Jeff Hamlin

The Cedar Ridge Red Wolves boys soccer team will open the 2016 3A State Playoffs in Wendell against Corinth Holders on Saturday.

The winner of the game between the Red Wolves and the Pirates will face either Lee County or J.F. Webb.

Cedar Ridge finished 2nd in the Big 8 Conference behind Chapel Hill. The Red Wolves enter the playoffs 10-5-4. In their final regular season game, Cedar Ridge lost to Heritage High 5-0. That loss ended a two-game winning streak where the Red Wolves defeated J.F. Webb 4-0 and Wake Forest 4-0.

Elmer Trujillo, Rene Castellanos, Jessee Flores and Trent Gill all tallied goals for the Red Wolves against the Warriors. Gill also had an assist. Justin Callemyn, Brandon Garcia and Seth Malie had assists, as well.

Against Wake Forest, Tatha Hso, Castellanos, Jake Brown and Gill all had goals.

Gill led Cedar Ridge with 16 goals and 42 points this season. Hso added 13 goals and four assists.

Corinth Holders finished 9-1 in the Two Rivers Conference and tied Cleveland for the league championship. The Pirates earned the top seed from the Two Rivers with an overall record of 15-5-2.

Corinth Holders goes into the state playoffs on a two-game losing streak after dropping consecutive games to rival Cleveland. On October 26th, the Rams defeated the Pirates 1-0. On Tuesday, the Rams defeated CHHS 1-0 in overtime. Before the consecutive losses to Cleveland, the Pirates were on an 11-game unbeaten streak, going 44 days without a loss.

The Cedar Ridge Girls Tennis team is moving on to the 3A State Quarterfinals after winning its 18th consecutive dual match on Wednesday.

The Red Wolves defeated Burlington Williams 5-3 in the 2nd round of the 3A state playoffs on a brisk Tuesday afternoon at Red Wolves Tennis Courts. Cedar Ridge (19-1) advances to face Cape Fear Valley Conference Co-Champion Terry Sanford on Thursday at 4:0o in Hillsborough.

As usual, the 3-6 singles players carried things for the Red Wolves. Senior Co-Captain Leah Thompson defeated Emily Rothsburg 6-1, 6-1. Serena Sauers put away Hannah Sumnter 6-1, 6-4. Alana Lutz put Cedar Ridge ahead for good with a 6-1, 6-1 win oer Maddie McHugh. Kate Milner put the Red Wolves ahead 4-2 in singles with a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Hannah Higgins.

After never having claimed a conference championship in school history, the Red Wolves not only won the Big 8 Conference this year, but swept longtime power Chapel Hill. It was no surprise to head coach Lennie Corbett.
“I expected big things from this team,” said Corbett. “I felt something extra from this squad right from the start of this season. I thought they could win the conference.”

Increased expectations led to an increased workload. During a sultry summer where temperatures were still in the mid-90s in the early evening, Corbett had his team doing extra footwork drills and more running.

“It’s paid off,” said Corbett. “They’ve done everything I’ve asked them to do and they haven’t complained. Our stamina has been better than anyone we’ve faced this year. We had a solid two weeks of 2 hour sessions before our first match with Eastern Alamance.”

The addition of freshman Olivia Ward at #2 singles was another benefit. Freshman usually don’t start until later in their careers. Ward, the daughter of Person High tennis coach Lynn Ward, was ready to contribute immediately.

“That helped tremendously,” said Corbett. “She was ready to play right away. Plus, we had our girls coming back. We got to push down girls who would have been playing singles a little higher. Alana Lutz have moved in to the 5 position and that has made us stronger. It’s worked out really well.”

The doubles team of Thompson and Lutz captured the victory with a 10-3 victory, sending the Red Wolves into the 3rd round of the state playoffs for the first time in school history.

The depth of Cedar Ridge’s singles play continued to pay dividends. 3-through-6 singles, usually comprised of Thompson, Sauers, Hanna Spear and Milner, are now a combined 56-1 this season.

Thompson improved to 15-1 on the season, while Sauers is now undefeated at 16-0. Milner is now 15-0.

Cedar Ridge will face a Terry Sanford team on Thursday that has only lost to Cape Fear Valley Conference rival Union Pines and Pinecrest.

The Cedar Ridge Red Wolves girls tennis team won its first-ever team tennis match on Tuesday, defeating Swansboro 9-0 at Red Wolves Tennis Courts. Senior #1 singles player Tess Johnson defeated the Pirates’ Grace Ann Piner 7-5, 6-3. Freshman Olivia Ward improved to 14-3 after defeating Michaela Potter 6-2, 6-0.

Johnson and Ward discussed their performance afterwards, along with next Tuesday’s 2nd round match against Burlington Williams.

