Orange Track and Field

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is senior runner Ethan Horton. This season, Horton joined Spenser Hampton, Nick Pell and Gabriel Schmid in setting the school-record in the 4×800 relay for the Orange men’s track & field team. Horton, Pell, Hampton and Schmid qualified for the 3A State Championships on May 20 at North Carolina A&T State University. Together, the relay team won the Central Carolina Conference championship at Eastern Alamance High School on April 27. Horton was part of one of the greatest season in Orange High men’s track & field ever. The Panthers finished 2nd in the Mideast Regionals at Franklinton High School on May 13. Horton, Pell, Hampton and Schmid finished 2nd in the region, behind only the team from Northwood. Horton was also part of Orange’s men’s cross country team, which won its first regional championship last October. At the Central Carolina Conference championships at Northwood High School in Pittsboro, Horton finished 10th overall among 44 runners as the Panthers also captured the conference title. As Horton prepares to graduate from Orange High on Friday night at the Smith Center in Chapel Hill, he has plenty of lofty expectations ahead. He will head to American University in Washington, D.C. to start his fall semester this August. Horton plans a feature in public service and possibly a future in politics. 

Grace Andrews: The Catawba Valley Community College softball team finally got its season going over the weekend. The Red Hawks swept doubleheaders on consecutive days against the Montreat junior varsity and Pitt Community College. Andrews picked up where she left off last season. Against Montreat on February 16, she went 3-for-3 with three RBIs and two doubles. The Red Hawks won the opener 6-3. In the nightcap, CVCC won 12-0 in five innings. Andrews, who started at third base, went 1-for-3 with an RBI.

On Saturday, the Red Hawks swept a doubleheader from Pitt Community College. In the opener, which CVCC won 2-1, Andrews went 2-for-3 with an RBI double. In the second game, Andrews went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI as the Red Hawks prevailed 9-4. Andrews came away from the first eight games of the season as the leading hitter on the team with a .615 batting average.

Jaden Hurdle: The Patrick & Henry Community College softball team had back-to-back doubleheaders over the weekend. On Saturday, Georgia Military College swept the Patriots on scores of 6-1 and 6-3 in Milledgeville, GA. In the opening game, Hurdle went 0-for-3. She started as pitcher and went six innings with one strikeouts. She surrendered six runs (three earned) off six hits. In the nightcap, Hurdle went 1-for-3.

The following day, Gordon State College swept the Patriots in Barnesville, GA. Hurdle homered in the opening game against the Highlanders, who won 12-7. In the second game, Hurdle went 3-for-4 an RBI. Hurdle also finished the game in the circle throwing the last four innings. She struck out seven.

Braden Homsey: For the second time this year, Homsey won an individual tournament for the Division III Ferrum Wrestling team. Homsey captured the 197-pound championship at the Southeast Wrestling Conference championship on February 5 in Danville, VA. Homsey dominated Averett’s William Baldwin in the championship match, winning via technical fall 21-4. In the opening round, Homsey defeated Cache Holmes of Southern Virginia via pinfall in 2:11. Homsey had a major decision over Max Steele of Greensboro College 15-4 in the semifinals. On Friday, Ferrum won a senior day dual match over Shenandoah 34-10 at Swartz Gym in Ferrum, VA. Homsey pinned Troy Gibson in 2:15. The Panthers are 6-6.

Jamar Davis: Davis finished in first place in the high jump for the N.C. State men’s indoor track & field team in the Virginia Tech Challenge in Blacksburg, VA on Friday. Davis won the long jump with a leap of 7.55 meters, beating eleven other athletes. It was the end of the regular season for the Wolfpack. The Atlantic Coast Conference championships are set to start Thursday in Blacksburg, VA. Davis has qualified for the long jump.

Connor Crabtree: The Richmond men’s basketball team fell to VCU 77-57 in Richmond, VA on Friday night. Crabtree came off the bench to play two minutes.

