Cedar Ridge Wrestling

Only a sophomore, Cedar Ridge wrestler Pierce Prescod won a conference championship over the weekend. At the Central Carolina Conference championships at Orange High, Prescod pinned Taveon Moss of Person in 1:08 to take the 120-pound championship. In the semifinals, Prescod pinned Logan Church of Walter Williams. This season, Prescod is 42-9 with 29 pins. On January 14, Prescod took the 120-pound championship at the Silver Fox Invitational at Riverside High School. Prescod has 2nd on Cedar Ridge this season in victories. His performance helped Cedar Ridge win the Central Carolina Conference Tournament last weekend at Orange High. It was the first team championship for Cedar Ridge in wrestling as a 3A team. Prescod and the rest of the Red Wolves will return to action at the 3A Mideast Regionals, which will be hosted by Cedar Ridge High School starting February 10. Prescod, Kaden and Fernando Martinez all won conference championships for the Red Wolves last weekend.

Cedar Ridge’s Pierce Prescod discusses winning the CCC 120-pound championship

Only a sophomore, Cedar Ridge wrestler Pierce Prescod won a conference championship over the weekend. At the Central Carolina Conference championships at Orange High, Prescod pinned Taveon Moss of Person in 1:08 to take the 120-pound championship. In the semifinals, Prescod pinned Logan Church of Walter Williams. This season, Prescod is 42-9 with 29 pins.

A day of redemption and rematches led to the greatest success as a 3A team for the Cedar Ridge wrestling team.

Inside the home of its crosstown rival that’s won title after title for decades, the Red Wolves captured its own championship on Saturday. Behind individual titles from senior Fernando Martinez, junior Kaden Tatro and sophomore Pierce Prescod, Cedar Ridge won the Central Carolina Conference Tournament championship at Orange High School. The Red Wolves finished with 185.5 points. Person came in second with 177 points

Orange, the regular season champions of the CCC, was hampered by the absence of six starters, including Acoya Isley, Dillon Heffernan and Hugo Vazquez. The Panthers finished fourth with 138 points.

Cedar Ridge coach Scott Metcalf, a graduate of Orange High School, led the Red Wolves to its second tournament championship in as many weeks. The previous Saturday, Cedar Ridge won the Silver Fox Invitational at Riverside High in Durham.

“It’s pretty awesome,” Metcalf said after the Red Wolves were awarded the team trophy. “We lost to Orange and Person in the regular season so coming back and winning here in the end means a lot. It’s special for our guys to finish strong like this.”

It was an extra special day for Martinez, who won the 113-pound championship. Martinez defeated the top-seed, Person’s Christian Lemaire, 13-2 in the title match. It was the third match this season between Martinez and Lemaire. In the Red Wolf Invitational on November 19 at Cedar Ridge, Lemaire defeated Martinez 7-5 in the championship match at 120 pounds. Three days later in a dual match between Person and Cedar Ridge, Lemaire defeated Martinez 9-0.

It was a blow to Martinez’s confidence after he won the 113-pound Mideast Regional championship last February.

“Honestly, I was expecting to get beat down a bit,” Martinez said. “I didn’t have much faith in myself in the beginning.”

Before his championship rematch against Lemaire, Martinez talked with an old coach who was in the stands that filled him with confidence.

“I knew I could perform way better than what I did originally,” Martinez said. “So I just blew it out of the water today. He told me I knew about my own abilities. I should embrace that. I am good, it just took me forever to acknowledge the fact that I am good.”

Martinez scored a takedown off a fireman’s carry just 31 seconds into the match. Lemaire could only muster an escape point in the opening period. Martinez avoided a single-leg takedown and put all his weight forward to start the second period to earn back points off a near fall and went ahead 4-1. He notched another takedown to take a 6-1 lead.

Martinez is 40-9 on the season.

Tatro rolled to his third individual championship this season at 182 pounds. Facing Ethan Kuball of Northwood in the championship, Tatro won 8-3 to improve to 49-4 on the year. In the semifinals, Tatro pinned Jordan McDowell of Walter Williams in 2:14.