Cedar Ridge’s Tess Johnson and Olivia Ward Discuss Playoff Win over Seansboro

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After advancing to the 3rd round of the 3A state playoffs last season, the Orange Panthers hoped their return to the postseason in 2016 would be just as successful.

The Cleveland Rams had other ideas.

In Clayton on Wednesday night, the Rams swept the Panthers 3-0 on scores of 25-12, 25-19 and 25-17. The Rams, from the Greater Neuse River Conference, advance to face Chapel Hill on Thursday night at CHHS.

The Panthers end the season 11-10.

In her final game for the Panthers, Jordan Lloyd had three aces, four kills and eight digs. In all likelihood, it won’t be the final volleyball match for Lloyd, whose being recruited by several Division III colleges.

Fellow senior Macy Hughes registered an ace, five kills, two blocks and a dig.

Bailey Lucas added two kills, two blocks, eleven assists and five digs. Julia Fish finished with five kills and five blocks.

Lloyd led the team in kills with 146 with Hughes 2nd with 135. Lloyd also led the team in digs with 302.  Senior Mileah Shriner paced the team in aces with 40, while Hughes had 36.

Fish, a junior, finished with 87 total blocks.

Lucas led the team in assists with 274, while Caroline Compton registered 266.

It was the final game for seniors Lloyd, Hughes, Shriner, Eva Porter and Julia Lovingood.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. For the 2nd consecutive year, Cedar Ridge’s Ian Elliott is the Big 8 Conference Cross Country Individual Champion. This year, it was under far different circumstances.

Last year, Elliott ran in mid-70s temperatures at Northwood High in Pittsboro. This year, Elliott completed the course at Chapel Hill High on an unseasonably hot day in 16:43, eight seconds better than Chapel Hill’s Ryan Combs.

This weekend, Elliott will compete in the 3A Mideast Regionals at Northwood High School. His classmate, Elizabeth Zarzar, will run in the Regionlals in the girls meet.

Cedar Ridge’s Ian Elliott Repeats as Big 8 Boys Cross Country Champion

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Cedar Ridge’s Elizabeth Zarzar finished 3rd at the Big 8 Cross Country Championships last week at Chapel Hill High School. On a sultry 88-degree day, Zarzar navigated the course in 19:50, 31 seconds behind conference champion Katherine Dokholyan of Chapel Hill. The Red Wolves had a strong meet, with Julie Averette finishing 9th with a time of 20:48 and Abby Averette coming in 14th with a time of 22:14.

Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week : Elizabeth Zarzar

Elizabeth finished first in last week’s meet at Cedar Ridge, where the Red Wolves competed against Orange, Southern Durham and Webb. On Wednesday, Elizabeth finished third in the Big 8 Championships.

The highest finisher for the Orange Boys Cross Country team at the Big 8 Cross Country Championships was Andrew Sollars, who finished 14th. Sollars finished with a time of 19:02, just ahead of teammate Sam Rasinske. The Panthers finished 3rd in the conference with 79 points, behind conference champion Chapel Hill and runner-up Cedar Ridge.

Orange’s Andrew Sollars Talks 14th Place Finish at Big 8 Conference Championships

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Our Orange Panther of the Week is cross country runner Adalyn Fleming, who finsihed highest among the Panthers cross country runners last Wednesday at the Big 8 Conference Championships. Fleming came in eleventh overall with a time of 21:05. Orange finished 2nd in the girls meet with 64 points, behind only conference champion Chapel Hill. Also finishing in the top 15for Orange was Ava Heffernan (13th) at 22:13 and Juliana Lester (15th) at 22:15.

Orange Panther of the Week: Adalyn Fleming

Orange’s Adalyn Fleming was the highest finisher for Orange at the Big 8 Conference Championship meet on Wednesday, finishing 11th in her final run at Orange. She finished 2nd at last week’s meet at Cedar Ridge.

Narrowly missing out on a home playoff match, the Orange volleyball team will open the 3A state playoffs on Wednesday at Cleveland in Clayton.

The Panthers are seeded 10th after finishing 11-9, 8-4 in the Big 8 Conference. Orange finished tied for 2nd in the league with Webb, but earned the tiebreaker after sweeping the Warriors during the regular season.

Tomorrow’s match starts at 6.

Cleveland finished 14-6 overall, 8-2 in the Two Rivers Conference. The Rams ended up in 2nd place, one game behind conference champion Triton.

Orange and Cleveland had no common opponents.

If Orange wins, they may have a rematch against Chapel Hill. The winner of Orange/Cleveland takes on 2nd seeded Chapel Hill or 15th seeded Northern Nash.

Chapel Hill swept the regular season from the Panthers this season.

As for other Big 8 teams, Oxford Webb earned a 10-seed. The Warriors faced Morehead in Eden. Northern Vance is a 13-seed and will face Southwestern Randolph.