Orange Wrestling

Braden Homsey: Ferrum College has named Homsey as its Male Athlete of the Year. Last winter, Homsey won three tournaments for the Panthers’ wrestling team at 197 pounds. He captured the Cougar Open, the Pete Wilson Memorial Tournament in Illinois and the Southeast Conference Tournament. Homsey finished the season with a 25-7 record with four pins and, at one point, was ranked #11 in the country in Division III. Homsey, a senior at Ferrum, was named the Big 8 Conference Wrestling of the Year for Orange in 2018. He won the Mideast Regional championship at 195 pounds in his senior season.

Trenton Gill: Gill found himself busy as the Chicago Bears faced the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field on Sunday night. Gill had four punts for an average of 49.5 yards. His longest went 57 yards and there was one downed inside the 20-yard line. Gill is averaging 47.5 yards per punt through two games, good enough for 15th in the National Football League.

Payton Wilson: For the first time in nearly two years, Wilson started and finished an entire game for N.C. State against Texas Tech on Saturday night at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh. Wilson led the Wolfpack with ten tackles as the Wolfpack defeated the Red Raiders 27-14. N.C. State will face Connecticut on Saturday night.

Keshawn Thompson: East Carolina defeated the Camels 49-10 on Saturday night at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium in Greenville. Thompson started for the Camels and finished with three tackles. Campbell is 1-2 and will look to bounce back when they host North Carolina Central on October 1 in Buies Creek.

Darius Satterfield: Satterfield had a crucial punt as Elizabeth City State defeated Winston-Salem State 20-17 at Roebuck Stadium in Elizabeth City on Saturday. With 20 seconds remaining and the Vikings clinging to a three-point lead, Satterfield was forced to punt from the back of his own end zone. He got away a 28-yarder that backed the Broncos away from the end zone. The Vikings’ defense was able to run out the clock to win its CIAA opener. For the day, Satterfield had an average of 27.3 yards on seven punts. Two of the punts went over 50 yards.

Bryse Wilson: At the same time his brother was playing for N.C. State, Bryse Wilson started for the Pittsburgh Pirates against the New York Mets at Citi Field. The Mets defeated the Pirates 5-1 to remain atop the National League East. Wilson suffered the loss to fall to 3-9 on the season. He threw 5.1 innings and surrendered four runs off four hits. He had five strikeouts with two walks. Wilson now has a 6.07 ERA.

Kayla Hodges: Last Thursday, the Virginia Commonwealth women’s soccer team played to a 1-1 tie against Massachusetts in Richmond, VA. Hodges started on the backline of defense and played all 90 minutes. On Sunday, the Rams played to yet another tie against Rhode Island in Kingston, R.I. Hodges started once again and fired a shot. She played all 90 minutes. VCU is 2-1-7, 0-0-2 in the Atlantic 10.

Emerson Talley: The Division II Lenoir-Rhyne women’s soccer team defeated Limestone 1-0 on Saturday at Moretz Sports Complex in Hickory. Talley came off the bench to play 22 minutes as the Bears improved to 3-0 in the South Atlantic Conference. Lenoir-Rhyne is 3-2-1 overall.

Lottie Scully: The Binghamton volleyball team win 1-2 in the West Virginia Tournament at WVU Coliseum last week. On Thursday, Delaware State defeated the Bearcats (27-25, 23-25, 18-25, 25-22, 15-4). Scully had a season-high 39 assists against the Hornets. She also finished with two aces, two blocks, and 13 digs. Later in the day, West Virginia knocked off Binghamton 3-1 (25-20, 25-22, 22-25, 25-12). Scully registered 30 assists, one ace and eight digs. The Bearcats won its only match of the event over Merrimack 3-0 on Friday (25-21, 25-10, 25-17). Scully had two kills, 33 assists, two aces and three digs. Binghamton is 8-4 and will face Niagara on Tuesday.

Avery Miller: Lenoir Community College defeated Pitt Community College 3-1 (21-25, 25-23, 25-20, 25-19) last Wednesday in Winterville. Miller played three sets and finished with two kills and three digs for Pitt. The Bulldogs are now 7-3 overall, 0-3 in Region X of the National Junior College Athletic Association.

