Cedar Ridge High School

My friend and colleague Kelly Snow, the editor of the Courier-Times in Roxboro, once dubbed his hometown “Volleyball City.”

And with good reason.

In 2018, Roxboro Community School advanced to the 1A State Championship match, where they lost to Community School of Davidson. The Bulldogs won four straight North Central Athletic Conference Championships from 2014-2017.

The Person Rockets had three straight trips to the 4A State Championship match and claimed back-to-back state titles in 2005 and 2006.

It is indeed Volleyball City. Or, at least, it was.

Until 2019.

That’s when Cedar Ridge’s current senior class were only freshman. From the time they first scrimmaged together in August 2019 at a community center in Burlington, without air conditioning, then-head coach Anna Seethaler knew something special was brewing immediately. When asked how this team would be, she simply said “Look out.”

Three weeks later, the Red Wolves stunned defending 3A State Champion Chapel Hill in five sets at Red Wolves Gymnasium. Though Seethaler wouldn’t be around to see her players greatest moments, it was the launching point for what it is now undeniable.

Hillsborough is the new Volleyball City.

Cedar Ridge won the 3A State Championship last year, dropping just two sets in five matches in the state tournament. The Red Wolves have won two consecutive conference championships and 31 straight conference matches. The Cedar Ridge senior class of Cameron Lloyd, Julie Altieri, Cameron Lanier, Grace Young, and Anaya Carter have a four-year record of 71-10.

It doesn’t stop there.

The Orange volleyball team is only one game behind the Red Wolves currently in the Central Carolina Conference. They’re on track to earn an automatic trip to the state playoffs and are online for its best conference finish since 2016. Earlier this month, Orange defeated Person in Roxboro for the first time since 2014. Currently, the Lady Panthers are ranked #8 in the 3A East Region. Last year, Orange defeated West Johnston for its first win in the state playoffs since 2015. This year, there’s hope they could host two state playoff matches.

Then there’s the new kid on the block. Eno River Academy is rolling through an undefeated season. The Bobcats are 6-0 in the 1-A Triangle North Conference and appear well on its way to winning its first conference championship. On September 9, the Bobcats claimed a five-set thriller over Roxboro Community on Highway 57. The Bobcats will be the heavy favorite going into tonight’s match against Excelsior Classical Academy. Eno River’s first match in October will be a rematch against Roxboro Community in Person County.

On top of all that, the future at the middle school level is promising. Last October, the Orange Middle School Chargers captured the Orange-Person Athletic Conference championship.

Today is the first day of fall. If there’s any downside to the change of seasons, it’s that each day that goes by brings the final chapters of some of the greatest seniors to ever play sports in Hillsborough closer to the end.

At Cedar Ridge, Cameron Lloyd is the all-time kills leader in school history. Cameron Lanier is only the second Red Wolf to amass over 500 kills, joined only by Lloyd. Altieri will go into tonight’s match against Person with a record 1,719 assists. Libero Grace Young has committed to play at UNC Asheville and her defense has helped Cedar Ridge win 39 consecutive sets. Melissa Benkowitz, who transferred to Cedar Ridge from East Chapel Hill to start 2021, was a key outside hitter that gave the Red Wolves an incredible array of weapons. Benkowitz made the transition from setter to hitter under head coach Fiona Cunningham flawlessly. Anaya Carter has been a reliable striker and defensive presence since her freshman year.

At Orange, the blend between youth and experience has been more stark. There are seven seniors who share playing time with three freshmen. After a win over Carrboro on Monday, senior Erin Jordan-Cornell joked that the seniors looked at the freshmen as their “little babies” and she was a “mama bear.” Jordan-Cornell is a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Council for the North Carolina High School Athletic Association.

Orange’s Allie Wilkerson recently committed to Division III Avertt University. Her younger sister, freshman Ava Wilkerson, stands 6-2 with enough range to score kills flat-footed.

All three Hillsborough high schools have special senior classes who will each leave their own identities once they graduate in June. It would be inaccurate to say that Cedar Ridge and Orange have banded together to make Hillsborough the new Volleyball City. The rivalry between the Red Wolves and the Panthers is a strong one with heathy doses of civility and animosity blended in.

The sum of the parts have made volleyball in Hillsborough whole.

And all together, Hillsborough is the new Volleyball City.

Almost daily, there’s plenty of material that could make someone doubt their faith in the goodness of humanity. It could be a simple glance at violent crime on a news site, or a viral video of a verbal or physical fight from an airport or a service station. Perhaps something in their own workplace.