Jaylin Jones: The Division III Pfeiffer men’s lacrosse team opened its season against Birmingham Southern at Lefko Field in Misenheimer on Thursday. Birmingham Southern defeated the Falcons 14-7. Jaylin Jones scored a goal for Pfeiffer. He also has two ground balls and created two turnovers. Pfeiffer will travel to Lees-McRae on Wednesday.

Phillip Berger: Berger was the opening day starter for the Division III William Peace baseball team. Brevard defeated the Pacers 7-3 on February 5 at the USA Baseball Complex in Cary. Berger had a no decision after he threw two innings. He surrendered one run off one hit with three walks and a strikeout. On Saturday, Berger threw four innings as the Pacers defeated Mitchell College 7-5 at Durham Athletic Park. Berger struck out six in another no decision. He gave up three runs off six hits. William Peace is 2-3 after taking the weekend series from the Mariners.

Will Walker: Pitt Community College defeated the Barton junior varsity squad 8-7 last Wednesday. Walker started at first base for Pitt and went 1-for-4 with a double. The Bulldogs are 5-1.

Jamar Davis: One of the most versatile performers in Orange High history has made his return to the N.C. State Track & Field team. Jamar Davis returned at the Virginia Tech Invite in Blacksburg, VA on January 14. Davis competed in the triple jump, where he had a leap of 15.21 meters, the 18th-best mark in the NCAA this year. In the long jump, Davis finished 3rd at 7.67 meters, the fifth-best mark in the country and the eighth best in N.C. State history. Davis is a 2018 Orange High graduate. In his final meet at Orange, he was named the Most Outstanding Performer at the 3A State Championships at North Carolina A&T University. In his senior year, Davis won the 3A State Championship in the long jump and the triple jump. In addition, Davis was the leading scorer on the men’s soccer team in 2017, arguably the best team in school history. Davis helped Orange win over White Oak in Jacksonville in the opening round of the 3A State Playoffs. Also, Davis wrestled for three years and compiled a record of 73-28 with 40 pinfall victories. In his sophomore year, Davis was in the final individual match against Northwood with the Chargers leading 36-34. Davis defeated Northwood’s Luke Orbich 19-4 for a technical fall, and Orange won the dual match 39-36. The Panthers went on to win the Big 8 Conference Championship. Davis missed last season, but qualified for the ACC Championship in 2019 in indoor and outdoor track and field in the triple jump.

Marvin Jones: The North Carolina Central men’s indoor track and field team started its season last month. Jones, a former Cedar Ridge All-Big 8 Conference performer, finished second in the men’s high jump at the Winston-Salem College Kickoff at the JDL Fast Track on December 5. Jones’ best jump was 2.11 meters. It was the first event for Central’s indoor team in 644 days. On Sunday, the Eagles returned to action in the JDL Flat is Fast Invitational, also in Winston-Salem. Jones won the event with a leap of 2.08 meters, the best among 22 other competitors, including schools like South Carolina-Upstate, Davidson, UNC Pembroke and Mars Hill.

Connor Crabtree: The Richmond Spiders men’s basketball team defeated La Salle 64-56 at Tom Goal Arena in Philadelphia on Saturday. Crabtree came off the bench to play two minutes. It was Richmond coach Chris Mooney’s 300th win. On January 18, the Spiders defeated Fordham 83-70 at Rose Hill Gym in Bronx, NY. Crabtree scored three points, scoring his only basket off a 3-pointer. He played eight minutes. The Spiders are 12-7 overall, 3-3 in the Atlantic 10. They travel to Rhode Island on Tuesday

Joey McMullin: The Sandhills Community College men’s basketball team is back in the National Junior College Athletic Association Division III poll, ranked #15. Not only that, but the Flyers have won five in a row after beating Lenoir Community College 94-78 in Pinehurst on Saturday. McMullin played 16 minutes and scored four points in the victory over the Lacers. He shot 2-of-6 from the field. McMullin also grabbed four rebounds and recorded an assist. Sandhills is 15-6 overall, 4-0 in Region X. The Flyers will face Central Carolina Community College in Sanford on Wednesday.

