Orange Track and Field

Orange junior Gabriel Schmid became a state champion last month in Kernersville. He is the 2022 3A State Men’s Cross Country champion. It’s something that only one other Orange runner has ever done in school history. Schmid won the state championship with a time of 15:44.79 at the Ivey Redmon Sports Complex on November 5. He beat the closest competitor, Stephen Fennett of North Lincoln, by 16 seconds. The state championship concludes a remarkable season for Schmid, who started the year with a victory at the Early Bird Special on August 20 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary. Since then, he won the Central Carolina Conference championship at Lake Cammack Course in Burlington and the Mideast Regional Championship in Cary. Last May, Schmid won the regional championship in the 3,200 meters in outdoor track & field at Franklinton High School. He went on to finish 2nd in the state championships. Since winning the cross country state title, Schmid has continued to compete. Last week, again running at WakeMed Soccer Park, Schmid qualified for the Nike Cross Country Nationals in Portland, Oregon. In the NXR Southeast Regional Championships, Schmid finished fifth. On top of that, Schmid has already qualified for the state championships in the 3,200 meters in indoor track and field following the New Balance Dash for Doobie 3,200 in Pfafftown on November 19. 

There is no finish line.

At least not with Gabriel Schmid.

Just 19 months ago, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the 2020-2021 North Carolina High School Cross Country State championships to be held on a frigid January day in Kannapolis. If you scroll down the 97 names who qualified in the 3A Championships that day, Schmid’s is conspicuously missing. He was a freshman then.

Now, he’s a state champion.

On November 5, Schmid won the 3A State Championship at the Ivey Redmon Sports Complex in Kernersville. He captured his first state championship with a time of 15:44.28, a full 16 seconds ahead of runner-up Stephen Fernetti of North Lincoln. Eli Julian of South Rowan finished third at 16:13.79.

Schmid became only the second runner ever from Orange to win a state championship in cross country. Bradsher Wilkins won the 4A State Championship in 1997 and 1998.

Just as Schmid flipped the script on his performance, so did the climate that he competed in. Last November, he ran his first state championship meet with temperatures in the mid-50s. He finished 12th. This year, captured the state title in downright balmy conditions with highs in the low 80s, as warm as many observers could ever recall for the final cross country event of the year.

After crossing the finish line, some runners searched fervently for the table that had dozens of cups of water just beyond the concourse. Schmid, however, actually preferred the warmer weather.

“Last year, it was hard to stay warm,” Schmid said. “This was an amazing time. I’d rather have this 100%.”

Schmid followed in the footsteps of a teammate and mentor who nearly captured his own state championship several times. Spencer Hampton, who graduated in June, finished 2nd in the 3,2000 meters in the 2021 3A Outdoor State Track and Field Championship. A week prior, Hampton won the 1,600 meters Mideast Regional championship at Southern Lee High School in Sanford. Last year, Hampton came in 8th in the state cross country championships.

“We were feeling good about the race,” said Orange Men’s Cross Country coach Brian Schneidewind. “It was a nice, relatively calm week of having faith and trust in all the decisions he’s been making throughout the last several years to get to this point. What makes him special is the fact that he’s strong in so many different areas whereas a lot of runners have a lot of obvious strengths, but a lot of weaknesses as well.”

In May, Hampton won another regional championship in the 3,200 meters at Franklinton High School. Schmid finished 2nd. Schmid also finished 3rd in the 1,600 meters, while Hampton came in 2nd.

A week later at the 3A State Championships at North Carolina A&T State University, Schmid came in 2nd in the 3,200 meters.

“Spencer definitely helped me win this championship,” Schmid said. “He pushed me hard my freshman year because he saw potential in me. It’s something he engraved in me early on. It’s definitely something that started it all. From there, my parents, my coaches, my teammates saw that I have something. It motivated me to do that. At the end of the day, the motivation can get you through the days, the years, the months. Waking up every single day and having to do a 8-10 mile run. You can’t just have motivation. You have to have people pushing you.”

After the outdoor state championships, Schmid underwent a rigorous summer training regimen to prepare for cross country. He attended the Brevard Summer Distance training camp where he ran through the craggy terrain in a mountainous region. He also ventured to West Virginia for a Ragnar relay race, described as the “hardest fun you’ll ever love” on its website.