After qualifying for the 3A State Wrestling championships for a third consecutive year, Orange senior Brendon Worsham will end his career as the Central Carolina Conference 151-285 lbs. Wrestler of the Year.

Worsham earned the honor after a 29-8 season where he won his opening round match at 182-pounds in the 3A State Championships at the Greensboro Coliseum. Worsham ended his Orange career with a 76-27 record.

Orange coach Spenser Poteat was named the Central Carolina Conference Coach of the Year. It’s the second straight year that Poteat has been named Coach of the Year. Poteat, in his fifth season as Orange’s head coach, won his fourth conference championship since replacing his mentor, Bobby Shriner. In the 3A State Dual Team Tournament, the Panthers had its deepest run since 2017, defeating Northwood, Wilson Fike and Croatan en route to the Eastern Regional Championship match against Union Pines. Orange finished the regular season 19-4 with a perfect 6-0 record in the Central Carolina Conference. It was Orange’s 18th conference championship in the last 19 years.

Throughout the season, Orange excelled in bigger weight classes, which was mirrored by the All-Central Carolina Conference team. Of the seven weight classes between 152-and-285 pounds, five Panthers made the All-Conference squad.

Also earning All-Conference honors was Cedar Ridge’s Kaden Tatro. As a sophomore, Tatro qualified for the state championships at 170 pounds. He finished the season with a 36-12 record. Tatro won two consolation matches in the state championships, pinning Blake McCabe of Croatan in 2:20. He scored a major decision over Nathan Williams of Triton 13-1. Tatro would have been the favorite to win the 170-pound championship in the Central Carolina Conference Tournament, which was scheduled in late January at Eastern Alamance High School, but was canceled due to the threat of winter weather. He finished fourth at the Mideast Regional Championships at Union Pines High School in Cameron on February 12.

Orange senior Nate Hecht also made All-Conference at 170 pounds. Hecht, who started as a freshman at 160 pounds, was also a starting defensive end in football. On January 25, Hecht pinned Eastern Alamance’s Wyatt Faucette in 38 seconds, which led to the Panthers defeating the Eagles 64-18 to officially sew up the Central Carolina Conference championships. He had 22 wins this season.

In his first year at varsity, Acoya Isley made All-Conference at 195 pounds. Isley won two individual championships this season. He claimed the 195-pound championship at the Jim King/Orange Invitational on December 4 in Hillsborough, pinning Dylan Wall of Bartlett Yancey in 4:36 for the title. On January 8, Isley captured the 195-pound title in the Quentin Crosby Invitational in Grensboro at Dudley High School. Isley pinned R.J. Reynolds Thomas Tippeconne in the final. Isley qualified for the state championships after finishing 3rd in the Mideast Regionals.

Orange’s Elijah Acosta was named All-Conference at 220 pounds. The son of former Orange wrestler Mike Acosta, Elijah went 30-5 in his junior season. Acosta won three individual tournaments, starting with the JKO. Acosta defeated Northwood’s Jake Dunning 12-5 in the championship match, which was the first of four matches between Acosta and Dunning this season. On December 18, Acosta won the Eastern Alamance Invitational in Mebane, pinning Trinity’s Joey Smith for the championship. Acosta also captured the Quentin Crosby Invitational championship at 220 pounds, beating Dudley Jaquaid Owens 5-2 in the final. Acosta finished 3rd in the Mideast Regionals.

At heavyweight, Orange’s Hugo Vazquez also made All-Conference. After finishing 2nd in the Mideast Regionals, Vazquez finished the season with a 23-9 record. Vazquez won the heavyweight championship at the JKO. He captured the Eastern Alamance Invitational, going to a sudden victory round against Bartlett Yancey’s Devon Thompson. Vazquez scored the takedown to take the championship 8-6. In the state dual team playoffs, Vazquez won all four of his matches, including pins against Wilson Fike and Croatan, as well as a decision victory over Union Pines.

The last time the 3A State Wrestling Championships were held at the Greensboro Coliseum, it was February 2020, just a few weeks before the new normal set in around the world.

Only three Hillsborough-area wrestlers reached the state championships.

Based on the opening day of the 3A Mideast Regionals on Friday, it appears there will be considerably more this year.

