Cedar Ridge Men’s Lacrosse

After the Cedar Ridge men’s lacrosse team made its return to the 3A/2A/1A State Playoffs for the first time since 2018, three Red Wolves shared Conference 9 Player of the Year awards.

In addition, six Red Wolves were named to the All-Conference 9 first-team.

Cedar Ridge’s leading scorer, Roman Oguntoyinbo, was named the co-Conference 9 Offensive Player of the Year. Senior Aiden Kehoe was named the co-Conference 9 Goalkeeper of the Year, while senior long stick midfielder Dov Bearmann was honored as co-Conference 9 Defensive Player of the Year.

Oguntoyinbo, Kehoe and Bearmann were named All-Conference 9. Joining them on the first team was Cedar Ridge junior defenseman Kellan Hepditch, senior midfielder Matt Miller, and sophomore defenseman Gavin Vukmer.

“I am thrilled with the recognition of all of them,” said Cedar Ridge lacrosse Coach Patrick Kavanaugh. “It was a tough year to get through, but they showed persistence and we ended up having a decent year despite the obstacles to practices and not having the numbers we normally have.”

Oguntoyinbo, a junior attacker, had a career-high 26 goals and 32 assists. His 58 points led the Red Wolves. Oguntoyinbo’s tallied ten points in a game twice, both against Vance Charter School. On February 22 in Hillsborough, Oguntoyinbo scored four goals and dished out six assists in a 16-1 win. In Henderson, Oguntoyinbo fired a season-high 12 shots on goal. He scored six goals against the Knights, and tallied four assists as the Red Wolves won 13-3 to sew up second place in the Big 8.

Oguntoyinbo had five hat tricks. In Cedar Ridge’s only game against Orange on February 24, he factored in on every goal. Oguntoyinbo had three goals and three assists. He added three goals and six assists in a 14-0 win over Roxboro Community School in Roxboro on March 4.

Kehoe shared co-Conference 9 Goalkeeper of the Year with Kole Walker of Roxboro Community. He made a season-high 16 saves against Chapel Hill on March 11 at Culton-Peerman Stadium. Even though Chapel Hill held the ball most of the first quarter, they didn’t score largely because of Kehoe’s work in the net.

Kehoe earned four shutout wins in 2021, including three straight against Northern Durham, Roxboro Community and Vance County (he played 24 minutes in each of those games, sharing time with Joshua Taylor in net).

“I remember the first practice of the season where Coach (Kavanaugh) said if we could get ten games in, that would be good,” Kehoe said after the Chapel Hill game. “In general, I think we can be pretty happy with how many games we played. I wish we could have played Orange at our place, but that didn’t happen. But I’m happy with how many played.”

Kehoe has played lacrosse since fourth grade, when he started with the Durham Blues of the Rival Lacrosse League. “That’s where I learned I was the quarterback,” Kehoe said. “I talk a lot. I’m loud. I try to talk my defense through everything.”

Bearmann shared the co-Defensive Player of the Year honor with Jake Wimsatt of Orange. Bearmann led the Red Wolves with 46 ground balls and six takeaways. Bearmann had a season-high eight ground balls and two takeaways against Vance Charter on February 22. Against Roxboro Community on March 4, he finished with seven ground balls.

Hepditch wound up with five takeaways, second on the team. He also wound up with 16 ground balls, including six against Vance Charter on March 9 in Hillsborough.

Miller completed the season with 13 goals and four assists. He had two hat tricks, starting in the season-opener against Walter Williams on January 29 in Burlington. In Cedar Ridge’s first win of the season against Northern Durham on March 1, Miller added three more goals. He had a pair of four-point games, against Vance Charter School on March 9 and against East Chapel Hill in the opening round of the state playoffs on March 15.

In nine games, Vukmer had 19 ground balls. Possibly his best game came against Chapel Hill, where he scooped up five ground balls as the Red Wolves held the Tigers to three goals in the first half.

Backup goalkeeper Josh Taylor and midfielder James Clayton were named honorable mention All-Conference.

