Orange Track and Field

Jamar Davis: The 2018 Orange High graduate has qualified for the long jump in the 2020 ACC Indoor Track & Field championships. On Saturday, Davis had a jump of 23’11” at the Gamecock Opener in Columbia, S.C. He finished 5th. Davis’ teammate, freshman Chris Alexander, won the event with a leap of 25’02.50″. In the triple jump, Davis finished 2nd. He had a leap of 50’03.50″, behind only Marc McCoy of Bethune-Cookman. Davis has also qualified for the ACC Championships in the triple jump. While Payton Wilson has been named to the All-Decade team by the Raleigh News and Observer, Davis’ resume at Orange may have been the most versatile in school history. He qualified for the Penn Relays in track & field, winning the North Carolina High School Athletic Association MVP for the 3A State Championship meet. Davis won four state championships. He also won the leading scorer for the Orange men’s soccer team his senior year, leading them to a victory in the state playoffs. Plus, he was a wrestler for three years, where Orange won three Big 8 Conference and two 3A Eastern Regional Championships. Alternating between 182 and 195 pounds, Davis went 73-28 with 40 pinfall victories.

Marvin Jones:  Former Cedar Ridge star Marvin Jones won the high jump event at the JDL January College Kickoff in Winston-Salem on Saturday. Jones leaped 2.06 meters for North Carolina Central for the victory. It was Central’s first event since winter break. In December, Jones finished 2nd in JDL Kickoff Classic. He has now qualified for the MEAC Indoor Track & Field Championships in Landover, MD starting February 20.

Icez Barnett: On Monday, the Division II Chowan women’s basketball team lost to North Greenville 73-59 inside Hayes Gymnasium in Tigerville, S.C. Barnett came off the bench to score two points and grab five rebounds in eight minutes. She also fouled out. Chowan is now 3-14, 3-10 in Conference Carolinas.

Kaylen Campbell: The Division III Trinity women’s basketball team is on a three-game winning streak and is 12-4 overall. On Friday, the Bantams defeated Wesleyan (Connecticut) 77-58 in Silloway Gymnasium in Hartford, CT. Campbell came off the bench to play 13 minutes and had two points, two assists and one rebound. In a 61-52 victory over Babson on January 14 in Babson Park, MA, Campbell had two points in ten minutes. She added two assists and two rebounds.

Lauren Cates: On Saturday, the Wake Tech Community College women’s basketball team defeated USC Salkehatchie 81-63 in Raleigh. Cates started for the Eagles and scored 14 points off 5-of-8 shooting. She was 2-of-4 from 3-point range. On January 15, Wake Tech romped past Brunswick Community College 77-43, its seventh win in eight games. Cates scored ten points. She was 3-of-6 from the field with two 3-pointers. On January 13, Wake Tech defeated Caldwell County College & Technical Institute, Cates scored three points. Wake Tech is 12-4, 7-3 in Region X of the National Junior College Athletic Association. They host Spartanburg Methodist on Thursday. The Eagles are tied for 2nd in Region X with Bryant & Stratton. Catawba Valley Community College, who defeated Wake Tech earlier this month, is in first place in the region with a 6-0 record.

Orange senior Cam White won his 2nd race in the indoor track & field season on Saturday. White won the 200 meters on Saturday in the East Chapel Hill Polar Bear event at Dave Thaden Stadium. Cam was a 2-year starter for the Orange football team, where he played wide receiver and cornerback. After being encouraged for years, White started running track & field two years ago. White will try to qualify for the State Indoor Track & Field Championships next week in Orange’s next meet. Saturday’s meet was Orange’s 2nd of the year. It also included East Chapel Hill, the North Carolina School of Science & Math, Riverside and Northern Durham.

Orange’s Ava Zinn was the highest finisher for the Panther’s women’s cross country team at the Big 8 Conference championships. She crossed the finish line at 21:56.70. Zinn also was the top finisher for the Orange women in the 3A Mideast Regionals at Northwood High School in Pitttsboro. She crossed the finish line at 22:43.13. On September 21, Zinn was Orange’s top finisher in the adidas XC Challenge, also at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, which is a grueling course that includes an uphill run in the final quarter-mile. Zinn ran for Coach Heath Wrenn and looks forward to indoor track & field season. 

