Cedar Ridge Wrestling

The first Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week for the winter sports season is sophomore wrestler Joe O’Melia. On November 17, O’Melia scored three pins as the Red Wolves wrestling team defeated Jordan, Person and Panther Creek to open the season. O’Melia pinned Jordan’s Daniel Maxwell in 1:38 as the Red Wolves defeated Jordan 60-24. O’Melia pinned Panther Creek’s John Dube in 59 seconds as the Red Wolves defeated the Catamounts 52-25. Against Person in the Red Wolves’ Central Carolina Conference opener, O’Melia pinned Victor Rodriguez in 5:44 which led to the Red Wolves beating the Rockets 42-33. Last week in Raleigh during a tri-match at Wakefield High School, O’Melia pinned Thomas Kenner of Sanderson. He also pinned Wakefield’s Frankie Nehilia in 3:18. Thus far on the season, O’Melia has won eleven matches with seven pins. Starting on Friday, O’Melia and the rest of the Red Wolves wrestling team will compete in the WRAL Invitational at Knightdale High School. It will be a two-day event featuring over 40 other schools.

After the unorthodox wrestling season from last spring, Cedar Ridge wrestling coach Scott Metcalf had to find a way to replace two captains and a senior who qualified for the Mideast Regionals.

Instead of rebuilding, the Red Wolves may now have the deepest team in Metcalf’s tenure.

On Wednesday night, Cedar Ridge opened the season with three wins in a quad meet inside Red Wolves Arena. The very first match of the season was also the Red Wolves’ Central Carolina Conference opener, where they defeated Person 42-33. Cedar Ridge also defeated Jordan 60-24 and Panther Creek 52-24.

It was Cedar Ridge’s first match since the graduation of Daina Pritchard, an All-Big 8 Conference selection in 2021 who qualified for the 3A State Championships at 145 pounds and finished 24-4 last season. Another graduate, Kady Watkins, was the first female wrestler in Hillsborough history to compete for a state championship.

James Rosati-Brown, a starter at 152 pounds last spring, also graduated with a career record of 77-48.

“The only weight we’re missing right now is 106 (pounds),” Metcalf said. “We’re looking pretty stout. We have a lot of young guys. A lot of them wrestled in middle school so a lot of them have experience. They’re more talented as freshman than Daina and Kady were when they started when they first came in. These kids are a little more athletic and up on things.”

On Saturday, Cedar Ridge held its annual Red Wolves Invitational, which included 21 teams from across the state. Northwest Guilford, which had six wrestlers win individual championships, captured the team title with 233 points. Cedar Ridge finished eight with 54 points. Kaden Tatro came in fourth place at 170 pounds for the Red Wolves. Cedar Ridge sophomore Joe O’Melia reached the consolation semifinals.

Orange’s Vincent Joubert-Stanzel finished fourth for Orange at 220, reaching the consolation finals via forfeit.

In the quad meet last Wednesday, Tatro had the fastest pin of the night when he defeated Jordan’s Jaylon Little-Moore in 18 seconds. Tatro pinned Panther Creek’s Mason Davis in 1:23.

O’Melia was one of several underclassmen who made an instant impact for the Red Wolves on opening night in the quad-meet, scoring three pins. He defeated Person’s Victor Rodriguez in 5:44, which officially wrapped up the dual match win for the Red Wolves. Later, O’Melia pinned Daniel Maxwell of Jordan in 1:38. Against Panther Creek, O’Melia got another pin over John Dube in 59 seconds.

The closet thing to a veteran on Cedar Ridge’s wrestling team is junior Fernando Martinez, who now has 60 career victories after finishing 4th at 120 pounds in the Red Wolves Invitational. Last week, Martinez pinned Noah Vo of Panther Creek in 1:07 and Angel Perez of Jordan in 1:20. He also earned a forfeit win over Person. Martinez was an All-Big 8 Conference selection last season, but fell short of qualifying for the state championships after receiving a tough draw in the regional championships.

At 126 pounds, Pierce Prescod won all three of his matches, two of them by pinball.