“The Pisgah Forest is definitely the way to train,” Schmid said. “It improved my endurance. One day we ran three miles uphill at an elevation of about 1,500 feet. Brevard started it all for this season. That was the hardest training I’ve ever gone through. I may do it again next year.”

Schmid finished the 2022 cross country season with six wins. In addition to the Central Carolina Conference championship at Lake Cammack Course in Burlington, Schmid won the Mideast Regional championship at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary. That’s also where he opened the season with a victory in the Early Bird Challenge on August 20, outdistancing the field by 40 seconds against the nearest competitor, Cedar Ridge’s Roman Morrell.

In the state championships, Schmid beat out 170 other runners.

Since then, he hasn’t stopped competing. He has already qualified for the state championships in indoor track and field. On November 19, Schmid finished 14th in the New Balance Dash for Doobie 3200 in Pfafftown. His time of 9:20.33 was well under the state qualification standards of 10:00.000.

Last week, Schmid returned to WakeMed Soccer Park and finished fifth in the NXR Southeast Regional Championships. His time of 15:13.30 was good enough to qualify for the Nike Cross Country Nationals in Portland, OR on December 3rd.

Gabriel Schmid has won many races this cross country season by going the extra mile in training.

On Saturday in the 3A Mideast Regionals, he went the extra tenth-of-a-mile and still won.

Competing at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, Schmid won the men’s individual 3A Mideast Regional Championship on Saturday, a year after finishing fourth in the same event.

The Orange men’s team, who won the regional championship in 2021, finished second in the team standings with 72 points. Durham School of the Arts took the regional title totaling 58 points.

Cedar Ridge, led by senior Roman Morrell finishing fifth overall, came in sixth with 172 points.

The Cedar Ridge women’s team finished fifth in the team standings. Sophomore Naomi Dyreng came in fifth overall in the individual women’s standings while fellow sophomore Abigail Klaitman finished seventh.

Orange’s Grace Pell was the top individual women’s finisher for the Lady Panthers at 23rd.

Schmid’s victory came a year after his former teammate, Spencer Hampton, finished runner-up in the men’s regional race behind Carrboro’s Quinn Baker.

It was Schmid’s fourth win of the 2022 season, his seventh top-five finish and the first Orange runner to win a regional championship at the 3A level.

Schmid knows the course at WakeMed Soccer Park very well. It’s where he won the Early Bird Challenge on August 20, the first race of the season.

That’s why it was a surprise to him when the course appeared to have added a few more turns he wasn’t familiar with on Saturday afternoon. As he went around the trail, the marshals directed him toward a fork. Schmid took a right.

It turned out to be the wrong turn. Schmid went a full tenth-of-a-mile before he realized he was supposed to have taken a left.

“I swear they changed it,” Schmid said.

Fortunately, Schmid was able to correct himself, catch back up and cross the finish line 36 seconds ahead of Northwood’s Christian Glick. Schmid had a time of 15:59.38. Click finished second at 16:35.87.

Last week, Schmid captured the Central Carolina Conference championship at Lake Cammack Cross Country Course in Burlington. The Orange men’s team won the conference championship.

Last spring, Schmid took the regional championship in the 3,200 meters in outdoor track and field at Franklington High School, as well as a 3rd place result in the 1,600 meters. He went on to finish 2nd in the 3,200 meters at the NCHSAA 3A State Championships at North Carolina A&T University in Greensboro.

Schmid led a group of young Orange runners to the runner-up team finish. Junior Alden Cathey finished 13th (17:11.72); freshman Lucas Van Mater came in 14th (17:12.50); sophomore Peter Musser was 18th (17:29.09); freshman Myles Jarman came in 28th (18:04.01); sophomore Cyrus Neal was 35th (18:19.03); and Aiden Viola was 44th (18:55.73). For the second straight year, Orange qualified as a team for the 3A State Championships at the Ivey Redmon Sports Complex in Kernersville next Saturday.

Morrell, who has five wins and ten top-five finishes this season, will advance to the 3A State Championships, as well. Red Wolves freshman Ryan Matthews finished 26th at 17:51.88. Cedar Ridge sophomore Edgar Ibarra came in 41st (18:50.93), while freshman Michael O’Melia crossed the finish live 52nd. (19:07.04).

