Orange Wrestling

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is senior heavyweight wrestler Juan Navarro. On Saturday, Navarro won the heavyweight championship of the Silver Fox Invitational at Riverside High School in Durham. He defeated Person’s Noah Harris 2-1 in the championship match. It was Navarro’s 30th win of the season and the 69th of his career. He has 17 pins this season. Navarro started eleven games at right guard for the Orange football team the past two seasons. Navarro is focused on qualifying for the 3A State Championships at the Greensboro Coliseum next month. Last year, he missed qualifying by one point. This year, the Mideast Regionals will take place at Cape Fear High School in Fayetteville. Navarro went 38-11 with 18 pins in his first full season as a starter. This is his third year as a varsity grappler.

The youngest Orange wrestling team in recent memory may be finding its stride at the right time.

After finishing 4th in the DASH Tournament in Willow Springs last weekend, the Panthers won the Silver Fox Invitational at Riverside High School in Durham on Saturday. The Panthers had five individual champions, four of whom won titles for the first-time in their varsity careers.

Orange captured the team championship with 212.5 points, it’s first team tournament championship this season. Cary finished 2nd at 154 points. Person finished third at 132.5 points.

Senior heavyweight Juan Navarro, who finished 2nd last year at Riverside, won the first individual championship of his career. For the third time this season, Navarro faced a challenger from Person in a tournament. This time, it was Noah Harris, who replaced starter Marcus Vincent due to illness. Navarro defeated Harris 3-1, his 30th win of the season and the 69th of his Orange.

Panther freshman Dillon Heffernan won the 106-pound title. Heffernan, who won two Orange-Person Athletic Conference championships at Stanford Middle School, quite literally held on to defeat Cary’s Aki Hason 4-3 in the championship match.

At 113 pounds, Orange’s Joshua Dunn pinned Cary’s Ezra Jack at 3:19 in the final. Dunn pinned Wakefield’s Luke DiGiuseppe in 1:37 in the semifinals.

Tayton Alvis earned his 20th win of the season in the 145-pound championship match, where he defeated Wakefield’s Terry Edwards 4-1.

At 160 pounds, Korbin Nevius pinned Cary’s Jake Wolfram in 1:53 to win the championship. Nevius is now 23-9 with ten pins this season.

Navarro, who narrowly missed qualifying for the 3A State Championships last year, had a scoreless first period against Harris. Early on, Harris grabbed Navarro’s leg in a single-leg attempt, but Navarro stood on one leg long enough to regain his balance.

In the second period, Harris scored the initial escape point, but Navarro got Harris’ back for the only takedown of the match. Navarro fended off Harris’ takedown attempts in the third period.

In the 106 pound match, Hason led 3-2 at the end of the second period. Starting from the bottom in the third period, Heffernan scored a reversal to take a 4-3 lead 19 seconding the frame. After two restarts, Heffernan held on to an arm bar and Hason looked for an escape to even the match, but ultimately couldn’t find a way out.

At 113 pounds, Jack led Dunn 2-1 at the end of the first period after a reversal. In the second period, Dunn worked from the bottom to gain Jack’s back, then clamped on a half-nelson to force Jack’s right shoulder down for the pin at 3:18.

Brandon Worsham nearly became the sixth Panther to win a championship on the afternoon. He finished runner-up at 182 pounds, narrowly falling to Wesley Sharpe of Voyager Academy 2-1. Worsham battled for an escape point in the final seconds that could have sent the match to overtime.

This week, Orange looks to complete another undefeated run through the Big 8 Conference. The Panthers, with a 23-2 overall record, 5-0 in the Big 8, will travel to Northern Durham on Wednesday night. On Thursday, the Panthers host Chapel Hill for Senior Night. If Orange defeats the Tigers, the Panthers will clinch its 17th consecutive conference championship.

On the same day, Orange wrestling Tayton Alvis earned his 20th victory of the season and his first individual championship at the varsity level. Alvis won the 145-pound title at the Silver Fox Invitational at Riverside High School in Durham. Alvis scored a takedown in the opening period and held on to defeat Terry Edwards of Wakefield 4-2 in the championship match on Saturday afternoon. In the semifinals, Alvis pinned Dawson Owen of Person in 51 seconds. Alvis is 20-12 with 13 pins this season. Last season, as a sophomore, Alvis wrestled at 138 pounds. He finished 27-14 with 19 pins as Orange won the Big 8 Championship and advanced to the 2nd round of the 3A State Dual regional tournament after beating Morehead in the opening round. Orange has already clinched a birth for the State Dual Playoffs for this season, and will go for the Big 8 Conference Championship this week with a road trip to Northern Durham and a home match against Chapel Hill on Thursday in Hillsborough.