Another strong newcomer was freshman Leo Oguntoyinbo at 138 pounds. Oguntoyinbo, the younger brother of Cedar Ridge lacrosse midfielder Romon Oguntoyinbo, won all three of his matches last week in his high school debut. Oguntoyinbo, who attended Stanback Middle School, pinned Joshua Zacharias in 1:43. Competing at 138 pounds, Oguntoyinbo defeated Nasir Henderson of Panther Creek in 1:38, and also earned a forfeit win over Person. Leo Oguntoyinbo could also be the starting goalkeeper for the Cedar Ridge men’s lacrosse team this spring.

Ryan Rokouskas, the younger brother of former Cedar Ridge volleyball and softball player Marlee Rokouskas, scored two pins for Cedar Ridge in the quad match. He defeated Christopher Ceballos of Person in 1:10, then pinned Jack Bowser of Panther Creek in 1:03.

Cedar Ridge’s wrestling season couldn’t have started better on Wednesday night. The Red Wolves hosted Person, Jordan and Panther Creek in the Cedar Ridge quad at Red Wolves Arena. Cedar Ridge started its Central Carolina Conference schedule with a 42-33 win over Person. Sophomore Joe O’Melia clinched the win for Cedar Ridge with a pin over Victor Rodriguez at 220 pounds in 5:44. It was the first of three wins for O’Melia on the night. Freshman Leo Oguntoyinbo earned a forfeit win over the Rockets. Cedar Ridge defeated Jordan 60-24. Oguntoyinbo earned his first pin at the high school level with a victory over Josh Zacharias in 1:43. O’Melia pinned Daniel Maxwell in 1:38. To end the long night, Cedar Ridge defeated Panther Creek 52-24. Oguntoyinbo pinned Nasir Henderson in 3:18. O’Melia earned his third pin of the night with a victory over John Dude in 59 seconds. After starting 3-0, Cedar Ridge will host many teams from across the area for the Red Wolves Invitational at Red Wolves Arena on Saturday.

A high school sports season prolonged by the pandemic has two Saturdays remaining for Hillsborough teams. For one Cedar Ridge wrestler, today will be the end of an established career.

Kady Watkins wasn’t the first female wrestler at Cedar Ridge, but she has been the most successful. When she started wrestling in middle school, there wasn’t a state women’s wrestling championship sanctioned by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association. That changed during her sophomore season.

In 2019, the inaugural Women’s Wrestling Invitational brought 87 participants across eleven weight divisions. Last year, there were 182 wrestlers in 14 weight divisions, who competed at the Carolina Courts in Concord.

In 2019, Watkins became the first female wrestler from Hillsborough to compete for a state championship. A year later, she became the first female wrestler from Hillsborough to win a match in a state tournament when she won a 9-6 decision over Swansboro’s Madeline Coplen at 120 pounds. She finished 5th in the state.

This season, Watkins has been a co-Captain of a team that has already had one wrestler for qualify for next Saturday’s 3A State Tournament. Watkins has won eleven matches for Cedar Ridge this season. Today’s 3rd annual State Women’s Wrestling Invitational Tournament will be held at Kernersville Glenn High School.

Track and Field

Orange’s Spencer Hampton will have a full day today.

Hampton, a long distance runner for Orange, has qualified for three different events during the the 3A Mideast Regional Men’s and Women’s Track and Field Championships, scheduled for today at Southern Lee High School in Sanford.

Hampton, a junior, is in the regional final for the 1,600 meters. His fastest time of the season is 4:24.10. He has nine first place finishes in 2021. Hampton also qualified for the 3,200 meters and will join Alden Cathey, Ethan Horton and Nicholas Pell in the 4×800 relay. The Panthers’ relay team had the second fastest time in the region this year, behind only Big 8 Conference rival Chapel Hill.

Also in the 4×800 relay, Cedar Ridge’s team of Jay Cole, Levi Draughon, Roman Morrell and Harrison Park will be in the regional final field.

Orange will have another men’s relay team in the 4×200 event. Senior Keanu Mims, senior Jeffrey Faulkner, junior Elijah Danley and senior Gasiah Drewery had the second-fastest time in the region at 1:33.07. Mims is going for his second appearance in the state championships. In 2019, he was a part of Orange’s 4×400 relay team, which finished 10th in the 3A State Championships at North Carolina A&T University in Greensboro.