Cedar Ridge finished 5-4 overall this season, 2nd in Conference 9 with a 3-1 mark. Its was their best finish in conference play since 2017, when they captured the 3A/2A/1A Eastern Regional Championship and faced Weddington for the state title at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary.

Jaden Hurdle: The former Orange High first baseman had a big weekend as Patrick Henry Community College swept Cleveland Community College in a doubleheader on Sunday. Collectively, Hurdle went 6-for-7 with two doubles, a home run and four RBIs as the Patriots swept the doubleheader 5-3 and 23-3 in Shelby. In the opening game, Hurdle went 2-for-3 with two RBIs, and a run scored after a home run. According to records from the National Junior College Athletic Association, it was Hurdle’s second home run this season. In the second game, Hurdle went 4-for-4 with two double. She scored twice with two RBIs. Hurdle closed the second game as pitcher. She threw two-and-two thirds innings. She surrendered three hits, one run and one walk with two strikeouts.

Mia Davidson: #5 Florida swept the Mississippi State softball team over the weekend at Nusz Park in Starkville, MS. In Friday’s 1-0 loss to the Gators, Davidson hit a double.

Montana Davidson: Montana started all three games against Florida at third base. The Bulldogs are 15-11 overall, 0-6 in the Southeastern Conference.

Tori Dalehite: Dalehite scored in the opening game of the UNC Greensboro softball team’s doubleheader against Elon on Friday. In the Spartans’ 11-3 win over the Phoenix, Dalehite replaced Kayleigh Willis as a pinch runner. Dalehite scored off a wild pitch in the 4th inning to increase the Spartans lead to 6-1. UNCG split the Friday doubleheader, but swept Elon in another doubleheader on Saturday. UNCG is 13-6.

Kaylen Campbell: A member of Orange’s 2016-17 Big 8 Women’s Basketball Conference Championship team, forward Kaylen Campbell was honored on Senior Night for the Division III Trinity College over the weekend. Campbell’s senior year was canceled because of the pandemic, but the Bantams played two exhibition games against Connecticut College on Saturday and Sunday. Campbell was named a Captain for this year’s team. Last year, Campbell played in 20 games for the Bantams and averaged 2.6 points and 2.1 rebounds. She is majoring in music at Trinity and is the co-founder of Trinity’s Athletes of Color Coalition. At Orange, Campbell was the Captain of a team that won a school-record 21 consecutive games to open the season, swept the Big 8 regular season and postseason tournaments and reached the third round of the 3A state playoffs.

Bryse Wilson: Wilson had a strong spring training start for the Atlanta Braves on Saturday. He allowed one run over 4 and two-thirds innings as the Braves defeated Boston 8-2. Wilson is 2-0 this spring. He surrendered five hits and three walks with three strikeouts. In the first at-bat of the game, Wilson had a comebacker go off his calf, but remained in the game until the fifth inning.

Landon Riley: The Liberty Flames closer didn’t get a save this weekend. He got his first win instead. On Saturday, Riley threw the ninth inning in Liberty’s 3-2 win over VCU. He entered with the game tied 2-2 and threw another shutout inning. He surrendered two walks and struck out one batter. The Flames got the win in the bottom of the ninth when Aaron Anderson hit a walkoff double to left field. Liberty has won eleven in a row, including a two-game sweep of UCF and two midweek wins over North Carolina.

Joey Berini: #9 East Carolina fell to UNC Wilmington 10-2 at Brooks Field in Wilmington last Wednesday. Joey Berini entered the game in the eighth inning as a pinch hitter and grounded out to third base. East Carolina rebounded to sweep a weekend series against Illinois State. Berini has played in three games this season for the Pirates.

Phil Berger: The former Cedar Ridge pitcher started the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader against Brevard College. Brevard swept the doubleheader, taking the nightcap 9-7. Berger earned a no-decision. He completed four innings and surrendered four hits, two runs and one walk. Berger struck out six. Through six games, Berger is 2-1 with a 2.14 ERA for the Pacers. He has ten walks and 16 strikeouts.

