Cedar Ridge Wrestling

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.

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is wrestler James Rosati-Brown. On Saturday, Rosati-Brown won the 152-pound championship at the Buccaneer Cup in Yanceyville. Rosati-Brown won five matches in the round robin tournament to win his first individual title of his high school career. Competing in five matches, Rosati-Brown won all five via pinfall to improve to 24-9 on the season. He has 15 pins. Cedar Ridge won the team championship, the first team from Hillsborough to win a tournament this season. On January 8, Cedar Ridge started the year by beating Northern Durham 63-10 for its first Big 8 Conference victory of the year. Against the Knights, Rosati-Brown defeated Shamari Zachari 7-6. Rosati-Brown finished 5th in the Jim King/Orange Invitational on December 7th at Orange High. Cedar Ridge will host its senior night next Thursday in a tri-meet against East Chapel Hill and Vance County.

A good year for western Hillsborough wrestling continues.

The Cedar Ridge wrestling team claimed the Buccaneer Cup at Bartlett Yancey High School on Saturday, the first team championship claimed by a Hillsborough squad this year. The Red Wolves finished with 38 points in the six-team tournament. Granville Central finished 2nd with 32 points. Burlington Cummings had 30 points.

Durham School of the Arts, Graham and Bartlett Yancey also participated.

In an unusual round robin format, five Cedar Ridge wrestlers won individual championships.

Freshman Fernando Martinez claimed the 106-pound championship by winning all three of his matches. Martinez scored two pins. In the match that decided his weight division, he defeated Granville Central’s Trevor Johnson 13-11 in the first sudden victory round. Martinez, who finished runner-up in the Red Wolves Invitational on November 23, is now 25-6 with 12 pins.

Daina Pritchard won the 138-pound championship after scoring three pins in three matches. He defeated Jakoby Casselman of Bartlett Yancey in 3:00 to claim the title. Pritchard, who finished 3rd in the Jim King/Orange Invitational on December 7, is tied with Martinez for the team-lead with 25 wins. He now has 16 pins.

James Rosati-Brown claimed the 152-pound championship with the largest workload of any of his teammates. He won five matches, all by pitfall. Rosati-Brown pinned Blake Collins of Bartlett-Yancey to finish the tournament with an unblemished record. It was the second time this season that Rosati-Brown has placed in a tournament. He finished 5th in the JKO.

Rosati-Brown is 24-9 with 15 pins.

Ruffin Wyrick took the 170 pound championship to improve to 20-9. He now leads Cedar Ridge with 18 pins. Wyrick pinned Marcos Padron-Diaz of Durham School of the Arts in 20 seconds, leading to the final where he pinned Randy Smith of Bartlett Yancey.

At heavyweight, Louis Tedder won his first individual championship of his career. Competing in two matches, Tedder pinned Adonay Pineda-Sorto of Durham School of the Arts and Jalik McNair of Bartlett Yancey.

Alex Christian was on the verge of taking the 182-pound championship. Christian finished 3-1 with pinfall wins over Ashton Applewhite of Granville Central, Dalton Roberson of Cummings and Alexander Salinas of Durham School of the Arts. Dylan Wall of Bartlett Yancey pinned Christian in the championship match.

Cedar Ridge entered the season after the graduation of Darius McLeod, who amassed 97 wins in his career. McLeod is now at Western Carolina University, but checked in on his former team during the Tiger Holiday Classic last month at Chapel Hill High School.

In other results, Cedar Ridge’s Kady Watkins won her seventh match of the season. As she prepares for the NCHSAA Girls State Tournament on February 8 in Winston-Salem, Watkins pinned Wasim Alsaidi of Barlett Yancey at 120 pounds.

Last week, Cedar Ridge earned its first Big 8 Conference win of the season by beating Northern Durham 63-10 at Poe Gymtorium. Wyrick, Alex Christian, Gio Poma, and Louis Tedder all earn pinfall victories. Rosati-Brown defeated Shamari Zachary 7-6. Poma’s victory sewed up the win for Cedar Ridge.

Cedar Ridge returns to action on Friday in the Dash Classic in Willow Springs. It will be a two-day tournament.

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is 170-pound senior wrestler Ruffin Wyrick. So far this season, Wyrick has 14 victories, including 12 pins. On December 18, Wyrick won three matches in one night during a tri-meet at Red Wolves Gymnasium. He pinned Northwood’s Montgomery Allgoood in 3:48. During Cedar Ridge’s 72-12 victory over Bartlett Yancey, Wyrick pinned Michael English in 41 seconds. He also claimed a victory against Jordan Matthews. During the Tiger Holiday Classic at Chapel Hill High School on December 20, Wyrick opened the tournament by pinning Pinecrest’s Dane Mathews in 2:27. The following day, Wyrick pinned Middle Creek’s Willie Harris in 1:38. Ruffin takes several AP courses at Cedar Ridge. The Red Wolves return to action against on Thursday in another tri-meet at Uwharrie Charter, the defending 1A State Champions. The matches will take place at Uwharrie Carter in Asheboro.