Mims, Faulkner, Danley and Devin Goss also qualified in the 4×400 meter relay. Once again, Chapel Hill was the only school in the Mideast Region with a faster qualifying time this season.

Orange will have three competitors in the 800 meters. Cathey, Pell and Horton all have qualifying marks.

In the women’s 300-hurdles, Orange junior Samantha George will participate in her first regional championship meet. George, a starting guard for the Orange women’s basketball team, ran for a personal-best of 51.70 second in last week’s Big 8 Championships.

George will also be in the 4×400 women’s relay team for Orange. She will join Abby Hengsterman, Avery Hengsterman and Sophia Schultz.

Cedar Ridge will have two qualifiers in the pole vault. Caroline Fowlkes, who qualified for the state championships as a freshman in 2019, cleared 10-feet-six inches in a tri-meet against Southern Durham and Vance County on May 6. Fowlkes also qualified for the 2020 Indoor Track & Field pole vault. Accompanying Fowlkes in the pole vault will be junior teammate Phoenix Smith, who had a personal best of eight-feet, also on May 6.

Orange will also be represented in the women’s 4×200 relay. Freshman Samiya Baldwin, Samantha George, Taia Mitchell and Katheryn Scully qualified after a time of 1:53.73 during the East Chapel Hill Friday Night Lights event on June 4 at Dave Thaden Stadium.

Orange’s Ava New surpassed the regional standard in two different events. She qualified for the long jump with a personal best of 15-feet, four inches. New will also compete in the triple jump after a leap of 31-feet, 01.50 inches.

Orange’s Erin Mink will also be in the triple jump after a season-best 31-feet, nine-inches.

Orange senior Kayla Brooks, who was a cheerleader in football last spring, has qualified for the shot put. Her throw of 29-feet, ten-inches at East Chapel Hill Friday Night Lights was enough to qualify for her first regional competition.

GIBSONVILLE–In every respect, Orange wrestling has rebounded from its most lackluster season in decades.

Last year, the Panthers finished 2nd in the Big 8 Conference, ending a string of 16 straight league titles. At the 2020 3A Mideast Regionals, they finished 4th in team standings and sent three wrestlers to the state championships.

A year later, Orange finds itself back atop the Big 8, they will send six wrestlers to the state championships and finished near the top of the 3A Mideast Regionals.

On Tuesday afternoon inside a humid Eastern Guilford High School Gymnasium, the Panthers finished 2nd in the regionals with 110 points. Union Pines capture the team championship with 147 points.

Overall, Orange will send Kessel Summers, Hayden Horne, Brendon Worsham, Matthew Smith-Breeden, Dillon Heffernan and Henry Joubert-Stanzel to the 3A State Championships on June 26.

Additionally, Cedar Ridge senior Daina Pritchard reached the state championships for the first time in his career. Pritchard defeated Western Alamance’s Nolan Hogsed 7-3 to reach the semifinals in the 145-pound division. Pritchard, who has won 74 career matches, is 24-3 this season after a 4th place finish in the region.

Of the six Panthers who qualified for the state championships, three reached the regional finals in their respective weight classes. Senior Kessel Summers, who reached the state tournament for the third time in his career, held off Union Pines’ Andrew Clark 8-6 in the 138-pound semifinals. Summers advanced to the regional final for the first time in his career. Western Harnett’s Will Lewis won the regional championship with a pin in 1:40. Lewis, who will make his third state tournament appearance, won the 132-pound championship last year.

Summers is 19-3 this season.

The other two finalists were also the offensive tackles for the Orange football team this past season.

Senior Hayden Horne, who had never started in an individual tournament before Tuesday, finished 2nd at 220 pounds. Horne pinned Northern Durham’s Tyler Kendall in 2:48 to advance to the semifinals. He pinned Westover’s Remington Workman in 1:18 to move on to the finals. Eastern Guilford’s Jacob Vickers pinned Horne in 1:24 for the regional championship, which ended Horne’s undefeated season. He is now 15-1.

At 182 pounds, Brendon Worsham qualified for the state championships for the second straight year. Worsham put away Gray’s Creek’s Gage Ratley 15-3 in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, Northwood’s Cliff Davis had an early 4-1 lead on Worsham. In the second period, Worsham scored a quick trip takedown, landed on top of Davis and pinned him in 3:30. Union Pines Colin Pettine, who came in 3rd at 170 last year, defeated Worsham 12-7 in the final.

