Cedar Ridge Wrestling

What many would consider a successful start to their high school career is what Fernando Martinez describes as “getting his butt kicked.” Martinez, a sophomore wrestler at Cedar Ridge, went 34-13 in his freshman year while competing at 106 pounds. That included a fourth place finish at the Mideast Regionals in February 2020. Martinez also won the 106-pound tournament at the Buccaneer Cup at Bartlett Yancey High School in January 2020. This year, wrestling mainly at 120-pounds, Martinez is off to a 10-0 start. That included a gutsy win over East Chapel Hill’s Asher Yeo on Thursday, even though Martinez injured his left shoulder midway through the match. Last week, Martinez pinned Orange’s Colton Jones in 4:37, then earned a forfeit win against Southeast Guilford. On Thursday, Martinez picked up another forfeit victory against Vance County to improve his career record to 44-13 midway through his sophomore year. Cedar Ridge won both dual matches to improve to 6-4 on the season. The Red Wolves grapplers will return to action on Tuesday with a tri-meet at Cedar Ridge Gymnasium. They will face Southern Alamance and Chapel Hill.

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is senior wrestler Daina Pritchard. Last week, Pritchard scored three pins as the Red Wolves faced Carrboro, Southeast Guilford and Orange. Pritchard pinned Carrboro’s Berk Kesimer in 57 seconds, pinned Sam Crawford of Orange in 3:50 and defeated Southeast Guilford’s Xavier Jones in 1:36. This season, Pritchard is 6-0 with five pins. Last season, Pritchard finished third in the 132-pound weight class of the Jim King Invitational at Orange High. In the third place match, Pritchard defeated Orange’s Matthew Smith-Breeden 9-1. He also won the 138-pound championship at the Buccaneer Cup at Bartlett-Yanchey High School in January 2020. Pritchard scored three pins to take the championship, ending with a victory over Bartlett Yancey’s Jakob Casselmann in three minutes. Many of the traditional tournament that Daina has competed in over the years, like the Jim King Invitational and the Tiger Holiday Classic at Chapel Hill, were canceled this year because of the pandemic. In addition to wrestling, Prichard was a linebacker for Cedar Ridge football this season. Pritchard will look to continue his strong senior season tonight when Cedar Ridge hosts a tri-meet inside Red Wolves Gymnasium.

Women’s Soccer: The standard for goal scoring at Cedar Ridge for years, and possibly decades, to come will be 87 goals.

That’s what Cedar Ridge senior forward Emerson Talley ended her storied high school career with after the Red Wolves defeated Vance County 9-0 in Henderson on Monday. It was Talley’s 14th career hat trick and the fourth of the abbreviated 2021 season.

The Red Wolves ended the season 5-9 after Southern Durham forfeited the final game of the season, which was slated for Wednesday night. Talley, who vowed to former Cedar Ridge head coach P.J. Michaelson that she would score 100 goals in her career, likely would have exceeded that total in her junior season if it wasn’t for the pandemic.

Last week, Talley formally signed with Division II Lenoir-Rhyne.

As Talley’s career ended with a hat trick, a Red Wolf freshman had her first three-goal game. Rachel Alverson had a hat trick for Cedar Ridge, as well. In her final game, Cedar Ridge’s Nicol Anderson had a brace.

ORANGE 4, NORTHERN DURHAM 1

The Orange women’s soccer team concluded its most successful season since 2015 with a 4-1 victory over Northern Durham at James Armstrong Stadium on Wednesday night.

Sophomore Madison Orange scored two goals for the Lady Panthers, who finished the season 11-5. In her final game, senior co-Captain Logan Rogers notched a goal and dished out an assist. Sophomore Isabel Jones also scored a goal for Orange. Freshman Ella Wimsatt had two assists. Junior Bella Brown, who transferred from Alamance Christian School last summer, also assisted on a goal.

Brown ended the year as Orange’s leading scorer with 15 goals and four assists, as well as four hat tricks.

In terms of record, Orange had its best season since they went 15-4-2 in 2015.

WRESTLING: ORANGE 78, NORTHERN DURHAM 0; ORANGE 60, EAST CHAPEL HILL 18

For the first time this century, the Orange wrestling team started as challengers to the Big 8 Conference title as opposed to the defending champions. Things started promising as the Panthers defeated East Chapel Hill 60-18 on Tuesday night inside Panther Gymnasium.

On Thursday, Orange rolled past Northern Durham 78-0 in Hillsborough. Only four matches were contested as the Panthers claimed the other nine bouts via forfeit.

