Jeff Hamlin

CHAPEL HILL–Before the Orange men’s basketball team could start on its mission to repeat as the best team in the Central Conference, they had to prove they were the best team in all of Orange County.

That meant beating Chapel Hill, something they haven’t done since February 8, 2019.

On Tuesday night, a determined, gritty group of Panthers didn’t trail in the second half and handed the Tigers its first loss of the season.

Sophomore Hector Garrido came up with a career-high 14 points to power a 7-0 run to open the second half, building a 15-point deficit the Tigers couldn’t erase as Orange won 65-58. It ended the Panthers five-game losing streak to its longest in-county rival.

Senior Xandrell Pennix added 19 points, including some pressure-packed free throws down the stretch. Chapel Hill coach Rodney Carter, who apparently attended the Dean Smith College of Extending Games Down the Stretch, masterfully cut into the Panthers deficit behind 15 points from senior forward Jason Krieg.

Chapel Hill entered the game 5-0, winning all of its games by double-figures. Their tightest contest had come against Walter Williams last week, a 65-50 win where they led 36-27 at halftime.

“We wanted this one,” said Orange coach Derryl Britt. “To be honest with you, I knew we hadn’t beaten these guys in years. But that really wasn’t a motivating factor. History is exactly what it is–history. Where we are, currently, and where they are. That’s why we needed this win. We need to stack wins against good teams.”

In years past, Chapel Hill would utilize its size to intimidate Orange teams, some of them even more talented that the current squad. In the early minutes on Tuesday night, Garrido and center Jalen Crayton blocked shots against the Tigers’ starting five, sending a loud and clear message that it was game on.

Nonetheless, the Tigers knocked the Panthers back with an early run from Juice McIlwaine, who scored seven points as Chapel Hill built a 17-11 lead at the end of the first quarter. As Orange was mired in some early shooting woes, Garrido carried the way offensively with six points.

Following the first half quarter breaks, Orange’s backcourt of Kai Wade, Freddy Sneed and Pennix took control of the game defensively. None of Chapel Hill’s starters scored in the second quarter, while Wade and Pennix drained 3-pointers. Ethan Ellis’ drained a trey with 3:37 remaining in the first half to give Orange a 21-20 advantage, remarkably one they wouldn’t surrender for the rest of the game. After Sneed knocked down two free throws in the final minute, Wade banked in a three-pointer at the halftime buzzer to give the Panthers a 32-24 lead going to the locker room.

While Chapel Hill appeared motivated coming out of the locker room, it was Orange who made the shots. Sneed stole the ball on the Tigers’ opening possession, leading to Pennix driving into the paint and dished it off to sophomore center Jalen Crayton who scored a lay-in. Pennix stole the ball on the next Chapel Hill trip, Garrido rebounded a miss and laid it in against a taller Tiger team, leading to an immediate time out.

Crayton finished with nine blocks, a career-high

Wade stripped Chapel Hill guard Niko Davis of the ball following the timeout. Then Wade sent a drive-and-kick pass to Garrido, who buried a 3-pointer from the wing to put the Panthers ahead 39-24.

Krieg almost single-handily kept the Tigers in the game, scoring seven of their nine points in the third quarter. The Tigers narrowed its deficit down to five points behind three-pointers from McIlwaine and Makhai Manning, but Pennix and Wade drained enough free throws down the stretch to keep the Panthers ahead.

Orange will start its Central Conference campaign with a trip to Eastern Alamance on Friday night.

ORANGE 65, CHAPEL HILL 58

ORANGE: Kai Wade 14, Xandrell Pennix 19, Freddy Sneed 9, Jalen Crayton 4, Hector Garrido 14, Robert Smith 2, Ethan Ellis 3

CHAPEL HILL: Niko Davis 7, Wesley Krieg 2, Max Upchurch 7, Juice McIlwaine 12, Jason Krieg 15, Mahkai Manning 10, Sam Zimmerman 5

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The first female wrestling champions from Hillsborough in the Jim King/Orange Invitational provided a study in contrasts.

Thalia Paterno is a freshman at Cedar Ridge who has wrestled since her sixth grade year at Stanback Middle School.

Chloe Pankratz is a senior at Cedar Ridge who started wrestling last year mainly because one of her best friends was the Captain of the women’s team who successfully talked her into joining the squad.

In terms of experience, Pankratz and Paterno are different. In terms of success so far this season, they’re similar.

On Saturday, Paterno won her second individual championship at the JKO, which hosted a women’s tournament for the second time ever at Orange High School. In a four-competitor, round robin format, Paterno pinned all three of her opponents in less than one minute. She defeated Kailey Cabrera of Bartlett Yancey in 19 seconds, then finished off Angela Chen of Cary in 38 seconds. In the de facto championship match, Paterno pinned Sophia Gould of Millbrook in 33 seconds.