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is senior cross country runner Bennett Fleming. This season, Fleming was the top runner for the Orange men’s cross country team. During a dual meet against Cedar Ridge at the Red Wolves Course, Fleming finished with, crossing the finish line at 18:53.86. That was 27 seconds ahead of the nearest competitor. In the West Point on the Eno event on October 15 against Northern Durham and Vance County, Fleming finished first overall with a time of 20:09. Orange had the top seven runners, including Joshua Frank, Ethan Horton and Charles Damon. In the Big 8 Conference Championships at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary on October 24, Fleming finished 24th at 18:09.50, and qualified for the 3A Mideast Regionals. Fleming started the season with a 19th place finish at the Northwood Five Meet in September. 

The Cedar Ridge women’s cross country team was the only local representatives at the North Carolina High School Athletic Association’s 3A State Championship meet at Ivey Redmon Sports Complex in Kernersville on November 2.

Unlike last year, the Cedar Ridge women didn’t qualify as a team. Instead, three Red Wolf runners reached the state meet based on their individual finishes at the Mideast Regional Championships at Northwood High School on October 26.

Junior Anne Morrell finishes with the fastest time among Cedar Ridge runners with a time of 19:41.50, good enough for 35th place. Last year, Morrell ran the same course at 20:11.33.

The other two Cedar Ridge runners also improved from their times at the Redmon Complex from 2018.

Sophomore Zoe Wade came in 74th at 20:35.61. Last year, Wade finished 101st with a time of 21:37.10.

Wade’s classmate, Ruby Lapham, finished 84th with a time of 20:50.28. In 2018, Lapham came in 113th at 21:50.78.

All three runners had personal bests times.

The state championships completed a grueling postseason stretch that started with the Big 8 Conference Championships, which was held on October 19 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary. Morrell finished tenth in the Big 8 Championships, the highest among runners outside of Chapel Hill.

Morrell won a sprint to the finish line to edge East Chapel Hill’s Sara Oren for a spot in top ten. Senior Allison Musty finished 15th and joined Morrell on the All-Big 8 Conference team.

“Allison had a great race,” said Cedar Ridge women’s coach Paul Lockwood. “This was her type of race. The weather’s cooler. It’s nice out. You can’t always have nice weather. Anne had a great day and ran really well.”

In addition, Lockwood was voted as the Big 8 Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year. Lockwood, who is in his second year, led the Cedar Ridge women to three dual match victories this year. Cedar Ridge also captured the Greensboro Cross Country Invitational race at Hagan State Park on September 28.

“It all goes back to the kids,” Lockwood said. “If I can’t have them, I don’t have anything. They’re awesome. I enjoy being around them. They work hard and I enjoy being around that.”

In addition to Morrell and Musty, Wade finished 16th at 20:36.60. Right behind her was teammate Ariadna Solis, who finished 17th. Junior Jill Myler came in 18th.

The top Orange finisher in the women’s race was junior Ava Zinn, who crossed the finish line 28th with a time of 21:56.70.

In the men’s race, Cedar Ridge senior Noah Draughon finished 17th with a time of 17:47.30. The Red Wolves Drew Gillespie came in 28th at 18:12.80.

Orange senior Bennett Flemming finished 24th at 18:09.50.

At the Mideast Regionals, the Cedar Ridge women’s team finished 5th among 15 teams. Morrell came in 12th at 20:16.14. Last year at the regionals, Morrell finished 19th at 20:26.21. Wade came in 24th, while Musty finished 28th.

Orange’s Zinn came in 49th at 22:43.13. Senior Hailey Bullard, in her final race, finished 58th.

In the men’s race, Orange’s Flemming was the highest finisher among Hillsborough runners, finishing 32nd.

Levi Draughon came in 34th for Cedar Ridge. Noah Draughon finished 42nd.

The fall sports season will officially end in Hillsborough on Saturday—unless Orange football can make the state playoffs.

The possibility of that appears remote, at best, as of Wednesday night. Orange’s current MaxPreps ranking is #69. Assuming that Orange beats Chapel Hill on Friday night, three of Orange’s five wins will have come against teams ranked in the bottom ten of 3A football, according to MaxPreps.