And then something comes along that restores that faith.

Like what parents at Jordan High School did on Tuesday night.

It has been a tumultuous week across western Orange County. On Sunday afternoon, the bodies of Cedar Ridge freshman Lyric Woods and Eastern Alamance senior Devin Clark were discovered two-and-a-half miles from Woods’ home. Members of the Orange County Sheriff’s Office believe they were shot to death.

While she never suited up for the Cedar Ridge volleyball team, Woods did play with the White Cross Recreation Department, where many of the current Red Wolves players honed their skills during elementary and middle school. Woods hoped to join the junior varsity team for her sophomore season.

After the discovery of Woods’ body on Sunday, Cedar Ridge’s volleyball team released a statement that its Tuesday game against Jordan would be played in memory of Woods.

When the Red Wolves showed up to Falcons Gymnasium in Durham on Tuesday, several Jordan parents were already prepared to honor Woods. They had designed burgundy and grey ribbons, the Cedar Ridge school colors, with an “LW” and her number “34” written in black ink on white laces. The Cedar Ridge and Jordan players wore them on their shoes during the game.

“We started practice this week making sure across the board that the girls knew we’re here to support them,” said Cedar Ridge head coach Fiona Cunningham. “That’s the number one thing we’re focused on this week. Our junior varsity girls took Monday off. They knew Lyric really well. They played travel volleyball with her. It’s been a mixed bag because our girls are trying to continue moving forward, but we’re less than four days out from a tragedy in our community and the players are responding like you would expect.”

Before the match on Tuesday night, there was a moment of silence.

Originally, this week was spirit week at Cedar Ridge since it was the return of a Homecoming football game on Friday night (Cedar Ridge didn’t field a varsity football team in 2021 and held homecoming on a Thursday.) After Woods’ death, those plans changed. On Thursday night for Cedar Ridge’s volleyball match against Person in Hillsborough, fans are encouraged to wear pink ribbons in honor of Woods.

As for the match itself on Tuesday, Cedar Ridge prevailed 3-0 for its 13th straight win. The Red Wolves won on scores of 25-12, 25-10 and 25-19.

Since losing to J.H. Rose in the season-opener on August 17, the Red Wolves (13-1) have won 39 consecutive sets.

On her 18th birthday, senior Cameron Lloyd had 12 kills and 13 digs. Like most of the Cedar Ridge starters, Lloyd didn’t play in the third set. Senior Julie Altieri had eleven assists, two kills, two aces and six digs.

In the third set, junior Rachel Alverson was inserted as the setter while freshman Claire Hargett took over as outside hitter. Hargett finished with six kills while Alverson had nine assists. Junior libero Natasha Buchler-Fosado had an ace and an assist in the third set.

The Red Wolves, who are currently ranked #2 in the MaxPreps 3A East Region behind J.H. Rose, will start the second half of its CCC schedule on Tuesday night when they host Person at Red Wolves Gymnasium. Person and Cedar Ridge met in the CCC Tournament championship game last year, a 3-0 Red Wolves victory.

On August 30, the Red Wolves defeated the Rockets 3-0 in Roxboro.

Cedar Ridge will enter Thursday’s match with 30 consecutive conference wins under its belt. The Red Wolves senior class of Lloyd, Altieri, Cameron Lanier, Anaya Carter and Grace Young now have a career record of 71-10.

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is senior outside hitter Cameron Lloyd. This is the fourth time that Cameron has earned the Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week, meaning she joins Takia Nichols in the prestigious Hillsboroughsports.com Four-Timers Club. Lloyd earned a customary Four-Timers Club robe to commemorate the honor. Lloyd is the all-time kills leader in Cedar Ridge history with 904, despite her sophomore year being limited to ten matches because of the pandemic. She was the leader in kills in her junior season as Cedar Ridge became the first female state championship team in school history in 2021. Since she started at Cedar Ridge along with classmates Julie Altieri, Cameron Lanier and Anaya Carter, the Red Wolves have won two consecutive conference championships, a regional title and have amassed a win-loss record of 70-10. Cedar Ridge has won 30 consecutive conference matches, dating back to 2019. Earlier this summer, Lloyd committed to play at Bucknell University. The Red Wolves have won 12 in a row going into its non conference match at Jordan High tonight. Lloyd has a chance to finish her career with over 1,000 kills as the Red Wolves are midway through the season in first place searching for another Central Carolina Conference championship. 