Eight Orange wrestlers reached the semifinals at Union Pines High School in Cameron on Friday. Also, Cedar Ridge’s Fernando Martinez won his opening matches at 113 pounds, including a pinfall victory over Southern Lee’s Nate Moss for his 90th career win. Martinez, a junior, reached the regional semifinals for the second time. As a freshman in 2020, Martinez won his first two matches at 106 pounds.

Orange had two grapplers receive #1 seeds. At 126 pounds, junior Dillon Heffernan received a bye into the second round. In his only match on Friday, Heffernan scored a 16-3 major decision over Justin Richardson of Douglas Byrd 16-3. On Saturday morning, Heffernan will face Luc Young of Terry Sanford in the semifinals. Heffernan is 29-6 this season.

At 220 pounds, junior Elijah Acosta earned a top seed after recording a 28-4 mark in his first season as a full-time starter. Acosta pinned Northern Nash’s Sammy Huddleston in 5:40 in his only match of the day. He will face Jake Dunning of Northwood in the semifinals. It will be the fourth time this year that Acosta has opposed Dunning. On December 2, Acosta defeated Dunning 12-5 in the championship match of the Jim King/Orange Invitational. Acosta also defeated Dunning in two separate dual matches in 2022, including last week in the opening round of the 3A State Team Tournament.

Orange senior Brendon Worsham is one win away from reaching the 182-pound regional championship match for the third straight year. Worsham received a #3 seed and pinned Richard Middlemiss of Southern Lee in 2:33, then pinned Aidan Murphy of Franklinton in 2:42 in the quarterfinals. Worsham will face second-seeded Demontrious Ratliff of Fayetteville 71st on Saturday.

At heavyweight, Orange’s Hugo Vazquez earned a #3 seed. In the quarterfinals, Vazquez edged Franklinton’s Landon Michael 2-1 for his first trip to the semifinals. Vazquez will face Northern Nash’s Jaquan Elliott in the semifinals.

At 182 pounds, Acoya Isley pinned Southern Lee’s Joshua Silva in 2:48. Isley, seeded #4, will face Scotland County’s Michael Locklear in the semifinals.

The biggest surprise of the day came at 160 pounds where Andre Hill stunned top-seeded Wade Johnson of Harnett Central in the second round. Hill, another first-year starter, rode out an 8-4 victory over Johnson to reach the semifinals. In the opening round, Hill pinned Zeke May of Western Alamance in 4:22.

At 132 pounds, Orange’s Jared Hutchins pinned second-seeded Luis Arellano of Southern Nash in 1:14. Hutchins, who is now 26-7 on the season after four wins in the 3A State Dual Team Tournament last week, faces Cameron Curva of Western Harnett in the semifinals.

Orange’s Braden Crawford also earned a trip to the semifinals at 120 pounds. Crawford pinned Southern Lee’s Nasir’e Jones in 1:57 to open the day, then defeated third-seeded Zy’Aire Priester 11-7 in the quarterfinals. It was Crawford’s second win over Priester this season. Dakota Little of Westover, the #2 seed at 120, awaits Crawford on Saturday.

In addition to the wrestlers who reached the semifinals, there are several more who remain in contention for the state championships in the consolation brackets.

Orange’s Aidan Sierra and Cedar Ridge’s Jaylen Williams are in the consolation bracket at 106 pounds.

At 120 pounds, Cedar Ridge’s Pierce Prescod pinned Northwood’s Coltrane Northington in 1:07. Prescod lost to top-seeded Christian Rothrock of Douglas Byrd in the quarterfinals. He will face Damani Nantambu of Southern Nash in the consolation round.

Cedar Ridge’s Kaden Tatro pinned Chaz May of Western Alamance in 1:44. Tatro was pinned in the second round by Byrd’s Demarcus Carroll.

Orange is second in the team standings after the first day with 54.5 points. Union Pines, the 3A Eastern Regional Champion, is in first place with 68.5 points. Cedar Ridge, who had representatives in all 13 weight classes for the first time in coach Scott Metcalf’s tenure, had 19.5 points.

The top four wrestlers from each weight class will reach the 3A State Tournament, which starts on Thursday at the Greensboro Coliseum.

From the moment the Orange wrestling team resumed a normal, standard schedule in November to the time it ended its dual season against Union Pines last Wednesday in the 3A Eastern Regional Championship match, the proof of improvement of the squad lays in the numbers.

