Cedar Ridge High School

Boys basketball: With two games remaining in the regular season, the Gravelly Hill Grizzlies are in first place in the Orange Person Athletic Conference Northern Division. On Thursday, the Grizzlies defeated the Stanback Bulldogs 45-27 in Hillsborough. Gravelly Hill is 8-1 overall, 6-0 in the OPAC. Landon Dalehite and Kai Wade led the Grizzlies with 14 points each. Hayden Kirk finished with eight. Crawford Farmer finished with four, D.J. Norman had three and Nathan Sorrells had two.

Gravelly Hill will travel to Northern Roxboro on Tuesday. They will conclude its regular season with a home game against McDougle Middle School in Efland.

Girls Basketball: On Wednesday, the Stanford Chargers defeated Stanback 40-13. It was a balanced effort for the Chargers, who put nine players in the scorers column. Shannon Murphy paced Stanford with eleven points. Evelyn George added seven Olivia Jones and Dyreshia Farrish each scored six. Samiya Baldwin, Karleigh Johnson, Caden Robinson, Katie Wolter and Kennady Winters each scored two points.

Stanford will return to action on Tuesday against Southern Roxboro. Tipoff will be at 4:45. The Chargers will travel to Northern Roxboro on Thursday at 4:45.

Wrestling: Following a tight 47-46 win over Stanback on January 10, the Stanford Chargers have followed with two decisive victories. The Chargers defeated McDougle 96-12 on January 15. Two days later, Stanford defeated Gravelly Hill 72-30. The Chargers are 8-0.

Against the Grizzlies, Aidan Cain (98 pounds), Jared Hutchins (106), Josh Cowan (113), Luke Nevius (120), Jace Womble (132) and Josh Merrill (160) all won by pitfall.

For the season, Wyatt Hendrick, Vincent Stevens, Hutchins, Cowan, Womble and Vincent Joubert-Stenzel all remain undefeated for Stanford. The Chargers travel to Northern Roxboro Middle School on Wednesday.

The Stanback wrestling team continues to have a strong season. On Wednesday, the Bulldogs defeated Southern Roxboro 75-24 in Roxboro. At 76 pounds, Mason Pierce won via decision 13-7. Stanback’s Gavin Stone defeated his opponent 8-5 at 83 pounds.

At 90 pounds, Michael O’Melia won by pitfall in the third period. Pierce Prescod faced Southern’s Christian Lemaire, who defeated Prescod earlier this year. Prescod redeemed himself with a 7-2 victory.

Zoey Moreno pinned his opponent in the first period at 106 pounds. At 113 pounds, Will Meyer, replacing Lee Guntoyinbo (who was sick), won by pinfall in the opening period.

Abinijah Lewis won via pinfall at 120 pounds in the third period. Lewis replaced Ryan Rakouskas, who was also ill.

At 126 pounds, Jose Estrada-Parra won by pin in the opening period.

Edwin Hernandez Huerta claimed a victory at 132 pounds via pinfall.

At 138 pounds, Kaden Tatro won by pin in the second period.

Marcos Esparza won by pin at 160 pounds in the first period.

At 170 pounds, Joe O’Melia won by pin in the second period. Marcos McNeil won at 182 pounds, also via pinfall in the first period.

At heavyweight: Kellan McMullen won via forfeit.

Also last week, Stanback defeated Gravelly Hill 87-12 in Efland.

For the Bulldogs this season, Tatro, Esparza, and McMullen are all undefeated.

Prescod, Moreno, Hernandez Huerta, O’Melia and Carlos Vera de Lara each have only one loss this season.

Stanback will host Gravelly Hill on Wednesday in Hillsborough.

The OPAC Tournament will be held on February 8 at a location to be determined.

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is senior swimmer Devin Bunner. On Wednesday night, Bunner finished 2nd in the Big 8 Conference Swimming Championships in the 200 individual medley at the Taisean Aquatics Center at Duke University. His time of 2:02.28 automatically qualified him for next week’s 3A Mideast Regionals at the Greensboro Aquatics Center. Bunner also joined Cedar Ridge in the 4×400 relay to end the night. Bunner is focused on qualifying for the 3A State Championships, which he can do next week in Greensboro. Devin is also a percussionist for the Cedar Ridge band. Like many people throughout the world, he was saddened by the death of legendary Rush drummer Neil Peart two weeks ago. Bunner will return to action next Friday for the Mideast Regionals.

Hello everyone! In this edition of the ramble: not every team gets a prediction for one of their games as I said I would do last week because it’s already Tuesday night as I write this and I have been doing the whole college thing more so than usual this week. Also of note, I’m only doing analysis on 6 teams this week and we might stay at 6 from here on out because of the overwhelming number of irrelevant teams in the conference right now. Anyways, let’s get on with it. 

Duke

Duke has taken a bit of a fall lately coming off a bad loss at Clemson and another loss at home to Louisville. That being said, they just bounced back with a huge victory over Miami. Miami is a really bad team, and Duke did what great teams do to bad teams. K’s squad has some issues defensively with Wendell Moore still out with an injury, but the W against the Hurricanes is a step back in the right direction for the Blue Devils.