The Cedar Ridge men’s soccer team narrowly missed the state playoffs. The field of 64 was announced on Monday morning. Cedar Ridge was on the bubble, but missed out after losing to Southern Durham in the season finale.

Cedar Ridge ended the season 7-12-1, 5-9 in the Big 8 Conference.

The Cedar Ridge women’s cross country team has a good showing in the 3A Mideast Regionals at Northwood High School in Pittsboro. While Cedar Ridge didn’t qualify for the state championships as a team, like last year, there are several individual Red Wolves who will participate in the states on Saturday at Ivey Redmon Park in Kernersville.

Here is this week’s Magnificent 7, which will be the next-to-last edition for the fall sports season. We’ll begin focusing on winter sports next week.

Anne Morrell: Finished 12th at the 3A Mideast Regional Cross Country Championships at Northwood High. Morrell, a junior, qualified for the state championships for the third year in a row with a time of 20:16.4.

Zoe Wade: Finished 24th at the Mideast Regional Championships. Crossed the finish line at 21:05.84. Wade also qualified for the 3A State Championships. A sophomore, Wade will have participated in the state championships each of her first two years at Cedar Ridge.

Desi Raspberry: Cedar Ridge junior wide receiver had three receptions for 69 yards, including a 55-yard touchdown pass from William Berger against crosstown rival Orange on Friday night. Raspberry had the most yards from scrimmage for the Red Wolves.

Elliott Woods: Had 87 rushing yards and two touchdowns for Orange in a victory over Cedar Ridge at Red Wolves Stadium. Woods also had two tackles. Coming into the game, Woods led Orange in receptions and tackles. He was named this week’s Orange Panther of the Week.

Omarion Lewis: A sophomore, Lewis had a career-high 173 yards rushing against Cedar Ridge. Lewis added two touchdowns. He now leads the team in rushing yards and touchdowns this season, even though he missed the season-opener against R.J. Reynolds because it appeared he would spend this season on the junior varsity team.

Joseph Kiger: Led Orange in receiving with a career-high five receptions for 62 yards and a touchdown. On defense, Kiger led the team with six tackles. He also had ten rushing yards. Kiger also was the long snapper on extra points for kicker Nigel Slanker. He will play his final game in Hillsborough against Chapel Hill on Friday.

Bennett Fleming: The top finisher for the Orange men’s cross country team last week at the Mideast Regionals. Fleming came in 32nd with a time of 18:08.88. At the Big 8 Cross Country Championships at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, Fleming was also the top finisher for Orange.

The fall sports season is drawing to a close with some playoff intrigue in football and men’s soccer. On Monday night, the Cedar Ridge men’s soccer team dropped a 1-0 decision to Southern Durham on senior night at Red Wolves Stadium. The Spartans scored in the opening minute and largely packed in its defense the rest of the game to hold Cedar Ridge scoreless.

It was a costly loss to Cedar Ridge’s playoff chances. On Tuesday, the Red Wolves’ MaxPreps ranking fell to #68. They’re 7-12-1 overall, 5-9 in the Big 8 Conference. While Southern Durham’s MaxPreps ranking is #67, they can’t make the state playoffs ahead of the Red Wolves because Cedar Ridge finished ahead of them in the Big 8 standings.

Last week, the Orange football team kept its playoff hopes alive with a dramatic 31-30 overtime win over Northwood. Machai Holt scored in overtime for the game-winning score. Sophomore Omarion Lewis scored three touchdowns.

On Saturday, the season ended for the Cedar Ridge and Orange High volleyball teams. Terry Sanford defeated the Red Wolves 3-1 in the opening round of the 3A State Playoffs. Clayton swept Orange. Two nights later the Comets stunned previously undefeated Grey’s Creek 3-0 to advance to the Round of 16.

The Big 8 Conference Cross Country Championships were held at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary last Thursday. We’ll have more details on the results in a post coming up later tonight.