Paterno is 13-1 with nine pins in her freshman season. Her only loss came in the championship match of the season-opening Atkins Invitational in Winston-Salem.

“I think I was pretty good,” Paterno said. “My first match wasn’t great, but I think my other two were pretty good.”

Paterno started her career in middle school when her parents lobbied her to play a winter sport in middle school. She would have selected Ultimate frisbee, but Stanback didn’t have a team. So she chose wrestling.

She’s also on the Cedar Ridge women’s junior varsity cross country team.

“Wrestling is fun,” Paterno said. “I get to make friends and I get to stay in good shape.”

Shortly after Paterno became the first female wrestler from Hillsborough to win a JKO Championship, Pankratz became the second. She pinned all three of her opponents in the 132 pound tournament , none of the matches exceeding one minute. Pankratz, the top-seed, pinned Leilani Valai of Terry Sanford in 51 seconds. In the semifinals, she finished Anneliese Garcia-Rodriguez of Middle Creek in 36 seconds. In the championship match, Katie Lloyd of Seaforth scored an early takedown, but Paterno quickly reserved it and scored a pin in 59 seconds.

This season, she is 16-1. In each of her non-forfeit victories, she has pinned her opponents, 12 times overall.

Pankratz joined Cedar Ridge’s wrestling team last year at the urging of Zoey Moreno, who won the Red Wolf Invitational at 120 pounds last year. In one year’s time, Pankratz went from failing to place at the Red Wolf Invitational in 2023 to winning the championship last month at 132 pounds.

Though Moreno graduated in June and is now wrestles at Division III Greensboro College, Pankratz hasn’t forgotten her. She ties her hair up in pigtails for each of her matches, just as Moreno did, as a standing tribute.

“It takes maybe five minutes,” Pankratz said.

What started as a hobby has turned into a borderline obsession for Pankratz. After every match, she scours video to find strengths, weaknesses and what to work on for the future.

With four wrestlers, Cedar Ridge still finished 4th in the women’s team standings with 51 points. Millbrook, with 12 competitors, won the women’s team championship with 153.5 points. Cary, fielding nine wrestlers, came in second with 65 points.

Orange’s Ava Lytle finished runner-up at 126 pounds. Lytle pinned Rebecca Parker of East Chapel Hill in the semifinals. Ellyaunnie Jacuinde Ramirez of Western Harnett took the championship.

Orange’s Rose Brady finished second in the 235-pound division. Brady pinned Ava Briel of Millbrook in 5:00 in the opening match of the round robin tournament. Cary’s Ella Taylor won the championship with a pin over Brady in the final.

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is senior wrestler Chloe Pankratz. On Saturday, Pankratz won the 138-pound championship at the Jim King/Orange Invitational at Orange High School. It was her third individual championship of the year. Last month, Pankratz won the Atkins Invitational in Winston-Salem. She has also won the Red Wolf Invitational, pinning all three of her opponents in a round-robin tournament. Pankratz is part of the emergence of women in wrestling locally. She just started competing last year because her friend, Zoey Moreno, was a team Captain who encouraged Pankratz to give the sport a try. She has quickly developed a love of wrestling and wants to continue her pursuit of excellence after she graduates in June. Pankratz constantly studies video of her matches, win or lose, and is now part of a Cedar Ridge team that is competing in dual matches for females only. Last month, Pankratz was seeded #3 in the Watkins Invitational, but pinned the two higher seeds to win the championship. In the semifinals, Pankratz defeated Amelia Martino of East Mecklenburg in 18 seconds. In the final, she pinned the #1  seed, Jadyn Magallanes of West Forsyth in 56 seconds. On Saturday, Pankratz pinned Katie Lloyd of Southeast Alamance in the championship match at 138 pounds. Pankratz pinned all three of her opponents on Saturday, including Anneliese Garcia-Rodriguez of Midde Creek in the semifinals. Pankratz pinned all three of her opponents in less than a minute on Saturday.

Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week: Chloe Pankratz

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is senior wrestler Chloe Pankratz. On Saturday, Pankratz won the 138-pound championship at the Jim King/Orange Invitational at Orange High School. It was her third individual championship of the year. Last month, Pankratz won the Atkins Invitational in Winston-Salem.