The other state qualifiers for Orange ran the gamut in terms of experience. Senior Matthew Smith-Breeden pinned Person’s Landon Lemaire in 42 seconds to earn a spot in the state tournament for the first time at 145 pounds. Later, Smith-Breeden pinned Pritchard in 3:27 to finish third in the region. Smith-Breeden is now 15-7 with seven pins this season.

Senior Henry Joubert-Stanzel finished 3rd at 170 pounds to clinch his first trip to the state championships. Joubert-Stanzel made quick work of Trinity’s Julian Goodman-Hernandez in 31 seconds in the quarterfinals. In the 3rd place match, Joubert-Stanzel defeated Eastern Alamance’s Julian Rodriguez’s 10-0, improving his record to 17-2.

At 113 pounds, sophomore Dillon Heffernan scored a major decision over Gray’s Creek’s Diego Martinez 16-7. Fayetteville Westover’s Dakota Little defeated Heffernan 10-6 en route to winning the regional championship. Heffernan won the 3rd place match over Eastern Guilford’s Adam Salazar 13-0.

Cedar Ridge senior James Rosati-Brown ended his career on Tuesday. Competing at 152 pounds, Rosati-Brown pinned Western Harnett’s Matthew Schneider in 39 seconds. In the quarterfinals, Cape Fear’s Dawson Travis defeated Rosati-Brown 9-4. In most years, there would have been a consolation round that could have led to Rosati-Brown reaching one of the top four spots. Because of the pandemic, this year it was a single-elimination tournament.

Rosati-Brown ends his career with a record of 77-48.

At 120 pounds, Cedar Ridge’s Fernando Martinez faced a tough draw. He opened with a pin of Gray’s Creek’s Cole Burgess in 3:29. Southern Durham’s ShyHeem Davis defeated Martinez 12-4 in the quarterfinals. Earlier this year, Martinez defeated Davis via injury default during a dual meet. Martinez ends the year 21-3. At the end of his sophomore year, Martinez has a career record of 55-16.

Cedar Ridge senior Kady Watkins, who has eleven victories this season, competed in the 126-pound tournament. Watkins will be in the Women’s Invitational Tournament at Glenn High School in Kernersville on Saturday.

Daina Pritchard achieved a goal that he had aimed at for four years on Tuesday. At the 3A Mideast Regional Wrestling Championships at Eastern Guilford High School, Pritchard qualified for the state championships at 145 pounds. Pritchard defeated Western Alamance’s Nolan Hogsed 7-3 to reach the regional semifinals. He finished 4th in the region. Pritchard is now 24-3 this season. He is the first Cedar Ridge wrestler to qualify for the state championships since Darius McLeod in 2019. It has been a whirlwind last five days for Pritchard. On Saturday night, he graduated from Cedar Ridge at Red Wolves Stadium. Now, he will end his wrestling career the way any wrestler would—going for a state championship. While the state championships won’t be held at the Greensboro Coliseum this year, Pritchard will still be among 16 wrestlers going for the 3A 145-pound title next Saturday at Eastern Guilford High School. Pritchard now has a career record of 74-36.

With the academic year now over across Orange County, a return to normal doesn’t seem too far away.

But the peculiarities created by the pandemic will continue to affect the final two weeks of wrestling season. This morning, the 3A Mideast Regionals will take place at Eastern Guilford High School in Gibsonville.

The fact that regionals are taking place on a weekday is strange enough. So is the fact that’s it’s going on at the beginning of summer. It’s the first individual tournament this year for virtually everyone competing. In a standard year, most competitors would have had 4-5 tournament under their belts by now. This year, the closest thing for local grapplers has been tri-meets, consisting of two dual team matches in one night.

Plus, there will be no consolation rounds in the regional championships and the state championships. In 2021, they will be single-elimination tournaments.

In a standard year, those who qualify for the state championships get the reward of competing in the famed Greensboro Coliseum. It’s where Orange’s Payton Wilson won the 220-pound championship in 2017 in a wild finish where he avoided a takedown at the horn to win 4-3 and conclude a 44-0 season. It was the last match Bobby Shriner coached in his legendary Orange career. It’s where Orange’s Josiah Ramirez won the elusive 182-pound championship.

