Cedar Ridge Swimming

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is sophomore swimmer Christopher Seawell. This season, Seawell won the Central Conference championship in the 100 yard backstroke at the Orange County SportsPlex in Hillsborough. As a freshman, Seawell won the conference championship in the 50 meter freestyle. Also in 2024, Seawell teamed with Nikhil Agans, Phillip Cauwels and Jacob Olmstead to win the 200 yard freestyle relay championship. This season, Seawell finished 2nd in the 50 yard freestyle. He qualified for the 3A State Championships after finishing third in the Central Regionals with a time of 1:00.02 at the Greensboro Aquatic Center on February 1. Also at regionals, he finished 6th in the 100 yard freestyle at 51.39 seconds. Seawell finished 14th in the 100 yard freestyle at the State Championships at the Triangle Aquatic Center in Cary. In the 100 yard backstroke, Seawell finished 17th at 1:00.02. Seawell’s performance helped Cedar Ridge swimming to a strong all-around year. Cedar Ridge finished 2nd in the Central Conference behind the leadership from Seawell, senior Phillip Cauwels and freshman J.E. Sandor. Through early morning workouts at the SportsPlex, Seawell continued to improve through his sophomore season. Next year, he will be among the leaders of a Cedar Ridge swimming team that will look to take a step forward in a brand new league.

Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week: Christopher Seawell

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is sophomore swimmer Christopher Seawell. This season, Seawell won the Central Conference championship in the 100 yard backstroke at the Orange County SportsPlex in Hillsborough. As a freshman, Seawell won the conference championship in the 50 meter freestyle.

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is freshman swimmer J.E. Sandor. From the start of the season in November, Sandor broke school records. In his first high school meet at the Orange County Sportsplex, Sandor broke the school record in the 100 yard butterfly with a time of 57.03 seconds on December 9. Sandor broke his own record repeatedly throughout his freshman year as the Cedar Ridge men’s swimming team finished second in the Central Conference. In January, Sandor won the Central Conference championship in the 100 yard breastroke at 1:07.91. He took the silver medal in the 100 yard butterfly at 57.03. At his first Central Regional Championship meet at the Greensboro Aquatic Center on February 1, Sandor broke his own school record in the butterfly at 55.41 seconds. Sandor finished second in the regional and advanced to the 3A State Championships at the Triangle Aquatic Center in Cary. He also finished 4th in the 100 yard breaststroke as he touched the wall at 1:06.22, just .05 seconds away from getting the bronze. On February 7, Sandor completed his freshman season with an eleventh place finish at 55.30 seconds in the butterfly. With many underclassmen, the future is bright for the Cedar Ridge swimming team. Sandor will spend the spring and summer with his traveling team.

Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week: J.E. Sandor

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is freshman swimmer J.E. Sandor. From the start of the season in November, Sandor broke school records. In his first high school meet at the Orange County Sportsplex, Sandor broke the school record in the 100 yard butterfly with a time of 57.03 seconds on December 9.

It was a successful season for the Cedar Ridge men’s swimming team. The Red Wolves finished 2nd in the Central Conference championships last month at the Orange County SportsPlex in Hillsborough. Sophomore Christopher Seawell captured the 100 yard backstroke state championship at 59.78 seconds. Red Wolf freshman J.E. Sandor won the 100 yard breaststroke conference championship with a time of 1:07.91, beating out Liam Miller of Walter Williams. Sandor set the school record in the 100 yard breastroke in his first high school meet in November. Sandor, Seawell, Zion Green and senior Philip Cauwels finished 2nd in the 400 yard freestyle relay, finishing only behind Orange, who would eventually win the state championship. At the 3A State championships inside the Triangle Aquatic Center in Cary on Friday night, Seawell finished 14th in the 100 yard freestyle. Sandor, in his first state championship meet, finished 11th in the 100 yard butterfly, touching the wall at 55:30 seconds. He finished 2nd in the Central Regionals in the butterfly at 55.41 seconds. He also finished 4th in the breaststroke. Cauwels, in his final meet for Cedar Ridge, finished 11th in the 200 yard freestyle at 1:52.94. There are promising building blocks for Cedar Ridge as they venture into the future under head coach Amanda Jones.

Cedar Ridge swimming’s Philip Cauwells, Christopher Seawell & J.E. Sandor discuss season

It was a successful season for the Cedar Ridge men’s swimming team. The Red Wolves finished 2nd in the Central Conference championships last month at the Orange County SportsPlex in Hillsborough. Sophomore Christopher Seawell captured the 100 yard backstroke state championship at 59.78 seconds. Red Wolf freshman J.E.

CARY–Following five individual conference and three regional championships, Cedar Ridge senior Sophia Stinnett ended her high school career at the 3A State Championships.

