Orange Wrestling

On Tuesday night at Southern Durham High School, Orange senior Kessel Summers became the 48th wrestler in school history to win 100 matches. Competing at 132 pounds Summers won via forfeit over Vance County. Last winter, Summers qualified for the 3A State Championships with a 3rd place finish in the 3A Mideast Regional. In the State Championships at the Greensboro Coliseum, Summers pinned Havelock’s Nate Lucio in 5:52 in the opening round. Summers went on to pin Josh Meyers in the consolation round. It was the second straight year that Summers qualified for the 3A State Championships. Shortly after the season ended, the pandemic struck. For a time, Summers was left wondering if he would be stuck at 96 career wins since there was no guarantee there would be a wrestling season last summer. Though it has started late, Orange wrestling is 6-0 after wins over Southeast Guilford and Cedar Ridge at Orange High Gymnasium on Thursday night. On Tuesday, Summers and his fellow seniors will be honored on Senior Night when Orange hosts Northwood at 6PM. Congratulations to Kessel Summers on his 100th career victory.

Women’s Soccer: The standard for goal scoring at Cedar Ridge for years, and possibly decades, to come will be 87 goals.

That’s what Cedar Ridge senior forward Emerson Talley ended her storied high school career with after the Red Wolves defeated Vance County 9-0 in Henderson on Monday. It was Talley’s 14th career hat trick and the fourth of the abbreviated 2021 season.

The Red Wolves ended the season 5-9 after Southern Durham forfeited the final game of the season, which was slated for Wednesday night. Talley, who vowed to former Cedar Ridge head coach P.J. Michaelson that she would score 100 goals in her career, likely would have exceeded that total in her junior season if it wasn’t for the pandemic.

Last week, Talley formally signed with Division II Lenoir-Rhyne.

As Talley’s career ended with a hat trick, a Red Wolf freshman had her first three-goal game. Rachel Alverson had a hat trick for Cedar Ridge, as well. In her final game, Cedar Ridge’s Nicol Anderson had a brace.

ORANGE 4, NORTHERN DURHAM 1

The Orange women’s soccer team concluded its most successful season since 2015 with a 4-1 victory over Northern Durham at James Armstrong Stadium on Wednesday night.

Sophomore Madison Orange scored two goals for the Lady Panthers, who finished the season 11-5. In her final game, senior co-Captain Logan Rogers notched a goal and dished out an assist. Sophomore Isabel Jones also scored a goal for Orange. Freshman Ella Wimsatt had two assists. Junior Bella Brown, who transferred from Alamance Christian School last summer, also assisted on a goal.

Brown ended the year as Orange’s leading scorer with 15 goals and four assists, as well as four hat tricks.

In terms of record, Orange had its best season since they went 15-4-2 in 2015.

WRESTLING: ORANGE 78, NORTHERN DURHAM 0; ORANGE 60, EAST CHAPEL HILL 18

For the first time this century, the Orange wrestling team started as challengers to the Big 8 Conference title as opposed to the defending champions. Things started promising as the Panthers defeated East Chapel Hill 60-18 on Tuesday night inside Panther Gymnasium.

On Thursday, Orange rolled past Northern Durham 78-0 in Hillsborough. Only four matches were contested as the Panthers claimed the other nine bouts via forfeit.

Matthew Smith-Breeden pinned Wyatt Gardner at 152 pounds. At 220 pounds, Hugo Vazquez scored his second pin of the week. Tyler Larkin earned a pin at heavyweight over John Neiman. Samuel Crawford scored his own pin at 145 pounds. Dillon Heffernan, Talan Pearley, Joshua Dunn, Kessel Summers, Avery Clark, Chase Harward, Nate Hecht, Brendon Worsham, and Korbin Nevius all earned forfeit wins.

