Orange High School

Orange senior wrestler Andre Hill captured the 175-pound championship at the Central Conference Tournament at Walter Williams High School in Burlington on Saturday, January 20. Though Hill was the first to admit that it was a controversial win. Facing Western Alamance’s Zeke May, Hill scored an escape point to go ahead 3-2 in the final period. After a restart with ten seconds remaining, May shot in for a takedown. It appeared to many that May scored a takedown, which would have put him ahead 4-3. But the referee ruled there was no change in position as the clock faded to zero. Hill preserved a 3-2 win despite protests from the Western Alamane bench and many fans in attendance. Afterwards, Hill admitted that May scored the takedown and consoled him. Nonetheless, Hill captured his first conference championship and improved to 39-2 on the season. In January, Hill celebrated his 100th career win as a Panther. Hill played offensive line for three seasons on the Orange football team. After winning the conference title, Hill will now focus on the Mideast Regionals at Union Pines High School in Cameron on February 10. Hill will look to qualify for the 3A State Championships. This season, Hill has already won the Jim King/Orange Invitational, the Quentin Crosby Invitational and the Eagle Invitational.

Orange’s Andre Hill talks winning the 175-pound championship of the Central Conference Tournament

Orange senior wrestler Andre Hill captured the 175-pound championship at the Central Conference Tournament at Walter Williams High School in Burlington on Saturday, January 20. Though Hill was the first to admit that it was a controversial win. Facing Western Alamance’s Zeke May, Hill scored an escape point to go ahead 3-2 in the final period.

After someone stays at one place long enough, it becomes a part of them.

That’s why Katie Belle Sikes was emotional on Wednesday night. Though she dipped into the ocean on family vacations as an adolescent, the 25-yard pool at the Orange County SportsPlex was where she went from just playing in the water to becoming a swimmer.

It all started in 2014. Through her voracious work ethic, Sikes made the SportsPlex the location of her daily routine. For the past decade, she became just as much a part of the SportsPlex as the pool itself. It led to her becoming the most decorated swimmer in Orange High history.

Her final meet at the SportsPlex came during the Central Conference Championships on Wednesday night. She went out as only she can, being named the Conference Swimmer of the Year for the second time.

Sikes led Orange to its second consecutive team championship. The Lady Panthers came away with 417 points. Cedar Ridge, keyed by strong finishes from juniors Sophia Stinnett and Quinn McCrimmon, finished second at 371 points.

“I was super emotional,” Sikes said. “It’s the last time I was going to swim here after so long. It’s really bittersweet. I’m so happy I got to swim here for so long, but the fact that it’s coming to a close is really, really sad.”

Orange had first-place finishes in seven of the 12 events to earn the team title. Sikes broke her own school record in the 200 yard freestyle by five seconds. She touched the wall at 1:53.92. Stinnett finished second at 2:06.14.

Sikes also claimed gold in the 100 yard freestyle, where she is the defending 3A State Champion. She finished at 50.81 seconds. Abigale Robinson of Walter Willams finished runner-up at 1:01.81. Ainsley Rasinske of Orange came in third at 1:03.06.

Sikes ends her career with six individual conference championships. There weren’t any Big 8 Conference Swimming Championships (where Orange competed in 2021) during Sikes’ freshman year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It was also the final meet at the SportsPlex for Orange senior Riley White, who encouraged Sikes to try swimming when she was still in elementary school.

Riley won two individual gold medals. She claimed the 200 yard individual medley at 2:19.17. McCrimmon earned the silver at 2:31.51, while Rasinske took the bronze (2:37.23). In the 100 yard breaststroke, Riley finished first at 1:13.28. Alejandra Gonzalez, a freshman at Walter Williams, was second while Cedar Ridge sophomore Hala Zafar came in third.

For the second year in a row, Orange’s Piper White won the 50 yard freestyle. This year, White won the sprint at 26:54 seconds. White also won the title as a freshman last year.

For the third time in her career, Stinnett claimed a conference championship. This time, Stinnett won the 500 yard freestyle with a time of 5:31.96. It was Stinnett’s first conference crown in the 500. In 2022 and 2023, she captured the 200 yard freestyle.

Orange junior Zoe Jones earned silver in the 500 at 6:12.50.