In the women’s race, Dyreng’s fifth-place finish came in her first-ever appearance at the regionals. She finished second on the CCC Championships last week in Burlington. This season, Dyreng has three top-five finishes.

Klaitman, also competing in her first regional race, finished seventh at 21:15.01.

Orange’s women’s team, which finished second in the CCC Championships, had Pell lead their pack at 22:36.85. Orange junior Kassi Scarantino finished 34th (23:11.84). Freshman Evelyn Gover came in 35th (23:12.17)

Gabriel Schmid’s preparation for the CCC individual conference championship didn’t start with his first victory of the fall cross country season at the Early Bird Challenge in August.

It began long before that.

After Schmid finished 2nd in the 3A State Track and Field Championships in the 3,200 meters in Greensboro last May, he started an intense summer program that included a trip to Brevard’s long-distance running camp, which included many trips across the Piscah Forest across the North Carolina mountains. Schmid also journeyed to West Virginia for a Ragnar race, which gathers half-marathon runners from across the country.

All of that led to Schmid becoming an individual conference cross country champion while also leading the Orange men’s cross country team to its second consecutive league title.

On Wednesday afternoon at Lake Cammack Cross Country Course in Burlington, Schmid completed the 5,000-meter course in 16:37.42. He finished 47 seconds ahead of the runner-up, Northwood’s Christian Glick, who crossed the finish line at 17:25.14.

Orange junior Alden Cathey came in third at 17:39.66, which propelled the Panthers to the conference championship. Orange finished with 27 points, while Northwood finished second at 38 points. Cedar Ridge, behind senior Roman Morrell, came in third in the team standings at 81 points.

Schmid’s championship was his fourth victory of the season and his sixth top five finish of the season. Last season, Schmid finished third in the conference championship meet. Walter Williams Ryan Montondo captured the CCC crown, while Orange’s Spencer Hampton came in second.

Orange’s men’s conference championship comes after they won the 3A Mideast Regional championship in 2021, its best showing in the event ever.

Orange freshman Lucas Van Mater finished fifth. Sophomore Peter Musser came in seventh, while sophomore Cyrus Neal came in 11th. Myles Hermyn, another Orange freshman, came in 18th.

Cedar Ridge’s Morrell finished in sixth place, while Red Wolves freshman Henry Alexander came in 12th. Freshman Ryan Matthews crossed the finish line 17th, while sophomore Edgar Ibarra was 20th.

It was a day for underclassmen in the CCC Women’s Cross Country Championships. Cedar Ridge sophomore Naomi Dyreng finished in second place at 22:08.39. Only Eastern Alamance sophomore Catherine Parker came in ahead of Dyreng. Parker’s time was 21:15.76 to take the individual title.

Cedar Ridge sophomore Abigail Klaitman finished in third place at 22:39.18.

Even though Orange didn’t have a runner in the top five, the Lady Panthers finished second in the women’s team standings. The Lady Panthers wound up with 63 points. Eastern Alamance took the conference championship with 52 points. Cedar Ridge had 64 points, just one behind Orange.

Orange’s top individual finisher was Grace Pell, a junior who competed in track and field last spring. Pell crossed the finish line at 23:50.16. The Lady Panthers’ Evelyn Gover, a freshman, came in tenth at 23:52.11. The Lady Panthers Sophia Schultz came in 12th at 24:02.25. Orange Junior Kassi Scarantino, who was a member of the Lady Panthers’ women’s soccer team last spring, finished 13th.

Orange and Cedar Ridge will now move on to the 3A Mideast Regional Championships, which will be held at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary. That was the exact location of Schmid’s season-opening victory in August, as well as the location of the 2019 Big 8 Conference Cross Country championships. The regionals will be held on October 29. Orange and Cedar Ridge have qualified for regionals after their finishes in the conference championships.

The 3A State Championships will be held at the Ivey Redmon Sports Complex in Kernersville. Last year, the Orange men’s team finished 3rd in the state, its best-ever showing at the 3A level.

Men’s Cross Country: It was a dominant day for Hillsborough runners at the Central Carolina Conference meet hosted by Eastern Alamance High School at Lake Cammack Course in Burlington on Wednesday.