In the championship match, Tatro immediately notched a takedown, then grabbed Kuball’s left leg and got two points for a near fall. In the second period, Tatro started from the bottom and immediately gained a sweep with 1:22 remaining. Tatro led 6-0 going into the third period.

Cedar Ridge’s Pierce Prescod claimed his second individual title after winning the 120-pound championship. Taking on Person’s Taveon Moss, Prescod got a trip takedown 39 seconds into the match. Prescod got Moss onto his back and wrapped up the pin at 1:07 for his 42nd win of the season.

On a day filled with rematches, Orange’s Elijah Acosta continue his rivalry with Northwood’s Jake Dunning in the 220-pound championship match. Facing each other for the sixth time in the last two years, Acosta avenged a loss from January 4th with a 3-0 victory. Acosta, who is 24-5 on the season, scored the opening point on a escape 45 seconds into the second period. Late in the frame. Acosta shot in and bullied Dunning down for a late takedown to increase his lead to 3-0.

Dunning spent the third period futilely trying to break Acosta’s grip for an escape point.

On January 4, Dunning defeated Acosta 5-1 in a dual match, also at Orange Gymnasium.

At 152 pounds, Orange’s Sam Crawford defeated Western Alamance’s Mason Hogsed 7-5 in what may have been the most dramatic championship final of the day. Crawford charged out to a 5-1 lead after he gained Hogsed’s back for the opening takedown with 1:05 remaining in the first period. Crawford escaped from the bottom to go ahead 3-0 in the second period. Hogsed got an immediate sweep from the bottom to reduce the deficit to 5-3. Crawford escaped, but Hogsed got a single-leg takedown. After Crawford scurried free to go up 7-5, Hogsed charged and nearly had a takedown as the match ended. Hogsed appealed to the referee for a takedown after the final buzzer sounded, but no points were awarded and Crawford got his hand raised to improve to 31-9.

Orange junior Jared Hutchins won the 132 pound championship. Hutchins pinned Coltrane Northington of Northwood in 1:12. It took Hutchins only five seconds to get the opening takedown. Northington nearly got a headlock for a reversal, but Hutchins used his strength to get Northington on his back and score the pin at 1:11.

At 126 pounds, Orange sophomore Braden Crawford defeated Walter Williams Zy’Aire Priester for the title. Crawford led 5-2 at the end of the first period. Priester was a penalized a point after he grabbed Crawford’s trunks. Priester gained Crawford’s back and got both of his legs in midway through the period, but Crawford scored a sweep and earned the pin at 2:55.

Cedar Ridge had four other grapplers finish in second place. At 145 pounds, sophomore Ryan Rakouskas pinned Orange’s Aiden Cain in 42 seconds to reach the final. Northwood’s Ronald Walker claimed the championship with a pin at 2:18 of the championship match.

At 160 pounds, Cedar Ridge sophomore Edwin Huerta defeated Northwood’s Elijah Farrow 7-5 in the semifinals. Easton McCain of Person won the championship via pinfall in 4:00.

Cedar Ridge junior James Este Wittinger pinned Walter Williams Cameron Pettigrew in 3:00 of the 195-pound semifinals. Victor Rodriguez of Person won the 195-pound title.

At heavyweight, Cedar Ridge’s Conner Womble reached the championship match after he pinned Orange’s Jacob Carter in 1:31.

Orange’s Ben Musser finished 2nd at 138 pounds. Person’s Rodney Lyons claimed the 138-pound title via a 5-3 decision.

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is sophomore wrestler Pierce Prescod. This season, Prescod is 38-9 with 29 pins. On Saturday, he secured his first individual championship at Riverside High School at 120-pounds. Prescod pined Thomas Crowley of Riverside in 2:51 of the championship match. In November, Prescod finished third in the Red Wolf Invitational. As a sixth grader, Prescod was ready to quit wrestling after just his third day of practice. His coach managed to talk his way back into returning and Prescod has turned out better for it. Currently, he’s second on the Cedar Ridge team this season in victories. Prescod has competed in some of the biggest tournaments in the state over the past six weeks, including the Holy Angels Invitational in Asheboro earlier this month. He also competed in the WRAL Invitational in Knightdale on December 16 and 17, where he competed at 126-pounds. Prescod will join his fellow Red Wolves in the Central Carolina Conference Tournament this Saturday at Orange High School.

Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week: Pierce Prescod

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is sophomore wrestler Pierce Prescod. This season, Prescod is 38-9 with 29 pins. On Saturday, he secured his first individual championship at Riverside High School at 120-pounds. Prescod pined Thomas Crowley of Riverside in 2:51 of the championship match.

DURHAM—Immediately after he secured his second individual championship of the season, Kaden Tatro ran out of the gymnasium.

As several of his teammates followed him to the exit doors of Margratha Chambers Gymnasium, they found he didn’t sprint away out of jubilation. Or that he was having an emergency of some sort. He just needed to keep his cardio up.

“I don’t have much of a gas tank,” Tatro said.

Tatro was one of three individual champions for Cedar Ridge on Saturday at the Silver Fox Invitational at Riverside High School. Cedar Ridge won the team championship in a 12-team field that included Riverside, a five-time 4A state champion. The Red Wolves finished with 163 points. Riverside came in second with 123 points. Apex had 115.5 points.

Red Wolf senior Fernando Martinez was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler. In his final regular season individual tournament, Martinez won the 113-pound championship after beating Daniel Dickerson of Riverside 9-3. In the semifinals, Martinez pinned Brandon Mann of South Granville in 1:39.

The championship match was Martinez’s 135th career victory, placing him third all-time in school history. Last week, he surpassed Randy Greenough for third-place during the Pin Down Autism Super Duals at Uwharrie Charter Academy in Asheboro.

At 120 pounds, sophomore Pierce Prescod continued a strong season with a victory in the championship after top-seeded Thomas Crowley of Riverside. Prescod, who pinned Crowley, is 38-9 with 29 pins this season. It was the first tournament win of his varsity career.

The victory on Saturday provided Cedar Ridge with triumph after competing in some of the biggest tournaments in the state. Two weeks ago, they joined 114 other teams in the Holy Angels Invitational at the Greensboro Coliseum. In December, the Red Wolves finished 17th among 53 teams at the WRAL Invitational in Knightdale.

“Those tournaments helped us today,” said Cedar Ridge wrestling coach Scott Metcalf. “We had ten dual matches last week in Asheboro. That was a long day, but it helped us today.”

Tatro, a junior, had even more reason to celebrate. In the semifinals of the 182-pound tournament, he pinned Rocco Paolillo of Apex in 20 seconds for his 100th career win. He became the sixth Cedar Ridge wrestler to reach 100 wins. Tatro, who is 45-4 this season with 34 pins, is just seven wins shy of surpassing Ethan Knapp for fifth-place all-time in school history.

Facing Hillside’s Kellyn Stallings in the championship match, Tatro scored takedowns in the opening ten seconds in each of the first and second periods. Tatro contained Stallings face-down for most of the match. He scored an immediate escape in the third period and scored a major decision after Stallings was penalized a point for stalling in the final 30 seconds.

Prescod needed only 19 seconds to takedown Crowley. After Crowley escaped and notched a go-behind to take a 3-2 lead, Prescod notched a late reversal to take a 4-3 lead to finish the opening period. Prescod, starting on top in the second frame, got a cradle and notched the pin for the championship.

Martinez nearly scored a pin in the opening minute of his championship match against Dickerson. He led 5-0 after a takedown just 12 seconds into the first period and got three points for a near fall.

“I’m proud of Fernando,” Metcalf said. “Ive enjoyed working with him and I’m going to miss him after this year. He’s a good kid.”

In addition to the three champions, the Red Wolves had several runner-up finishes. Ryan Rakouskas came in second at 145-pounds. Rakouskas defeated Aaron Douglas of Hillside in the semifinals 12-8. Riverside’s Valerio Luftig captured the 145-pound title. Rakouskas is 28-16 with 21 pins this season.