Matthew Smith-Breeden pinned Wyatt Gardner at 152 pounds. At 220 pounds, Hugo Vazquez scored his second pin of the week. Tyler Larkin earned a pin at heavyweight over John Neiman. Samuel Crawford scored his own pin at 145 pounds. Dillon Heffernan, Talan Pearley, Joshua Dunn, Kessel Summers, Avery Clark, Chase Harward, Nate Hecht, Brendon Worsham, and Korbin Nevius all earned forfeit wins.

Against East Chapel Hill, Orange scored nine pinfalls. Summers, a junior who has committed to wrestle at Bluefield College (NAIA) in Virginia, earned a pinfall victory. Joshua Dunn (126), Jose Grimaldo (145), Smith-Breeden (152), Hecht (170), Worsham (182), Nevius (195), Vasquez (220), and Larkin also scored pins for Orange.

CEDAR RIDGE 52, SOUTHERN DURHAM 24

On Thursday night, the Cedar Ridge wrestling team earned its first win of the young season with a 52-24 victory over Southern Durham. The Red Wolves got pins from Fernando Martinez at 120 pounds and veteran James Rosati-Brown at 152 pounds.

Daina Pritchard, fresh off of wrestling season ending, scored a major decision over Thomas Johnson 14-5 at 145 pounds. Mac McGhee, Gavin Mintz, Kaden Tatro, C.J. Jackson, Wyatt Robinson, and Aiden Kearns all claimed forfeit wins.

On Tuesday, Cedar Ridge participated in a tri-match against Northwood and Providence Grove. The Chargers edged the Red Wolves 40-36. Martinez scored a pin at 1:16 in his match. Pritchard, Rosati-Brown and Tatro all earned pinfall victories, as well. At 195 pounds, Wyatt Robinson pinned Northwood’s Jason Schroeder in 1:59.

Providence Grove defeated the Red Wolves 60-21. Martinez earned another pin over Logan Armfield in 1:18. Pritchard pinned Derrick Isley in 1:43. Rosati-Brown pinned Nathan Hutcherson in 3:03. Robinson grinded out a 5-2 decision over Gavin Hardister at 195.

MEN’S TENNIS:

CEDAR RIDGE 9, SOUTHERN DURHAM 0

Will Ballenger and Colby Alford ended their senior seasons successfully for the Cedar Ridge men’s tennis team on Wednesday afternoon. The Red Wolves rolled past Southern Durham to conclude the regular season 9-4. It was Cedar RIdge’s most successful dual season since 2017, when the Red Wolves finished 10-3.

Ballenger started at #1 singles and captured a 6-1, 6-1 win. Alford started at #2 singles and won 6-0, 6-2. Junior Derrick Stephens, Bowen Woods and Leo Filley also picked up singles wins for the Red Wolves.

In doubles, Ballenger and Alford teamed for a win at #1. Walker Richards-Baker and Jason Pattison won at #2 doubles. Woods and Filley completed the sweep at #3 doubles.

Cedar Ridge will start play in the Big 8 Conference Men’s Tennis Championships inside Lindsey Linker Tennis Courts at East Chapel Hill High School on Friday afternoon.

ORANGE 6, SOUTHERN DURHAM 0

The Orange men’s tennis team completed its fourth straight winning season with a 6-0 victory at Southern Durham on Tuesday.

Colin O’Hagerty, Joseph Clark, Finn Kelly, Tristan Plummer, Brandon Kessler and Jackson Panning took singles wins for the Panthers.

Photo by Cassie Summers

Despite a down year by traditional team standards, Orange High wrestling will have three representatives at the 3A State Championships this week.

Brendon Worsham, Kessel Summers and Xavier Tinnen all qualified during the Mideast Regionals at Cape Fear High School in Fayetteville on Saturday. Worsham, who had only four varsity matches entering this year, reached the finals of the 182 pound championship, falling to Eastern Guilford’s Perry Sharpe 13-10 in the final match.

On Friday, Worsham opened by pinning Alex Christian of Cedar Ridge in 3:40. Worsham pinned Carl Thames of West Johnston in 3:04 to advance to the semifinals.

On Saturday, Worsham defeated Walter Williams’ Joshua Shorter 11-3, becoming the only wrestler from Hillsborough to reach a championship final in the event. It was the 2nd time this year that Worsham finished 2nd in a tournament. In the Silver Fox Tournament at Riverside High in Durham on January 25, Worsham had a runner-up finish at 182 pounds.