Braden Homsey: On Friday, the Division III Ferrum College wrestling team lost to Averett 35-3 at the Grant Center in Danville, VA. Homsey was the only Panther to win his match on the day. Competing at 197-pounds, Homsey defeated Averett’s William Baldwin 16-1, earning a technical fall. Ferrum is 5-5 in dual matches this season. Next weekend, they will compete in the Pete Wilson Invitational in Wheaton, IL.

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is senior swimmer Melissa Campbell. During Orange’s first meet of the year at the Orange County Sportsplex, Campbell qualified for the 3A Mideast Regionals in four separate events. Competing against Cedar Ridge and Eastern Alamance, Campbell finished first in the 100 yard butterfly with a time of 1:07.26. Campbell also finished first in the 200 yard freestyle at 2:17.48. She teamed with Katie Belle Sikes, Sandra McCouch and Ellie Wileman to qualify in the regionals for the 200 yard medley relay and the 400 yard freestyle relay. On Thursday night, Campbell and the rest of the Orange seniors were honored at the Orange County Sportsplex during senior night with a meet against Cedar Ridge, Walter Williams and Northwood. On senior night, Campbell teamed with McCouch, Sikes and Wileman to finish first in the 200 yard freestyle relay. Campbell has been going to the Orange County Sportsplex since she was six, when she started swimming. In addition to competing for Orange, she swims for the Hillsborough Aquatic Club. As a sophomore, Campbell qualified for the 3A State Championships at the Cary Aquatic Center. She hopes to reach that prestigious stage once again next month.

Just a few months into her sophomore year at Orange, Katie Belle Sikes has already accomplished more than any swimmer in school history.

This weekend, Sikes added to her impressive resume by competing at the Winter Junior Championships East at the Greensboro Aquatic Center, adjacent to the Greensboro Coliseum.

The four-day event started on Wednesday with a 200 medley relay and an 800 freestyle relay. It brought together swim teams and competitors from states from as far away as Nebraska, Michigan, Kentucky and New Jersey.

In the 50 yard freestyle, which is Sikes’ top event, the qualifying standard for the Winter Junior Championships is 23.29 seconds. Sikes has beaten that mark several times in various competitions, most recently for Orange High in its season-opening event at the Orange County Sportsplex competing against Cedar Ridge and Eastern Alamance on November 24. Sikes finished first in that meet at 22.84.

On Saturday, Sikes represented the Hillsborough Aquatic Club, her travel team that keeps her training at the Sportsplex year-round. In the 50-yard freestyle, Sikes finished 23rd overall in her first appearance in the event. Sikes had a time of 23.24 seconds in the final. Anna Moesch of New Jersey finished 1st overall at 22.52 seconds. In her preliminary race, Sikes finished 24th with a time of 23.26 seconds.

The Winter Junior Championships are a highly anticipated annual event that bring the elite of youth swimming together. The East Regional was held at the Greensboro Aquatics Center, while the West Regional took place in Austin, Texas.

In her freshman year, Sikes won the 3A Central Regional Championship in the 50-yard freestyle at 23.31 seconds. In the 3A State Championships, Sikes finished second behind Charlotte Catholic senior Olivia Rhodes, who touched the wall at 22.99 seconds. Sikes came in at 23.26 seconds.

Sikes will return to Greensboro this winter. In the season-opening meet last month, Sikes qualified for four regional events. In addition to the 50-yard freestyle, she qualified for the 100-yard freestyle, the 200-yard medley relay and the 400-yard medley relay with Orange teammates Melissa Campbell, Sandra McCouch and Ellie Wiseman.

Another Orange competitor who has been on the verge of a state championship had an impressive start to his senior season. Stans Zitko finished first at the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School Dive Invitational at Koury Natatorium on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus on Wednesday afternoon.

After six dives, Zitko finished with 238.95 points. Jack Adler of East Chapel Hill finished second at 195.55 points. Competitors from Chapel Hill and Northern Durham High School were also in the event.