Against East Chapel Hill, Orange scored nine pinfalls. Summers, a junior who has committed to wrestle at Bluefield College (NAIA) in Virginia, earned a pinfall victory. Joshua Dunn (126), Jose Grimaldo (145), Smith-Breeden (152), Hecht (170), Worsham (182), Nevius (195), Vasquez (220), and Larkin also scored pins for Orange.

CEDAR RIDGE 52, SOUTHERN DURHAM 24

On Thursday night, the Cedar Ridge wrestling team earned its first win of the young season with a 52-24 victory over Southern Durham. The Red Wolves got pins from Fernando Martinez at 120 pounds and veteran James Rosati-Brown at 152 pounds.

Daina Pritchard, fresh off of wrestling season ending, scored a major decision over Thomas Johnson 14-5 at 145 pounds. Mac McGhee, Gavin Mintz, Kaden Tatro, C.J. Jackson, Wyatt Robinson, and Aiden Kearns all claimed forfeit wins.

On Tuesday, Cedar Ridge participated in a tri-match against Northwood and Providence Grove. The Chargers edged the Red Wolves 40-36. Martinez scored a pin at 1:16 in his match. Pritchard, Rosati-Brown and Tatro all earned pinfall victories, as well. At 195 pounds, Wyatt Robinson pinned Northwood’s Jason Schroeder in 1:59.

Providence Grove defeated the Red Wolves 60-21. Martinez earned another pin over Logan Armfield in 1:18. Pritchard pinned Derrick Isley in 1:43. Rosati-Brown pinned Nathan Hutcherson in 3:03. Robinson grinded out a 5-2 decision over Gavin Hardister at 195.

MEN’S TENNIS:

CEDAR RIDGE 9, SOUTHERN DURHAM 0

Will Ballenger and Colby Alford ended their senior seasons successfully for the Cedar Ridge men’s tennis team on Wednesday afternoon. The Red Wolves rolled past Southern Durham to conclude the regular season 9-4. It was Cedar RIdge’s most successful dual season since 2017, when the Red Wolves finished 10-3.

Ballenger started at #1 singles and captured a 6-1, 6-1 win. Alford started at #2 singles and won 6-0, 6-2. Junior Derrick Stephens, Bowen Woods and Leo Filley also picked up singles wins for the Red Wolves.

In doubles, Ballenger and Alford teamed for a win at #1. Walker Richards-Baker and Jason Pattison won at #2 doubles. Woods and Filley completed the sweep at #3 doubles.

Cedar Ridge will start play in the Big 8 Conference Men’s Tennis Championships inside Lindsey Linker Tennis Courts at East Chapel Hill High School on Friday afternoon.

ORANGE 6, SOUTHERN DURHAM 0

The Orange men’s tennis team completed its fourth straight winning season with a 6-0 victory at Southern Durham on Tuesday.

Colin O’Hagerty, Joseph Clark, Finn Kelly, Tristan Plummer, Brandon Kessler and Jackson Panning took singles wins for the Panthers.

Braden Homsey: Now a junior for the Ferrum College wrestling team, Homsey competed in the National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III Championships at Xtreme Arena in Coralville, Iowa on Friday. Wrestling at 197 pounds, Homsey opened with a 16-1 technical fall victory over Greensboro College’s Khalil Belk. In the round of 16, Homsey dominated Scott Anderson of Elmhurst 12-2. In the quarterfinals, Cody Baldridge edged Homsey 3-2. In the consolation round, Logan Hagerbaumer of Millikin University defeated Homsey 13-9. Ferrum’s schedule was greatly impacted by the pandemic with only two dual matches. On February 6, Homsey won his senior night match against Shenandoah via forfeit. Homsey ended the year 6-2.

Adam Chnupa: After nearly upsetting the #1 ranked team in the Football Championship Subdivision on March 6, the Elon football team had a disappointing 38-14 loss to Richmond at Rhodes Stadium on Saturday. Chnupa had a tackle for the Phoenix, who fell to 1-3, 0-2 in the Colonial Athletic Association.