Orange wrestling had five individual champions at the Silver Fox Invitational at Riverside High School in Durham on Saturday. It was Orange’s first individual tournament championship of the season. Joshua Dunn won the 113-pound title with three pins. He defeated Cary’s Ezra Jacks in 3:19. In the semifinals, Dunn pinned Luke DiGiuseppe of Wakefield in 1:37. He is now 27-9 this season with 19 pins. This week, Orange will go for its 17th consecutive conference championship when they face Northern Durham on Wednesday in Durham. The Panthers will host Chapel Hill for Senior Night on Thursday. Dunn helped put Orange in position for another conference title by beating Alden Vigus of Northwood in 1:01 on January 8. Orange goes into the Northern match with an overall record of 23-2. Dunn is also preparing for the 3A Mideast Regionals, which will take place at Cape Fear High School in Fayetteville on February 14 and 15.

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.

After winning two Orange-Person Athletic Conference championships at Stanford Middle School, Orange freshman Dillon Heffernan won his first individual high school title on Saturday. Heffernan captured the 106-pound championship at the Silver Fox Invitational at Riverside High in Durham. In the championship match, Heffernan defeated Cary’s Ali Hason 4-3. The third period was tight. Heffernan started from the top and worked an arm brace to hold on to Hason, who desperately tried to gain an escape point to even the match. Heffernan held on for the win. Earlier in the day, Heffernan defeated Northern Durham’s David Smith via pinfall in 5:57. In the semifinals, Heffernan held off Person’s Derrick Laycock 10-9. Heffernan will join Orange in two dual matches this week. The Panthers travel to Northern Durham on Wednesday night, then will host Chapel Hill for the Big 8 Conference championship on Thursday in Hillsborough.

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.

Alvis Whitted: The 1993 Orange graduate is headed to the NFC Championship game. Whitted, the wide receivers coach for the Green Bay Packers, was on the sideline as Green Bay held on to defeat the Seattle Seahawks 28-23 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay on Sunday night in the NFC Divisional Playoffs. Whitted was a wide receiver and ran track & field for three seasons at Orange. He was a 4A State Champion in the 100 and 200 meters. Whitted was a member of the 1991 Orange team that went to the 2nd round of the 4A State Playoffs. At N.C. State, he played wide receiver/kick returner for Coach Mike O’Cain. Whitted is the last Orange Panther to play in a bowl game, where he suited up as a kick returner in the Wolfpack’s 28-24 win over Mississippi State at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. Whitted is also the only Orange Panther to play in the Super Bowl. He played special teams for the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII. Whitted started his coaching career at Orange under Dickie Schock. From there, he went on to Millsaps College, a Division III team in Jackson, Mississippi. He joined Rick Neuheisel’s staff at UCLA in 2011 before starting a seven-year stint as wide receivers coach at Colorado State. Whitted met Green Bay head coach Matt LaFleur during a predraft workout at Colorado State with Michael Gallup, one of three All-Americans that Whitted coached in Fort Collins. Green Bay faces San Francisco for the NFC Championship next Sunday at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, CA.

Icez Barnett: Barnett, a freshman with the Division II Chowan women’s basketball team, returned to action on January 8 in a 73-67 loss to Mount Olive. Barnett played two minutes and grabbed one rebound. She didn’t play on Saturday as King defeated the Hawks 68-52 at the Helms Center in Murfreesboro. Chowan is 3-11, 3-7 in Conference Carolinas Thus far in her freshman season, Barnett has played ten games. In 80 minutes, she has scored six points and 17 rebounds.

Lauren Cates: The Wake Tech Community College women’s basketball team returned to action with a 94-19 destruction of Fayetteville Technical Community College on January 8 in Raleigh. Cates had the best shooting game of her college career, going 6-of-9 from the field, including 4-of-7 from 3-point range. She finished with 16 points, four rebounds and three assists. On Saturday, Catawba Valley Community College defeated Wake Tech 80-57 to end a four-game winning streak. The Eagles are 9-4, 5-3 in Region X of the National Junior College Athletic Association.