Competing on a 1-meter board, Zitko put distance between himself and his opponents immediately with a forward one-and-a-half somersault. With a 1.7 degree of difficulty, Zitko earned a 38.25 score on the opening dive, eight points higher than Adler. Zitko also earned an 81.15 score on a forward one-and-a-half somersault.

Zitko is no stranger to competing at Koury Natatorium in Chapel Hill. In 2019, Zitko finished 3rd in the 3A State Championships at the North Carolina High School Diving Championships at UNC. In February 2019, he became the first diver in Orange High history to win a Central Regional Championship when he compiled 372.70 points. In his freshman year, he won the Big 8 Conference Championship.

While his swimming colleagues train at the Sportsplex, Zitko works out at Duke University. He has qualified for the 3A State Championships in all three of his years at Orange. His goal this season is to win a state championship and earn a diving scholarship to a major university.

The Orange men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams will continue its season in 2022 at the Orange County SportsPlex.

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is sophomore cross country runner Gabriel Schmid. This fall was the most successful season in Orange men’s cross country history. The Panthers won the Central Carolina Conference championship. They also captured the Mideast Regional Championship, just the second regional title in team history. Schmid played a big role in the Panthers’ success. He placed third in the Central Carolina Conference championship meet with a time of 16:44.28, which helped the Panthers finished with 28 points and earn the championship. In the Mideast Regionals, which included a field of 130 runners, Schmid finished 4th. He crossed the finish line at 16:44.31. Orange came in 3rd in the 3A State Championships. Schmid, in a field of 175 runners, finished 12th. Since cross country season ended, Schmid has gone right back to work with many of his teammates. Now, they’re preparing for the indoor track & field season, which will start in January. In addition to running, Schmid sings in the Orange chorus.

By most standards, the orange men’s cross country season with a unparalleled success.

However, there were higher expectations around the program this year under new coaches Hannah Hribar and Brian Schneidewind. In the 3A State Championships at the Ivey Redmond Sports Complex in Kernersville on Saturday, the Panthers finished third, tied for the best finish in team history.

Yet the top runner for the Panthers, senior Spencer Hampton, felt like they left some money on the table.

“Our goal from the beginning of the year was to win states,” Hampton said. “Based on how we were doing at the beginning that was our goal. But North Lincoln just had an amazing meet. I think with the team we had, the best we could have done was second. I look forward to seeing how Orange does next year, though I won’t be here.”

Hampton finished eighth overall in the state meet with a time of 16:10.88. Stuart Cramer’s Zachary Willer was the individual state champion, crossing the finish line at 15:42.61.

North Lincoln claimed the 3A State Championship with 106 points. Croatan was second with 125 points. Orange finished with 151 points, edging out South Central, who had 156 points.

Instrumental in Orange’s best-ever finish in the state championships was sophomore Gabriel Schmid, who came in 12th overall at 16:20.47. Another sophomore, Alden Cathey, came in 53rd. Senior Ethan Horton finished 57th overall. Senior Nick Pell, who was the Homecoming King and a backup tight end for the Orange men’s cross country team, finished 61st.

“Spencer and Gabe are amazing athletes and people,” Hribar said. “They help propel the team forward by being an example of the famous quote, “excellence…is not an act but a habit”. They have shown the team how much repeated efforts result in repeated success.”

The strong showing in the State Championships came a week after Orange captured the 3A Mideast Regional championship at Northwood High School in Pittsboro. Hampton finished 2nd in the region. The Panthers also won the Central Carolina Conference championship, where Hampton again paced the Panthers with a runner-up finish.

Last summer in outdoor track & field, Hampton won the 1,600 meter Mideast Regional Championship at Southern Lee High School in Sanford. A week later, Hampton finished 2nd in the 3,200 meters at the 3A State Track and Field Championships at North Carolina A&T University in Greensboro.

“This is a truly incredible group of students,” Hribar said. “They are not only dedicated to running, but to creating a culture of excellence on the team. They run together outside of workouts, meet up for breakfast before school, and show up for each other.”

Cedar Ridge’s Roman Morrell was the top finisher in the men’s meet for the Red Wolves. Morrell, a junior, came in 26th overall at 16:59.46.