Bryse Wilson: In his second spring training outing for the Atlanta Braves, Wilson threw three innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates last Tuesday at CoolToday Park in Sarasota, FL. He surrendered two runs, both earned, on four hits. Wilson struck out four and walked one in a no decision. Pittsburgh took a 10-1 win.

Phillip Berger: The winningest pitcher in Cedar Ridge history started for Division III William Peace in a 3-2 loss to Brevard in the second game of a doubleheader on Friday. He faced 18 batters over four innings with six strikeouts. He surrendered two runs off four hits in a no decision. Peace is 8-7 at will open play in the USA South Athletic Conference against Pfeiffer on Thursday.

Cooper Porter: The former Orange High utility man continues to play for the Pensacola State Pirates. In a doubleheader against Delgado Community College on March 6, Porter went 1-for-4 in a 9-2 loss for the Pirates. Porter started at 2nd base in the nightcap, which Pensacola won 2-1. Porter went 0-for-2. Porter has played in six games for Pensacola State.

Mia Davidson: Ole Miss took both games against #23 Mississippi State at the Ole Miss Softball Complex in Oxford, Mississippi over the weekend. In the Rebels 4-1 win on Sunday, Davidson went 2-for-3. On Saturday, where Ole Miss won 6-0, Davidson went 0-2.

Montana Davidson: Montana started both games at third base for Mississippi State against Ole Miss. She went hitless on both days. The Bulldogs are 15-7, 0-2 in the Southeastern Conference.

Tori Dalehite: The UNC Greensboro softball team opened Southern Conference action by taking the series against the College of Charleston at UNC Greensboro Softball Stadium over the weekend. Dalehite was a pinch runner in the opening game of Saturday’s doubleheader, a 9-1 Spartan victory. UNCG has now won 10 of its last 11.

Grace Andrews: Once again, Andrews faced her former Orange High teammate Jaden Hurdle when Andrews’ Catawba Valley Community College Red Hawks faced Patrick Henry Community College at Highland Recreation Center in Hickory on Sunday. Catawba Valley swept the doubleheader. In the second game, Andrews drilled a two-run homer to left center in the second inning, her fourth dinger of the year. Andrews opened the game with a sacrifice fly RBI to score leadoff batter Ashlyn Parsons. Andrews went 2-for-3 with 3 RBIs and two runs scored in a 17-8 win. The Red Hawks also took the opener 6-5, where Andrews went 0-for-3, r-3, but she knocked in Parons on another sacrifice fly in the 5th inning to put the Red Hawks ahead 3-2.

On Saturday, Catawba Valley swept Surry County Community College 5-1 and 11-3 in six innings in Hickory. In the opener, Andrews went 2-for-3 with an RBI in the third inning. Andrews also doubled in the first inning. In the nightcap, Andrews finished 2-for-3 with an RBI. In the first inning, Andrews singled to third to score Alleigh Himes. After she reached on a fielder’s choice in the third inning, Andrews scored on an error. In the fifth, Andrews singled to left. Catawba Valley has won six in a row and is 12-5 overall, 5-2 in Region X of the National Junior College Athletic Association.

Jaden Hurdle: Hurdle started at first base for Patrick Henry Community College in the opener against Catawba Valley on Sunday.

Dylan Boyer: The Division II Queen’s University men’s lacrosse team dominated Mars Hill 20-12 at Mears Stadium in Mars Hill on Saturday. Boyer assisted on three goals for the Royals, who have beaten the Lions five straight times. Boyer also had two shots, both on net. Queens improves to 3-2, 3-0 in the South Atlantic Conference.