Braden Homsey: The Division III Ferrum wrestling team advanced to the championship of the Virginia Duals at the Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, VA. Kutztown, ranked #16 in Division III, defeated the Panthers 19-13 in the final on Saturday afternoon. Homsey, wrestling at 197 pounds, defeated Anthony Emig 13-11.

In the semifinals, Ferrum upended Waynesburg 29-10. Homsey claimed a 9-6 decision over Dan Verhovsek. In the quarterfinals on Friday, Ferrum advanced past Alderson Broaddus 34-11. Homsey earned a major decision by beating Alex Eaton 15-3. This season, Homsey is 19-7 with one pin.

The Panthers are 5-2 this season.

Ferrum returns to action in the Builder Open next Saturday in Virginia Beach, VA.

With the Big 8 Conference Championship race boiling down to one match next week, the Orange wrestling team had a successful, if nerve wracking, trip down east.

On Saturday, the Panthers swept all four matches in the Havelock Duals at Havelock High School. Orange captured the final match of the day against Havelock 36-35, with the final match based on criteria. Havelock’s Derek Waiaau pinned Tyler Larkin at 220 pounds to even the match at 35-35, but Orange earned the overall victory after winning eight individual matches to Havelock’s six.

The Panthers improved to 22-2 as they go into a crucial match on Wednesday against Chapel Hill that will likely determine the Big 8 Conference Champion. Orange will go for its 17th consecutive conference championship spanning three classifications.

The Tigers have already defeated Northwood, Cedar Ridge, and Southern Durham.

In Havelock, Orange defeated J.H. Rose 60-21; they romped past Northside-Jacksonville 62-16 and polished off West Craven 66-10.

Brendon Worsham scored four victories on the day, including pinfall victories against Nic Roberts of West Craven in 41 seconds and Zachariah Gallardo-Chism of Northside-Jacksonville in 47 seconds. Biggest of all was a 8-0 major decision over Tate Cringan of Havelock, the third from last match of the day. The extra point from the major decision (worth four points instead of the usual three points for a standard decision) led to Orange winning the Havelock match.

Worsham is now 20-10.

Havelock opened the dual match with a pin by heavyweight Isaiah Verspoor. Dillon Heffernan earned an 11-5 decision at 106. In the tightest bout of the match, Orange’s Joshua Dunn defeated Trey Henke 9-7 in overtime to win at 113.

Havelock took a 12-6 lead when Cody Rutherford scored a pin at 120 pounds. Orange’s Kessel Summer narrowed the Rams’ lead to 12-10 with a major decision victory over Nate Lucio 14-5.

Matthew Smith-Breeden, who won all four of his matches on the day, scored a pin over Jaylen Jarman in 47 seconds. It was the first of four straight Orange wins.

At 138, Orange’s Henry Joubert-Stanzel pinned Collin Jasset in 1:07. Tayton Alvis pinned Havelock’s Austin Dennis in 15 seconds at 145. Noah Davis decisioned Xavier McCullough 13-10.

Havelock’s Gordon Whitfield earned a tech fall at 160, and the Rams’ Gabe Godette pinned Hayden Horne at 170 to cut Orange’s lead to 31-23 going into Worsham’s match at 182.

Switching between 132 & 138 pounds, Smith-Breeden earned a forfeit victory against Rose, defeated Northside-Jacksonville’s Dakar Pearson 11-3 and pinned West Craven’s Tristan Moore in 3:32. Smith-Breeden is now 23-8 with eight pins this season.

Heavyweight Juan Navarro earned three pins on the day. He defeated Daniel Olarte of Rose in 1:48. Navarro finished off Josh Smith of Northside in 1:09. Against West Craven, he pinned Malachi Williams in :47. Navarro is 22-6 with 14 pins.

At 138 pounds, Joubet-Stanzel narrowly defeated West Craven’s Jeremiah Cannon 13-12. Earlier, Joubert-Stanzel compete at 145 pounds and pinned William Denison in 2:14. Joubert-Stanzil is 20-7 with nine pins.

Last Wednesday, Orange defeated Northwood 55-12 in Pittsboro. Nathan Hecht pinned Hue Jacobs in 1:32 to sew up Orange’s first Big 8 Conference win of the 2020s with a pin of the Chargers’ Hue Jacobs in 1:32. It was one of seven pinfall victories for the Panthers. Worsham defeated William Lake in 1:47. Tyler Larkin won at 220 pounds, pinning Chandler Stubbs in 2:57. Tayton Alvis was victorious at 145 pounds over Nathan Davis after a pin at 2:34.