9: the number of new starters for Orange wrestling after a loss season in 2020-2021 because of the pandemic.

148: Combined wins for the season by Orange’s new starters this season.

51: Point differential when Union Pines defeated Orange on November 23 in the Orange Thanksgiving Duals.

25: Point differential when Union Pines defeated Orange to win the Eastern Regional Championship last Wednesday.

Last Thursday, Orange fell to Union Pines 49-24 in the Eastern Regional Championship match in Cameron. It was the Vikings first-ever regional title. On Saturday, Fred T. Foard defeated Union Pines 58-12 to win the 3A State Championship at the Greensboro Coliseum Fieldhouse.

Orange was deprived of a 12th regional title. They last reached the state championship match in 2018, when they lost to Piedmont in Greensboro.

Earlier on Thursday night, the younger Orange wrestlers came through in a 39-33 victory over Croatan, who won ten regional championships in 16 years in the 2A ranks. In a match where every point counted, four Panther newcomers came through with wins over a Cougar team that reached the 2A State Championship match in 2020, the last time a dual team state tournament was contested (The event was canceled in 2021 because of the pandemic).

At 120 pounds, Orange’s Braden Crawford started the night by pinning Colton Leiske in 2:00 to give Orange an early 6-0 lead. Junior Dillon Heffernan, a three-year starter who leads the team with 29 wins this season, scored his own pin over Tommy Williams at 4:35. At 132 pounds, Jared Hutchins pinned Angelica Steffy in 1:58 to increase the Panthers’ lead to 18-0.

Croatan’s Cody Raymond (138) and Josh Steffy (145) earned pinfall victories to reduce the Panthers’ advantage to 18-12. At 152 pounds, Samuel Crawford pinned Garrett Cortese in 1:42. Crawford is 18-11 on the season.

The Cougars got consecutive wins at 160 and 170 pounds. Eli Simonette pinned Andre Hill in 1:03, while Drake Egan defeated Nate Hecht 6-3 to cut the Panthers’ lead to 24-21.

Orange senior Brendon Worsham, who qualified for the 3A State Championships last year, earned a 7-1 decision over Blake McCabe. Worsham improved to 27-5 on the season.

The heavier weight classes have been the most reliable part of Orange’s team this season and it was no different in its final dual victory of the season. After Worsham’s decision victory, Acoya Isley held off Croatan’s Landon Gray 13-7. Isley, who has won two individual tournaments this season, is 23-5 in his first year as a starter.

At 220 pounds, Elijah Acosta earned the most thrilling win of the night. Acosta went to sudden victory against the Cougars’ A.J. Pile Jr., but earned a trip takedown which led to back points in the first extra session, resulting in a 7-2 victory. Acosta, whose father Mike wrestling under Bobby Shriner in the 1990s at Orange, is 28-3.

Heavyweight Hugo Vazquez, who captured the Jim King/Orange Invitational in December, ensured the Panthers would advance to the Eastern Regional Championship match with a pin over Tomas Aguero in 2:54.

In the championship match against Union Pines, Heffernan opened with a forfeit victory at 120. Hutchins held off Johann Diaz 11-9 to push Orange’s lead to 9-0.

The Vikings’ Joseph Vrabcak earned a 9-0 major decision at 138, while Gaige Lloyd scored a pin to give UPHS the lead at 10-9. Samuel Crawford pinned Houston Leeah in 1:15, but that was the last time the Panthers would have the overall lead. The Cougars earned three consecutive individual wins, including two pins, to go ahead 24-15.

Acoya Isley pinned Dantrell Williams at 195. Colton Collins earned a pin over Acosta, who suffered only his fourth loss of the season. At heavyweight, Vazquez earned a 3-1 decision over Kellen DeVries, but it was the Panthers final win of the match. Vazquez will go into the 3A Mideast Regionals at Union Pines High on Friday with a 25-6 record.

Also at regionals on Friday, several Cedar Ridge wrestlers will go for spots in the 3A State Championship. The last Red Wolf to make the state championships was Daina Pritchard last summer at Eastern Guilford High School, where the regionals were also held.