Now, here’s the Magnificent 7 from Week 9 of the Fall Sports Season:

Anne Morrell: Finished 10th in the Big 8 Women’s Cross Country Championships with a time of 19:52.70. Helped Cedar Ridge finish 3rd in the Big 8. The Red Wolves will compete in the 3A Mideast Regionals at Northwood High School in Pittsboro on Saturday.

Allison Musty: This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week, Musty was also named to the All-Big 8 Conference team in women’s cross country (Morrell was, as well). Musty finished 15th overall in the Big 8 Championships, crossing the finish line at 20:34.30.

Reese Weaver: Scored a hat trick in Cedar Ridge’s 9-0 win over Vance County on October 23. Weaver has eleven goals for the Red Wolves this season.

Levi Draughon: A sophomore, Draughon finished 19th in the Big 8 Men’s Cross Country Championships for Cedar Ridge. He was the highest finisher among Cedar Ridge runners. Cedar Ridge finished 4th as a team.

Omarion Lewis: The sophomore Orange running back was named the Orange Panther of the Week after rushing for 95 yards and three touchdowns in the Panthers 31-30 win over Northwood in overtime last Friday night. Lewis leads the team in rushing.

Machai Holt: Made an interception in the fourth quarter of the Northwood game. Two plays later, Holt scored off a 32-yard touchdown pass from Wyatt Jones to tie the game against Northwood. Holt scored on a 10-yard touchdown run in overtime. Holt leads the team with eight touchdowns.

McKenzie Hawks: Hawks competed in the 3A Central Regional Women’s Golf Championships at Greensboro National Golf Club last week. Hawks, a senior, shot 107. Sarah Durham, an Orange sophomore, were the only Hillsborough representatives in the Central Regional Championships.

Morgan Paschall: On Thursday night, Paschall announced on Twitter that he has received a scholarship offer from North Carolina A&T to play football and run track & field. Paschall added he would start attending Durham Technical Community College in January in order to become accepted at A&T. Paschall didn’t play football in his senior year at Orange. In his junior season, he ran for 542 yards and scored three touchdowns to help the Panthers win the Big 8 Championship. In two seasons with the varsity team, Paschall was also a linebacker. Paschall won several events in the 100 and 200 meters and the long jump at various track events in his junior season.

Stone Edwards: The 2017 Orange graduate has played only one game for the Vanderbilt football team so far this season. Edwards underwent ankle surgery during the summer. His only game this season came in Vanderbilt’s loss to Purdue on September 7. Edwards is a redshirt sophomore defensive end who was listed as the second-string defensive end before the Commodores’ season-opener against Georgia on August 31.

Taylin Jean: Jean posted another win as goalkeeper for the Division II Limestone women’s soccer team on Wednesday night. Limestone defeated Lees McRae 2-0 at Saints Field in Gaffney, S.C. Jean started as goalkeeper and was replaced in the 65th minute with the Saints’ leading 2-0. She made one save. Jean is 6-5 this season for the Saints. Limestone is in fourth place in the Carolinas Conference with a 5-2 mark. They are also 5-0 at home. The Saints travel to face Emmanuel College in Franklin Spring, GA on Saturday.

Brittany Daley: The 2018 Cedar Ridge graduate started for the Division III Greensboro College women’s soccer team in a 8-0 rout of Mary Baldwin at Pride Field in Greensboro on Wednesday night. Daley, a sophomore, has started all 14 games for the Pride this season. The Pride is 10-3-1, 4-0-1 in the USA South Conference. They are tied in the loss column with Pfeiffer for 1st place. They travel to Cary to face William Peace University on Saturday. Speaking of which….

Jordan Rogers: Salem College defeated William Peace women’s soccer 2-1 at Varsity Field in Winston-Salem on Wednesday. Rogers started her 15th game of the season, playing wingback. Peace is 7-7-1, 2-3 in the USA South.

Lili Henry: Salem College defeated the Methodist University volleyball team 3-0 at Varsity Gymnasium in Winston-Salem on Wednesday night. Once again, Henry led the Monarchs with 12 assists. She also had eight digs and an ace. Methodist falls to 3-14, 2-8 in the USA South Conference. This weekend, the Monarchs travel to Rocky Mount for a tri-match against North Carolina Wesleyan and Averett College.