This year, competitors will grow used to Eastern Guilford High over the next 12 days. Not only is that where the regionals are taking place, it’s also the scene of the state championships.

This morning, 13 wrestlers from the Big 8 Conference Champion Orange wrestling team and eight grapplers from Cedar Ridge will start pursuit of qualifying for the state tournament in the regional championships in Gibsonville. The top four finishers will qualify for the state championships, which will be held on Saturday, June 26.

Orange junior Kessel Summers, who won his 100th career match earlier this year, will go for his third trip to the 3A State Tournament. Last year, Summers finished 3rd at 126 pounds with a 14-5 win over Andrew Clark of Union Pines in the consolation final. Summers will compete at 132 pounds and start against Autumn Coles of East Chapel Hill in the 16-man tournament. Summers is 16-2 this year with his only losses coming against 4A opponents last week.

Another Panther going for a repeat trip to the state championships is junior Brendon Worsham. Last year, Worsham finished runner-up in the 182 pound division. He punched his ticket to the Greensboro Coliseum after scoring an 11-3 major decision over Joshua Shorter of Walter Williams to reach the finals. Worsham is the #2 seed and has already received a bye. He will face either Gage Ratley of Grey’s Creek or freshman Chevelle Cade of Fayetteville Westover in the quarterfinals.

Cedar Ridge will have two senior wrestlers trying to reach the state championships for the first time in their careers. At 152 pounds, James Rosati-Brown sports at 21-2 record for the season. His career mark is 76-47. Rosati-Brown opens with Matthew Schneider of Western Harnett.

At 145 pounds, Cedar Ridge senior Daina Pritchard comes in with a 22-1 mark. He has won six consecutive matches. In the opening round, Pritchard will face Khayree Dixon of Northern Durham, which will be the first meeting between the two this year. Pritchard won via forfeit against Northern Durham in a dual match last month.

Cedar Ridge sophomore Fernando Martinez earned a 7-seed in the 120-pound tournament despite an overall record of 20-2. Martinez opens against Cole Burgess of Gray’s Creek. Last year, Burgess competed in the 126-pound tournament. The winner will face Southern Durham’s ShyHeen Davis, who Martinez already defeated via injury default earlier this year. Even with a reduced schedule in 2021 during his second varsity season, Martinez has a 54-15 career record.

Orange senior Henry Joubert-Stanzel has already gained a spot in the second round of the 170-pound tournament. Joubert-Stanzel, who is 15-1 with a team-high seven pins, has gained a bye into the second round. He will face Trinity’s Julian Goodman-Hernandez with a trip to the 3A State Tournament on the line.

Among the most interesting stories to follow will be Orange senior Hayden Horne, who will compete in his first regional championship. Horne is 13-0 with five pins this season. He has already received a bye to the quarterfinals and will open against either Cedar Ridge’s Aiden Kearns or Northern Durham’s Tyler Kendall.

Dillon Heffernan (113), Joshua Dunn (120), Jared Hutchins (126), Avery Clark (138), Matthew Smith-Breeden (145), Samuel Crawford (152), Nate Hecht (160), Elliott Woods (195) and Tyler Larkin (heavyweight) also qualified for regionals for Orange.

Cedar Ridge’s Kady Watkins (126), Mac McGhee (138), and Kaden Tatro (160) also reached regionals. It will be a full week for Watkins. In addition to regionals, she will compete in the 3A State Women’s Invitational Championships at Glenn High School in Kernersville on Saturday morning. Watkins was the first female wrestler in Hillsborough history to compete in a state tournament in 2019.

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is sophomore wrestler Fernando Martinez. As he enters Cedar Ridge’s final tri-meet of the regular season tonight, Martinez has a 20-1 record. Last week, he pinned Michael Blackwell of Uwharrie Charter School, a team that has won the last two 1A State Dual Championships. On Thursday, in the final home matches of the season, Martinez defeated Levi Dennis of Trinity High 13-6. That improved his career record to 54-14. Martinez has been a star wrestler since his days at Stanback Middle School. In his freshman season, Martinez went 34-13. Next week, Cedar Ridge will compete in the 3A Mideast Regionals, where Martinez is focused on making the state championships for the first time in his career. Martinez has been a reliable fixture on a Cedar Ridge team has already more wins as a team than all of last season. Both the 3A Mideast Regionals and the 3A State Championships will be held at Eastern Guilford High School in Gibsonville. The regionals will be held next Tuesday, June 15. The state championships will be June 26. This is the second time that Martinez has been honored as Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week, an honor designated for athletes to win only once per year. Tonight, Cedar RIdge will travel to Kernersville for a tri-meet against Glenn High and Ledford High.