Summers, a junior reached the state championships for the second year in a row. Competing at 126 pounds, Summers rolled past Union Pines’ Andrew Clark 14-5 in the 3rd place match. Last year, Summers finished third at 113 pounds in the regionals at Southeast Guilford High, where he pinned Southern Durham’s Shyheem Davis at 4:57 to move on to Greensboro.

Tinnen, who was 8-3 last season wrestling at 220 pounds, finished fourth at 195 pounds. This was the first time that Tinnen participated in a regional championship. Last year, Donald Hicks competed at 195 pounds for Orange, while Jake McBroom wrestled at 220.

On Friday, Tinnen pinned East Chapel Hill’s Fathi Awawdeh in 1:06, then pinned Eastern Alamance’s Gonzalez Turner in 1:22. In the semifinals, Westover’s Marcus Williams pinned Tinnen. In the consolation round, Tinnen defeated Malachi Nettles of Trinity to clinch a spot in the state tournament. Southern Durham’s Jamae Blank defeated Tinnen for third place.

The career of Orange heavyweight Juan Navarro came to an end shy of reaching his goal of qualifying for the state championships. Navarro faced Chapel Hill’s Benjamin Yates in the opening round, two weeks after their match in the regular season went past triple overtime and into a ride out. On that night, Navarro escaped and won 3-2. On Friday, Yates pinned Navarro at 5:59.

Navarro rebounded to beat Cedar Ridge’s Louis Tedder and Union Pines’ Kellen DeVries in the consolation round. Northwood’s Ben McGaughnea pinned Navarro, who won over 80 matches in his Orange career despite starting only the past two years.

Cedar Ridge’s season ended on Saturday. Freshman Fernando Martinez and Alex Davis came the closest to reaching Greensboro. Martinez was eliminated in the consolation semifinals by Southern Durham’s Ashton O’Neal via forfeit. Martinez pinned Western Alamance’s Evan Connetta in 1:18 of the opening match, then he reached the semifinals after beating Grey’s Creek’s Zane Ray 15-9. Chapel Hill’s Lucas Daly defeated Martinez by technical fall and was injured during the match.

Davis, competing at 138 pounds, also reached the semifinals. In the opening round, he pinned Western Alamance’s Mason Hogsed in 2:41. Davis defeated Harnett Central’s Jorge Cruz in 3:05. Union Pines Aaron Faison, who won the championship, pinned Davis in 4:30. Kaleb Williams of Fayetteville Byrd, who eliminated Orange’s Henry Joubert-Stenzel earlier in the day, defeated Davis 12-1.

The 3A State Championships get underway at 5 o’clock Friday afternoon at the Greensboro Coliseum. The consolation rounds start Friday morning at 9, while the championship semifinals will be at 6 PM. The Championship Finals will be held at 4 o’clock Saturday afternoon.

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is junior wrestler Kady Watkins. Last week, Watkins became the first female wrestler in Hillsborough history to reach the semifinals of a state championship. Watkins defeated Swansboro’s Madeline Copley 9-6 in the 120B-pound division. Watkins earned ten victories this season for Cedar Ridge. She got involved in wrestling when she realized that cheerleading wasn’t her taste. Even though she’s competed in track & field, wrestling is her top sport. In fact, her younger sister Emma is also a wrestler at Cedar Ridge and the Red Wolves wrestling team had four female grapplers on the squad this year. Now that Kady’s wrestling season has ended, she will focus on track & field this spring. Then it will be back to training for the start of wrestling season next fall, where Watkins aims to place in next February’s women’s state championships.

Last year, Kady Watkins made history. This year, she wanted something more.

In 2019, Watkins became the first woman from Hillsborough to compete for a high school wrestling state championship in the 1st annual North Carolina High School Athletic Association Women’s Wrestling Invitational in Winston-Salem. Competing at 126 pounds, Watkins lost her first round match, but rebounded to pin Haley Shipes of West Mecklenburg in the consolation round. Sarah McLaurin of the N.C. School of Science and Math eliminated Watkins in the next round via a 9-2 decision.

On Saturday in the 2nd annual women’s invitational in Concord, Watkins wanted to place in the 120 pound championships–if not win it.

 “She is an absolutely wonderful kid, she is not only a role model for the other girls on the team but the guys as well,” said Cedar Ridge wrestling coach Scott Metcalf of Watkins, who frequently leads the team in stretching exercises to conclude daily workouts. “She has the respect of her teammates, she works hard, has a great attitude and most importantly is extremely coachable, which not all kids our nowadays.”