The Cedar Ridge volleyball team continues to roll on. Playing its second match in as many night, the Red Wolves won its eleventh straight by beating Southern Alamance of the 4A DAC-VII Conference 3-0 on scores of 25-21, 25-21 and 25-16. Senior Grace Young turned in another solid defensive performance for the Red Wolves, who are now 11-1 overall. They sit atop the Central Carolina Conference with a 5-0 record. Last week in a 3-0 win over Orange, Young had a season-high 21 digs. On Tuesday, the Red Wolves defeated Western Alamance 3-0 in Elon. It marked the return of senior outside hitter Melissa Benkowitz to the lineup after she missed last week. This season, Benkowitz opened the year with seven kills against J.H. Rose. She followed with seven kills in a win over Apex Friendship, followed by another seven kills in a 3-0 victory over D.H. Conley. The most impressive thing about Cedar Ridge’s eleven-match winning streak is they haven’t dropped a set during that span. The Red Wolves will go for its twelfth straight win when they face Walter Williams tonight at Red Wolves Gymnasium in Hillsborough. 

Editor’s note–(We’re a little behind in posting The Magnificent 7. We try to write this column weekly. So for this edition, we’re going to focus on the week of August 21-27. We’ll play catch up for the next few weeks).

Summer isn’t over yet.

Of course, the prevalent line of thinking is that Labor Day marks “the unofficial end of summer,” as the television anchors like to put it. However, the official end isn’t until September 21 (look it up on your calendar).

The week of August 21-27 will be remembered locally for the Cedar Ridge football team ending its 11-game losing streak against East Chapel Hill in a game that had more coincidences than humanly believable. The Cedar Ridge marching band performed “Master of Puppets,” the Metallica-classic, at halftime as part of its season-long tribute to “Stranger Things.” Naturally, the losing streak ended at eleven, which happens to be the name of the title character of the show.

Cedar Ridge’s football win was a wonderful note on a season that started with some promise. Just the fact that the Red Wolves are fielding a team will bring the wonderful amenities that this Cedar Ridge senior class deserves. It’s the things that past Red Wolves classes lacked. There will be a Homecoming game, with a King and Queen crowned on a Friday night. Two of the past four classes have had Homecoming night on Thursdays during junior varsity games. There will be a Senior Night in late October. Regardless of what the Red Wolves record is once fall rolls around (it starts September 22), this senior class of football players deserve full credit for making sure those things that other schools take for granted will be front and center this year in the western part of Hillsborough.

So here it is, our seven standout performers from the second week of the high school sports season from August 21-27.

1. Matt Turner, Sr. Cedar Ridge–Had a critical fumble recovery late in Cedar Ridge’s win over East Chapel Hill that set up the game-winning safety as the Red Wolves won 9-7. Turner returned to playing football last year when Cedar Ridge fielded only a junior varsity team and his presence helped the Red Wolves to its first varsity win since October 2019.
2. Darius Corbett, Sr. Orange–Scored on a penalty kick for the Orange men’s soccer team for its first win of the season over Knightdale 1-0 at WakeMed Soccer Park. Corbett has been a reliable centerback for Orange. He also scored Orange’s first goal of the season against Northern Durham on August 15. Was named the Orange Panther of the Week for the second week of the year.
3. Roman Morrell, Sr. Cedar Ridge–Won the Ronald Horton Cross Country Classic at Northwood High School on August 27. Morrell finished with a time of 17:23.7, beating his nearest competitor by 49 seconds. Morrell opened the year with a second-place finish in the Early Bird Challenge at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary on August 20. Qualified for the 3A State Championships last year.
4. Cameron Lanier, Sr. Cedar Ridge–Had eleven kills in Cedar Ridge’s win over Green Level, the defending 4A State Champions, on August 27. During the second week of the season, Lanier had nine kills in a win at D.H. Conley (the 2021 3A State Champions) and four kills against Carrboro (the 2016 2A State Champions). Lanier has committed to play volleyball at Elon.
5. Chris Mendez, Sr. Cedar Ridge–Scored the game-winning goal against South Garner in the Red Wolves’ first win of the season on August 26 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary. The following day, Mendez scored a goal in a 2-1 loss to Wallace-Rose Hill. Mendez was the leading scorer for Cedar Ridge last season with 13 goals and 29 points.
6. Allie Wilkerson, Sr. Orange–Had a strong week for the Orange volleyball team as the Lady Panthers defeated East Chapel Hill and swept Roxboro Community School. Wilkerson has announced that she will play volleyball at Averett University in Danville, VA. She is in her third-year as a varsity player for the Lady Panthers.
7. Erin Sollars, Jr. Orange–Sollars won two matches for the Orange women’s tennis team against Roxboro Community School on August 24. Sollars won her #1 singles match 6-0, 6-1. Later in the day, she teamed with her younger sister Shannon to win at #1 doubles 8-0. The Lady Panthers opened the season 3-1 with wins over the Bulldogs, Southern Alamance and Voyager Academy.