Bruce Mitchell has been a pro wrestling journalist for over 35 years. He grew up going to the Greensboro Coliseum to enjoy shows from Jim Crockett Promotions. Bruce has traveled all over the world for wrestling shows. On this edition of the Rodcast, Bruce joins Jeff Hamlin and Jon Franklin to discuss the final edition of Monday Nitro, which happened 19 years ago this week. We discuss why WCW folded, how Nitro changed the industry and why wrestling hasn’t been the same since. Check out Bruce’s podcast and column at PWTorch.com. Thanks for joining us on this edition of the Rodcast!

Brandon Homsey: As a sophomore, Homsey has qualified for the NCAA Division III Wrestling Tournament. Competing for Ferrum College, Homsey finished third in the NCAA Southeast Regional at Messiah College in Mechanicsburg, PA over the weekend. On Friday, Homsey lost his opening match to Washington & Jefferson’s Alex Donahue 3-1 in overtime. That left Homsey needing to win four matches to qualify for the national championships. He started Saturday by pinning Waynesboro University’s Adam Rigney. Homsey earned a 3-0 decision over Jack Bauer of Wilkes University, then rolled past Michael Reinhart of York University 7-1. Homsey received a medical forfeit against McDaniel College’s Anthony Wuest, then won a rematch over Donahue with a 10-0 decision in the third-place match. Homsey is 33-10 with four pins this season.

Landon Riley: The Liberty baseball team combined for its first no-hitter in 20 years when they defeated Marist 6-4 at Worthington Field on Saturday afternoon. Three pitchers participated in the no-no and Riley earned his first victory of the season in relief as the Flames won its fifth straight game. In two innings, Riley faced six batters and struck out three of them. Marist scored four runs on eight walks, three hit batters and an error, but no hits. On Friday, Riley earned his third save as the Flames defeated the Red Foxes 4-3. Riley retired four batters, striking out two and walked one. Liberty has won six in a row. They’re scheduled to host Elon on Tuesday in Lynchburg, VA.

Brad Debo: The #8 N.C. State baseball team swept all three games in the CambriaCollegeClassic at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis over the weekend. On Saturday, the Wolfpack defeated Purdue 6-0. Debo went 1-for-2 with a run scored. It was his only action of the weekend. N.C. State is 11-0.

Phillip Berger: Berger suffered his first loss at William Peace University against Greensboro College on Saturday. The Pride defeated the Pacers 11-8 at Ted Leonard Park in Greensboro. Berger threw two-and-two-thirds innings. He surrendered eight runs on six hits. He walked three and struck out three. Peace falls to 9-3, 1-2 in the USA South Athletic Conference after dropping two of three against the Pride.

Montana Davidson: The Mississippi State softball team won the Alex Wilson Memorial Tournament over the weekend, finishing 5-0 against UAB, Alcorn State, and UT Martin. On Sunday, the Bulldogs swept a doubleheader, beating Alcorn State 9-1 and UT Martin 6-1. Montana went 3-for-5 on the day, including going 2-for-3 against the Skyhawks. It was her second multi-hit game of the year. She tied her career high with four assists against the Braves. She went 1-for-3 with a run scored against UAB in a 16=6 win over the Blazers on Friday.

Mia Davidson: Mia made her first start of the season at third base during Mississippi State’s win over Alcorn State on Saturday. She eventually moved across the diamond to first base for the first time in her college career. Mia went 1-for-4 in Saturday’s game against the Braves, which extended her hitting streak to eight, the longest by any Bulldog this season. The streak was snapped the following day in Sunday’s win over the Braves when Mia went 0-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI. On Friday, Mia went 1-for-4 with a double in the win over UAB. Mississippi State is 18-3 . They will host UT Martin on Monday afternoon.

Lauren Cates: The Wake Tech Community College women’s basketball team surprised Louisburg College 87-73 in its regular season finale on Saturday at the Taylor Center in Louisburg. Lauren Cates, a freshman for the Eagles, returned to the starting lineup and scored 16 points off 5-of-9 shooting from the field. Cates was 4-of-6 from three-point range. She also had eight rebounds and three assists as Wake Tech avenged a 14-point loss from January. Wake Tech completed the regular season 18-7. They will travel to the Region 10 Tournament in Martinsville, VA, where they will open against USC Salkehatchie on Thursday night at 6 PM.