With Schmid and Cathey returning next fall, the Panthers will look to another strong season in defense of their regional championship. Many of these runners have already turned their attention to indoor track & field season.

“The highlight of the season for us was really changing the narrative and the culture around OHS cross country,” Hribar said. “Not only are we now known as being a highly competitive team in the state, but other coaches, teachers, and administrators comment on how our athletes have created a welcoming and supportive environment that students want to be a part of.”

In the women’s State Championships, Cedar Ridge’s Zoe Wade was the top local finisher. Wade, a senior, came in 60th at 21:49.79.

Croatan’s Navaya Zales of Croatan was the individual female state champion. Carrboro’s Hannah Preisser finished 2nd.

North Lincoln also won the 3A State Women’s Championship in the team standings with 59 points. Carrboro was second with 150 points. The top Central Carolina Conference female squad was Northwood, who finished 11th.

It has been a full Halloween weekend for Brian Schneidewind.

Just hours after he organized Orange High’s Homecoming festivities on Friday night, he woke up early Saturday morning for his second trip to Pittsboro in as many weekends. As Orange’s cross country coach, he rode back up 15-501 that afternoon after the Panthers won only its second regional championship in team history.

He arrived back to his Hillsborough home just in time to watch his beloved Michigan State Spartans pull off a comeback they’ll be taking about for decades in East Lansing, where he once lived. Against hated rival Michigan, the Spartans roared back from a 30-14 deficit to beat the Wolverines 37-33 at Spartan Stadium.

Yet even that illustrious comeback paled in comparison, at least in his mind, to what his cross country team pulled off at Northwood High School on Saturday morning. The Panthers won the 3A Mideast Regional championship with 62 points. It came just one week after Orange claimed the Central Carolina Conference championship on the same course in Pittsboro, the third conference title in team history.

Northwood came in second in the team standings with 78 points. Durham School of the Arts finished third with 101. Cedar Ridge was 12th with 283.

The common cliche about cross country events along a 3.1 mile course is “it’s a marathon, not a sprint.” It certainly didn’t end that way on Saturday when Orange’s Spencer Hampton and Carrboro’s Quinn Baker were engaged in a race to the finish line for first place. Hampton led by about 150 feet with 165 yards remaining. But Baker ran down Hampton and passed him with about 150 meters remaining.

Hampton, who finished second in the conference meet last week, finished as the overall runner-up again with a time of 16:17.60. That was only .26 of a second behind Baker. Hampton led a championship effort by Orange which included sophomore Gabriel Schmid coming in fourth at 16:44.31. Sophomore Alden Cathey, a member of the Panthers’ Conference 9 Championship team in men’s lacrosse last spring, crossed the finish line 14th. In a field of 130 competitors, Orange’s Ethan Horton finished 19th at 17:50.01.

Just hours after he was crowned Homecoming King and played his final game as a member of the Orange football team at Auman Stadium in Hillsborough, senior Nick Pell finished 23rd at 18:10.52.

Cedar Ridge junior Roman Morrell qualified for the 3A State Championships individually. He came in 9th place with a time of 17:26.05.

Schneidewind, in his first season as Orange’s cross country coach, previously served as the coach at Millbrook for 12 years. Orange’s last regional championship team was in 2008. Ironically that year, the Panthers finished ahead of Millbrook, coached by Schneidewind, at a major invitational.

“I had no clue where Orange was at the time,” Schneidewind said. “I didn’t even know where Hillsborough was.”

Schneidewind moved to Hillsborough after he wife got a job at Duke University. He has taught at Orange for five years while also coaching track & field.

Hampton’s 2nd place finish continues what has been a memorable year. In June, Hampton finished 2nd in the 3,200 meters at the 3A State Track and Field Championships at North Carolina A&T University in Greensboro. He won the Mideast Regional Championship in the 3,200 meters at Southern Lee High School.

“I knew we had a good team from track season,” Schneidewind said. “Obviously, you never know how things are going to translate from track to cross country. Additionally, I definitely saw the kids were working hard in track, but it was great to see that they were willing to work and put it even more miles in cross country this fall.”

