Cedar Ridge High School

There was a rainbow that appeared midway through the Cedar Ridge women’s soccer team’s Senior Night game against Walter Williams. It turned out to be a perfect symbolization for the best Cedar Ridge women’s season in 18 years. The Red Wolves got four goals from junior Katie Paulakonis, including the game-winner that broke a 3-3 tie in the second half. Paulakonis would score again in the final minute to win 5-3 and complete the regular season 12-6-1 under first-year head coach Sam Semerzier. It’s the most wins for Cedar Ridge in a season since the 2005 team, which finished 15-0-1. Captain Rachel Alverson has been a versatile presence along the Red Wolf back line. Alverson’s volleyball teammate, Natasha Buchler-Fosado, played her first season of soccer at Cedar Ridge this year. Isabella Warren and Ella Streilein were also valuable performers for the Red Wolves this year. Now, Cedar Ridge is preparing for the state playoffs for the first time since 2019. It isn’t out of the question that the Red Wolves could host a game in the state playoffs. After its win over Williams, Cedar Ridge has an RPI of #15. The Red Wolves will enjoy the rest of the week off and prepare for the release of the field of 64 brackets later this week.

Cedar Ridge soccer seniors Rachel Alverson, Natasha Buchler-Fosado, Ella Streilein & Isabella Warren

Uploaded by Jeff Hamlin on 2024-05-07.

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is senior lacrosse midfielder Jacob Driver. This season, Driver was the leading scorer for the Cedar Ridge lacrosse team. He scored six goals in a win over Eastern Alamance on March 21. In his sophomore season, Driver was a midfielder for a team that included Roman Oguntoyinbo, Alex Castro and James Clayton. That team won in the 3A/2A/1A State Playoff over Western Alamance. Driver scored 26 goals in his junior year. This year, Driver led the Red Wolves back to the state playoffs under new head coach Joe De Leo, where they hosted a state playoff game against West Carteret on Wednesday night. The Red Wolves came up one goal short in beating the Patriots. In his final game, Driver had three goals and an assist as he sparked a comeback after the Patriots held the Red Wolves without a goal for over 16 minutes. Driver has an insatiable appetite for lacrosse, watching college and professional games when he isn’t playing or practicing for the Red Wolves. After he graduates next month, Driver will prepare for a college lacrosse career, where he will play at Division II Mount Olive College, becoming the latest Cedar Ridge lacrosse product to play at the next level.

Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week: Jacob Driver

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is senior lacrosse midfielder Jacob Driver. This season, Driver was the leading scorer for the Cedar Ridge lacrosse team. He scored six goals in a win over Eastern Alamance on March 21.

The Cedar Ridge softball team played its final home game of the season on Wednesday night. It ended with a 7-6 win over Western Alamance when Kimber Shambley hit a walkoff home run. It was the final home game for seniors Cierra Copeland, Cameron Copeland, Aliceann Kohler and Kaitlyn Nieves. Cameron and Cierra Copeland have been a huge part of Cedar Ridge athletics since the emotional and physical depths of the pandemic in 2021. Together, they have played basketball and softball. They have also been managers for the volleyball team, including for the 2021 State Championship squad. Aliceann Kohler hit a huge catch playing left field on Wednesday night as the Warriors rallied to tie the game at 6-6. She has played in all 20 games for the Red Wolves this season. Nieves has appeared in nine games and had her number 17 spray painted along the third base line during a pregame ceremony. It was the first time the Red Wolves have beaten the Warriors since the two teams became conference rivals in 2022. Cedar Ridge ended the regular season 12-7-1. This week, they played three games in three days, playing to a tie against Falls Lake in Creedmoor. On Tuesday, they defeated Walter Williams in Hillsborough 10-0 in five innings. Cedar Ridge will move on to the state playoffs and learn their matchup in the field of 64 this weekend.

Cedar Ridge softball seniors Cierra & Cameron Copeland, Aliceann Kohler & Kaitlyn Nieves talk win

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It’s finally Cedar Ridge’s off week from Central Conference play. The Red Wolves played its penultimate game of the regular season by dominating the best 3A team from the Northern Lakes Conference.

And they did it on the road.

Ian McGuffey continued to murder the ball, going 2-for-3 with an RBI double while Hudson Kelly slammed a triple in the late innings as the Red Wolves defeated Carrboro 13-5 at Jaguars Field on Wednesday afternoon. Junior Quinn Finnegan earned his third win of the season, striking out three over four innings.

It was a strong all-around game for senior Mason Cates. He threw two shutout innings in relief of Finnegan, allowing only two hits. Starting the game at first base, Cates had an RBI double during a three-run second inning that put the Red Wolves ahead for good.

Cedar Ridge took advantage of four Jaguars errors. The Red Wolves jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning when Landon Dalehite drew a leadoff walk. Ian McGuffey lined the first pitch he saw to left field. Dalehite moved to third after Carrboro was called for a balk. Nick Aitkin lined a ball to Carrboro’s shortstop, who tried to double up McGuffey at first. But the ball was thrown away and Dalehite scored. Grant McGuffey followed when he dropped a single into right field, scoring his twin brother.