In the end, Watkins fell short of her goal, but she did make some history along the way.

She became the first female wrestler from Hillsborough to reach the semifinals of a state championship when she defeated Swansboro’s Madeline Coplen via a 9-6 decision in the quarterfinals.

On top of that, Watkins lost to the eventual state champion. Abby Phillips of South Caldwell defeated Watkins by technical fall. Phillips, who ended the year 25-16, pinned Makalya Wright in 2:29 to win the championship.

“She was really hoping to place this year. But I know she’ll use it as motivation for next year,” said Metcalf. ” Sometimes matchups play a role in some of these tournaments on whether a wrestler will place or not. I think that may have been the case here. She has been an absolute joy to coach and I was really heartbroken today when she came up a little short because she deserved it.”

Watkins, a junior, finished 10-19 this year. She still has her senior season to meet her goals. But if the middle school scene in Hillsborough is any indication, she can take solace in knowing she is very much a trendsetter.

This year, there were four female wrestlers at Cedar Ridge. Freshmen Sun Tha (106 pounds), Raelyn Broucksou (113), and Emma Watkins (Kady’s sister at 126 pounds) all joined Watkins in the state women’s championships.

Plus, the middle school scene at Stanback Middle School has active female wrestlers who helped the Bulldogs to a 2nd place finish in the Orange Person Athletic Conference this year.

Tha pinned Desta Daniels of Jacksonville in the opening round of the 106B pound division. Laila Sa of Hoke County pinned Tha in 41 seconds. Sophia Forquer of Corinth Holders eliminated Tha in the consolation round.

Broucksou lost her opening match, but rebounded to pin Eastern Alamance’s Alaina Kunder in 4:20 of the 113B pound division. Broucksou defeated Hertiage’s Bryanna Luihn 4-0 to reach the consolation semis, but was pinned by Jacksonville’s Teah Chunn, who wound up finishing third.

Emma Watkins, a freshman, won three matches in the consolation round. After dropping her opening bout to Marissa Connelly of West Henderson, Watkins pinned Northern Nash’s Elizabeth Daniels in 1:52. She pinned Alliana Garcia of Albermarle in 2:54. Watkins pinned Dekira Baker of Fairmont in just 14 seconds. Lillian Sealey of High Point Central pinned Watkins in the consolation semifinals.

While it wasn’t as dramatic as the UNC-Duke finish on Saturday night, the Stanford and Stanback Middle School wrestling teams had one more tight competition before wrestling season ended.

This time it was at the OPAC Tournament in Roxboro.

At Southern Middle School on Saturday, the Chargers finished first in the OPAC Tournament team standings with 155 points. The Bulldogs had 145 points.

Stanford won its 20th consecutive regular season championship last week after they defeated the Bulldogs 51-45 in Hillsborough. Last month, the Chargers edged the Bulldogs 47-46 at Bulldog Gymnasium.

Both the Chargers and the Bulldogs crowned four individual champions.

Gravelly Hill, who finished with 42 points, had Lucas Calvin win the 198 pound championship. Calvin defeated Stanback’s Carlos Vera De Lara in the championship match. He was one of two Grizzles to win individual championships.

Stanford’s Mateo Albright came in 3rd at 198.

After finishing 2nd last season at 76 pounds, Stanford’s Wyatt Hedrick won the 86 pound championship to complete a perfect season. Hedrick defeated Culbreth’s Jake Kent in the semifinals.

Stanback’s Pierce Prescod won the 101 pound championship, defeating Southern Roxboro’s Christian Lemaire in the final. Prescod had two individual wins over Stanford during the regular season. Stanford’s Aidan Cain finished 4th.

At 109 pounds, Stanford’s Jared Hutchins defeated Smith’s Siena Palmisiano in the final. Hutchins also finished the season undefeated and claimed his 2nd OPEC championship. Last year, he won the 86 pound title. Gavin Stone of Stanback finished 4th.

Josh Cowan won the 116 pound title for Stanford. Cowan defeated Stanback’s Leo Oguntiyinbo in an All-Hillsborough final to end the season undefeated. Cowan finished 2nd last year at 106 pounds.

Stanford’s Jace Womble also completed a perfect season by winning the 135-pound championship. Womble, who was the runner-up at 120 pounds in 2019, defeated Stanback’s Edwin Hernandez Huerta in the championship.

Stanback’s Kaden Tatro was the Bulldogs’ second individual champion. Tatro defeated Stanford’s Andre Hill to win the 141 pound title and ended the year with an unblemished record.