Cedar Ridge junior Fernando Martinez is in the hunt for 100 career wins before the end of the season. Martinez will go into regionals with 89 career wins. He will compete in the 113-pound weight class. Other Red Wolf grapplers making their regional debuts will be Kaden Tatro and freshman Leo Oguntoyinbo.

Photo by Sherri Corbin Nevius

Compared to its state and regional championship teams of the past, this isn’t the most experienced Orange wrestling team.

But the veterans the Panthers do have came through when it mattered most en route to its first appearance in the state quarterfinals since 2018.

On Monday night, Orange defeated Wilson Fike 51-24 in the 2nd round of the 3A State Dual Team Wrestling Tournament at Orange High Gymnasium. The Panthers (18-3) will host the Regional Semifinals and the Eastern Regional championship on Wednesday night.

The top seed in the 3A East Region, Union Pines, will face Currituck in the other semifinal on Wednesday. The Eastern Regional championship match will immediately follow the respective semifinals. The 3A State Championship match will be held at the Greensboro Coliseum Fieldhouse on Saturday.

“This senior class, this is the furthest they’ve made it since they’ve been here,” said Orange wrestling coach Spenser Poteat. “We’re excited for those guys. We’re going to keep pushing and see what happens.”

Earlier on Monday, the Panthers defeated Northwood 45-27 for the second time this season. Orange, the champions of the Central Carolina Conference, jumped out to a 39-3 lead against the Chargers after a pin by Jared Hutchins at 132 pounds, which sewed up the team victory.

On the adjacent mat, Fike, the champions of the Quad County Conference, defeated Southern Nash 42-35 in the opening round.

Fike’s Desaun Avent opened with a stunning victory over Orange’s Elijah Acosta at 220 pounds. Acosta, who leads Orange with 27 victories this year, led for most of the match after Avent was penalized a point in the first period for an illegal hold. With Acosta ahead 3-2, Avent scored a double leg takedown with 19 seconds remaining, then prevented Acosta from escaping and literally held on to win 4-3. It was only the third loss of the season for Acosta.

Orange didn’t stay down for long. At heavyweight, Hugo Vazquez pinned Hartley Warren in 34 seconds. Vazquez, who earned a forfeit victory over Northwood earlier on the night, improved to 22-6 with 13 pins.

“Hugo’s shown tremendous improvement,” Poteat said. “Elijah beat him out at 220 pounds this year, so Hugo’s at heavyweight now and working really hard.”

After Orange’s Adrain Sierra picked up a forfeit victory at 106 pounds, Fike squared the match after consecutive victories. At 113 pounds, the Demons’ Harlee Allen notched a quick pin. At 120 pounds, Fike’s Andrew Woodard and Orange’s Braden Crawford had a wild match where Woodard led 4-0 early in the second period. Crawford notched a sudden reversal late and Woodard spent the final 20 seconds of the frame fighting off his back to avoid getting pinned. With Woodard’s shoulders nearly on the mat, the clock finally ran out and Crawford notched two points for the reversal and three back points to take a 5-4 lead.

Woodard picked up a point at the end of the second period, then scored a takedown with 1:01 remaining to earn the decision win 7-5.

With the dual match even 12-12, Orange took four of the next five matches via pinfall, and no one worked by the hour. Junior Dillon Heffernan, who has started since his freshman season, pinned Zach Turner in 17 seconds. Heffernan is 26-6 with 15 pins this season.

At 132 pounds, Jared Hutchins pinned Fike’s Aaron Morrell in 28 seconds. After Fike’s Barrett Klutely earned his own quick pin in 25 seconds, the Panthers got another fast victory when senior Avery Clark pinned Jackson Davis in 1:07. Clark needed just 12 seconds to get the opening takedown, but action was immediately stopped after he came up with a bloody nose. Clark completed the match with nose plugs in each of his nostrils.

“He did very well,” Poteat said. “He’s another one of our seniors and he’s worked very hard, as well. We look forward to see him competing on Wednesday.”

With Orange leading 30-18, the Panthers Samuel Crawford pinned Benjamin Whitener in 20 seconds. After Fike’s Jacob Farmer got a pin at 1:31, Panther senior Nate Hecht wrapped up the dual match win with a pin over Jessie Mitchell in 1:24. Hecht, a starter for four years, earned his 17th win of the season and his tenth pin.