At 160-pounds, Edwin Huerta of Cedar Ridge also finished second. Huerta defeated Gavin Pinfield of Apex via pinfall at 2:18 in the semifinals. In the championship match against Joshua McDonald of Leesville Road, Huerta gave up a late takedown. He tried to flip over and nearly scored a reversal in the waning seconds, but McDonald held on to preserve a 6-4 victory.

At 220 pounds, Cedar Ridge’s Louis Tedder finished third after he defeated Garner’s Ryan Baker in the consolation final 8-6. The match went to sudden victory, where Tedder scored the final takedown in the first overtime.

Favio Jaramillo Espar earned a third-place finish at 106 pounds. Espar defeated Connor Horton of South Granville 11-3 in the third place match.

At 132 pounds, Mikey O’Melia captured third place. O’Melia defeated Riverside’s Chris Rowell 7-1. It is O’Melia’s best-ever finish in a tournament.

The Silver Fox Invitational at Riverside High School was the final regular season individual tournament in the storied career of Cedar Ridge wrestler Fernando Martinez. While it wasn’t his final tournament, he did earn Most Valuable Wrestler honors in winning the 113-pound championship at the Silver Fox. Martinez started the day pinning Brandon Mann of South Granville in 1:39. In the championship match, Martinez defeated Daniel Dickerson of Riverside 9-3. It was the 135th career win for Martinez, placing him third all-time in school history. He likely would have approached the school record of 166 wins if the pandemic hadn’t occurred, which roughly cut Martinez’s sophomore season in half. It was Martinez’s first individual tournament win this season. Martinez is the defending Mideast regional champion at 113-pounds. Cedar Ridge will host the regional championships starting January 26. Next Saturday, Martinez and the rest of the Cedar Ridge wrestling team will compete in the Central Carolina Conference Tournament at Orange High School.

Cedar Ridge’s Fernando Martinez discusses being Silver Fox Invitational Most Valuable Wrestler

The Silver Fox Invitational at Riverside High School was the final regular season individual tournament in the storied career of Cedar Ridge wrestler Fernando Martinez. While it wasn’t his final tournament, he did earn Most Valuable Wrestler honors in winning the 113-pound championship at the Silver Fox.

After competing in numerous tournaments throughout the course of this year, Cedar Ridge junior Kaden Tatro has several reasons to celebrate on Saturday. He won the Silver Fox Invitational at Riverside High School in Durham at 182 pounds. To start the day, Tatro defeated Rocco Prolillo of Apex in 20 seconds via pinfall. It was Tatro’s 100th career win, becoming the sixth Cedar Ridge wrestler to reach that milestone. Tatro is now 45-4 this season with 34 pins. It was a gratifying way to end the regular season for Tatro, who also won the Red Wolf Invitational in November. Tatro finished third at the WRAL Invitational on December 17 in Knightdale. Now, Tatro will focus on the postseason, which will begin next Saturday. The Central Carolina Conference Championships will be held at Orange High School. Tatro will likely be the favorite at 182 pounds. In addition, earlier this week it was announced that Cedar Ridge will host the 3A Mideast Regional Championships next month. The top four placers in each division will qualify for the 3A State Championships at the Greensboro Coliseum.

Cedar Ridge’s Kaden Tatro discusses winning Silver Fox Invitational

After competing in numerous tournaments throughout the course of this year, Cedar Ridge junior Kaden Tatro has several reasons to celebrate on Saturday. He won the Silver Fox Invitational at Riverside High School in Durham at 182 pounds. To start the day, Tatro defeated Rocco Prolillo of Apex in 20 seconds via pinfall.

Some things never change. Sitting in the stands of the Tiger Holiday Classic at Chapel Hill High School on Friday afternoon, I saw South View wrestling coach Cam Spence, an old friend who I got to know 25 years ago at Appalachian State University.

I was a late bloomer when I arrived in Boone, which made me ripe for age jokes. Cam, who was a teenager when I met him, doesn’t lack in that regard. Once, on our way to a football game at Auburn, Cam said “My girlfriend asked me if I was going antique shopping on our way through Atlanta. I told her we were picking Jeff up at noon.”