At 163 pounds, Stanback’s Marcos Esparza defeated Stanford’s Joshua Merrill in the title match. Esparza finished the year 11-0.

Stanback’s Joe O’Meila won the 173 pound championship over Northern Roxboro’s Daniel Moreno. O’Meila finished the year 11-1 for the Bulldogs. Stanford’s Vincent Jobert-Stenzel came in third.

Gravelly Hill’s other champion came at 155 pounds, where Mason Cates captured the crown. Cates defeated Stanford’s Sascha Van Praag in the final.

At 185 pounds, Stanback’s Marcos MacNeil came in 2nd. Gravelly Hill’s Victor Mendoza came in third.

Stanford’s Laurencio Grimaldo, competing at 148 pounds, finished 2nd. Angus Pritchard of Gravelly Hill came in 3rd in that weight class.

Stanford’s Kale Womble finished 2nd at 93 pounds after going undefeated in the regular season. Stanback’s Tommy Heckler came in 3rd.

Stanford’s Luke Stitz finished second at 76 pounds, falling in the championship match to Northern Roxboro’s Taveon Moss. Mason Pierce of Stanback finished 3rd.

At 123 pounds, Stanford’s Luke Nevius finished 2nd, falling to Culbreth’s Cameron Perry in the final. Nevius lost only two matches this season. Stanback’s Ryan Rakouskas came in fourth.

At heavyweight, Stanback’s Aaron Olivares Mojica came in second, falling in the final to McDougle’s John Reyez Cruz.

Stanback’s Kellen McMullen finished 2nd at 223 pounds.

Girl’s Basketball:

Last week, Stanford defeated Southern Roxboro 32-17. The Chargers were led by Shannon Murphy with eleven points. Katie Wolter added six. Evelyn George had five. Olivia Jones scored four, as did Dyreshia Farrish. Caden Robinson scored two for the Lady Chargers.

This winter will be recorded as a time of change within local wrestling circles.

Not just because Chapel Hill ended Orange’s dynasty of 17 consecutive conference championships, but also for the revival of wrestling in western Hillsborough.

While the Stanback Middle School Bulldogs didn’t end Stanford’s string of dominance, the Bulldogs’ were competitive with the Chargers. Stanford defeated Stanback 47-46 at Bulldog Gymnasium on January 10 (the Chargers did forfeit its last two matches).

On the surface, that bodes well for Cedar Ridge in the future. Some, if not all, of the Stanback 8th graders will likely wind up wrestling for Scott Metcalf in the future.

As for the Red Wolves, Metcalf thought this would be a rebuilding season in October. Darius McLeod, who qualified for the 3A State Championships in 2019 at 132 pounds, graduated in June after winning 98 career matches.

Instead, this season has turned into a pleasant surprise. A freshman, Fernando Martinez, has posted 29 wins at 106 pounds with 13 pins and three major decisions. Martinez didn’t even start wrestling until two years ago.

The Red Wolves won its final four Big 8 Conference matches. The most thrilling came in its regular season finale against Southern Durham on January 29, which boiled down to the final match at Spartan Gymnasium. Trailing 35-33, Cedar Ridge’s Alex Davis defeated Zion Mcrae 14-8 at 138 pounds, which paved the way for a 36-35 Red Wolves’ victory.

It was the ultimate team win,” Metcalf said. “I couldn’t be more proud of them. I think the future is awfully bright for us especially considering what we have coming back and those coming up from the middle school ranks.”

Davis improved to 17-3 with eleven pins. As is so often the case in tight matches, Cedar Ridge won via bonus points. At 160 pounds, James Rosati-Brown pinned Kasiem Willis in 3:48. Rosati-Brown, who won the individual championship at 152 pounds in the Buccaneer Cup on January 11, ended the regular season 28-11 with 18 pins.

Ruffin Wyrick pinned Southern’s Daveyon Garner in 3:51 at 170 pounds. Wyrick goes into the Mideast Regionals with a 24-11 record with a team-high 20 pins. Alex Christian pinned Jadon Roger in 3:43 for his 21st victory.

At 113 pounds, Eh Tha, who played soccer for Cedar Ridge, pinned Demarion Garner in 4:58.

Daina Pritchard opened the night for the Red Wolves with a 11-4 decision over Thomas Johnson at 132 pounds. Pritchard is tied with Martinez for the team-lead with 29 wins this season.

