Cedar Ridge High School

The cliche “wrestle like it’s your last match” isn’t a cliche for several Orange and Cedar Ridge wrestlers this weekend.

For most of them, these are their final days as a wrestler. For several seniors, their goal of winning a state championship is still intact after the first day of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 3A State Championships at the Greensboro Coliseum.

On Thursday night, Orange senior Levi Anderson pinned Kristian Jones of Greensboro Dudley in 32 seconds to advance to the state quarterfinals at 145 pounds. It was another match where Anderson didn’t go the distance. Last weekend, Anderson won the 3A Mideast Regional Championship by winning four matches. Three of the victories were by pinfall and the other was by injury default. On Friday, Anderson faces sophomore Yoel Del Rio of North Brunswick in the quarterfinals. Del Rio, the #2 seed from the East Region, is a sophomore who defeated Stephen Baynard of West Henderson 7-1 on Thursday.

Also advancing to the quarterfinals is Cedar Ridge’s Darius McLeod, who claimed his 98th career victory on Thursday night. McLeod, in a thriller, won a sudden victory over Zach Winterstein of Clayton 7-5 to advance to the quarterfinals of the 132 pound division. McLeod battled through three overtimes with Winterstein without a winner being declared. McLeod scored the takedown in the fourth period to advance. On Friday, he will face Heath Gonyer of Northern Guilford. McLeod is now 34-10 on the season.

Orange’s Avery Jenkins won convincingly in his opening match of the 170 pound tournament. Jenkins defeated Midwest Regional Champion Sam Voncannon 11-2, earning a major decision to advance to the state quarterfinals. Voncannon came into the match 49-3. On Friday, Jenkins will face Easton Griffin of West Caldwell. Two of the four regional champions in the 170 pound bracket lost in the opening round.

Orange senior Gavin Wiggins won his opening round match, as well. Wiggins defeated Jacob Yim of Marvin Ridge 8-5 to move on to the state quarterfinals. On Friday, Wiggins will take on a familiar face in Piedmont’s Bailey Wicker. Last year, Wiggins faced Wicker when Orange faced Piedmont in the 3A Dual Team State Championship match.

Two other Orange wrestlers lost in their opening round matches on Thursday. At 113 pounds, Orange’s Kessell Summers dropped an 11-9 decision to West Carteret’s Sam Johnson. Summers will start action in the consolation round on Friday against Tanner Glock of Sun Valley.

At 182 pounds, Chandler Harward lost to North Brunswick’s Bryan Arago 13-1. Harward, a senior who didn’t break into the starting lineup until this season, faces Jack Wilton of Sun Valley in the consolation round on Friday.

It will be a special night for the Cedar Ridge women’s basketball team on Friday night. It will be the final home game for the greatest Cedar Ridge women’s player in history: Madison Wardlow. Currently, Wardlow has 973 career points, the most in school history. Wardlow is on the verge of becoming the first Cedar Ridge player to score 1,000 points. It will also be the final home game for Natalia Garay, who has been a starter since her sophomore year. Garay helped Cedar Ridge make the state playoffs the past two years. In 2017, Cedar Ridge reached the 2nd round of the state playoffs. Amy Stutzer, a three-sport star at Cedar Ridge who also plays softball and golf, will also be honored on senior night as the Red Wolves face Southern Durham. The women’s game starts at 6, while the men’s game will follow immediately afterwards.

Cedar Ridge senior Darius McLeod qualified for the 3A State Wrestling championships. On Saturday, McLeod defeated Lydell Canada of Westover 8-6 in the semifinals. However, it could have easily turned into a loss. In the third period, McLeod suffered an inadvertent head. Tut to his bottom lip. The final 90 seconds of the match had plenty of stoppages so McLeod and Coach Scott Metcalf could contain the bleeding. McLeod ultimately would finish the match for his 97th career win, then rose to Moses Cone Hospital for treatment. He forfeited the championship match as the cut required ten stitches. McLeod will go to the 3A State Championships next Friday at the Greensboro Coliseum with 97 career wins. 

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is senior Cameron Koehler. Last week, Koehler joined Devin Bunner, Gabriel Castaneda and John Garcia is competing in the 3A Central Regional Swimming Championships at the Greensboro Aquatic Center. The group finished tenth in the 200 meter freestyle with a time of 1:37.89. Remarkably, this was the first season where Koehler competed in swimming. It was the fourth different sport that Koehler has participated in during his Cedar Ridge career. Last fall, he was named All-Big 8 Conference in men’s soccer, where he played goalkeeper and striker. This spring, as he awaits graduation, Koehler will play tennis.

Despite only playing softball for five years, Kara Wagoner has learned quickly. Last week, she officially signed with Montreat College. Wagoner, a 1st baseman for Cedar Ridge, hit .391 with 18 hits and 11 RBI last season. She led the team with six doubles. Wagoner learned softball after getting cut from the Stanback Middle School volleyball team. She owes much of her development to her uncle Brian Rhew, who worked with her for hours in the summer and fall to make her the player she is today. In addition to softball, Wagoner is the President of the Cedar Ridge FFA and has a 4.0 GPA.

Cedar Ridge 1st baseman Kara Wagoner discusses commitment to Montreat

Despite only playing softball for five years, Kara Wagoner has learned quickly. Last week, she officially signed with Montreat College. Wagoner, a 1st baseman for Cedar Ridge, hit .391 with 18 hits and 11 RBI last season. She led the team with six doubles.

It was a special night at Cedar Ridge Media Center on January 28, where dozens of friends, family and coaches gathered to watch Kymberlie Thacker officially commit to Brevard College. Thacker was an All-Big 8 Conference selection last season as a catcher. She led Cedar Ridge with seven home runs as the Red Wolves won its first conference championship in softball. Last summer, Thacker played for the Weekend Warriors travel team. Cedar Ridge will start softball practice next week with a goal of repeating at Big 8 Conference Champions.