Dylan Boyer: The Lenoir-Rhyne men’s lacrosse team, ranked #5 in Division II, defeated # 12 Queen’s University 15-7 on Saturday night at Dickson Field in Charlotte. Former Orange High midfielder Dylan Boyer actually helped the Royals build a 3-1 lead. He scored two goals, including an unassisted marker in the first quarter. Boyer added a man-up goal in the fourth quarter. It was his first goals at the college level. Queen’s is 3-3 overall, 3-1 in the South Atlantic Conference.

Jaylin Jones: The Division III Pfeiffer men’s lacrosse team defeated William Peace 21-9 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Raleigh on Wednesday night. Jones scooped up a ground ball for the Falcons. On Sunday, Pfeiffer defeated Methodist 18-8 at Lefko Field in Misenheimer. Jones also played for the Falcons and had another ground ball.

Luke Hernandez: Hernandez, a member of Cedar Ridge’s 2017 Eastern Regional Championship team, entered the game as a defenseman for the Falcons in the victory over Peace. Hernandez has played in two games this season. Pfeiffer is 5-1, and sits atop the USA South Athletic Conference at 3-0.

Adam Chnupa: The Elon Phoenix football team fell to William & Mary 31-10 at Zable Stadium in Williamsburg, VA on Saturday. Chnupa, the former All-Conference selection in football at Cedar Ridge, got some snaps on offense for the Phoenix.

Just days before the corona-versary, there was a reminder of what it was like to live again.

It came at Auman Stadium in the waning moments of the Orange lacrosse team’s thrilling comeback against stingy Chapel Hill, who led 9-4 with 8:54.

In a span of seven minutes and 25 seconds, Orange scored four goals, as many as they had scored in the first three quarters against the Tigers. With Orange in possession on a man advantage, the crowd rose to its feet at Auman Stadium and started to applaud as the Panthers tried to tie the game.

Orange mustered two shots, both of which missed Chapel Hill goalkeeper William Gunderson. The Tigers held on to win 9-8.

Ordinarily, that would have ended the night on a dour note. But not this night.

The Orange crowd, many of whom parents of players who wondered if they would be a season at all, stood and applauded some more. They savored a moment after a desolate, isolated year where moments of true emotion gave way to living in a vacuum.

Coming up tonight, the Orange men’s lacrosse team will look to make another memorable moment when it hosts its first state playoff game since 2017. The Panthers, who clinched the Conference 9 Championship on March 4, will face Terry Sanford in the opening round of the 3A/2A/1A State Playoffs.

Since the program started in 2008, Orange has never won a state playoff game at home. There have been two playoff wins on the road, most recently at Northside-Jacksonville in 2019.

Cedar Ridge also made the field of 32. The Red Wolves will travel to face East Chapel Hill, the champions of Conference 10, at Dave Thaden Stadium. The Red Wolves’ regular season ended with a valiant effort in a 7-3 loss to Chapel Hill at Culton-Peerman Stadium on Thursday.

Orange received a #2 seed in the bracket released on Saturday morning. The winner of Orange/Sanford will face either Northwood or Swansboro on Wednesday. Last Monday, Northwood hammered Orange 17-6 in Pittsboro, the Panthers’ most lopsided loss of the season.

That’s what made the Chapel Hill comeback so important for Orange coach Chandler Zirkle, now in his fourth season. After being drubbed by the Chargers, Zirkle wanted to see if his team could stand toe-to-toe against one of the traditional powers in North Carolina lacrosse.

“I know a lot of the Chapel Hill players and they’re a really good team,” Zirkle said. “We have a really young team with nine seniors who are really talented. Then we have a bunch of freshmen and sophomores who didn’t get to play a junior varsity season. They’re really having to play with us right now at a really have level. Just getting back to this point was really good.”