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is 126-pound junior wrestler Kessel Summers. Over the weekend, Summers won two matches in the 3A State Wrestling Championships at the Greensboro Coliseum. In the opening match, Summers pinned Havelock’s Nate Lucia in 5:52. In the consolation round, Summers defeated Northside-Jacksonville’s Josh Myers via pinfall in 2:20. Summers ends the year 42-14. Last year, Summers qualified for the state championships at 113 pounds. In his sophomore season, Summers went 39-14 with 17 pins. Next year, Summers will start his senior year with 97 career wins. Summers won a Orange Person Athletic Conference championship in his 8th grade year at Stanford Middle School. Now that wrestling season has ended, Summers will return to the weight room and focus on returning to the state championship once again next year as the Orange wrestling team looks to return to the top of the Big 8 Conference.

Landon Riley: The Liberty Flames baseball team has won three of its last four games. Former Orange Panthers pitcher Landon Riley had saves in two of them. Last Wednesday, the Flames defeated Radford 4-2 for its first victory of the season at Worthington Field in Lynchburg, VA. Riley had a four-out save, striking out three. He faced five batters. Over the weekend, the Flames took the final two games of its series against Seton Hall. On Saturday, Riley picked up his second save of the season. He threw two-and-two-thirds innings. Riley struck out two, yielded two hits and one earned run. He also appeared in Liberty’s game against Clemson on February 16, a 6-2 Tiger win. In one-and-one-thirds inning, Riley faced six batters. He struck out one and surrendered two hits and one earned run. The Flames are 3-4 and will host Longwood on Tuesday before preparing for a weekend series against Marist.

Brad Debo: The #12 N.C. State baseball team remains undefeated after sweeping Tennessee Tech at Doak Field in Raleigh over the weekend. Debo started as designated hitter in the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, a 10-3 Wolfpack win. He went 1-for-4 with a run scored in the sixth inning. On Sunday, Debo started again and went 0-for-2. N.C. State is 7-0 and will face UNC Wilmington on Tuesday in Raleigh.

Phillip Berger: In his first start for the Division III William Peace Pacers, Berger threw a three-hit shutout (seven innings) as Peace defeated Mary Washington 7-0 at the USA Baseball Complex in Cary on Sunday. Berger struck out five and walked only one. Berger, who graduated from Cedar Ridge in June with 21 career wins, made his first appearance with the Pacers in a 9-1 victory over Brevard on February 8. He struck out the only batter he faced in the first game of a doubleheader. Later that afternoon, Berger threw one-and-two-thirds innings in the second game of the doubleheader, striking out four over one-and-two-thirds innings. He yielded two hits and one run. Berger came out of the bullpen for long relief in a 17-inning marathon against Hampden-Sydney. Peace scored two in the top of the 17th to win 5-3 at Ty Cobb Ballpark in Hampton-Sydney, VA. Berger threw four-and-two-thirds innings, striking out four. He gave up only three hits, one run with no walks. Peace is 8-1.

Montana Davidson: Montana hit her first home run of the season for Mississippi State in its 10-4 victory over San Diego State on Saturday night. Montana went 2-for-5 in a doubleheader that started with a 6-2 loss to BYU in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic at Palm Springs, CA. Against the Cougars, Davidson singled in her first at-bat and made a diving catch along the third base line. Montana is hitting .231.

Mia Davidson: Mia hit .294 with a triple and two RBIs over five games in the Mary Nutter Classic. Davidson went 2-for-3 with an RBI in a 6-3 victory over UC Riverside. She went 1-for-3 with an RBI single in the 10-4 win against San Diego State. Mississippi State is 12-3 overall and will host Central Arkansas on Wednesday.