Orange senior Brendon Worsham pinned Landon Penny at 182 pounds. In the final match of the night, the Panthers’ Acoya Isley held off Justin Bullock 13-6 at 195.

In Orange’s win over Northwood, Isley started the dual match with a victory over Isaac Laccone via pinfall in 1:01. At 220 pounds, Acosta defeated Northwood’s Jake Dunning 5-2. Vazquez and Sierra earned forfeit wins at heavyweight and 106 pounds, respectively.

At 113 pounds, Kale Womble pinned Sunday Oo in 3:59. Heffernan pinned Aiden Vigus in 5:51 at 126 pounds. Heffernan went into the final period with a 4-0 lead.

Hutchins pinned Asher Rockrier in 2:26 to earn the dual match win for Orange. Worsham ended the dual match by pinning Ryan Brinker at 182 pounds in 2:57.

For the first time since 2018, the Orange wrestling team has reached the 3A State Quarterfinals. On Monday night in the opening round of the 3A State Dual Tournament, the Panthers defeated Central Carolina Conference rival Northwood 45-27 in the opening round. In the round of 16, Orange broke open a 12-12 tie against Fike with pins in four of the subsequent five matches to beat the Demons 51-24. Fike was the champions of the Quad County Confernce. Orange junior Dillon Heffernan pinned Fike’s Zach Turner in 17 seconds to put Orange ahead 18-12. The Panthers would never lose the lead again. At 170 pounds, Orange senior Nate Hecht defeated Fike’s Jessie Mitchell via pinfall in 1:24. While Orange has won five state championships since 2005, this is the first time the current class of Panthers have reached the state quarterfinals. On Wednesday night, Orange will face Croatan in the 3A Regional Semifinals inside Panther Gymnasium. On the opposite mat, Union Pines hosts Currituck in the other semifinal.

Braden Homsey: Former Orange wrestler Braden Homsey captured the 197-pound championship at the Pete Wilson-Wheaton Invitational in Whealton, Illinois for the Division III Ferrum College wrestling team on Saturday. In the championship match, Homsey handily disposed of Danny Lingen of the University of Chicago 18-5. To open the tournament, Homsey scored an 15-0 technical fall over Reid McNeill of Concardia University of Wisconsin. In the second round, Homsey defeated Warren Gentile of Mount Union 10-3. Homsey outscored Nathanie Armstrong of Mount St. Joseph 13-10 in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, Homsey pinned Wheaton Univeristy’s Jackson Punzel in 7:00. Homsey is now 17-1 in his senior season. Ferrum finished fourth in the team standings with 87 points. Homsey leads Ferrum in wins.

Connor Crabtree: The Richmond men’s basketball team defeated Rhode Island 70-63 at Ryan Center in Kingston, RI on Tuesday. Crabtree came off the bench to play seven minutes. He scored one point off 1-of-2 shooting from the free throw line. Crabtree also grabbed two rebounds. On Saturday, VCU defeated Richmond 64-62 at the Robins Center in the battle of Richmond. Crabtree did not play. Richmond is 13-8 overall, 4-4 in the Atlantic 10 Conference.

Joey McMullin: The Sandhills Community College men’s basketball team continues to roll along. The Flyers have now won seven in a row. On Wednesday, the Flyers edged Central Carolina Community College 80-79 in Sanford. In a wild game, the Flyers trailed by double-digits in both halves, but fought back to take an 80-72 lead with a minute remaining. McMullin came off the bench to score 13 points in 18 minutes. He shot 4-of-8 from the field and drained his only 3-point attempt. McMullin also had four rebounds, all offensive. On Friday, Sandhills defeated the Montreat College junior varsity squad 113-59. McMullin led the Flyers with 21 points, though he played 16 minutes. He shot 8-of-11 from the field. McMullin also had four rebounds. The Flyers, who are ranked #14 in the National Junior College Athletic Association Division III poll, will face Oxford College at Emory University in Atlanta later today (Sunday).

Jamar Davis: The N.C. State men’s indoor track & field team competed in the Bob Pollock Meet in Clemson, SC on Friday and Saturday. Davis finished sixth in the triple jump with a leap of 15.27 meters. On Friday, Davis competed in the long jump. His best leap was 7.01 meters, good enough for a 17th place finish. N.C. State will continue its season on Friday in the Camel City Invitational in Winston-Salem.