Kate Burgess: The UNC rowing team is scheduled to start its season in the Head of the Charles in Boston on Saturday. As mentioned in a previous post, Burgess made the team as a walk-on this fall.

Lauren Cates: While fall sports dominate the headlines right now, the Wake Tech Community College women’s basketball team will start its exhibition season next week. Lauren Cates, who graduated from Orange in June, will suit up for the Eagles when they host Division III Meredith on Tuesday night. Wake Tech’s starts the regular season on November 4 against Caldwell College and Technical Institute.

The finish line is approaching for several fall sports. After the Big 8 Women’s Tennis Championships last week at East Chapel Hill High School, two singles players qualified for the 3A Mideast Regionals at the Burlington Tennis Center. Another tandem qualified for the doubles regionals.

In volleyball, Cedar Ridge and Orange enter the week tied for 3rd place after the Lady Panthers defeated the Red Wolves last Thursday. Orange hosts Chapel Hill this week, while Cedar Ridge will have senior night on Tuesday against East Chapel Hill. Orange will also have its senior night on Thursday against Southern Durham.

In men’s soccer, the second leg of the Hillsborough Derby will be held tonight (Monday) at Orange. After Cedar Ridge rallied from a 3-1 deficit to beat Orange in penalty kicks last month, the Panthers will look to split the season series tonight at Orange Soccer Stadium. Cedar Ridge defeated Orange last year at OHS. Cedar Ridge is on the state playoff bubble, currently ranked #63 in the Maxpreps ranking. Orange is #71.

Of course, on Friday night, there’s football. Cedar Ridge, coming off the Chapel Hill win last week, will look for its first winning streak since September 2016 when they travel to East Chapel Hill. Interestingly, the last time Cedar Ridge won consecutive games, they defeated Jordan-Matthews and East Chapel Hill en route to a 6-5 season.

Orange will make its first-ever trip to Vance County. After a disappointing performance against Northern Durham, Orange’s state playoff hopes may be on the line against the Vipers.

Without further ado, here’s this week’s Magnificent 7.

Isaiah McCambry: The sophomore was simply sensational in the Cedar Ridge football team’s 20-19 win over Chapel Hill. He amassed 190 rushing yards and three touchdowns as the Red Wolves won a varsity football game for the first time in 765 days. McCambry has a chance at a 1,000 yard season. With four games remaining, he has 630 yards and five touchdowns.

Brianna Cellini: Cellini qualified for the 3A Mideast Regional tennis tournament in doubles. Last week, Cellini and Mary-Hunter Millet partnered to advance to the semifinals of the Big 8 Conference Tournament. Cellini and Millet will start play this weekend at the Burlington Tennis Center. Cedar Ridge’s Olivia Ward also qualified for regionals in singles competition.

Anne Morrell: Cedar Ridge women’s cross country team won a meet at Orange last week. Morrell won the women’s race at 22:31.6. In fact, Cedar Ridge had the top seven finishers: Morrell, Zoe Wade, Jill Myler, Ariadna Solis, Allegra Hart, Allison Musty and Sarah Tucker. Morrell has been the top finisher for the Cedar Ridge women in races in Charlotte and Greensboro this season.

Cameron Lloyd: Lloyd is one of three Cedar Ridge players to register 100 points this year. The kicker is all three of those players are freshmen. Lloyd had two 20-kill matches last week. In a four-set win over Northern on Thursday at Poe Gymtorium in Durham, Lloyd had 20 kills, eleven digs, three aces and two assists. In the five-set loss to Orange, Lloyd had a career-high 25 kills, five aces, 17 digs, and an assist.

Jera Hargrove: A sophomore, Hargrove qualified for the 3A Mideast Regionals during the Big 8 Women’s Tennis tournament. In the quarterfinals last Wednesday, Hargrove defeated an opponent from East Chapel Hill 6-2, 6-4 Hargrove also won in Orange’s final dual match of the season against Northern Durham last Monday. Hargrove had to default in her semifinal match in the Big 8 Tournament because of a gimpy knee, but she is set to compete for a spot in the state championships this weekend.