Icez Barnett: As her freshman year winds down, Barnett continues to start for the Division II Chowan women’s basketball team. On top of that, Chowan has won consecutive games for the first time since the start of 2020. On Wednesday, Chowan defeated Southern Wesleyan 69-58 at Tysinger Gym in Central, S.C. Barnett, who started at forward, scored four points and grabbed six rebounds in 12 minutes. She also had two blocks and one steal. On Saturday, Chowan won a thriller over Lees-McRae 71-68 in overtime in Murfreesboro at the Helms Center. Barnett scored three points, grabbed two rebounds, dished out two assists and made two steals in 16 minutes. Chowan is fighting for a spot in the Conference Carolinas Tournament. The Hawks will commemorate senior night against Limestone on Tuesday night. If Chowan wins, they will clinch eighth place and a trip to the conference tournament. The Hawks are 6-19, 6-15 in Conference Carolinas.

Lauren Cates: The Wake Tech Community College women’s basketball team lost to Catawba Valley Community College 62-52 at Tarlton Complex in Hickory on Thursday. Cates started but shot 0-2 from the field. She had three rebounds and five assists. Wake Tech will have its final home game on Monday night (February 24) against South Carolina Faith A&M. The Eagles are 16-7 overall, 9-6 in Region X of the National Junior College Athletic Association.

Kessel Summers gave Orange it’s only wins of the weekend at the 3A State Wrestling Championships at the Greensboro Coliseum.

Summers, a junior who qualified for the 3A State Championships for the second year in a row, finished 2-2 on the weekend at 126 pounds. After the tournament was delayed on Thursday because of snow, Summers pinned Havelock’s Nate Lucio in 5:52 in the opening round on Friday afternoon. It was the second time this season that Summers defeated Lucio. In the Havelock Duals on January 12, Summers defeated Lucio 14-5.

In the quarterfinals, Enka’s Corbin Dion scored a 20-5 technical fall on Summers. Dion, who ended the year 57-5, wound up with the state championship. In the semifinals, Dion rallied from an early 4-1 deficit to defeat Southern Guilford’s Stephen Cotton 10-7. In the final, Dion faced Marion’s Tommy Capul, who he defeated to win the Western Regional Championship last weekend. Dion earned a 6-2 decision.

In the consolation round, Summers pinned Northside-Jacksonville’s Josh Myers in 2:20. Central Cabarrus’ Noah Kiser eliminated Summers on a 9-6 decision.

Summers ended the year 42-14. He will start next season with 97 career victories. In 2019, Summers, competing at 113 pounds, went 39-14 with 17 pins.

In a year where Orange had many incredible streaks come to an end, this weekend brought about another. It was the first time since 1988 that the Panthers didn’t have a wrestler place in the state championship.

Last year, Levi Anderson reached the state championship match at 145 pounds, losing 3-0 in the final.

Orange returned only four starters from last year’s squad, leading to its run of 16 consecutive conference championship being broken by Chapel Hill. It was Chapel Hill’s first win over Orange since 1989, and they did it on the Panthers’ senior night on January 30.

Union Pines eliminated the Panthers in the opening round of the 3A State Dual Team Championships.

“We came up a little short of our goals this year,” said Orange coach Spenser Poteat. “I think we have to refocus back to our original thought process. Not focus on winning, but on our individual relationships with each other. A Strong bond between our coaches and wrestlers make success everywhere else easy. Its about influence…heart, love, kindness, and lots of hard work and sacrifice.”

Xavier Tinnen and Brendon Worsham reached the state championships for the first time. Worsham, a sophomore who reached the Mideast Regional Finals at 182 pounds, lost to Justin Beltran of St. Stephens in the opening round 12-2. In the consolation round, Milan Summers of Greensboro Dudley defeated Worsham 7-4. Worsham ended the year 31-17.