Of interest for Orange against Terry Sanford is who will be goalkeeper? Last week, Zirkle convinced Chase Hawkins to come out of a self-imposed retirement. Hawkins, who earned the win in net against Northside-Jacksonville two years ago, played admirably against Chapel Hill before getting injured in the third quarter. Malachi Bolton had to finish the game.

Cedar Ridge was tied 3-3 with Chapel Hill at halftime on Thursday night. The Red Wolves leading scorer, junior Roman Oguntoyinbo, scored two goals and assisted on a tally by Holden Neal. But Chapel Hill’s 10-man ride proved to be too much for the Red Wolves to overcome in the second half.

Red Wolves goalkeeper Aiden Kehoe kept the Tigers scoreless in the first quarter, even though Chapel Hill dominated possession.

Cedar Ridge received an #11 seed. The winner of East-Cedar Ridge will face either Jacksonville or Vance Charter. Last week, the Red Wolves defeated Vance Charter on its Senior Night, which clinched 2nd place in Conference 9.

Monday’s game against East Chapel Hill will be Cedar Ridge’s first postseason appearance since 2018, when the Red Wolves traveled to J.H. Rose.

“My guys busted their butts out there,” said Red Wolves Coach Patrick Kavanaugh after the Chapel Hill game on Thursday. “Aiden played a heck of a game. That was one of the best defensive performances we’ve had in the last four or five years. We’ve had some pretty good defensive performances, but we were excellent against Chapel Hill. We can be proud of that. We’ve got some skill, but we got worn down. Nothing we saw from them surprised us. They played to their strengths.”

If Thursday was Aiden Kehoe’s final game in a Cedar Ridge lacrosse uniform, he went out on an effort to be proud of. While Chapel Hill defeated the Red Wolves 7-3 at Culton-Peerman Stadium, Kehoe did his part as goalkeeper to keep Cedar Ridge in the game. Despite Chapel Hill holding the ball the entire first quarter, Kehoe kept the Tigers without a goal in the first twelve minutes. The majority of Chapel Hill’s goals came off transition opportunities when Kehoe didn’t have a full defense in front of him. Kehoe started playing lacrosse in fourth grade with the Durham Blues travel team. This season, he was between the pipes as the Red Wolves finished in second place in Conference 9. Kehoe and the rest of the Red Wolves now will wait for the North Carolina High School Athletic Association to release the pairings for the 3A/2A/1A State Playoffs, where Cedar Ridge is holding out hope for a wildcard spot.

The Cedar Ridge men’s lacrosse team actually got to play on Monday night, which is news in and of itself. Amid the rainiest North Carolina winter in 37 years, the Red Wolves have played only five games in six weeks. At Durham County Stadium on Monday, Cedar Ridge made quick work of Northern Durham 14-0. Junior Roman Oguntoyinbo finished with a goal and three assists. Oguntoyinbo is the leading scorer for Cedar Ridge and has a history of the game that goes back to his adolescence. Last Wednesday, Oguntoyinbo factored in on all six goals in Cedar Ridge’s game against Orange, scoring three goals and three assists. In the opening minutes against Northern, Oguntoyinbo assisted on goals by James Clayton, Ty Corbin and Harrison Neal. The Red Wolves now have won three of its last four. Barring any more rain, they will be back in action on Thursday at Roxboro Community School.

Marvin Jones: The former Cedar Ridge star captured the high jump championship in this weekend’s Camel City Invite in Winston-Salem. Jones’ jump of 2.10 meters, two inches better than runner-up Tony Jones of Wake Forest. Jones matches his career-best leap. In four indoor events this season, Jones has now won the high jump twice and finished second twice. At the JDL January Kickoff in Winston-Salem, Jones had a jump of 2.06 meters, good enough for 1st place. UNC Pembroke’s Bradley Thompson finished second at 1.96 meters.

Jamar Davis: The 2018 Orange High graduate has started his junior season with the N.C. State track and field team. On January 16, Davis opened the indoor campaign with a fifth-place finish in the long jump at the Gamecock Opener at the University of South Carolina. His best jump was 23-feet, 7.25 inches. At the Hokie Invitational at Virginia Tech, Davis finished 6th with a leap of 7.08 meters.