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is junior cross country runner Lucas Van Mater. Last month, Van Mater was a part of the ninth state championship team in Orange High School history. Van Mater finished 8th overall in the 3A State Championships at the Ivey Redmon Sports Complex in Kernersville, earning him a spot all the All-State team. His teammate, Myles Jermyn, finished sixth as Orange won its first state championship in men’s cross country with 63 points. North Lincoln finished in second place with 96. In his running career at Orange, Van Mater has been a part of three Central Conference champions and two Mideast Regional champions. This year, Van Mater finished 2nd overall in the conference championship race by only .53 seconds behind Jermyn. Van Mater is the third person in his family to compete at Orange. His older sister, Katelyn, played tennis, basketball and soccer. His older brother, Josh, also ran cross country. After winning the state champion, Van Mater has already started on his next chapter. He’s running indoor track this winter and has already qualified for the state championships in the 3,200 meters after he ran a 9:29.04 at the Fleet Feet Dash for Doodie at Reagan High School in Greensboro on November 16. The attached interview was taped hours after the Orange men’s cross country team won the state championship at a Chipotle in Burlington.

Orange Panther of the Week: Lucas Van Mater w/ 2024 3A State Men’s Championship Cross Country team

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is junior cross country runner Lucas Van Mater. Last month, Van Mater was a part of the ninth state championship team in Orange High School history. Van Mater finished 8th overall in the 3A State Championships at the Ivey Redmon Sports Complex in Kernersville, earning him a spot all the All-State team.

hamlin37 is on Mixlr

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PITTSBORO: There was something special waiting for the Cedar Ridge men’s basketball team as they approached Thanksgiving break.

Playing inside a gym adorned with championship banners even though it’s barely four years old, the Red Wolves hung in after a tough start to end a 16-game road losing streak.

While two guards were instrumental in keeping things close in the first half, it was a senior who paved the way to victory.

Braeden Wilbourn scored 13 of his 16 points in the second half as the Red Wolves defeated the Hawks 59-50 on November 26 at Seaforth Gymnasium. It was the Red Wolves first win over Seaforth.

It was Cedar Ridge’s first road win since they defeated Western Alamance 42-33 on February 3, 2023 in Elon.

“I just told them that,” said Cedar Ridge head coach Mike Jones, who just started his third year. “They didn’t believe me. It’s a relief, but at the same time I don’t want to make a big deal out of it because we still have work to do. I finally feel like we’re trending in the right direction. We’re just trying to build a program here.”

Junior Tripp Beasley, in just his third varsity game, scored 15 points as the Red Wolves improved to 2-1. Cedar Ridge opened the season with a victory over Carrboro in Hillsborough on November 15.

Seaforth, who lost at Carrboro to open the season, fell to 0-2.

The irony was that sophomore guard Jordan Jacobson, who kept Cedar Ridge in the game early with ten first half points, didn’t score after halftime until the final three minutes of the fourth quarter. Wilbourn set the tone of the second half when he drained a three-pointer on the first shot of the third quarter to put the Red Wolves ahead 26-25. Beasley added another 3-pointer and Seaforth spent the final 16 minutes chasing the Red Wolves.

On two separate occasions, Wilbourn scored a field goal, then stole the subsequent inbound pass and was fouled.

Seaforth didn’t score in the opening 5:00 of the fourth quarter. Christian Conrad, a backup forward, ended the Hawks dry spell when he scored off a stick back to cut Cedar Ridge’s lead to 57-52. Seaforth guard Nate Emerson, who led the Hawks with 13 points, scored off a steal to cut into the Cedar Ridge lead. Red Wolf junior center Jack Kelsey scored on two lay-ins during the third quarter, then came up with some crucial blocks in the final minutes as Seaforth tried to narrow the gap.

Wilbourn and Beasley sank pressure free throws down the stretch.

“I love Tripp,” Jones said. “Tripp is aggressive. Tripp is always looking to score. Tripp is really receptive to coaching. He’s going to be a big part to what we do this year, for sure.”

Seaforth led 19-10 at the end of the first quarter. Jacobson kept the Red Wolves close with a 3-pointer. Beasley, Jacobson and Luke Orstad each knocked down 3-pointers in the second quarter.

While Cedar Ridge returned three starters from last year’s team, the senior captain from the 2023-2024 team isn’t that far away. Landon Dalehite, who graduated from Cedar Ridge in June, has joined Jones staff as an assistant coach.

“Me and Landon think alike,” Jones said. “The kids listen to Landon. He can give them a teenage voice because he was teammates with half of them. We really enjoy having Landon here, for sure.”

Cedar Ridge will travel to Durham School of the Arts on Friday night.

The Red Wolves (2-1) lost its opening road game to Chapel Hill on November 19 in Tiger Gymnasium. Jeremiah McIlwaine led the Tigers with 19 points. Cedar Ridge was led by Jacobson, who scored 19 points, including 6-of-13 shooting from 3-point range.