Parkwood’s Marcus Williams, the Midwest Regional Champion, pinned Tinnen at 1:29 of the opening round of the 195-pound championships. Andre Britt of St. Stephens pinned Tinnen in 1:40 of the consolation round.

Tinnen, a junior who finished third in December’s Jim King/Orange Invitational at 195 pounds, ended the year 22-12.

“Brendan and Xavier both fought hard and wrestle to the best of their ability this weekend,” Poteat said. “Kessel had been to States before and his goal fell a little short as well. I look forward to the off season and getting ready for the rising seniors of next year.”

Orange ended the year 24-4 overall, 6-1 in the Big 8 Conference.

The potential for snow on Thursday has led the North Carolina High School Athletic Association to postpone the opening round of the State Wrestling Championships.

The Big 8 men’s and women’s basketball tournament, which started on Tuesday, will now have to finish by Saturday–if it finishes at all.

In a statement released by the NCHSAA on its website on Wednesday night, the association postponed the first day of the 2020 individual wrestling state tournament due to the possibility of a wintry mix in the Triad. The tournament, scheduled to begin on Thursday afternoon at the Greensboro Coliseum, is still slated to conclude on Saturday night.

“The NCHSAA Staff is working on a schedule that will still allow the tournament to be completed on Saturday night,” the statement read. “More details and an updated schedule will be released Thursday through the NCHSAA Website and other communication avenues.”

Orange High had three wrestlers scheduled to start competing on Thursday. Brendon Worsham, who finished 2nd in the Mideast Regionals last weekend at Cape Fear High, will take on Justin Bellran of St. Stephens, who came in 3rd in the West Region.

At 126 pounds, Orange’s Kessel Summers will square off with Havelock’s Nate Lucio in the opening round. That will be a rematch from earlier this year. On January 11 in the Havelock Duals, Summers scored a major decision over Lucio 14-5. Summers finished 3rd in the Mideast Regionals.

Xavier Tinnen, seeded 4th, will face Midwest Regional champion Amir Joseph of Parkwood in the opening round. Tinnen, who is 22-8, qualified for the state championship for the first time last weekend after a fourth place finish.

The respective Big 8 basketball tournaments were supposed to resume on Thursday with doubleheaders at Northwood High in Pittsboro and Southern Durham High. Both Chatham County and Durham Public Schools announced on Wednesday night that schools would be closed on Thursday, leading to the postponement of the four scheduled games.

At Southern Durham, third-seeded Chapel Hill will face second-seeded Southern Durham in the women’s game at 6, followed by the men’s game between third-seeded Vance County vs. 2nd-seeded Southern Durham.

The Northwood women’s team is slated to face 5th-seeded East Chapel Hill in the other semifinal at 6 in Pittsboro. At 7:30, the top-seeded Northwood men’s team will host 5th-seeded Chapel Hill.

The postponement means the semifinals are now scheduled for Friday night, and the championship games on Saturday at the higher-seed’s gymnasium. However, the tournament must be completed by Saturday. Another cancellation on Friday likely means the tournament won’t be completed.

If that’s the case, Northwood will be the #1 seed from the Big 8 Conference in both the men’s and women’s tournaments since they won the regular season championship in both races. Southern Durham finished runner-up in both races and would get the #2 seed (normally, the tournament winner would get the #2 seed if it isn’t one of the top two teams).

On Thursday morning, the NCHSAA announced that seeding for the state playoffs would be delayed until Sunday morning.

All four Hillsborough teams were eliminated in the opening rounds of the Big 8 Tournaments on Tuesday. The only local squad with a chance to earn a state playoff spot is the Orange women’s team, who finished 6th in the Big 8 Conference and has a MaxPreps ranking of #59. HighSchoolOT, run by Nick Stevens, has repeatedly had Orange as among the last five teams in the state playoffs in recent projections. If the Lady Panthers make the field of 64, it would be their fourth trip to the state playoffs in the last five years.