McCrimmon won her second individual championship in the 100 yard butterfly. In a tight race, McCrimmon won at 1:04.66, beating Piper White to the wall. White finished at 1:06.80. Jones came in third at 1:08.02.

Last year, McCrimmon took the conference title in the 200 yard individual medley.

Cedar Ridge’s team of McCrimmon, Stinnett, Zafar and Sierra Godfrey won the 400 yard freestyle relay at 4:19.23. Last year, McCrimmon, Stinnett, Zafar and Abbygale Pearce finished runner-up behind a quartet from Northwood.

Orange, the defending 3A State Champions in the 200 yard freestyle relay, won another conference championship. Sikes, White, Rasinske and White took the title at 1:47. 82. Southern Alamance’s Annabelle Hazelwood, Sophia Eusantos, Autumn Barber and Sydney Williams finished second.

F0r the first time in recent history, Orange had a female diver participate in the conference championships. Junior Lily Howard, who had been a swimmer in her first two years at Orange, finished third at 219.75. Western Alamance’s Michaela Bentley won the conference championship with a score of 357.00.

In the final days of January, the Orange men’s swimming team is in a familiar position.

This Saturday, they will head to the Greensboro Aquatic Center with hopes of winning the 3A Central Regional Championship. Last year, they finished runner-up in regionals to Carrboro.

Following that, it will be the 3A State Championships at the Triangle Aquatic Center in Cary on February 8th.

For the third year in a row, Orange will go into Greensboro after winning the Central Conference championship.

Senior Nack Baczara and juniors Luke Roman and Alex Andre each won two individual events as the Panthers finished with 417 points in the conference championships at the Orange County Sportsplex on Thursday night.

Cedar Ridge finished 2nd with 371 points. Red Wolf senior Nikhil Agans won the 100 yard freestyle at 51.39 seconds to take the conference title. Freshman Christopher Seawell captured the 50 yard freestyle at 25.24 seconds in his first conference championship appearance.

Roman was named the Central Conference Male Swimmer of the Year for the second time in his career. He also earned the honor as a freshman. For the third straight year, Roman won the 500 yard freestyle as he literally lapped the field with a time of 4:51.05. Phillip Cauwels of Cedar Ridge earned the silver medal at 5:33.00.

Roman also won the conference championship in the 200 yard freestyle at 1:46.63. Agans, the defending conference champion, finished 2nd at 1:52.33. It was his second 200 yard freestyle conference title. Roman last won the event in his freshman year, narrowly edging Cedar Ridge’s Alexander Hill by :.54 of a second.

Roman now has six individual conference championships in his career. Last year, Roman won the 500 yard and 100 yard freestyle.

Baczara won the 100 butterfly at 59.29. Cauwels finished second at 1:02.93. Later, Baczara added the 100 yard breaststroke to his gold medal collection with a time of 1:16.78. Evan Sawyer, a freshman from Eastern Alamance, came in second at 1:18.59.

Andre, a junior who finished 3rd in the 3A State Championships in the 500 yard freestyle last February, captured the gold in the 200 yard individual medley at 2:03.33. Eamon Hipps of Western Alamance was second at 2:19.71. Orange senior Benjamin Sirgany was third at 2:29.15.

Andre captured the 100 yard backstroke at :58.68. Cedar Ridge freshman Christopher Seawell was second at 1:00.62. Sirgany took the bronze at 1:06.98.

In his first conference championship meet, Seawell came away with an impressive medal total. In addition to winning the 50 freestyle, Seawell and Agans would add another gold to their collection in the 200 yard freestyle relay. The duo would team with Cauwels and junior Jacob Olmstead to win at 1:42.33, The time automatically qualified Cedar Ridge for regionals. Orange’s team of Dylan Cowan, Noah Jones, Andrew Jouannet and Sirgany finished 2nd at 1:45.96.

Orange’s 400 yard freestyle relay team of Roman, Andre, Baczara and Ayden Twiddy took first place in two relay events. They captured first place at 3:38.46. It was their first victory in the 400 relay. Last year, Roman, Andre, Andrew Weeks and Evan Phillips finished second behind a team from Northwood.

Orange also repeated as the winner of the 200 yard medley relay. Roman, Andre, Twiddy and Baczara registered a time of 1:53.13. Western Alamance’s team of Zack Ollis, Wylie Kline, Eamon Hipps and Jacob Miles came in second. Orange’s team of Colin Wuthrich, Sirgany, Cowan and Noah Jones finished third at 2:04.69.