Mia Davidson: As she starts her senior season at Mississippi State, Mia Davidson has been named a 2nd-team All-American by Justin’s World of Softball. A 2019 All-American, Davidson is a lifetime .369 hitter in Starkville. he holds Mississippi State’s career leading for home runs with 52, and slugging percentage at .789. In 2019, Davidson set the school and Southeastern Conference record with 26 home runs on her way to a school-record .882 slugging percentage.

Her junior season was limited to 21 games because of the pandemic. She hit .330 with a .659 slugging percentage.

Montana Davidson: Montana, Mia’s older sister, will return for her senior season with the Bulldogs. Mississippi State starts its season with a doubleheader against Miami (Ohio) on Friday.

Tori Dalehite: The former Big 8 Hitter of the Year will start her freshman season at UNC Greensboro on February 12. The Spartans face North Carolina at the Carolina Classic at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, S.C. During the three-day event, UNC-G will also face Louisville and South Carolina.

Grace Andrews: Fate has a funny way of working in college sports. In Grace Andrews’ first softball game at Catawba Valley Community College in Hickory, she faced Patrick Henry Community College, featuring Andrews’ longtime teammate at Orange, Jaden Hurdle. In fact, Hurdle and Andrews comprised the right side of Orange’s infield when they defeated Piedmont to win the 2017 3A State Championship. So naturally, for Andrews first at-bat for the Red Hawks, the pitcher she faced was Hurdle–in the 8th inning of a tie game. Andrews lifted a sacrifice fly to score Lillie Pennington as the Red Hawks won 4-3 in the opening game of the Catawba Valley Clash in Hickory.

In the second game, Catawba Valley defeated Surry Community Center 7-0. Andrews, playing shortstop, went 3-for-4 with two doubles, a triple and a run scored.

On January 30, the Montreat junior varsity defeated Catawba Valley 8-7 in eight innings in the opening day of a doubleheader. Andrews, starting at shortstop again, went 1-for-4 with an RBI.

In the second game, Catawba Valley shut out Cleveland Community College 9-0. Andrews went 0-for-1 with a walk.

Through four games, Andrews is hitting .500.

Wyatt Jones: The former Orange High midfielder and starting quarterback quietly made history over the weekend. Jones became the first Orange lacrosse player to play as a member of a Division I college team. The Mercer Bears defeated the Division II Lenoir-Rhyne Bears 17-4 at Five Star Stadium in Macon, Georgia. Jones entered the game as a reserve in the fourth quarter. Jones was named to the All-State team as Orange ended the 2020 campaign ranked #3 before it abruptly ended because of the pandemic. He was also a member of the Carolina Hilltoppers summer travel team coached by Franklin and Chandler Zirkle. On Saturday, Jones will sorta come home when Mercer faces #1 Duke at Koskinen Stadium in Durham.

Dylan Boyer: During the summer, Boyer signed with Division II Queens University in Charlotte men’s lacrosse. Boyer, who graduated from Orange in June, is slated to start his college career on February 20 when Queens travels to Mount Olive.

Jaylin Jones: A former Orange High midfielder and safety, Jones will start his senior season at Division II Pfeiffer men’s lacrosse on Saturday when the Falcons host Centenary.

Luke Hernandez: A former defenseman at Cedar Ridge, Hernandez will start his junior season with the Pfeiffer men’s lacrosse team, as well.

Aidan Poole: Last week, the Division III USA South Athletic Conference announced they will have a spring season, despite the pandemic. That means Poole, formerly of Cedar Ridge, will suit up for the Greensboro College Pride. Poole, a sophomore, played in seven games last season for Greensboro. He scored goals against Guilford and Chatham and recorded an assist against Hampton, which turned out to be the season-finale.