NC State

NC State is coming off a solid week. While a 60-54 win over Clemson and a 53-51 win over a struggling Virginia team don’t necessarily look that good on paper, those are games the Pack don’t win a year ago. Markell Johnson is a baller, and he finally has a supporting cast with guys like CJ Bryce. This gives State a secondary scoring option to Markell Johnson and CJ has taken advantage of his opportunity. Now a message to State fans, you literally won the game against Virginia. Stop complaining about the officiating in a game that you won, that’s not something that has historically happened for the Pack. You’ve been angry (and for good reason) long enough. Celebrate, y’all. Winning should be fun!

North Carolina

What is there left to say about Carolina? They are turrible (no, that is not a typo.) Say what you want about Roy Williams comment about this being the “least gifted” team he has coached, but that statement was 100 percent true. Maybe when Cole Anthony is back the Heels can get a win against NC State or something.There’s not really anything else to look forward to if you’re a Carolina fan.

Syracuse

The Orange just needed to figure out how to win games without relying on the 3 point shot. Against Virginia Tech, they did just that. Buddy Boeheim took some drives to the hoop, as did Elijah Hughes. And some solid paint minutes for Quincy Guerrier got the job done for the Orange in Blacksburg. Syracuse has now won 3 consecutive games. Cuse has finally found their stride and will start creeping closer to the projected field of 68 if they keep it up.

Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech is so much fun to watch. The team shoots 3 after 3 after 3 and when you have shooters like the Hokies do, it’s a pretty sight. The issue for Tech remains though in that they have no paint defense. Syracuse exposed their interior defense on Saturday. Look for their opponents to start feeding the low post from here on out. Earth to Carolina: feed Garrison Brooks in the post Wednesday night.

Notre Dame

John Mooney is one of the best rebounders in the country, but he can’t win games for the Irish alone. Notre Dame finally got a scoring performance from someone not named Mooney. Prentiss Hubb gashed Georgia Tech for 25 points in a hard fought victory in Atlanta. Notre Dame has an outside shot at the tournament, but they’re going to need somebody to consistently help out John Mooney. Prentiss Hubb looks like he might fit the part.

Power Rankings

1. Florida State
2. Louisville
3. Duke
4. NC State
5. Syracuse
6. Virginia Tech
7. Virginia
8. Clemson
9. Notre Dame
10. Pittsburgh
11. Georgia Tech
12. Miami
13. Boston College
14. Wake Forest
15. North Carolina

Predictions

Syracuse at Notre Dame: Syracuse 78-77

North Carolina at Virginia Tech: Virginia Tech 83-68

Clemson at Louisville: Louisville 73-62

NC State at Georgia Tech: Georgia Tech, 65-62

Virginia at Wake Forest: Virginia 55-51

Last week’s picks: 6-2

Season record: 25-14

When this countdown series started in November, there was virtually no question that Cedar Ridge volleyball’s upset of Chapel Hill would claim the top spot.

Here’s a larger question: was this Cedar Ridge’s biggest regular season win in any sport since they jumped to 3A in 2014?

I think you can say it is.

Certainly Cedar Ridge women’s tennis Big 8 Conference championship had some big wins in the regular season, including two against Chapel Hill. But the Tigers didn’t even make the playoffs that year.

Cedar Ridge softball has won consecutive softball conference championships in 2018 and 2019. They defeated Eastern Alamance to start the 2018 season, and the Eagles would go on to win the 2019 3A State Championship. But that 2018 team didn’t have Kenna Rae Dark pitching for it. The 2019 team did, and that’s a big difference.

Going into its match against Chapel Hill on September 10, Cedar Ridge volleyball had just suffered its first loss of the season the night before against Jordan in Durham.

The Tigers, with seven seniors, were powered by the finishing skills of Kaya Merkler (who finished with 423 kills this season), Julia Charney (204 kills) and Courtney Zwikker, the daughter of former UNC basketball center Serge Zwikker.

Cedar Ridge was powered by freshmen. Skilled freshmen like Cameron Lloyd, Julie Altieri and Cameron Lanier. They had led the Red Wolves to a 6-1 start, but could they stay on the same floor against a Chapel Hill team that had played for the 3A Eastern Regional championship the year before? And played for the state title the year before that?

The answer was yes.

A tight first set proved predictive of how the rest of the match would be. No team led by more than four, and Chapel Hill battled back from two different deficits to level the score at 20-all and 22-all before Cedar Ridge took three of the final four points. As a Tiger hit the ball into her half of the net to clinch the first frame for the home team, the first drop of reality seemed to set in on the Cedar Ridge sideline – maybe this really could happen.

Chapel Hill won sets two and three.

As the page turned to the fourth set, the left-side success Merkler and fellow senior outside Julia Charney had in the second and third sets started to dry up, thanks in large part to an improved Cedar Ridge block anchored by freshman Cameron Lanier. But while Lanier’s performance at the net was notable, her effort at the service line bordered on legendary. With set four even at 8 apiece, Lanier head back behind the line and steered her team to a 7-0 run, with five of those points coming from Lanier aces. Chapel Hill finally sided her out and battled back to level the set at 23, but then the other two standout Red Wolf freshmen came through – setter Julie Altieri delivered a setter kill for set point, and outside Cameron Lloyd did the rest by tooling the block to tie the match. 