After the Jaguars tied the game with two runs in the first inning, David Schoof opened the second with a line drive to center field. Hudson Kelly walked. After Schoof was thrown out trying to steal third, Finnegan walked. Carrboro was called for another balk, sending Kelly to third. Kelly would score off a groundout to the shortstop by Dalehite. Ian McGuffey drilled a double to centerfield to bring in Finnegan. Cates delivered the big blow of the game, a double that reached the right field fence, plating McGuffey.

Carrboro reduced its deficit to 5-3, but the Red Wolves immediately responded with two more runs in the fourth inning. Finnegan reached second base on a two-base error to start the inning, then went to third after yet another Carrboro balk. Dalehite drove in Finnegan off an error by the Jaguars third baseman. Dalehite generated a run with his legs, stealing third and eventually scoring off a sacrifice fly by Ian McGuffey.

In the sixth inning, Kevin Jones hit an RBI single to left field, bringing in Aitkin. Earlier in the frame, Cates knocked in Kelly with a sacrifice fly.

Cedar Ridge will play its final home game of the season against Knightdale on Thursday night at 6.

Kimber Shambley hit her first walk-off home run for Cedar Ridge softball on Wednesday night, and it didn’t just win the Red Wolves a game.

That walkoff home run gave an elusive victory for Cedar Ridge over an Alamance County team. The Red Wolves had lost seven straight to Western and Eastern Alamance, dating back to 2019.

It was also a win for the seniors. It was the last home game in the long legacy of Cierra and Cameron Copeland, two seniors who have been with Cedar Ridge athletics from August to May every academic year since they were freshmen. When Cierra and Cameron started playing basketball in 2021, it couldn’t have been less glamorous. They were suiting up while wearing masks during a pandemic inside empty gyms while a combination of injuries and graduation led to the Red Wolves only having five players.

Alice Ann Koehler and Kaitlyn Nieves also celebrated their senior nights as their numbers were spray painted along the third-base lines. It was Kohler who would come up with a big catch that ultimately led to the winning run from Shambley.

Much of the night felt like one big celebration for Cedar Ridge. They went into the seventh inning with a 6-0 lead as pitcher Charlotte Lowry threw six shutout innings, scattering only four hits.

Suddenly, it ended when the Warriors found the form that took them within one win of the 3A State Championship last year.

Camryn Rodrigues and Ryan Justice singled while Kayde Moore walked to load the bases, but it didn’t seem to be any big deal. Bayleigh Burris grounded to Lowry at the circle, who flipped it to catcher Rylee Capps for a force out. Lela Kate Baker sent a one-hopper to Laci Sykes at third, who threw out Moore at the plate.

With two out, Kara Alday lined a hard grounder to the left field gap to score Burris and Justice. To make the Red Wolves even more uneasy, Addison Beal skied a fly ball to the left field fence, easily plating Baker and Alday to cut the Red Wolf lead to 6-4.

Kyndal Wilborn skied a fly ball that bounced away with right fielder Victoria Matthews. Skylar Martin, running for Beal, scored from first base.

Briles Overton then sent a fly ball to right field that landed in front of Matthews for the game-tying hit. After Rodrigues was intentionally walked, Moore sent a dangerous fly to left field, but Kohler backtracked to the corner to make the catch and finally end the inning.

If there was any feeling of dread in the Red Wolf dugout, Shambley erased it instantly. The very first pitch she saw was a no-doubter, skied so far to centerfield, it even cleared the old Cedar Ridge fence, which was around 225 feet from home plate. It easily cleared the new fence, which is higher but about 25 feet shorter.

It was Shambley’s eighth home run of the season. Shambley, who has committed to play at Western Carolina, also leads the team with 34 RBIs.

Up to the seventh inning, the Red Wolves had played its most balanced game of the year. K0hler  led off the third inning with a walk, the first of six straight Red Wolves to reach against Beal, who started in the circle for the Warriors. Following a single by Matthews, Kohler scored off a single that rolled into left field by Mia Best. After Madeline Galindo-Woodring singled down the left field line, Shambley dropped a fly ball into right field to increase the Red Wolf lead to 3-0. With Brittani Goodard at the plate, Galindo-Woodring scored on a wild pitch, sending Shambley to third.

With Laci Sykes at the plate, Shambley scored the fifth run of the inning off another wild pitch.

In the fourth, Matthews walked, then stole second and advanced to third following a single by Best. Matthews scored off a groundout to second by Galindo-Woodring.

Cedar Ridge ends the regular season 12-7-1, winning its third game in three days. They started the week with a 7-7 tie against Falls Lake in Creedmoor in a game that reached the eleventh inning and had to be shut down because the Firebirds park doesn’t have lights.

Cedar Ridge defeated Walter Williams 10-0 in Hillsborough on Tuesday. Lowry went 2-for-3 with three RBIs for the Red Wolves against the Bulldogs. Sykes finished 2-for-2 with a triple.

Following its first win over one of the best teams in Alamance County, Cedar Ridge coach Allen Byrd will prepare for the state playoffs starting on Thursday afternoon.

