalry ended when Orange moved down from being a 4A team in 2001 when Cedar Ridge opened. But Person and Orange were reunited as conference rivals when the Central Conference was formed in 2022.

That’s now in jeopardy.

Last month, the North Carolina High School Athletic Association released its first draft of conference realignment for the new eight classification system. Orange would be in a league with Cedar Ridge, Seaforth, Durham School of the Arts, South Granville and Webb. It would be a group of exclusively 5A teams, one of the few non-split conferences in the new alignment.

Person would remain a 5A team, as well. They would be with Eastern Alamance, Western Alamance, Southeast Alamance, Williams, Southern Alamance, and Rockingham County.

It’s a bad draw for Orange and Person. They’re natural conference rivals not just in terms of geography, but also competition. Last year, Orange football’s most inspired effort came against Person. They’re also natural rivals in softball. Many of the Lady Panthers live in northern Orange County, only about 10-15 minutes from Roxboro.

If the first draft of the new alignment is passed, Orange and Cedar Ridge won’t have any traditional rivals aside from each other. Webb was in the old Big Eight Conference with Orange and Cedar Ridge in the 2010s, but the games with the Warriors were hardly the stuff of legend.

Geographically, Person could fit in a league based in Granville County. The Rockets were rivals with Webb for years in the 80s and 90s.

Part of the reason why Person remains such a rich area for high school athletics is because they still have traditional media outlets. They have WKRX Radio, which broadcasts the Person football and basketball games. They have a newspaper, run by my friend Kelly Snow, that puts the Rocket first and foremost in their coverage. And their fan following, unlike other schools in bigger cities, hasn’t suffered.

That’s what makes games like January 9 so special. And high school sports special.

Orange and Person don’t like each other.

And they do their best work together.

Lottie Scully: For the first time, Scully was named the American East Setter of the Year. She led the conference with 8.73 assists per set and 917 total assists. The Binghamton volleyball team ended the year in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship, where they lost to Bowling Green in the opening round 3-1. Scully ended the year with her sixth consecutive double-double with 38 assists and eleven digs, her tenth of the season. Binghamton won the American East Regular Season championship after sweeping the New Jersey Institute of Technology 3-0 on November 17. It secured the Bearcats second regular season title in three years. Albany upset Binghamton in the American East Tournament 3-1 on scores of 22-25, 25-12, 25-21 and 25-23. Scully had 39 assists and eleven digs against the Great Danes. Binghamton ended the year 19-10 overall, 8-2 in the American East. Scully was named to the College Sports Communications All-District team. She has a 3.51 GPA in Environmental Sciences.

Cameron Lloyd: The Bucknell volleyball team ended the year with a loss to Army in the Patriot League Tournament semifinals. The Bison, which finished second in the Patriot League, ended the year 21-5. Bucknell finished with the highest winning percentage in team history at .808, beating the previous record of .788 set by the 1995 team. This season, Lloyd appeared in all 26 matches and registered 174 kills, 21 aces and 241 digs. Against Army, Lloyd tied for the team lead with eleven kills, along with eleven digs and an ace.

Cameron Lanier: The Elon volleyball team’s season ended with a loss to Delaware on November 16. The Phoenix finished 11-18, 5-13 in the Coastal Athletic Association. Lanier finished second on the team with 245 kills and 2.97 points per set. She had 598 total attacks, which led the team. After the season ended, Elon head coach Mary Tendler retired. Matt Troy, who won a national championship at Division III Johns Hopkins, was named the new head coach of the Phoenix.

Graylinn Serge: In her freshman season, Serge played in 13 matches for UNC Greensboro. She had four service aces across 31 sets. Used mainly for defensive purposes, Serge had 47 digs for a Spartans team that finished 8-22 overall, 2-14 in the Southern Conference.

Julie Altieri: The Division III Salisbury volleyball team reached the championship match of the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference, falling to the second-seeded Christopher Newport Captains 3-2 (25-22, 13-25, 25-20, 30-32, 15-13) on November 16 at the Freeman Center in Newport News, VA. Altieri had a career-high with 56 assists and 20 digs, her 18th double-double of the year. Salisbury earned a trip to the NCAA Division III Tournament, where they lost to Middlebury 3-1 (25-14, 15-25, 25-17, 25-14) at the Kennedy Sports and Recreation Center in Huntingdon, PA. Altieri had 36 assists with 17 digs. Altieri finished the year with 1,048 assists, the ninth-most in school history. Salisbury won the Coast to Coast Regular Season Conference championship and finished 24-3 overall.

Ella Wimsatt: The Lenoir-Rhyne volleyball team finished the season in the opening round of the NCAA Division II Tournament. Augusta defeated the Bears 3-0 (25-11, 25-18, 25-14) at Cuddy Arena in Wingate. In her freshman year, Wimsatt played 56 sets and had 27 kills, 12 aces and 140 digs. The Bears finished 25-7 overall, 15-4 in the South Atlantic Conference.

Payton Wilson: On January 11, Wilson played in his first NFL Playoff game for the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Baltimore Ravens defeated Pittsburgh 28-14 at M&T Bank Stadium in the AFC Wildcard round. Wilson found himself in the line of fire as the Ravens set a playoff franchise record with 299 rushing yards. Wilson made six tackles, including one for a loss. Pro Football Focus named Wilson as the #13 overall linebacker, regardless of experience, among players who took at least 20% of their team’s snaps. PFF graded Wilson at 75.3, second among rookie linebackers only behind Green Bay’s Edgerrin Cooper. He finished the season fourth on the team with 78 tackles.

Katie Bells Sikes: The #11 Georgia women’s swimming team defeated UNC Wilmington in its first dual meet of the new calendar year on Saturday. Sikes won the 50-yard freestyle with a B-cut of 22.39 seconds. Sikes, who won her first college relay race in October, also saw the third leg of the 200 yard medley relay race, which the Bulldogs won at 1:38.67. Sikes finished her lap in 23.22 seconds. Georgia will face Tennessee in Knoxville on Saturday.