In a meet featuring six teams from the CCC, the top eight finishers were from either Orange or Cedar Ridge High School. Orange junior Gabriel Schimd finished first at 17:27.00. It was Schmid’s third first place finish this season. In August, Schmid won the Early Bird Challenge at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary. He also won a twi-meet at Northwood High School on September 20. Schmid was Hillsboroughsports.com’s first Orange Panther of the Week for the current academic year.

Cedar Ridge senior Roman Morrell continued his strong season with a second-place finish. Morrell crossed the finish line at 18:17.80. Morrell has six top-three finishes this season, including three victories. He was last week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week.

Orange, the defending 3A Mideast Regional Champions, won the overall men’s team competition with 19 points. Panther runners took spots 3rd-through-7th. Junior Alden Cathey, a member of Orange’s men’s lacrosse team, came in 3rd at 19:24.71. Panther sophomore Peter Musser finished fourth (19:54.6); Orange freshman Lucas Van Mater came in fifth (19:58.22); Orange’s Aidan Viola finished sixth (20:21.48) and Panther sophomore Cyrus Neal finished seventh (20:42.82).

Cedar Ridge freshman Ryan Matthews came in eighth at 20:45.61. The Red Wolves finished third as a team with 68 points, just six points behind runner-up Eastern Alamance.

Orange freshman Myles Jermyn came in 12th. Cedar Ridge senior Grayson Weienfeld finished 13th.

Women’s Cross Country: Cedar Ridge sophomore Naomi Dyreng had a runner-up finish at the Eastern Alamance meet on Wednesday. Dyreng crossed the finish line at 23:13.64. The winner was Eastern Alamance’s Catherine Parker, whose finishing time was 22:29.09.

Cedar Ridge sophomore Abigail Kalitman finished third at 23:57.20.

Orange sophomore Kassi Scarantino, who is a member of the women’s soccer team, was the highest placer for the Lady Panthers. She crossed the finish line in fifth place at 25:49.37.

Cedar Ridge finished 2nd in the team standings with 55 points. Eastern Alamance came in first in the team standings at 40 points. Orange was third at 56 points.

Orange’s Caroline Cathey came in ninth (26:14.60). The Lady Panthers’ Kyla Mehl finished tenth (26:35.32).

Peyton Decker finished 11th for the Red Wolves.

Women’s Golf: The Orange and Cedar Ridge women’s golf team participated in the sixth Central Carolina Conference meet of the season at The Valley Golf Course, hosted by Western Alamance High.

In a six-team competition, Orange finished tied for fourth with Northwood. Samantha Durham posted the low round of the day for the Lady Panthers with a 57. Kayla Pope shot a 59. Shannon Murphy finished with a 60 while Shannon Dorsi finished with a 68.

Cedar Ridge had two players participate. Alice Ann Kohler and Emily Worthy each finished with a 68.

On September 26, Eastern Alamance hosted a meet. Orange’s Murphy had the lowest round of the day for the Lady Panthers with a 53. Murphy’s lowest round this year is a 49, set at the Valley on September 6. Durham finished with a 51. Dorist carded a 57.

Cedar Ridge’s Worthy had the lowest round at Eastern Alamance with a 69. Kohler had a 72.

Cross County: Runners from Orange and Cedar Ridge High School took the top four spots in Tuesday’s men’s cross country meet at Northwood High School in Pittsboro.

Orange junior Gabriel Schmid earned his second win of the season. Schmid, who started the season with a victory at the Early Bird Special at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, crossed the finish line in 1st place with a time of 17:25.24. As he finished the race, Schmid held up his right hand to show “Lyric” written on the front in honor of Cedar Ridge freshman Lyric Woods, whose body was discovered in western Orange County on Sunday.

Cedar Ridge senior Roman Morrell, who has two first-place finishes this season, came in 2nd at 18:20.86. Morrell already has two wins at the Northwood High course. He captured the Ronald Horton Cross Country Classic on August 27. Last week, he finished first in a quad meet with Walter Williams and Northwood.

Orange finished first in the men’s team standings with 26 points. Panthers junior Alden Cathey came in third at 18:36.65, a new personal best. Orange freshman Lucas Van Mater finished fourth at 18:46.62. Panthers sophomore Peter Musser came in eighth (19:12.95).