Wrestling: Cedar Ridge 33, Neuse Charter School 12; Trinity 63, Cedar Ridge 15

Wrestling its third dual match in two nights, several Cedar Ridge Red Wolves continued impressive seasons during a tri-meet at Trinity High.

Cedar Ridge defeated Neuse Charter School 33-12 in the opener. Senior Daina Pritchard scored a pin over the Cougars’ Jackson Evans in 1:32. Against Trinity, Pritchard pinned Charles “Bear” Schaefer in 2:30. On Wednesday night during a dual meet against 1A power Uwharrie Charter Academy, Pritchard pinned Alec Milikan in 2:55. For the season, Pritchard is 22-1 with 13 pins. He has won his last four matches via pinfall.

Sophomore Fernando Martinez concluded an impressive week going 3-0. That included a 13-6 decision over Trinity’s Levi Dennis, one of only three individual wins for the Red Wolves over the Bulldogs. On Wednesday, Martinez pinned Uwharrie’s Michael Blackwell in 1:03. Martinez is now 20-1 this season with nine pins.

Senior James Rosati-Brown earned the 75th win of his Cedar Ridge career on Thursday night. Rosati-Brown held off Camden Gurley of Neuse Carter 4-3. Alex Minish earned a decision win over Rosati-Brown, who is now 20-2 this year.

In the win over Neuse Charter, Kady Watkins earned a forfeit win at 126-pounds. Watkins, a senior co-Captain, has eleven wins this season.

At 160 pounds, freshman Kaden Tatro pinned Devin Lebow in 1:07. Gavin Mintz earned a forfeit victory at 170 pounds.

Cedar Ridge is 13-8 on the season. They will complete its dual scheduled on Tuesday in another tri-meet against Ledford and Kernersville Glenn.

ALUMNI UPDATE:

Grace Andrews: After her freshman year at Catawba Valley Community College, Andrews was named to the second-team All-Region squad by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association.

This was the first year that Catawba Valley fielded a softball team. Andrews led the Red Hawks in with 53 hits and 41 RBIs. She was second on the squad with a .442 batting average and eight home runs. Andrews scored 35 runs, which was third on the team.

This season, Catawba Valley finished 23-13 overall, 12-9 in Region X. Andrews started at second base for Orange’s 2017 3A State Championship Softball team. The fourth anniversary of Orange’s game 2 win over Piedmont was Thursday. It is the only state championship won by a female team in Orange High history.

Bryse Wilson: Wilson suffered his first loss of the season pitching for the Gwinnett Stripers of Triple-A East on Thursday night. The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp defeated the Stripers 6-2 at CoolRay Field in Lawrenceville, GA. Wilson threw five innings with six strikeouts. He surrendered five runs off six hits and four walks. Wilson is 2-1 for the Stripers, who fell to 15-12.

NCAA Baseball Tournament:

The NCAA Baseball Tournament gets underway today with 32 games spread across 16 regional sites. Three former Orange/Cedar Ridge players will represent teams in the tournament.

Two of them will be in the Greenville Regional, hosted by #13 East Carolina. Suiting up for the Pirates will be Joey Berini, the 2019 Big 8 Conference Player of the Year. Berini was a starting shortstop for Orange for four seasons. East Carolina opens play against Norfolk State, the champions of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, Friday at noon.

The #2 seed in the Greenville Region is Charlotte, which includes former Cedar Ridge/Orange shortstop Dante DeFranco. The 49ers claimed the Conference USA Regular Season Championship. DeFranco hasn’t played in a game this season. Charlotte will open against Maryland on Friday at 6 PM.