With a smile on his face on Wednesday night, he was asked what he will tell his team as they prepare for a first-round road game.

“Why not us?” he replied.

The Cedar Ridge lacrosse team will host its first game in the state playoffs since 2022 following the release of the 3A/2A/1A State Lacrosse brackets finalized by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association.

As expected, Orange received the #1 seed in the East Region after going 20-1 in the regular season, the best winning percentage in team history going into the playoffs.

Cedar Ridge, led by first-year head coach Joe De Leo, will host West Carteret in a first-round game at Red Wolves Stadium on Wednesday night at 6PM. The Red Wolves received a #14 seed. It will be the Red Wolves first home playoff game since they defeated Western Alamance in 2022 behind Roman Oguntoyinbo, who scored nine goals in an 18-5 win. The Patriots will arrive in Hillsborough with a 3-7 record. They went 0-4 in the Coastal Conference.

The winner of Cedar Ridge-West Carteret will travel to Kill Devil Hills to face 3rd-seeded First Flight in the second round. As fate would have it, Cedar Ridge’s last playoff game came against First Flight, which the Nighthawks won 14-10. First Flight would go on to win the 3A/2A/1A Eastern Regional championship, beating Orange in Hillsborough 13-7 for the title.

Cedar Ridge, led by senior Jacob Driver, won five of seven games during a stretch in April to return to the state playoffs. The Red Wolves defeated Southeast Alamance 21-5 at Red Wolves Stadium on April 19, a game where Driver finished with six goals. Cedar Ridge also defeated Eastern Alamance 11-5 on April 23 in Hillsborough. They finished the regular season 9-10 overall, 6-10 in the Mid-Piedmont Conference.

For the third year in a row, the road to the 3A/2A/1A State Championship game will run through Auman Stadium in Hillsborough. Orange won a school-record 16 conference games in the Mid-Piedmont and finished 17-0 against opposition in its same classification this year. The Panthers received a bye into the second round and are scheduled to play on Saturday night, though that is subject to change, against the winner of Southern Alamance vs. Northside-Jacksonville. The Patriots and the Monarchs will face off in Graham on Wednesday.

The Panthers already have defeated Southern Alamance twice this year. Orange defeated the Patriots 18-5 on March 25 in Graham, a game where Orange midfielder Connor Kruse tied the national record with 16 assists in one game. 17 different Orange players scored goals in the opening meeting against the Patriots. On April 22, Orange routed the Patriots 20-1 at Auman Stadium. Junior Gray Crabtree finished with seven goals, while Luke Nevius and Kruse each had a hat trick.

If Orange faces Northside-Jacksonville, it would be a flashback for Orange head coach Chandler Zirkle. His first playoff win as a head coach came in Jacksonville against the Monarchs, a 17-13 victory on May 2, 2019. Dylan Boyer scored four goals as the Panthers never trailed. To show how much Orange lacrosse has progressed, it was just the second-ever playoff win for Orange. In the past two years, the Panthers have won a total of six playoff games.

Orange could play a series of conference rivals in the opening two rounds. If the Panthers can reach the third round, they would face either Seaforth or Western Alamance. This season, Seaforth was the main challenger to the Panthers throne. The Hawks, a 2A team out of Pittsboro now in its third year, finished 2nd in the Mid-Piedmont with a 14-2 mark.

Orange set a team record scoring 355 goals this season. It will be the last playoff run for seniors Connor Kruse, Katie Wolter, defensemen Sascha Van Praag, Alden Cathey and Jace Womble, attackers Josh Crabtree, Brennan Barker, Bryce Nelson and midfielders Josh Cowan, Josh Merrill and Nate Sorrells along with goalkeeper Parker Christie-Pohl.

Crabtree has committed to play with Methodist. Kruse and Van Praag have signed with Division II Lenoir-Rhyne. Wolter will play women’s lacrosse at Elon. Cathey has signed with Arcadia University in Pennsylvania.

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is junior wrestler Pierce Prescod. This season, Prescod finished 47-11 and had 36 pins. He won the 120-pound Central Conference championship at Walter Williams High School. He pinned Pedro Manuel Ramon of Walter Williams and Adrian Sierra of Orange to win the tournament. It was a season full of individual accolades in tournaments for Prescod. He captured the Red Wolf Invitational in November, when he pinned Bearik Bigelow of Green Hope in the championship match. This year, Cedar Ridge won the Central Conference championship, its first-ever team championship as a 3A team and only its second in wrestling. They defeated crosstown rival Orange for the first time in history. He also finished third in the prestigious Tiger Holiday Invitational at Chapel Hill High School. Prescod went undefeated in league matches, going 10-0 including the Central Conference Tournament and state dual tournament. Cedar Ridge reached the state quarterfinals of the 3A State Dual Team Tournament at Currituck County, winning in the opening round over Carrboro and then pinning Person’s Julian Combs. It was Cedar Ridge’s best-ever showing in the 3A State Dual Team Tournament. Presocd finished 4th in the Gate City Grapple. Prescod will be relied upon to be one of the leaders for next year’s Cedar Ridge wrestling team as he enters his senior year.

Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week: Pierce Prescod

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