Jones took the bronze medal in the 100 yard freestyle at :59.06.

Twiddy finished third in the 500 yard freestyle at 5:40.65, which automatically qualified him for regionals.

With a trip to Greensboro next on its itinerary, Orange is going to a pool that have plenty of experience with. In December, several Orange swimmers competed in the Robert Sawyer Invitational at the Greensboro Aquatic Center. In that event, Roman won the 500 yard freestyle at 4:47.39, beating many swimmers from 4A and private schools from across the state.

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is senior men’s soccer goalkeeper Finn Kelly. This season, the Panthers made the 3A State Playoffs. It was the second straight year that the Panthers reached the postseason.It is the first time in the 37-year history of the program that Orange has made the state playoffs in consecutive years. At midseason, Kelly had consecutive clean sheets against Cedar Ridge and Person. Against the Red Wolves, Kelly kept the Red Wolves off the scoreboard as the Panthers won the second leg of the Hillsborough Derby. That led to Orange strengthening its position to make the state playoffs. In his final regular season game, Kelly had another clean sheet as the Panthers defeated Eastern Alamance 2-0 at the John Kirby Sports Complex in Mebane. He made three saves to earn the win. Kelly has trained with the North Carolina Football Club Academy in Cary, members of the United Soccer League Championship. This season, Kelly had four clean sheets for Orange, who finished 8-8-3 overall. The Panthers finished 6-4-3 in the Central Conference. Kelly will graduate from Orange in June. He finished the 2023 season with 132 saves. Kelly earned a win on opening night when Orange defeated the Durham School of the Arts 2-1 in downtown Durham.

Orange Panther of the Week: Finn Kelly

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It was the final swim inside the pool at the Orange County Sportsplex for Orange senior Katie Belle Sikes on Wednesday night. Sikes started swimming at the Sportsplex when she was seven years old. She had no idea at that time what was ahead–three individual state championships, five regional championships and a scholarship to swim at the University of Georgia. On Thursday night, Sikes was named the Central Conference Female Swimmer of the Year after she won three conference championships. She captured the 100 yard freestyle and the 200 yard freestyle. She won the 200 with a time of 1:53.92. In the 100, Sikes touched the wall at 50.81 seconds. Sikes also teamed with Riley White, Ainsley Rasinske and Piper White to win the 200 yard freestyle relay. Sikes, White, Rasinske and White won the state championship in the same event in 2023. Sikes is the defending 3A State Champion in the 50 yard and 100 yard freestyle. She has won the state championship in the 50 yard in 2022 and 2023. The Orange women’s team won the Central Conference championship on Wednesday night with 444 points. Now, Sikes will focus on the Central Regional Championships at the Greensboro Aquatic Center next Saturday. Sikes has won the last three regional championships in the 50 yard freestyle.

Orange senior Katie Belle Sikes discusses final meet at Orange County Sportsplex

It was the final swim inside the pool at the Orange County Sportsplex for Orange senior Katie Belle Sikes on Wednesday night. Sikes started swimming at the Sportsplex when she was seven years old. She had no idea at that time what was ahead–three individual state championships, five regional championships and a scholarship to swim at the University of Georgia.

The Orange men’s basketball team have a two-game lead against Eastern Alamance and Southern Alamance in the Central Conference. The Panthers defeated Eastern Alamance 75-67 on Tuesday night. Sophomore point guard Kai Wade had 20 points, four rebounds and two assists as the Panthers won its fifth straight. It was a season-high in scoring for Wade, who has had double-digit points in eleven of the 14 games he has played this year. Wade had the game-tying jumper with eight seconds remaining against Hillside in the season-opener on November 17, which led to the game-winning shot by Malachi Poole. Coleman Cloer led the Panthers with 27 points against Eastern Alamance. It was Orange’s fourth straight win over the Eagles. Orange is searching for its first conference championship in men’s basketball since the 2016-2017 season. Wade has helped direct the Orange offense since he started as a freshman last year. The Panthers will start the second half of its Central Conference slate against Western Alamance in Elon on Friday night. The Panthers face a stiff challenge in the final three weeks of the regular season. Of its final six regular season games, five of them will be on the road. Next week, the Panthers will travel to Walter Williams, then drive across town to take on Cedar Ridge inside Red Wolves Gymnasium.