By the time the fifth set arrived, much of the crowd that remained got to its feet. Chapel Hill held the advantage in the early going, but never led by more than two. The visitors were first to what Seethaler conceded was that pivotal tenth point, but with the Tigers ahead 11-10, Lanier stepped back to the line and delivered two more service aces to flip the script. Chapel Hill coach Ross Fields called a timeout. The teams traded points, as Merkler finished off another back row kill to make it 13-12 Cedar Ridge. From there, the Red Wolves’ gameplan was simple: feed Cameron Lloyd. It had worked all season, it had worked all game, and it worked when it mattered most: Lloyd delivered the game’s final two kills, both set up by Altieri, placing the match-winning point precariously over the net, pinpointing it into the middle of the back row for a 15-12, five-set victory. 

Cedar Ridge would be the only team to beat Chapel Hill the entire season. The Tigers would lose only two sets for the rest of the regular season. From September 17 to October 22, the Tigers didn’t lose a set, a span of 12 matches. On November 9, they defeated West Henderson 3-1 to win the elusive state championship.

Cedar Ridge’s season ended after the first round of the 3A State Playoffs against Terry Sanford. But Red Wolves Coach Anna Seethaler has had to spend part of this winter thinking back to one night in September where her team beat the very best in the state.

And she has to be smiling about the future, as well.

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.

Boys Basketball: The Gravelly Hill Grizzlies continue a solid season with a 52-25 victory over Stanback on Thursday night in Efland. Landon Dalehite led the Grizzlies with 20 points. Kai Wade added seven points. Nathan Sorrells had 6. D.J. Norman and Carson Farmer each had four. Tyler Fields finished with 3. Micah Cates, Deacon McCory and Malachi Poole had two each for Gravelly.

On January 9, Gravelly defeated Southern Roxboro 45-23. Wade led the Grizzlies with 16 points. Sorrells had eight. Dalehite finished with seven. Hayden Kirk finished with four points. Norman had five. Sincere Hanner registered four points. McCrory had two points and Poole scored one.

Gravelly, which has won both of its games to open 2020, will travel to Stanford next Thursday.

Girls Basketball: Northern Roxboro edged Stanford 25-24 on Tuesday. Evelyn George finished with eight points to lead the Chargers. Katie Wolter had six. Arianna Lewis finished with three. Dyreshia Farrish, Olivia Jones and Kennedy Winters each had two points. Caden Robinson scored one. Stanford will travel to Stanback on Wednesday at 4:45.

Wrestling: Before its victory over Stanback last week, the Stanford Chargers opened 2020 by beating Smith Middle School 87-18 to improve to 5-0 on the season. Wyatt Hedrick (85), Vincent Steven (92), Jared Hutchins (108), Luke Nevius (122), Colton Jones (128), Jace Womble (134), Andre Hill (140), Sascha VanPraag (154), Josh Merrill (162) and Vincent Jaubert-Stenzel (172) all claimed pitfall victories for the Chargers.

Joshua Cowan won by decision at 115 pounds. Aiden Cain claimed a major decision at 100 pounds. Luke Stitz (78), Laurencio Grimaldo (147) and Abais Miles (184) claimed forfeit wins.

Hedrick, Stevens, Cain, Hutchins, Cowan, Womble, Hill, VanPragg, Merrill and Jaubert-Stenzel went into the Stanback match last Friday with undefeated records.

Last week, the Gravelly Hill wrestling team fell to Culbreth in a tight match 54-43. The Grizzlies are 2-4 overall, 2-2 in the Orange-Person Athletic Conference.

Two Grizzlies remain undefeated on the season. Carlos Vazquez scored a pin at 106 pounds to improve to 6-0. At 145 pounds, Angus Pritchard scored a pin to also go to 6-0.

Mason Cates claimed a pinfall win to go to 4-1. At 76 pounds, Ada Adkins won via forfeit to improve to 3-1. At 195 pounds, Lucan Cavlin won by forfeit to go to 5-1. Conner Wobble won by forfeit at 220 to go to 1-1. Jonathan Willis won at 250 pounds by forfeit and is now 3-3.

Gravelly coach Nathan Cates is trying to rebuild the program after they didn’t field a wrestling team in 2018.

“We are better than last year,” Cates said. “We’re more competitive this year. Not having a team in 2018 hurt the program. But we are rebuilding. Most of the guys are first year wrestlers going up against 3rd-year wrestlers. But we continue to show improvement in every match.”

Gravelly had lost only two matches by more than one weight class. Cates says there has been several injuries that has plagued the team, but they continue to get stronger. The Grizzlies will host McDougle Middle School on Wednesday in Efland. The match starts at 4:45.

For any results that you would like to have included in Middle School Review, simply email hamln37@hotmail.com. We’re looking for more girls basketball results, boys basketball results and ultimate frisbee, as well.

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.