In the Knoxville Regional, former Orange pitcher Landon Riley will suit up for Liberty. For the third time this season, the Flames will face Duke. The Blue Devils, the Champions of the ACC Tournament, swept the regular season series against the Flames. Duke and Liberty will face off Friday at noon. Liberty won the Atlantic Sun Regular Season Championship, but lost to Jacksonville in the Atlantic Sun Tournament Championship game.

The rivalry game between Orange and Cedar Ridge at Red Wolves Territory was suspended by rain in the bottom of the second inning on Friday night, but it sure had some fireworks early.

Orange’s Ryan Hench drilled a two-run homer to put the Panthers ahead 2-1. The game was stopped in the bottom of the second inning. In Cedar Ridge’s side of the first inning, shortstop Bryce Clark laced a solo homer to left field. He became the first person to score a run off Hench this year. Hench entered the game with 17 scoreless innings over three games this season. He had yielded only four hits with 30 strikeouts and seven walks.

The rain interrupted a night that Cedar Ridge Head Coach Bryson Massey had prepared weeks for. The game was a Vs. Cancer benefit where Major League Baseball memorabilia would be raffled off. Anyone who purchased tickets for the raffle should keep the tickets. The game will be rescheduled at a later date.

Cedar Ridge will travel to Northern Durham on Wednesday night. Orange travels to Northwood Tuesday night at 7.

Wrestling:

Cedar Ridge 49, Greensboro Grimsley 19; Cedar Ridge 39, Montgomery Central 36

Despite competing during a pandemic, the Cedar Ridge wrestling team eclipsed its win total from the previous season on Friday night.

The Red Wolves defeated Greensboro Grimsely 49-19, then held off Montgomery Central 39-36. It was the Red Wolves’ second tri-match sweep of the week. They’re now 12-6 on the year.

The victory over Montgomery turned out to be the most dramatic win of the season for the Red Wolves. The match was tied 36-36 with only the heavyweight bout between Cedar Ridge’s Aidan Kearns and the Timberwolves’ Jordi Bello remaining. Kearns earned a 6-1 decision to put Cedar Ridge ahead 39-36. The only remaining match was a double forfeit at 106 pounds, so Cedar Ridge took its fourth straight victory.

Kearns, who was the starting goalkeeper for the Cedar Ridge lacrosse team this season, is now 10-8. He earned a forfeit win over Grimsley earlier in the night.

Sophomore Fernando Martinez earned his 50th career win against Grimsley. At 120 pounds, Martinez opened the dual match against the Whirlies with a 13-4 major decision over Zachary Swearington. Martinez, who is 15-1 on the year, pinned Tarian Tanner of Montgomery in 35 seconds. It was his eighth pinfall victory of the year.

Senior Daina Pritchard pinned Montgomery’s Cain Arzate in 1:00 for the 70th win of his career. Pritchard, who is 15-1, suffered his first loss of the season against Grimsley’s Toure Moore.

Senior James Rosati-Brown improved to 18-0 at 152 pounds with two forfeit wins.

Against Grimsley, Gavin Mintz earned a decision over Login Goodwin 6-2 at 170 pounds. At 182 pounds, Thomas Bradley pinned D.J. Diggs in 2:54.

Kearns, Kady Watkins, Kaden Tatro, Mac McGhee and Zoey Moreno also had forfeit wins for Cedar Ridge against Grimsley.

Against the Timberwolves, Tatro pinned Emmanuel All-Gonzalez in 2:31, which evened the dual match 24-24. Mintz then put Cedar Ridge in the lead after he finished off Jamira Jackson via pinfall in 3:10.

Bradley also had a forfeit win against Montgomery Central.

Last season, Cedar Ridge finished 11-8. In the absence of individual tournaments like the Jim King Invitational at Orange High, the Tiger Holiday Classic at Chapel Hill and the Buccaneer Cup at Bartlett-Yancey High Schoo, Cedar Ridge has been able to schedule more dual matches this year. Cedar Ridge also hosts its own individual tournament each year, the Red Wolf Invitational, every November.

Cedar Ridge still has six more dual matches scheduled before the 3A Mideast Regional championships, which will be the first individual tournament for wrestlers across the state, next month. The regionals will be held at Eastern Guilford High School in Gibsonville.

On Wednesday, Cedar Ridge will host powerful Uwharrie Charter Academy at Red Wolves Gymnasium.