On the shortest day of the year, Orange’s had its briefest run in the Tiger Holiday Classic in a long time.

No Panther placed in the top five in any of the 14 weight classes at the end of the two-day event on Saturday. As was the case in the Jim King/Orange Invitational two weeks ago, inexperience in a deep tournament field was apparent. Of Orange’s 14 wrestlers, eight made their Tiger Holiday Classic debut this weekend.

Orange finished 19th among 41 teams with 76 points. It was the lowest total by any team fielding a wrestler in every weight class (Laney, Pinecrest and William Hough were the other three). Laney captured the team championship with 202 points, while William Hough finished with 186.5. New Bern and Pinecrest tied for third with 153.

The closest any Hillsborough product came to placing was Orange senior heavyweight Juan Navarro, the starting right guard for the Panther football team. After advancing to the quarterfinals on Friday night, Navarro lost to Person’s Marcus Vincent 9-1. In the consolation round, Navarro pinned Isaiah Verspoor of Havelock in 3:10. It improved his record to 15-2 and was his tenth pin of the season.

In the consolation quarterfinals, Laney’s Emmanuel Bell pinned Navarro in 2:26.

Cedar Ridge came in 29th with 24 points. In his first Tiger appearance, Red Wolf freshman Fernando Martinez advanced to the quarterfinals of 106 pounds. He lost to New Bern’s Paul DeNola in the championship round. Southern Durham’s Ashton O’Neal eliminated Martinez in the consolation round. Martinez is now 20-5 on the season.

Orange junior Henry Joubert-Stanzel reached the quarterfinals at 138 pounds. Dawson Allen of Greyson County, Virginia pinned Joubert-Stanzel in the championship round. Joubert-Stanzel pinned Croatan’s Cody Raymond in 4:12 to improve to 13-4. New Bern’s Jackson Bird eliminated Joubert-Stanzel in the consolation quarterfinals.

At 132 pounds, junior Matthew Smith-Breeden advanced to the quarterfinals. Southeast Guilford’s Josh Wilson pinned Smith-Breeden on the way to the tournament championship in a dominant showing. In four victories, Wilson scored two pins and two major decisions, winning the championship 21-9 over Lake Price of Northwest Guilford.

Cedar Ridge junior Daina Pritchard was eliminated by Greyson County’s Trey Allen in the 138 pound consolation round.

Orange and Cedar Ridge will be busy after Christmas. Next Saturday, the Panthers will compete in the West Stanly Duals at West Stanly High School. It will be their final event of 2019. In 2020, the Panthers will go for its 17th consecutive Big 8 Conference championship. Chapel Hill and Northwood figure to be the biggest challengers to the Panthers’ throne. The Tigers are tied in the loss column with Orange for first place. CHHS defeated Northwood 48-36 on December 11, and won 56-12 over Cedar Ridge.

Orange will travel to Northwood on January 8, then host Chapel Hill at a time to be determined. The Panthers are 13-1, 3-0 in the Big 8.

Cedar Ridge will take the rest of 2019 off. The Red Wolves will return to action on January 2 against Southern Alamance and Fuquay-Varina in a quad meet. The Red Wolves will travel to Northern Durham on January 8 in its first Big 8 dual meet of 2019.

The Red Wolves are 7-6, 0-3 in the Big 8 Conference.

The phrase “Play without looking at the scoreboard” has become a common refrain for coaches looking to motivate their players in tight circumstances.

In his first match at the Tiger Holiday Wrestling Classic, Cedar Ridge freshman Fernando Martinez took it to another level.

Facing fellow freshman Gunnar Hillis of Pinecrest, Martinez was fresher in the final four minutes to score eight consecutive points and earn an 8-6 victory into the quarterfinals of Friday night.

When asked afterwards what he was thinking while trailing 6-0, Martinez replied “I was down 6-0?”

Yes, he was. But after winning his 20th match of his freshman season, Martinez won’t worry about it now. On Saturday morning, he faces New Bern’s Paul DeNola in the quarterfinals at Chapel Hill High School.

“I wasn’t aware of how far down I was,” Martinez said. “I was wrestling as hard as I could. I think the coaches at my school condition us better than other coaches do.”

After Hillis scored the opening takedown midway through the first period, he escaped out of Martinez’s clutch and scored two points on a reversal and an additional back point to take a 6-0 lead. Martinez started his comeback with an escape point, then got a go behind. He nearly pinned Hillis at the end of the second period, squaring the match 6-6 after a near fall.