Stinnett, who captured the 500 yard Central Regional championship at the Greensboro Aquatic Center on February 1, finished seventh in swimming’s longest individual event at the Triangle Aquatic Center on Friday night. Stinnett, who qualified for the state championships in all four of her seasons at Cedar Ridge, finished fourth in the 100 yard backstroke. In her final race with the Red Wolves, Stinnett finished at 1:00.81. Last year, Stinnett took the bronze medal in the backstroke.

Cedar Ridge, the Central Conference champions, finished 7th in the team standings with 98 points. Orange came in 8th with 97.5 points.

Orange, which finished 2nd in the 3A State Championships last year behind the leadership of Katie Belle Sikes, had junior Piper White pick up her first individual medal. White finished third in the 50 yard freestyle at 53.94 seconds. Lily Hermans of Concord, who won the gold medal in the 100 yard freestyle, also took the state championship in the 50 free at 51.97 seconds.

White finished 4th in the 100 yard freestyle at 53.94 seconds. Hermans finished at 51.97 seconds, while Ila Turner of South Point finished second.

Stinnett’s final race as a Red Wolf ended a period of her life that started when she started swimming at the Orange County SportsPlex when she was six years old.

“It’s definitely bittersweet,” Stinnett said after her Senior Day meet, which also happened to be the Central Conference championships. “I’m really excited for what the future holds. Cedar Ridge had never won the conference championship the four years that I had been here. So to win in my senior year, it means a lot to me and a lot to my friends.”

Stinnett has committed to swim at Le Moyne College in DeWitt, New York, where she is no stranger.

“I have a lot of family in New York,” Stinnett said. “I’ve always wanted to go to college up in New York. I really like the atmosphere at Le Moyne. It’s right next to Syracuse University, which is nice. I like to say it’s a home away from home for me.”

Stinnett would have had a chance to win more than three regional championships, but her freshman season ended abruptly due to a COVID outbreak. Thus, their trip to regionals and the state championships were cancelled.

“It’s been a crazy four years, especially my freshman year,” Stinnett said. “I’m just really grateful for the memories. I’m thankful for what Coach Amanda (Jones) has taught me.”

Stinnett’s club team is the Hillsborough Aquatic Club.

Stinnett’s fellow senior co-Captain, Quinn McCrimmon, finished fifth in the state championships in the 100 yard butterfly. McCrimmon, who finished 2nd in the butterfly at regionals, took the conference championship last month in Hillsborough.

“I’m really excited but I’m really sad to go,” McCrimmon said following the medal ceremony that ended the evening. “I haven’t processed it so the feelings aren’t happening yet. I’ve had the opportunity to swim with so many amazing teammates. To see them also get their final awards for high school and get the opportunity to shine has been amazing.”

McCrimmon, who started swimming when she was ten years old, hopes to attend N.C. State and plans to continue swimming at the club level. She also finished 11th in the 200 yard individual medley.

McCrimmon, Stinnett, Margaret Payton and Natalie Kunz finished 6th in the 200 yard medley relay, which was the opening event of the final session.

Orange’s 200 yard medley relay team of White, Zoe Jones, Ainsley Rasinske and Addison Moore finished in 8th place at 1:58.82. Lake Norman Charter, who won the overall team championship, also captured the 200 medley relay.

In the 200 yard freestyle relay, McCrimmon, Stinnett, Payton and Hala Zafar finished 9th overall at 1:46.30. Orange’s team of Jones, Rasinske, White and freshman Reilly Jermyn came in 11th (1:47.90).

In the 400 yard freestyle relay, Orange’s team of Moore, Jermyn, Rasinske and Claudia Seagrove finished 15th at 4:10.19.

Jones, a senior, came in 14th in the 200 yard IM.

Payton, a sophomore, finished 11th in the 200 yard freestyle at 2:05.56. She also finished 16th in the 100 yard breaststroke.

Moore, another Orange freshman, finished 11th in the 100 yard backstroke.

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is senior swimmer Quinn McCrimmon. This winter, McCrimmon helped the Red Wolves win the Central Conference championship. Last month, McCrimmon won the conference title in the 200 yard freestyle in the tightest race of the meet, beating Elizabeth Merlette of Walter Williams by .18 of a second. When she was in elementary school, McCrimmon had no intention of being a swimmer. She had a neighbor recommend swimming to Quinn’s parents to deal with her exuberant personality. McCrimmon continued to develop through middle school and with her travel teams. On Friday night, McCrimmon ended her Cedar Ridge career by finishing 5th in the butterfly at the 3A State Championships at the Triangle Aquatic Center in Cary. In 2024, McCrimmon claimed the Central Conference championship in the 10o yard butterfly. She also teamed with Sophia Stinnett, Hala Zafar, and Sierra Godfrey to win the 400 yard freestyle relay conference championship. McCrimmon finished 2nd in the 100 butterfly during the Central Regional championships at the Greensboro Aquatic Center on February 1. McCrimmon’s leadership helped Cedar Ridge to its first conference championship as a 3A school this year. After she graduates in June, McCrimmon hopes to attend N.C. State, where she aims to continue swimming at the club level.

Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week: Quinn McCrimmon

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is senior swimmer Quinn McCrimmon. This winter, McCrimmon helped the Red Wolves win the Central Conference championship. Last month, McCrimmon won the conference title in the 200 yard freestyle in the tightest race of the meet, beating Elizabeth Merlette of Walter Williams by .18 of a second.

The biggest test in swimming’s 500 yard freestyle is durability.

Speed is nice, but first you have to last.

Cedar Ridge’s Sophia Stinnett proved her endurance once again by winning the 500 yard freestyle in her final trip to the Central Regional championships. On Saturday at the Greensboro Aquatic Center, Stinnett won her third career regional championship, finishing at 5:24.22. In a race that was neck-and-neck most of the way, Stinnett repeated as the 500 regional champion by beating out Carrboro’s Avery Shuping, who touched the wall at 5:26.48.

While Katie Belle Sikes is now swimming at the University of Georgia, Orange junior Piper White managed to keep the 50 yard and 100 yard regional championships in the Panther family. After Sikes won four consecutive 50 yard freestyle regional championships, White plopped herself down inside throne that Sikes vacated.

White captured her first regional championship with a time of 25.04 seconds, beating Ledford’s Parker Ridge. Later, White won the 100 yard freestyle at 54.33 seconds, finishing ahead of Carrboro freshman Eva Dziuba.

After winning the Central Conference championship last week, Cedar Ridge finished 2nd in the regional team standings at 280 points. Carrboro, which has won five state championships in the last six years, captured another regional team championship with 441 points.

“I was really proud of Sophia,” said Cedar Ridge swimming coach Amanda Jones. “It was a really fun race to watch. Sophia pulled away in the final 150 yards. It was really exciting to see her pull away at the end.”

In the 100 yard backstroke, Stinnett finished 2nd in the tightest race of the day. Stinnett, the defending regional champions, fell three-hundreths-of-a-second shy of defending her title. Carrboro freshman Annabelle Gangloff finished first at 1:01.83, while Stinnett came in at 1:01.86.

Cedar Ridge’s 200 yard freestyle relay team of Stinnett, Quinn McCrimmon, Hala Zafar and Margaret Payton broke the school record in the 200 yard freestyle relay. Stinnett, McCrimmon, Zafar and Payton claimed the regional championship at 1:45.88. That shattered the previous mark, set last year, by five seconds.

Stinnett, McCrimmon, Payton and Natalie Kunz broke their own school record for the third time this season in the 200 yard medley relay, finishing at 1:57.66. That broke the previous record by 5.67 seconds. It was good enough for a second place finish behind Union Pines’ Ava Milkowich, Claire Weld, Rebecca Kangas and Nyah Tranel, who registered a 1:55.73. Cedar Ridge still qualified for the state championships.

It was the best showing by Cedar Ridge as a 3A team in the regional championships. Stinnett and McCrimmon, the senior co-Captains, took the reigns for a team that reached the top of the Central Conference this year.

“Sophia and Quinn are definitely leaders in their own regard,” Jones said. “I think they do a really good job behind the blocks getting their younger teammates really excited before we swim. The other two swimmers on the relay team, one is a freshman and the other is a sophomore. They do a good job making them comfortable enough to swim in such a high pressure situation.”

Orange’s relay team of Addison Moore, Ainsley Rasinske, Zoe Jones and Piper White finished 4th at 1:57.84.

Payton earned her first trip to the state championships in the 200 yard freestyle as she finished 2nd at 2:05.51. Carrboro’s Shuping earned the regional title at 2:03.77. Orange junior Ainsley Rasinske earned a trip to the state championships with a 4th place finish, touching the wall at 2:07.37.

McCrimmon qualified for the state championships in two events. She finished 2nd in the 100 yard butterfly at 1:00.92. Southern Alamance freshman Madisyn Upton finished first with a time of 57.00.

McCrimmon also came in third in the 200 yard individual medley at 2:20.24. Upton claimed her second regional title at 2:10.36, while Carrboro’s Gangloff came in second at 2:16.06.

Orange senior Lily Howard finished 5th in the Central Regional diving championships with 247.50 points. Western Alamance’s Michaela Bentley took the regional title at 364 points, beating the runner-up by 39 points.