“Something we had been preaching to them all year was the difference in tight dual matches is often simply getting pins and not giving up pins,” Metcalf said. “Against Southern Durham, that finally came too fruition. And its one thing us saying its another thing for them to experience it. So I think was a big step forward for our team and program.”

For its senior night on January 23, Cedar Ridge defeated East Chapel Hill and Vance County. The Red Wolves defeated the Wildcats 64-18, then defeated the Vipers 78-6.

This weekend, Cedar Ridge’s Kady Watkins will journey to Concord for the NCHSAA State Girls Tournament. Watkins, who won nine matches during the regular season competing at 120 pounds, was the first female wrestler in Hillsborough history to compete for a state championship last year in Winston-Salem. She went 1-2 in the 126 pound division, pinning Haley Shipes of West Mecklenburg in the consolation bracket in 2:30.

After two runner-up finishes over the past two seasons, Orange’s Kessel Summers has claimed his first individual varsity wrestling championship.

Summers pinned Havelock’s Nate Lucio to take the 126-pound championship of the Dash Classic at Fuquay-Varina High School on Saturday afternoon. It was the second straight weekend that Summers defeated Lucio. On January 11 at the Havelock Duals, Summers defeated Lucio 14-5, a major decision which led to the Panthers beating the Rams via criteria 36-35.

Orange finished 4th in the team standings, its best tournament showing of the year. In addition to Summers, Orange’s Brendan Worsham finished 2nd at 182 pounds. Senior heavyweight Juan Navarro placed 3rd. At 195 pounds, Jackson Ollis came in fourth, the first-time he’s ever placed in a tournament.

Cedar Ridge finished tied for 20th with 34 points. Among the six Cedar Ridge wrestlers who participated, Alex Christian was the only one that placed. He tied for fifth in 182 pounds after winning via disqualification over Hillside’s James Blankston in the consolation round. Fuquay-Varina’s Melvin Colon defeated Christian 4-1 in the consolation semifinals. Christian also defeated Harnett Central’s Jose Zambrano 13-7.

Summers finished 2nd in the Quentin Crosby Tournament at Dudley High School in Greensboro on January 4. Last season, Summers finished 3rd in the 3A Mideast Regional at Southeast Guilford High School and qualified for the State Championships at 113 pounds.

Summers now leads the team with 29 wins and 18 pins this season.

For the second time this year in an individual tournament, Summers faced an opponent from Leesville Road in the semifinals. Summers defeated Cole Patterson 9-6. The decision was the only time Summers went the distance in the tournament.

After receiving a bye in the opening round, Summers opened the event by pinning Southern Durham’s Tashaun Smith in 1:15. In the quarterfinals, Summers pinned West Johnston’s Chris McHenry in 3:40.

Worsham, who played junior varsity football last fall, had his best-ever individual showing a week after he defeated Havelock’s Tate Cringan 8-0 in a major decision which led to Orange beating Havelock. After he pinned Southern Durham’s Jordan Rogers in 19 seconds, Worsham faced Cringan again. This time, Worsham pinned him in 1:29 to reach the semifinals, where he pinned Colon in 4:48. Wesley Sharpe of Voyager Academy defeated Worsham for the championship in 4:22.

Worsham finished 4th in the Quentin Crosby Tournament.

Navarro edged Ronald Reagan’s Christia Cohen’s 2-1 to win the consolation final. It’s his best finish of the year. He earned a 7-3 decision over C.J. Shepherd of Enloe to advance to the championship semifinals. Hillside’s Rodney Harris, who captured the heavyweight championship, earned a 14-8 decision over Navarro.

In the consolation semifinals, Navarro pinned Cape Fear’s Chason Bryant in 3:40.

Last season, Harris and Navarro squared off in the Mideast Regionals with a trip to the state championships on the line. In a match that stretched to three overtimes, Harris won 4-3.

Ollis lost his opening match in the championship round, but won consecutive bouts in the consolation bracket. He pinned Apex’s Elijah Gagne-Koudak in 23 seconds. then pinned Pinecrest’s Luca Peck in 1:37 to reach the consolation finals. South View’s Kyle Johnston defeated Ollis for 3rd place.

It will be a busy week for both Orange and Cedar Ridge as the season winds down. Orange, still going for its 17th consecutive Big 8 Conference championship, will host Southern Durham on Wednesday night in Hillsborough. On Saturday, the Panthers will travel to Durham for the Riverside Invitational.

On Thursday, Cedar Ridge will host its senior night in a tri-meet against East Chapel Hill and Vance County.