Orange men’s basketball coach Derryl Britt & point guard Kai Wade discuss win over Eastern Alamance

The Orange men’s basketball team have a two-game lead against Eastern Alamance and Southern Alamance in the Central Conference. The Panthers defeated Eastern Alamance 75-67 on Tuesday night. Sophomore point guard Kai Wade had 20 points, four rebounds and two assists as the Panthers won its fifth straight.

Photo by Jacques Morin 

In golf, you make the turn when you’re halfway done with your round.

The Orange men’s basketball team has made the turn in Central Conference play. For the past seven years, they’ve been playing catch up against Northwood or Southern Durham, depending on which league they were in.

Now, everyone in the Central Conference is chasing them.

Eastern Alamance arrived to Hillsborough on Tuesday night trying to pull the Panthers back down to the pack in league play, but the Orange sophomores wouldn’t allow it.

Coleman Cloer finished with 27 points while Kai Wade added 20 as Orange defeated the Eagles 75-67 in front of a near-capacity crowd at Panther Gymnasium. Orange (8-10, 6-0 in the Central Conference) leads Southern Alamance by one game for first place in the league.

The Panthers are looking for its first conference title since the 2016-2017 season.

While the Eagles were blown out by 38 points in its last trip to Hillsborough, they have been the surprise of the league this year under new coach Parrish Walker and roster additions like Jordan Matthews and Ja’vier Tinnin. Eastern Alamance went into last week tied with Orange for first place before losing to Southern Alamance in overtime.

On Tuesday, Wade directed the Orange offense like a conductor with a symphony. Then again, perhaps James Hetfield directing Metallica would be a better analogy because Wade was as subtle as a bomb. He relentlessly drove to the basket and forced fouls against the Eagles. The Panthers finished with 32 free throws and only eight turnovers, a season-low.

“Kai played great tonight,” said Orange coach Darryl Britt. “As always, he’s the floor general. He controls tempo and pace. Him and Cole are my extension on the floor. Everything Kai did, he did well.”

Matthews paced the Eagles (12-6, 4-2) with 21 points and eleven rebounds, his fourth double-double of the season.

The Eagles shot 9-of-11 from the field in the first quarter with Tinnen racking up seven assists. Amari Gibbs scooped a stickleback shot from under the basket at the quarter buzzer to put the Eagles ahead 21-19.

Orange led 34-33 at half-time. In the second half, Wade and Cloer constantly attacked the basket, which led to several Eastern Alamance starters getting in foul trouble.

With 5:25 remaining in the third quarter, Wade sank his patented pull-up jumper and scored over Tinnen, who was whistled for his third foul. Wade’s free throw tied the game at 40-40 while Tinnen, who finished with a season-high 12 assists, left the game. The Eagles offense didn’t flow the same without him.

The Panthers immediately went on a 12-0 run with all the points coming from Cloer and Wade, culminating with a steal by Xandrell Pennix. In transition, Wade handed off to Cloer, who sank a uncontested three-pointer, vaulting the Panthers ahead 49-40.

Matthews kept the Eagles in it during the fourth quarter, scoring 17 of his 21 points in the second half. Matthews opened the final frame with a lay-in to cut the Orange lead to 54-52, but Mason Robinson caught a gorgeous hook-around pass from senior Ryan Moss for a two-handed dunk. That launched a 8-2 Orange run that included Cloer scoring off a dunk following a steal.

With Orange leading 62-55, Robinson stuffed a drive by Matthews. Pennix captured the loose ball, drove the length of the floor and collided with the Eagles’ Anthony Weaver in mid-air. Pennix  banked the shot in while Weaver was whistled for his fourth foul. Pennix completed the three-point play to increase the Orange advantage to 65-55.

Orange senior center Ryan Honeycutt finished with 15 points and eight rebounds.

The back nine of the Central Conference slate will be tricky for Orange. Of their final six conference games, five are on the road, starting with Friday’s trip to Western Alamance. The only home game will be against Southern Alamance, who lost a 5-point lead with :28 remaining in Graham against Orange on December 14. Orange escaped with a 72-68 win in overtime.

But Orange is at the turn now and they won’t be hard to find as the back nine begins.

They’re the ones on top.