Lottie Scully: The Orange volleyball team is headed to the state playoffs after sweeping Cedar Ridge and Northwood last week. Scully, a sophomore, had 12 kills, three aces, ten blocks and eight digs against the Red Wolves. Scully is second on the team with 72 kills going into Tuesday match against Chapel Hill.

Bennett Fleming: A senior for the Orange men’s cross country team, Fleming finished first in a meet against Cedar Ridge last week at Cedar Ridge. Fleming crossed the finish line at 18:53.6. as Orange won the meet with 26 points. Last month, Fleming was Orange’s top finisher at the Adidas Cross Country Challenge at WakeMed Soccer Complex in Cary.

When B.J. Condron bid farewell to his women’s basketball class of 2019 last summer, he knew each of the five seniors had a bright future.

The months that followed, predictably, proved him right.

Icez Barnett, the leader of a 19-7 team last season, moved to Murfreesboro to start her college basketball career with Division II Chowan. Three-point ace Lauren Cates finally found a post-Orange basketball destination at Wake Technical Community College.

Not all of the accolades would be on the hardwood. Namron Chapman was named the North Carolina 4-H Youth Volunteer of the Year in July. Grace Dively, the starting point guard for three straight seasons, earned a $2,000 scholarship from Piedmont Energy to study chemical engineering at N.C. State.

Indeed, there was nothing that any of those five seniors could do that would surprise Condron.

And he was wrong.

Earlier this month, Condron received a text message from Kate Burgess, his starting center the past two years.

“I JUST MADE THE UNC ROWING TEAM!”

“What?!” Condron muttered to no one in particular.

“I had no idea she was going out for rowing,” Condron said. “She just sent that text in.”

Burgess was among 18 walk-ons chosen by UNC Rowing Coach Sarah Haney and her staff among 100 candidates.

Like some of her teammates, Burgess had an exemplary academic record. She also wasn’t afraid to touch a brain in biology class, so why would she be reluctant to go out for a sport she had never participated in?

In May, Burgess was honored by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association with the Heart of a Champion award at the Sheraton Hotel in Chapel Hill. She graduated with a 4.42 GPA with plans to study Biomedical Engineering at UNC.

Burgess isn’t interested in engineering as a career. She’s infatuated with it. In biology class, her squeamish classmates would shy away during activities like brain dissection. Burgess practically jumped for the scalpel, then posed for pictures after the grisly process ended.

If anyone asked, she would freely show them her brain dissection gallery on her iPhone.

After her basketball career ended with Eastern Alamance defeated Orange in February in the 3A State Playoffs, there was still a hunger within Burgess to compete.

“I’ve dreamed of being a Division I athlete since I was a kid,” Burgess said. “Especially at UNC because I’m Tar Heel born and bred.”

As her first semester at UNC started in August, Burgess approached assistant rowing coach Emily Gross, who informed her about the walk-on process.

“When I got to school, I got an email telling us about rowing walk-on tryouts,” Burgess said.

The only problem was she had never rowed a boat in her life.

“I figured why not?” Burgess said. “It could be fun and would be a new challenge.”

Burgess had played a sport every season for the past six years. In addition to women’s basketball, she ran cross country (with Dively) in the fall and track & field in the spring.

“We can be very particular about walk-ons because we have such a large campus,” said UNC Rowing Coach Sarah Haney, a resident of Hillsborough. “We don’t need a ton of walk-ons to fill our team. Kate is incredibly coachable. She was proactive before the tryout process about what she needed to do and how she could better herself to be prepared. We liked that attitude.”

Burgess’ 5-10 frame didn’t hurt. But it was her attitude that impressed Haney the most.

“Height definitely does matter, but if you don’t have the right attitude or work ethic, then your height can mean absolutely nothing,” Haney said. “So we liked Kate’s height. But we also liked that she’s presented to us from a character standpoint and a work ethic standpoint.”

While Condron was surprised by Burgess new sport, he knew Kate well enough to know she’s ready for anything.

“I was surprised at first because I didn’t know it was something that she was interested in,” Condron said. “But Kate is an athlete. She played three sports throughout high school. She is laser focused when it comes to accomplishing goals.”

UNC will start its season at the Head of the Charles on October 19 in Boston.