Cedar Ridge freshman Ryan Matthews finished 9th (19:16.82).

Orange had a string of sophomores and freshman take spots 10-13. Finishing tenth was sophomore Cyrus Neal (19:41.46); in 11th place was sophomore Aiden Viola (19:45.61). In 12th was freshman Myles Jemyn (19:55.83) and in 13th was freshman Nolan Hufner (20:07.76).

Cedar Ridge freshman Henry Alexander came in 14th at 20:50.74. The Red Wolves men’s team came in third with 63 points. Northwood finished second with 48 points.

In the women’s race, Orange junior Grace Pell finished in second place at 24:03.64. The Lady Panthers had three of the top seven finishers with junior Kassi Scarntino coming in sixth (24:57.04. Orange freshman Evelyn Gover came in 7th place (25:20.99) and Kyla Mehl finished 8th (25:31.05).

Cedar Ridge’s Serena Summers finished 9th and was the top placer for the Red Wolves. Red Wolves senior Sarah Fenwick came in 10th.

Eastern Alamance’s Catherine Parker won the overall race. The Eagles also captured the team race with 35 points, narrowly edging out Orange, who had 39 points. Cedar Ridge finished 3rd with 72 points.

Men’s Soccer: Orange 4, Person 0: The Orange men’s soccer team captured its second straight win on Monday night. The Panthers defeated Person inside Rockets Stadium.

Cooper Zinn scored the game-winning goal for the Panthers in the first half. It was the first goal of the season for Zinn. Bryan Membreno added another goal. Manny Mil Cruz and Angel Arroyo also scored for the Panthers, while Tyler Mann had an assist.

Senior goalkeeper Connor McMurtry earned the win in net. Finn Kelly played the entire second half as the Panther goalkeeper. The Panthers (3-5, 2-1 in the Central Carolina Conference) will host Northwood on Wednesday in Hillsborough.

Eastern Alamance 2, Cedar Ridge 0: Eastern Alamance improved to 5-3 after getting goals from Jamil Navarro Bilbao and Lamin Nyeekpee. It was the Eagles’ first Central Carolina Conference win of the year. Junior goalkeeper Roberto Pachecho earned the clean sheet.

In a pregame show of unity, Cedar Ridge and Eastern Alamance players formed a circle around midfield with their arms around each other’s shoulders for a moment of silence. The game was played hours after the bodies of Cedar Ridge freshman Lyric Woods and Eastern Alamance senior Devin Lark were discovered in western Orange County on Sunday afternoon.

Women’s Tennis: Orange 7, Eastern Alamance 0: The Orange women’s tennis team captured its sixth straight win with a victory over Eastern Alamance in Mebane on Monday.

Junior Erin Sollars had the only three set match of the day. Sollars won 7-6 (7-4), 3-6, 10-3. Sophomore Shanon Sollars won at #2 singles 6-0, 6-0. Junior Makayla Davis captured her #3 singles match 6-0, 6-1. Senior Isabel Jones won 6-0, 6-0 at #4 singles. Senior Sydney Rogers, who kicked a 35-yard field goal in the final seconds of Orange’s football game against Western Alamance on Friday night, won at #5 singles 6-0, 6-0.

Senior Madelyn Horn won at #6 singles 6-0, 6-0. Horn teamed with Katelyn Van Mater to win the only doubles match 8-1.

Orange is 10-2 overall, 5-1 in the CCC. The Lady Panthers will travel to Western Alamance on Wednesday.

Well, Monday nights are free again.

Now that Better Call Saul is done, we can finally officially turn the page to the fall sports season, which has started with abundance across Hillsborough.

To steal a line from Gus Fring in Breaking Bad (you may not want to YouTube this scene if you’re squeamish): well, get back to work.

And what’s changed? In regards to volleyball, not much.

Cedar Ridge had an early stumble in its season-opener against J.H. Rose. Since then, they’ve won over three teams that have each won a state championship with the last five years, each of the matches outside of Hillsborough.