Cross Country: The Cedar Ridge men’s and women’s cross country teams were both victorious in its first tri-meet of the season at Northwood, one of the most storied courses in North Carolina.

In the men’s race, the first six runners to cross the finish line were Red Wolves. Senior Roman Morrell earned his second victory of the season, finishing first with a time of 19:07.89. Freshman Ryan Matthews finished second at 19:25.10. Another Cedar Ridge freshman, Michael O’Melia, finished third at 20:45.24. Sophomore Edgar Ibarra (4th), senior Jacob Miller (5th), and freshman Henry Alexander (6th) paved the way for the Red Wolves to finish first as a team with 15 points. Walter Williams came in second with 45 points while Northwood finished third at 70 points.

Cedar Ridge’s Naomi Dyreng claimed her first-ever win in the women’s race. Dyreng finished first among a field of 31 runners with at time of 22:50.61. Red Wolves sophomore Abigail Klaitman came in second at 23:04.35. As a team, the Red Wolves finished with 25 points. Northwood came in second with 59, Walter Williams had 64 and Western Alamance came in fourth at 89 points.

Cedar Ridge freshman Peyton Decker finished sixth while sophomore Anna Peterson finished seventh. Red Wolves freshman Rebecca Fullwood came in 9th (27:11.79) while senior Sarah Fenwick finished tenth.

Women’s Tennis: Orange 7, Northwood 2: The Orange women’s tennis team remain in second place in the Central Carolina Conference after a victory over Northwood on Tuesday at Orange High Tennis Courts.

Erin Sollars had two wins on the night. She claimed her match at #1 singles 6-2, 6-2. Later in the day, Sollars teamed with her younger sister Erin to win at #1 doubles 8-1. The Lady Panthers’ Makayla Davis and Sydney Rogers also had two wins on the day. Davis won her match at #3 singles 6-2, 6-0. At #2 doubles, Davis teamed with Rogers at #2 doubles for an 8-6 win.

Rogers won her singles match 6-1, 6-0.

Orange’s Madelyn Horn won at #6 singles 6-2, 6-2. At #3 doubles, the Lady Panther tandem of Isabel Jones and Katelyn Van Mater prevailed 8-0.

Orange is now 7-2 overall. They will host Riverside on Wednesday.

Cedar Ridge 5, Eastern Alamance 1: In a match shortened by rain, the Cedar Ridge women’s tennis team improved to 5-3 overall with a victory over the Eagles in Hillsborough. Junior Cameron Mayhew, the younger sister of Central Carolina Conference Men’s Player of the Year Josh Mayhew, won at #2 singles 6-0, 6-0. Sophomore Ella Caltabiano won at #3 singles 6-1, 6-0. At #4 singles, Cedar Ridge junior Catherine Ballenger prevailed 6-0, 6-0. Cedar Ridge juniors Annabeth Lundberg and Raven Mowles-Aring both won their matches at #5 and #6 singles, respectively.

Cedar Ridge had a match against Eno River Academy last week. The Red Wolves were winning all of the singles matches before rain came down and forced the match to be canceled.

Men’s Soccer: Cedar Ridge 8, Eastern Guilford 0: Chris Mendez earned the second hat trick of his career as the Red Wolves rolled to a victory over the Wildcats on September 1. Evan Marty added two goals for Cedar Ridge, which improved to 2-3-1. Junior Iliah Babchenko, Landon Williams and Soloman Hernandez also scored goals for the Red Wolves. Babchenko added two assists, while Rudy Fuentes, Tristan Loguidice and Mendez added assists.

Erik Galunas, a freshman goalkeeper, had a clean sheet for Cedar Ridge.

After the victory over Eastern Guilford, Cedar Ridge had a 10-0 win over Person in its Central Carolina Conference opener. Tonight, the Red Wolves will travel to crosstown rival Orange for the opening leg of the Hillsborough Derby.