Naturally, Cam was still making age jokes as we watched the matches unfold on Friday. As old as I may get, I hope I never lose the special feeling I get at this time of year. I still look forward to Christmas. The Christmas music. The Charlie Brown Christmas Special. The holiday basketball tournaments. The Chapel Hill Tiger wrestling invitational.

And lots and lots of giving.

My Spotify playlist shifts to the Vince Guraldi Trio every December and largely stays that way for the entire month. I’m proud to say that after all this time, I’ve never had a case of holiday depression. I know not everyone is as fortunate, so anyone who may feel south of happy right now, my thoughts are with you.

Hopefully, my enthusiasm for the holidays is something else that never changes, just like Cam’s age jokes.

And a very happy holiday to all of you. Here’s the Magnificent 7 for the week of December 3-10.

1.  Zoey Moreno, Jr., Cedar Ridge wrestling: Moreno made history at the Green Hope Girls Grapple in Cary,. On December 3, Moreno became the first female wrestler in the history of Hillsbrough to win a tournament. Moreno captured the 120-pound championship with pins in all three of her matches. Moreno defeated Ava Lytle of Wakefield in 33 seconds to take the championship.
2.  Luke Roman, Soph, Orange Swimming: Set the school record in the 200 yard freestyle in the opening event of swimming season at the Orange County Sportsplex. Roman also qualified for regionals in the 100 yard freestyle. He also qualified for regionals in two relay events. Last year, Roman finished eighth in the 3A State Championships in the 200 yard freestyle.
3.  Amiyah Ware, Jr. Cedar Ridge women’s basketball: Talk about making an instant impact. Ware, in her second game in a Red Wolves uniform, scored 18 points as the Red Wolves defeated Person 58-27 on December 9. It was Cedar Ridge’s first conference win since February 8, 2019. Ware, a transfer from Burlington School, also had a solid game against East Chapel Hill on December 6
4. Nikayla Whitted, Sr. Orange women’s basketball: Led the Lady Panthers in scoring with 14 points in a 41-36 win over Carrboro on December 6. Three nights later, Whitted had six points as the Lady Panthers defeated Durham School of the Arts 72-34. Whitted also led Orange in scoring in a win over Riverside on December 2.
5. Sam Crawford, Sr. Orange wrestling: Earned three wins during the Orange quad on December 7. On a night where the Panthers were shorthanded, Crawford scored a major decision over Gabriel Waterhouse of Chapel Hill 15-3. He also Justin Hartsell of Cedar Ridge as the Panthers maintained its undefeated record in dual matches.
6. Kai Wade, Fr., Orange men’s basketball: Scored 15 points in Orange’s 69-35 win over Durham School of the Arts on December 9. Wade also had eight points, three assists and three steals in the Panthers 76-46 win over Carrboro. Wade is one of three freshmen who have started this year for an Panthers team that has already surpassed its win total from last year.
7. Quinn McCrimmon, Jr., Cedar Ridge women’s swimming: McCrimmon qualified for regionals in Cedar Ridge’s opening dual meets of the season. She finished first in the 200 yard individual medley with a time of 2:34.15. She also earned consideration for regionals in the 100 yard freestyle with a time of 1:05.05. The Red Wolves women’s swimming team won its opening dual match over Eastern Alamance.

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is junior wrestler Kaden Tatro. This season, Kaden has started 22-0 with 16 pins. In the Red Wolf Invitational, Tatro won the 182-pound championship of the Red Wolf Invitational on November 19 at Cedar Ridge Gymnasium. Last season, Tatro qualified for the 3A State Championships at 170 pounds after he finished in fourth place at the 3A Mideast Regionals. As a freshman, Tatro missed qualifying for the state championships by one match at 160 pounds. He finished his freshman year 19-6, which was a heavily pared down season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. If he had a standard-length freshman season, Tatro would likely surpass 100 wins this year. Last week, he won all four of his matches in the Red Wolf Duals via pinfall. He also won dual matches against defending Central Carolina Conference champion Orange and Chapel Hill. Tatro also won all of his matches during the Duals on November 3 in Raleigh. Cedar Ridge will continue its season on Wednesday when they face Eastern Alamance, Greensboro Dudley and Sanderson in a quad match at Cedar Ridge High. Kaden’s goal this year is to reach the state championships in February and place in his weight class.

Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week: Kaden Tatro

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is junior wrestler Kaden Tatro. This season, Kaden has started 22-0 with 16 pins. In the Red Wolf Invitational, Tatro won the 182-pound championship of the Red Wolf Invitational on November 19 at Cedar Ridge Gymnasium.

On the verge of becoming the first Cedar Ridge wrestler with 100 career wins since 2007, junior Fernando Martinez has earned another honor.

Martinez was named the Central Carolina Conference 106-145 pound Wrestler of the Year and was named to the All-Conference team. It follows a season where Martinez won the 3A Mideast Regional Championship at Union Pines High School in Cameron. He was the only grappler from Cedar Ridge or Orange High Schools to place in the 3A State Championships. Martinez defeated Union Pines’ Jayden Crawford 9-7 to win the 113-pound Mideast Regional Championship on February 12.

A week later, Martinez finished fifth in the 3A State Championships at the Greensboro Coliseum. He pinned Skylar Oxford of West Carteret in 3:57 in his final match of the year. It was the best finish by a Cedar Ridge wrestler in the state championships since Adam Howard, who finished 5th at 152 pounds in 2013.

This season, Martinez finished 42-10 to place his career record at 97-26. Martinez’s sophomore year was limited to 24 matches due to the pandemic. If he had a standard season in 2020-2021, chances are he would be knocking on the door of the school record for most wins, held by Chandler Collins with 166 victories from 2003-2007.

As it is, Martinez is in sixth place on Cedar Ridge’s all-time wins list, one victory behind Darius McLeod, who competed from 2015-2019.

Joining Martinez on the All-Central Carolina Conference team for wrestlers at 106-145 pounds was Cedar Ridge freshman Leo Oguntoyinbo. Competing at 132 and 138 pounds, Oguntoyinbo opened the season with three wins as the Red Wolves defeated Person, Jordan and Panther Creek in a quad-match at Red Wolves Gymnasium on November 17. Oguntoyinbo is also the goalkeeper for the Cedar Ridge lacrosse team.

Orange had five wrestlers named All-Conference at 106-145 pounds: Kale Womble (113), Braden Crawford (120), Dillon Heffernan (126), Jared Hutchins (132), and Avery Clark (145).

Womble went 18-11 as the Orange wrestling team advanced to the Eastern Regional championship match in the 3A State Dual Team Tournament. Womble pinned Northwood’s Sunday Oo to help the Panthers beat the Chargers 45-27 in the opening round in Hillsborough.

Crawford qualified for the state championships as a freshman. He went 31-15 in his opening season with the Panthers. Crawford finished fourth in the Eastern Alamance Invitational in Mebane on December 18. He went on to finish third in the Quentin Crosby Invitational at Grimsley High in Greensboro. At the Mideast Regionals, Crawford came in fourth.

Heffernan was the runner-up at 126 pounds of the Mideast Regionals. He ended the year 26-9. Heffernan, a junior, won the 126-pound championship at the Crosby Invitational, defeating Allen Cohen of Morehead High 6-5 in the final. Heffernan came in third at the Jim King/Orange Invitational on December 4. At the Eastern Alamance Invitational, Heffernan came in second place.

Hutchins, a sophomore, finished third in the Mideast Regionals, winning the consolation final match over Finnius McCafferty 10-6. He ended the year 28-10 after winning two matches in the consolation round of the state championships. Hutchins won the championship of the Crosby Invitational at 132 pounds, defeating Donovan Edwards of Southwest Guilford 10-4 in the final match. Hutchins also came in third at the JKO, as well as second place at the Eastern Alamance Invitational.

Clark went 24-13 in his senior season. He reached the state championships after a third place finish in the Mideast Regionals. Clark came in fourth in the JKO. Clark came in third place at the Eastern Alamance Invitational. In the state dual playoffs, Clark pinned Wilson Fike’s Jackson Davis as the Panthers won 51-24 to advance to the regional semifinals.