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is senior swimmer Sophia Stinnett. On Saturday, Stinnett won her third career Central Regional individual championship. For the second year in a row, Stinnett won the 500 yard freestyle at the Greensboro Aquatic Center. She finished at 5:24.22, beating out Avery Shuping of Carrboro. Also, Stinnett swam the anchor leg as Cedar Ridge won the regional championship in the 200 yard freestyle relay at 1:45.88. Stinnett closed with a final lap of 25.09 seconds as she teamed with Quinn McCrimmon, Hala Zafar and Margaret Payton to earn the championship. Last week, Stinnett won two individual titles at the Central Conference Championships at the Orange County SportsPlex in Hillsborough. Stinnett captured the 500 yard freestyle and the 100 yard backstroke. Cedar Ridge won the Central Conference Women’s Swimming Championship. Last year, Stinnett won her first regional championship in the 100 yard backstroke. She went on to finish third in the state championships in the backstroke. Earlier this academic year, Stinnett signed to swim at Le Moyne College, a Division I school in DeWitt Town, New York. On Friday, Stinnett will swim in her final meet at Cedar Ridge, returning to the 3A State Championships at the Triangle Aquatic Center in Cary. Regardless of the result, she will go down in history as one of the most accomplished swimmers in Hillsborough history. She will look to become the first Cedar Ridge female swimmer to win a state championship since 2014.

February 1, 2025

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is senior swimmer Sophia Stinnett. On Saturday, Stinnett won her third career Central Regional individual championship. For the second year in a row, Stinnett won the 500 yard freestyle at the Greensboro Aquatic Center. She finished at 5:24.22, beating out Avery Shuping of Carrboro.

It was a bittersweet Senior Day for the Cedar Ridge women’s swimming team. On Saturday, the Red Wolves won the Central Conference Championship at the Orange County SportsPlex. It was also the final home meet for Cedar Ridge seniors Sophia Stinnett and Quinn McCrimmon, where they have practiced and competed for years. Stinnett, who won two Central Regional championships last year, successfully defended her Central Conference championship in the 500 yard freestyle. She also won the 100 yard backstroke. Stinnett won five individual conference championships in her Cedar Ridge career. McCrimmon captured the conference championship in the 200 yard freestyle, beating out Elizabeth Merlette of Walter Williams by .18 seconds in the most narrow race of the day. Stinnett, McCrimmon, freshman Natalie Kunz and Hala Zafar finished 2nd in the 200 yard medley relay. Stinnett and McCrimmon, the senior co-Captains, won their first conference championship under head coach Amanda Jones and ended Orange’s string of three consecutive titles. On Saturday, Stinnett and McCrimmon will compete at the Central Regional championships at the Greensboro Aquatic Center. On Friday, February 7, the 3A State Championships will take place at the Triangle Aquatic Center in Cary. Last year, Stinnett finished 3rd in the state in the 100 yard backstroke, her first medal in the state championships.

Cedar Ridge’s Quinn McCrimmon, Sophia Stinnett & Natalie Kunz discuss winning the conference title

It was a bittersweet Senior Day for the Cedar Ridge women’s swimming team. On Saturday, the Red Wolves won the Central Conference Championship at the Orange County SportsPlex. It was also the final home meet for Cedar Ridge seniors Sophia Stinnett and Quinn McCrimmon, where they have practiced and competed for years.

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).

Cedar Ridge freshman J.E. Sandor had a memorable first high school debut at the Orange County Sportsplex on Monday night. Sandor broke the school record in the 100 yard butterfly with a time of 57.03 seconds, automatically qualifying for the 3A Central Regionals in February. In the final event of the night, Sandor teamed with Christopher Seawell, Zion Green and Phillip Cauwels to win the 400 yard freestyle relay, finishing at 3:47.10. It was a successful opening night for the Cedar Ridge men’s team, which won all five of its dual meets against Central Conference opponents. The Red Wolves defeated Orange, the defending Central Conference champions. Sandor also finished second in the 100 yard breaststroke, also qualifying for regionals. Walter Williams Liam Miller narrowly beat Sandor to the wall in the breaststroke, winning by .17 of a second. Sandor, Seawell, Cauwels and Jacob Olmstead finished 2nd in the 200 yard medley relay with a time of 1:53.43. Sandor has been swimming from a young age and joins his teammates every weekday morning at the Sportsplex for practice. After a successful start to the season, the Cedar Ridge men’s and women’s swimming teams will return to action on Thursday, December 19 against Western Alamance and Williams at the Burlington YMCA.

Cedar Ridge freshman swimmer J.E. Sandor discusses record setting opening night

Cedar Ridge freshman J.E. Sandor had a memorable first high school debut at the Orange County Sportsplex on Monday night. Sandor broke the school record in the 100 yard butterfly with a time of 57.03 seconds, automatically qualifying for the 3A Central Regionals in February.