Dylan Boyer: The spring sports season will start next week with the opening of men’s lacrosse season. The Division II Queen’s University lacrosse team will start its season against Lees-McCrae at the Queen’s Sports Complex in Charlotte on Friday night. Last season, Boyer played in ten games for the Royals, starting one. Boyer scored five goals and recorded four assists. Boyer played for Orange coach Chandler Zirkle and was a member of the 2018 Panther team that advanced to the second round of the 3A/2A/1A State Playoffs. Queen’s was selected to finish third in the South Atlantic Conference preseason poll, garnering 85 points. Lenoir-Rhyne was picked to finish first with Wingate selected second. Queens is #17 in the Nike-USA Lacrosse Division II Preseason poll.

After the 2021 North Carolina School Athletic Association Dual Team Wrestling Tournament wasn’t contested, the Orange wrestling team will host a portion of the event’s return.

The NCHSAA released the bracket for the 32-team 3A State Dual Team Tournament on Friday afternoon. Orange, the champions of the Central Carolina Conference, received a #2 seed and will face CCC rival Northwood in the opening round.

The first and second rounds will be contested on Monday night. Joining Orange and Northwood in the quadrant will be Wilson Fike, the champions of the Quad County Conference. On Monday night on the adjacent mat from the Orange/Northwood match, the Demons will face Southern Nash, the lone 3A representative from the 3A/2A Big East Conference.

The winner of Orange/Northwood will face the winner of Fike/Southern Nash immediately after the first round ends on Monday night.

The winner of that match advances to the regional semifinals, which will be held on Wednesday night at a location to be determined.

This will be the second meeting between Orange and Northwood this year. On January 10, the Panthers defeated the Chargers 43-24 in Pittsboro. At the time, both teams were undefeated in CCC action. Orange jumped out to a 24-0 lead behind four consecutive pins from Kale Womble (at 113 pounds), Braden Crawford (120), Dillon Heffernan (126), and Jared Hutchings (132).

Northwood fought back to even the match with five straight wins, including pins from Ian Morrison (152) and Ethan Kuball. Orange’s strength this season has been in the heavier weight classes and it was no different against Northwood. The Panthers ended the night with four straight wins, starting with senior Brendon Worsham scoring a 10-1 major decision at 182 pounds. Last June, Worsham qualified for the 3A State Championships after finishing 2nd in the Mideast Regionals.

At 195 pounds, Acoya Isley scored a pin to put Orange ahead 34-24. Elijah Acosta, who leads the team in wins and pins this season, sewed up the match and essentially the conference championship with a 7-3 decision over Jake Dunning. Heavyweight Hugo Vazquez ended the night with a pinfall win in 29 seconds.

This year marks Orange’s 18th conference championship in 19 years. However, by program standards, it has been a lengthy wait for a victory in the state tournament. Orange won the final Big 8 Conference Championship last year, but the NCHSAA canceled the dual tournament due to the pandemic. In 2020, Chapel Hill stunned Orange on the final night of the regular season to win the Big 8 Championship, ending the Panthers’ run of 16 consecutive conference championships. Orange still qualified for the 3A State Dual Tournament, but lost to Union Pines in the opening round.

Orange, which won the 2017 and 2018 Eastern Regional Championship, last won a match in the state dual tournament when they defeated Morehead in 2019 in the opening round in Hillsborough. The Panthers lost to Cape Fear in the second round.

The team that emerges from the Orange quadrant will advance to the state quarterfinals. The top seed on the 3A East Region is Union Pines, who defeated Orange on November 23 in the Orange Thanksgiving Duals.

The Panthers, coached by Orange graduate Spenser Poteat, won the conference championship despite eight new starters in 14 weight classes. In addition to a perfect 5-0 record in the CCC, Orange won the Jim King/Orange Invitational in December and the Quentin Crosby Invitational earlier this month.

Fike wrapped up the Quad County Championship after beating Hunt 54-18 on January 19. Fike’s Deshaun Avent won the Quad County Tournament 220-pound division after beating Dallas Bailey of C.B. Avcock 5-2. Fike’s Justin Bullock claimed the tournament’s 195-pound title after pinning Buster Williams of Hunt in 2:54.