This week;s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is senior lacrosse midfielder Braedon Thompson. For the past four years, Thompson has played lacrosse and football at Cedar Ridge, becoming the third member of the Thompson family to participate in sports at the school. As a freshman, Thompson played for the 3A/2A/1A Eastern Regional Championship Cedar Ridge lacrosse team, which played for the state championship inside Sahlen’s Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park. Thompson was also a team captain for the football team last fall. His father, Mason, is an assistant coach with the football team. With school currently under hiatus because of the Coronavirus pandemic, Thompson hopes to resume lacrosse season in April. Until then, he will continue to study towards graduation. He plans to attend Western Carolina University this fall to start studying Emergency Management.

Landon Riley: Liberty Baseball ended its year with a 10-7 record. The Flames defeated Kent State 7-2 on March 9 in Lynchburg, VA. Riley earned his second win of the season. He came out of the bullpen to throw two-and-two-thirds innings of shutout baseball. Riley faced eleven batters and scattered two hits and struck out two. It was a short but solid season for Riley. In seven appearances, he had a 2-0 record with four saves and a 1.46 ERA. In 12.1 innings, Riley had 15 strikeouts, allowed only three walks, six hits and two earned runs.

Bowen Collins: The Division II Lenoir-Rhyne men’s lacrosse team ended the year ranked #5 in the country. On March 10, the Bears defeated Assumption 17-12 at Moretz Stadium in Hickory. Collins scored a goal with 12:00 remaining in the game. Lenoir-Rhyne also defeated #1 Limestone 18-16 in the Crown Lacrosse Challenge at Hough High School in Cornelius on March 8. Collins scored two goals for the Bears, including a man-up goal in the second quarter to put the Bears ahead 7-4. He scored again with 36 seconds remaining in the third quarter. Collins ends the year with seven goals and six assists in seven games. Since he is a senior, Collins can take advantage of another year of eligibility that was extended by the NCAA on Friday after the rest of the season was canceled because of the Coronavirus.

Zach Wright: Wright had a goal for Division II Mars Hill in a loss to 19-8 loss to North Greenville on March 11 at Meares Stadium in Mars Hill. Wright scored an unassisted goal with 1:15 remaining in the third quarter. This season, Wright had four goals and two assists in eight games. He is also a senior.

Jaylin Jones: Jones assisted on a goal for Pfeiffer in a 16-8 loss to Guilford at Afmfield Athletic Center in Greensboro. Jones set up Quinn Becraft on a goal that reduced the Falcons’ deficit to 10-5 with 8:55 remaining in the third quarter. Jones, a junior, played in five games this year for Pfeiffer.

Luke Hernandez: The former Cedar Ridge Red Wolf also played for Pfeiffer against Guilford. Hernandez, a sophomore, saw action in Pfeiffer’s last three games, including a 23-6 win over Averett on March 7. Pfeiffer went 2-4 this season.

Tyson Wolter: The former Orange High lacrosse goalkeeper is now at Division III Guilford after transferring from Pfeiffer. On March 11, Wolter faced Pfeiffer after he replaced starter Jack Rogers. Wolter plays 6:36 and made four saves. A freshman, Wolter played in two other games this season for the Quakers.

Aidan Poole: The Division III Greensboro men’s lacrosse team defeated Hampton 15-11 at Pride Field in Greensboro on March 11. Poole, who was an All-Big 8 Conference player at Cedar Ridge, started on defense for the Pride. He assisted on a goal scored by Austin Abourjilie in the third quarter. He also had a ground ball and created a turnover. Greensboro was 4-3.

Kate Burgess: The UNC rowing team finished 3rd in the Clemson Carolina Cup on March 7 at Lake Hartwell in Clemson, SC. Burgess, a freshman who made the rowing team last fall, was on the Varsity 8 team that finished fourth in a five-team race at a time of 7:38.63. Kate Pierce paced the boat that Burgess was rowing, along with Charlotte Melgard, Gabrielle Labrazzi, Juliana Micchia, Hannah Davis, Zoe Sang, Nicole Van Liew and Neeva Wernsman Young. This was the first, and only, race of the spring for UNC’s rowing team.