Photo courtesy of NBC Sports

Trenton Gill: On Sunday, Gill became the first Cedar Ridge Red Wolf to play in the National Football League. It was certainly a memorable debut as the Bears defeated the San Francisco 49ers 19-10 in the midst of dreadful conditions at Soldier Field. Heavy rain floods the field and Gill actually received a bizarre 15-yard personal foul penalty for bringing out a towel to dry a small area of the field prior to holding for a field goal attempt by Cairo Santos. Despite playing in a quagmire, Gill still averaged 46.2 yards over six punts. One was downed inside the 20-yard line and another went for a touchback. It was the Bears first win under new head coach Matt Eberflus.

Keshawn Thompson: William & Mary, ranked #20 in FCS, defeated Campbell 37-21 in Watler Zable Stadium in Willamsburg, VA. Thompson had three tackles for the Camels, who fell to 1-1. Campbell will travel to East Carolina on Saturday.

Darius Satterfield: Satterfield was all too busy for Elizabeth City State in the Down East Viking Classic on Saturday in Rocky Mount. The Blue Bears defeated the Vikings 19-0. Satterfield had nine punts for an average of 35.3 yards. His longest was 49 yard. He had only one kickoff for 55 yards. The Vikings are now 0-2 and will face Winston-Salem State in its CIAA opener next Saturday in Elizabeth City.

Braxton Mergenthal: Mergenthal got the most extensive playing time in his Hampden-Sydney career as the Tigers dropped a heartbreaker to Widener College 31-27 in Lewis Everett Stadium in Hampden Sydney, VA on Saturday. Mergenthal had a career-high four tackles. Hampden-Sydney, now 0-2, will host Greensboro College this Saturday.

Bryse Wilson: Wilson came out of the bullpen to throw six innings of middle relief as the Pittsburgh Pirates lost to the New York Mets 5-1 at PNC Park last Wednesday. Wilson surrendered four runs off seven hits with three strikeouts. He did not factor into the decision. Wilson will start for the Pirates against Cincinnati in the second game of a doubleheader on Tuesday.

Mia-Davidson Smith: After her first professional softball season with Athletes Unlimited, Davidson-Smith has joined the Mississippi State coaching staff as a graduate student coach. Davidson-Smith, the all-time leading home run hitter in Southeastern Conference history, is in graduate school at Mississippi State.

Kayla Hodges: The VCU women’s soccer team held Virginia, ranked #5 in the country, to a scoreless tie on Sunday at Klockner Stadium in Charlottesville. Hodges came off the bench to play 24 minutes. The Rams defeated Pitt 3-2 in its prior game. VCU is 2-1-5 and will face Massachusetts in its Atlantic 10 opener on Thursday.

Emerson Talley: The Division II Lenoir-Rhyne women’s soccer team had two wins last week. The Bears defeated Lincoln Memorial 1-0 at LMU Soccer Field in Harrogate, TN last Wednesday. Talley came off the bench to play 30 minutes for the Bears. On Saturday, the Bears improved to 2-0 in the South Atlantic Conference with a 2-0 win over Tusculum at Pioneer Field in Greenville, TN. Talley played 23 minutes as a reserve. Lenoir-Rhyne is 2-1-1 and will host UNC Pembroke in Hickory on Wednesday.

Lottie Scully: The Binghamton Bearcats volleyball team finished 2-1 in the Georgetown Invitational over the weekend. The Bearcats started with a 3-0 sweep of George Washington at the Charles E. Smith Center in Washington, D.C. Scully finished with four kills, 30 assists, two aces and nine digs. The following day, the Bearcats suffered its only loss of the weekend. Georgetown defeated Binghamton 3-2 on scores of 16-25, 25-22, 28-30, 25-23 and 15-13. Scully had three kills, 45 assists, one ace and 16 digs. Later on Saturday, the Bearcats swept Rider 25-16, 25-20 and 25-15. Scully registered two kills, 26 assists and six digs. Binghamton is 7-2 overall and will start play in the West Virginia Tournament on Thursday. They open with Delaware State on Thursday at the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown, WV.

Avery Miller: The Pitt Community College volleyball team won both of its matches at Davidson-Davie Community College in Thomasville on Saturday. The Bulldogs opened with a 3-0 win over USC-Salkehathie on scores of 25-17, 25-14 and 25-14. Miller started for PCC and finished with two kills, one ace and six digs. Later in the day, Pitt defeated Davidson-Davie Community College 3-0 (25-22, 26-24 and 25-19). Miller started and finished with two digs. Pitt CC is 6-2, 0-2 in Region X of the National Junior College Athletic Association.