Before this season, only one Orange runner had finished a cross country race in less than 16 minutes. This year, there have been two–and it happened in the same event.

On October 2 at the Great American Cross Country Festival at WakeMed Soccer Complex in Cary, Hampton finished at 15:44.80. Schmid, who competed in a separate race, completed the course in 15:8.90.

“About midway through this season, Gabe definitely took his running to the next level,” Schneidewind said. “I knew Gabe was good from his freshman year in track. Around October, he became a top level runner.”

For Pell, it was his first race in over a month after he suffered a hip injury playing football. Pell, who caught a touchdown pass against Granville Central last month, actually went home with the regional championship trophy on Saturday.

“It’s not every day that you can hold up your regional cross country trophy with your senior football placard and a Homecoming crown,” Schneidewind said.

Cedar Ridge’s Zoe Wade qualified for the 3A State Women’s Cross Country Championship. Wade, who finished fourth in the CCC Championships, came in 17th in the regional championships.

Orange’s top female runner in the regionals was sophomore Kassi Scarantino, who finished 30th at 23:06.16.

The 3A State Championships will be held next weekend at the Ivey Redmond Sports Complex in Kernersville.

The cross country course at Northwood High School is one of the premier sites in the state. It has hosted conference and regional championships.

Only two months after nearly winning a state championship in track & field, Orange’s Spencer Hampton continued a stellar start to the fall season in Pittsboro.

On Monday, Hampton finished first in a Central Carolina Conference meet that also included Cedar Ridge, Northwood, Eastern Alamance and Western Alamance. Hampton had the top time of the day at 17:37.03, pacing a pack of 64 runners.

Hampton’s finished led Orange to come in 2nd in the team standings with 47 points. Northwood, which had four of the top seven runners, finished first with 23 points.

Orange’s Abezu Delvecchia was the only other Panther in the top 10, coming in 9th at 19:00.62.

Cedar Ridge came in fourth in the team standings with 98 points. Junior Roman Morrell came in fourth overall for the Red Wolves with a time of 18:00.90.

On September 10, Hampton finished 2nd in the Friday Night Lights Festival at the Ivey Redmon Sports Complex in Kernersville among 238 runners in the men’s invitational race. In June, Hampton led most of the race in the 3,200 meters at the 3A State Track & Field Championships at North Carolina A&T University. He finished 2nd behind Williams

In the Friday Night Lights Festival, Orange’s Gabriel Schmid finished 11th, crossing the finishing line at 16:43.60.

In the Northwood meet, Cyrus Neal came in 11th, while Schmid finished 21. Freshman Aiden Viola, sophomore lien Cathey, seniors Gabriel Jamison and Ethan Horton, Josiah McCoy and Jospeh Bernardo all finished in the top 50 for Orange.

For Cedar Ridge, Grayson Weisenfeld, sophomore Ethan Benner, Ryan Rakouskas, freshman Ryan Capps, junior John Stephenson, freshman Shea Spiller, and senior Mason Meyer all had top-50 finishes.

In the women’s race at Northwood, the top finisher from a local school was Orange junior Sophia Schultz, who crossed the finish line at 24:38.01.

The Cedar Ridge women’s team finished third among six teams. The Red Wolves had four runners finish in the top 20, including junior Sarah Fenwick, who came in 15th. Senior Sarah Tucker, who has competed in cross country and track & field at Cedar Ridge since she was a freshman, came in 17th.

Cedar Ridge’s Caroline Fowlkes, who qualified for the 3A State Track & Field Championships in the pole vault as a freshman, finished 21st.

Freshman Celine Galla came in 22nd, while Serena Summers and Georgia Roney finished 25th and 27th, respectively.

The Orange women’s team came in 5th in the overall standings. Abby Hengsterman, Harper Trost, Maggie Saunders, Avery Hengsterman, and Margaret Hales all had top 40 finishes for the Panthers. Junior Kate Barger also crossed the finish line for Orange.