Martinez scored the only takedown of the final period 35 seconds in and held Hillis down the rest of the way.

Orange had three wrestlers reach the championship quarterfinals on Friday. At heavyweight, Juan Navarro pinned Pasquotank County’s Hunter Mayo in 1:02. Navarro eluded Mayo’s first takedown attempt and fell on top of him to improve to 14-1. It was Navarro’s ninth pin this year. He will face Person’s Marcus Vincent in the quarterfinals. Vincent defeated Navarro last month at Orange’s Thanksgiving Duals.

For the third time in 13 days, Orange’s Matthew Smith-Breeden and Cedar Ridge’s Daina Pritchard locked horns. This time, it was in the 2nd round of the 132-pound weight class. Smith-Breeden grinded out a 6-1 victory. Earlier this month, Pritchard defeated Smith-Breeden 9-1 in the 3rd place match at the Jim King/Orange Invitational. Five days later, Smith-Breeden evened the score with an 8-1 victory in a Big 8 Conference dual match at Cedar Ridge.

Smith-Breeden, who lost both of his matches in the Tiger last year, will face Southeast Guilford’s Josh Wilson Saturday morning.

Pritchard rebounded to defeat Chapel Hill’s Bao Dinh in the consolation round.

At 138 pounds, Orange’s Henry Joubert-Stanzel reached the quarterfinals of the Tiger for the first time. He opened by pinning Southern Durham’s Zion McRae in 3:02. In the second round, Joubert-Stanzel defeated Person’s Jailin Smith 5-3. Joubert-Stanzel, now 12-3, faces Dawson Allen of Grayson County, Virginia in the quarterfinals.

41 teams from four states are participating in the two-day event, recognized as one of the most prestigious in the southeast. Wilmington Laney leads the team point standings with 68.5 points going into Saturday. West Carteret is second with 66.5. Orange finished the day tied for 10th with New Bern at 56 points.

Cedar Ridge, with eight wrestlers participating in 14 weight classes, is 24th with 23 points, one ahead of Carrboro.

Orange still has five wrestlers alive in the consolation round. Freshman Dillon Heffernan lost in the second round, but came back to defeat D.J. Barely of Fairfax in the consolation.

Campbell Bourlon, participating in his first Tiger Classic, is alive at 113 pounds.

Kessel Summers pinned Elijah Ybarra in the consolation round late Friday. Summers opened his day at 126 pounds by pinning Noah Thomas of Laney in 5:50. Leesville Road’s Richie Rizzuto, who defeated Summers at the JKO, pinned him again in the 2nd round.

Orange’s Noah Davis and Nathan Hecht are also still in contention in the consolation rounds.

In addition to Pritchard, Cedar Ridge’s James Rosati-Brown is also still going in the consolation bracket. At 152 pounds, Rosati-Brown staved off elimination by pinning Gage Tomlin of First Flight.

In his first appearance in the Tiger Holiday Wrestling Classic at Chapel Hill High School, freshman Fernando Martinez is in the quarterfinals at 106 pounds. Martinez defeated Gunnar Hillis of Pinecrest 8-6 on Friday night. Midway through the second period, Hillis led Martinez 6-0, but Fernando got an escape point, then scored a reversal to spark a comeback. Martinez earned a takedown in the third period, then got three points for a near fall and held on for the win. Martinez, who wrestled at Stanback, is now 20-2 this season. He will brace Paul NeNola of New Bern in the quarterfinals on Saturday morning. Earlier this month, Martinez finished fourth in the Jim King/Orange Invitational. Earlier this year, he came in 2nd in the Red Wolves Invitational.

The Cedar Ridge wrestling team is now 7-6 after winning two matches in a quad match at Red Wolves Gymnasium on Wednesday night. The Red Wolves defeated Jordan Matthews 60-22, and also polished off Bartlett Yancheng 72-12. In a Big 8 Conference meeting, Northwood held off the Red Wolves 45-36. This season, 138-pound wrestler Alex Davis is 11-2 with eight pins. Against the Buccaneers, Davis pinned Jakoby Casselman in 44 seconds. Davis pinned Jordan Matthews Dallas Richardson in 1:23. Last week in the 3rd annual Franklinton Rampage Duals at Franklinton High, Davis claimed five wins. He pinned Dezzie Rhodes of East Wake in 1:47. Against Franklinton, Davis pinned Javares White in only 40 seconds. What makes Davis’ strong start unique is he didn’t even wrestle last season. On Friday afternoon, Davis will compete in his first Tiger Holiday Classic at Chapel Hill High School. 57 teams from four states will compete in the two-day event, which will conclude with the championship rounds on Saturday.