One thing that has changed is the depth of the Central Carolina Conference. In 2021, it was the deepest league in 3A volleyball. Since Cedar Ridge claimed the state championship, Northwood lost all but two players from a squad that went to the Round of 16 in the 3A State Playoffs last year. Person lost nine players from the 2021 squad, which reached the final of the Central Carolina Conference tournament.

It appears that Orange will be the main obstacle to keep Cedar Ridge from winning a third straight conference championship.

It seems that best way to start off a new academic year is by going back to the future and bring back a popular column. Each Monday, we’ll honor the top seven performers from the previous week from Cedar Ridge and Orange High. That’s why it’s called the Magnificent 7.

Unfortunately, we missed the opening week, so we’ll have two columns of the Magnificent 7 to bring you this week. In this one, we’ll focus on the opening week, a time when the Orange men’s soccer team played the first game of the 2021-2022 academic year against Riverside on an unseasonably cool night at Linny Wrenn Stadium in Durham.

1. Gabriel Schmid-Jr. Orange High School. Started the season by winning the Early Bird Challenge Cross Country Championships at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary. Schmid, who finished 2nd in the 3,200 meters in the 3A State Track & Field Championships in May, won the first invitational race in his career. He beat out 177 other runners to take the title.
2. Roman Morrell-Sr. Cedar Ridge High School Finished second at the Early Bird Challenge behind Schmid. Morrell followed that up by winning the Ronald Horton Cross Country Challenge at Northwood in Pittsboro this past Saturday. Last season, Morrell finished in the top 30 in the 3A State Cross Country Championships at the Ivey Redmon Sports Complex in Kernersville.
3. Grace Young-Sr. Cedar Ridge High School: In the opening week of volleyball season, Young had 13 digs and four assists in a win over Apex Friendship. Against J.H. Rose, Young had 17 digs and 14 service receptions. Young is the libero for the Red Wolves who has committed to play at UNC Asheville. She was named the Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week for the opening week of the academic year.
4. Sydney Rogers-Sr. Orange High School: Became the first female to score a point for the orange football team when she kicked an extra point against South Granville. She later kicked an 25-year field goal to give Orange its only lead of the game. Rogers is also playing tennis for coach Justin Webb. In the opening week of the year, she won both of her singles matches as Orange defeated Voyager Academy and Southern Alamance.
5. Ella Caltabiano-Soph. Cedar Ridge High School: Caltabiano won both of her matches in Cedar Ridge’s opening victory of the season against Southern Alamance. Caltabiano won her match at #2 singles 6-0, 6-0. She then teamed with Catherine Ballenger to win at #1 doubles 8-1. Last season, Caltabiano started regularly as a freshman and was named a Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week in the second week of the season.
6. Ella Wimsatt-Jr. Orange High School Led Orange in kills in its season-opening victory over Jordan on August 18. Last season, Wimsatt was second on the team with 104 kills to help Orange reach the second round of the 3A State Playoffs. Wimsatt was also second on the team with 151 digs. The Lady Panthers went to East Chapel Hill for a series of matches on August 19-20 and defeated East Chapel Hill and Western Alamance.
7. Madelyn Horn-Sr. Orange High School: Had a crucial win for the Orange women’s soccer team in a victory over Voyager Academy. She was the only player to win two matches for Orange against the Vikings. Two days later, she won a singles match and a doubles match as the Lady Panthers rolled to a win over Southern Alamance.

The first Orange Panther of the Week for the 2022-2023 academic year is junior cross country runner Gabiel Schmid. On Saturday, Schmid won the Early Bird Challenge at WakeMed Soccer Park in Apex. Schmid outran 179 other competitors to win the first invitational race of his career with a time of 16:01.37, a full 40 seconds ahead of the nearest competitor. As a sophomore, Schmid was a member of the most successful men’s cross country team in Orange history. In 2021, Orange won the 3A Mideast Regional championship. Last spring, Schmid finished 2nd in the 3,200 meters in the 3A State Track & Field Championships at North Carolina A&T University. This summer, Schmid prepared for the upcoming season by training in the mountain terrain in Brevard. Last season, Schmid won two individual cross country dual meets as a sophomore. Now, with some members of Orange’s championship team graduated, Schmid is set to lead the Panthers to new heights as the 2022 season starts in earnest on September 7. The Panthers will face Cedar Ridge in a dual meet in Hillsborough. 