In the Friday Night Lights Festival, freshman Caroline Cathey was the top Orange finisher on the women’s team with a time of 23:11.00. She finished 123rd out of 210 runners. Kassi Scarantino, Schultz, Saunders, and Hales also ran for Orange in Kernersville.

Cathey’s time in Kernersville was the top time by a female Orange runner so far in the young season.

Men’s Soccer: Cedar Ridge 2, Eastern Alamance 0

Days after scoring two goals against Orange in the Hillsborough Derby, Cedar Ridge’s Chris Mendez added to his team-lead in goals.

On Monday night, Mendez scored the game-winning goal as Cedar Ridge defeated Eastern Alamance 2-0 at Fred Brady Stadium in Mebane. Senior Jorge Salazar added insurance for the Red Wolves, who improved to 3-7 overall, 2-1 in the Central Carolina Conference. It was the second straight conference win for the Red Wolves.

Mendez now has seven goals on the season. Salazar is second on the team with seven points.

Goalkeeper Benjamin Weaver earned his second clean sheet of the season. It was his second straight win in net.

The Red Wolves were supposed to face Western Alamance on Wednesday night at Red Wolves Stadium, but the game was rained out. Cedar Ridge will host Person on Thursday night in Hillsborough.

Orange 4, Person 1

Orange co-Captain Jasper Tell scored the game-winning goal as the Panthers earned its first win in the Central Carolina Conference over Person on Monday night at Orange Soccer Park.

Junior Dylan Silverman assisted on the opening goal, then added Orange’s second goal later in the first half. In the second half, junior Cooper Zinn notched his third goal of the season. In the final ten minutes, junior Jack Pendergast added the first goal of his varsity career.

Orange’s trip to Northwood on Wednesday night was rained out. The Panthers will travel to Southern Durham on Friday.

Women’s tennis: Williams 5, Cedar Ridge 1:

Last Wednesday, the Red Wolves had just enough time to squeeze in six singles matches against Williams. Three of them went to 10-point tiebreakers in the third set, all of them claimed by Williams.

Red Wolves senior Chloe Patz won the Red Wolves only match at #2 singles over Haven Amick of Williams 7-6, 6-4. Cedar Ridge is 3-3 overall, 2-3 in the CCC. Their match scheduled for Wednesday against Person was rained out. The Red Wolves host Durham School of the Arts on Thursday.

Cross Country:

Two months after finishing 2nd in the state in the 3,200 meters, Orange senior Spencer Hampton made a major impression by finishing 2nd in the Friday Night Lights Festival, one of the biggest cross country events of the regular season at Ivey Redmon Sports Complex at Mount Tabor on September 10.

Hampton finished 2nd out of 238 runners with a time of 16:07.30. The only runner in the entire field to finish ahead of Hampton was North Lincoln’s Stephen Fernetti, who came in six seconds ahead of Hampton.

The strong showing by Hampton helped Orange finish fifth among 30 teams. In addition to Hampton, Orange’s Gabriel Schmid finished 10th. Sophomore Alden Cathey came in 23rd. Senior Ethan Horton came in 83rd and junior James Wheelis came in 93rd.

Providence captured the men’s team competition.

In the women’s race, Orange freshman Carolina Cathey was the top finisher, coming in 123rd. Kassi Scarantino, Sophia Schultz, Maggie Saunders and Margaret Hales also competed for Orange.

Women’s golf:

The latest Central Carolina Conference women’s golf meet was held at the Valley in Burlington on Monday. Orange senior Sarah Durham, this week’s Orange Panther of the Week, finished fifth overall out of 23 competitors with a 51. It was her third top five finish in three matches this year.

Sarah’s younger sister, Samantha, finished only one stroke behind her sister with a 52. Shannon Dorsi, Kayla Pope and Lucia Godinez also competed for Orange.

Cedar Ridge’s Olivia Aitkin tied for 9th with a 59.

Northwood won the team meet with a 151, two strokes better than Eastern Alamance’s 153. Orange came in fourth out of five teams with 168 strokes.