The bad news for the Orange men’s cross country team is some of the runners from the most successful team in squad history graduated two months ago.

The good news is junior Gabriel Schmid is ready to inherit the throne that teammate Spenser Hampton left behind.

On Saturday morning, Schmid ran through rainy conditions at WakeMed Park in Apex to win the Early Bird Challenge, which featured 178 runners from eleven teams. Cedar Ridge’s Roman Morrell, who qualified for the 3A State Championships last year, finished second.

Schmid outpaced the pack on a time of 16:01.37. Morrell came in second at 16:41.82.

Schmid, a junior who finished fourth in the Mideast Regional last October at Northwood High School in Pittsboro, won the first invitational race in his high school career. Last September, he finished eleventh out of a group of 238 runners in the Friday Night Lights Festival at the Ivey Redmon Sports Complex in Kernersville.

In 2021, Schmid won two dual meets. He finished third in the Central Carolina Conference Championships, which Orange captured as a team. Schmid’s then-freshman teammate, Abezu Delvecchia, earned the conference championship.

Last October, for the first time ever, the Orange men’s cross country team won the 3A Mideast Regional Championship. Hampton led the Panther charge with a second-place individual finish, with Schmid not far behind. Alden Cathey, who would go on to play for Orange’s conference championship lacrosse team, came in 14th. Ethan Horton, who just moved in at American University in Washington, D.C, crossed the finish line 19th. Senior Nick Pell, the Homecoming King who also played football last fall, finished 23rd.

Schmid’s first place finish at the Early Bird Championship followed a stellar track & field season last spring. Schmid, whose mother ran cross country at Brigham Young University, finished second in the 3,200 meters at the 3A State Championships at the Irwin Belk Track inside North Carolina A&T University in Greensboro last May. Schmid earned the silver medal with a time of 9:35.89. Forestview’s Austin Brotemarkle claimed the state title.

It was the second year in a row that an Orange High runner finished second in the 3,200 meters in the state championship. in 2021, Hampton earned the silver medal.

In addition, Schmid teamed with Hampton, Ethan Horton and Nick Pell to finish eighth in the state in the 4×800 meter relay.

To prepare for his junior season, Schmid trained at the Pisgah National Forest in Brevard, where drills included running three-miles uphill at an elevation of 1,500 feet.

“That was super fun,” Schmid said.

He also journeyed to West Virginia for a ragnar race, where each member of a team of eight must run three different routes: one is three miles, another is four-and-a-half miles and the final is six miles. The longer a person runs, the more the elevation increases.

Each race is spaced out with six hours in between. Schmid, who ran the race with Hampton, ran at 7 PM, 1AM and 6 AM.

“It was very tough,” Schmid said.

In October, the Mideast Regionals will be held at WakeMed Park, which Schmid admits wasn’t easy to compete in after rain had fallen last weekend.

“WakeMed is almost like the best course in the U.S., aside from Running Lane,” Schmid said, referring to a course in Huntsville, AL that hosts a national championship every December. “It’s an awesome course and running it alone feels weird.”

It was also a strong start to the season for Morrell, who finished 11th in the regional championships. Morrell, a senior, also had a solid track & field season for the Red Wolves in the spring.

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is rising junior Kassi Scarantino. Last fall during her sophomore season, Scarantino finished in the top ten at the Central Carolina Women’s Cross Country Championships at Northwood High School in Pittsboro. Scarantino went on to finish in the top 30 of the 3A Mideast Regional championships among 106 runners. In addition to cross country, Scarantino was part of the Orange women’s soccer team’s run to the 3rd round of the 3A State Playoffs this spring. Scarantino was a midfielder for the Lady Panthers. She played for Orange in a 5-3 win over Harnett Central, which was the Lady Panthers’ first playoff win since 2017. It was a long night for Orange, who had to travel to Lillington for the game, then endured two lightning delays. Later that week, Orange traveled to Cape Fear and defeated the Colts 5-2 in the second round of the state playoffs. It was the first time ever that Orange reached in 3rd round of the state playoffs in the 34-year history of the program. Scarantino is preparing to start another cross country season this September. Last fall was among the most successful cross country season’s in Orange history. The men’s team won its first regional championship, in addition to Scarantino’s top ten CCC finish.