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For the first time ever, Hillsborough’s two 3A high schools finished in the top two spots in the Mideast Regional Men’s Cross Country championships.

Orange continued its dominance, winning its third regional championship in four years at Owens Recreation Park in Louisburg last Saturday. Buoyed by a 2nd place finish from junior Myles Jermyn and a third place finish from Lucas Van Mater, the Panthers finished with 42 points.

Cedar Ridge, which came in seventh last year, rocketed to a runner-up finish behind strong performances from juniors Henry Alexander and John Ngunjiri. Last year, the only Red Wolf to qualify for the state championships was Ryan Matthews. This year, they qualified as a team.

Orange won four Central Conference championships and three regional titles under head coach Brian Schneidewind. The Panthers earned their latest title despite the graduation of Gabriel Schmid, a two-time 3A Individual State champion who led the Panthers to a runner-up finish in the 3A State Championships last November in Kernersville. Orange also lost Alden Cathey, an All-Regional defenseman on Orange’s lacrosse team.

“Even though they graduated, I don’t think all of our great runners have left,”  Schneidewind. “I try to remind the runners today that it was specifically the class of 2022 with Nick Pell and Ethan Horton and Spencer Hampton that had took that big step in terms of work ethic. They instilled the mindset that running outside of practice needs to become the norm, which has continued to be embraced by this group. That’s a huge part about any success that we have.”

Jermyn, who won the individual conference championship, finished 2nd individually in the regional with a time of 15:46.06. Van Mater came in third at 16:04.66.

“Both our guys and girls teams have phenomenal human beings,” Schneidewind said. “One of the ways that they’re great individuals is their work ethic and willingness to go after a goal for intrinsic reasons rather than all the hoopla that’s probably not going to come with running. So their desire to set goals, academically or athletically, is another huge part of what’s been happening.”

Ethan Rich of Western Harnett, who finished 2nd in the region last year behind Jermyn, wound up winning the individual regional championship at 15:25.56.

“Myles and Lucas are the gym rats, so to speak,” Schneidewind said. “They’re not only getting in the miles outside of practice, but doing all the supplemental stuff. The little things to avoid injury.”

Orange finished with four of the top nine runners. Sophomore Grant Schmid, Gabrier’s younger brother, finished seventh (17:05.78). Senior Cyrus Neal, who was voted a co-Captain, came in ninth at 17:10.38. Another senior co-Captain for Orange, Peter Musser, finished 22nd at 18:20.88.

Van Mater, whose sister Katelyn was a three-sport athlete at Orange before graduating in 2023, is in his third year on the varsity cross country team. He also runs track & field in the spring.

“Another area where I’m crazy lucky in what I do is that these families set a great foundation of hard work,” Schneidewind said. “They set a balance of academic, athletics and helping the community. Lucas’ sister played a large part in his development and his older brother (Josh) ran cross country, as well. That’s the case of many of the parents of many of our athletes.”

In the women’s regionals, Orange freshman Reilly Jermyn finished fourth overall, which propelled the Lady Panthers to a third-place finish. Myles and Reilly Jermyn are the children of Duke University  cross country coach Kevin Jermyn.

“I’ve never been around someone who knows as much about running as Kevin does,” said Schneidewind. “I told Reilly this last week. As good of a coach as Kevin is, and he’s a very good collegiate coach, but he’s even better as a father. I’m incredibly impressed with his ability to put being a father over being a coach. He think of his children as people before he thinks of them as athletes.”

Orange freshman Ava Bishop finished 10th in the women’s race as Orange qualified as a team for the state championships, which will be contested today (Saturday) at the Ivey Redmon Sports Complex in Kernersville.

Cedar Ridge had four runners finish in the top 17 out of a field of 117 participants. Alexander came in 8th overall at 17:07. 53. Ngunjiri finished 10th at 17:11.22. Senior Nathan Walters crossed the finish line 14th at 17:18.53. Ryan Matthews came in 17th at 17:44.59.

“Our top four have all made huge jumps in terms of fitness,” said Cedar Ridge cross country coach Jared Buddington. “Especially with John.”

Last year, Ngunjiri struggled with shin pain most of the year and raced just once. After a strong indoor track & field season, his shin problems returned last spring, sidelining him from the outdoor track season.

“He really hasn’t had the opportunity to race since last winter,” Buddington said. “This year, he ran a personal best of 18:15 in his first race. He’s run 16:48 this year, which is the top time on the team. He’s stepped up.”

Last year, Walters started the season running around the 22-minute range in the 5K. By the end of the year, he brought that down to the 18:57. This year, he’s gotten the time down to 16:58 in just his second year of running.

“He wasn’t a runner coming into the program,” Buddington said. “He’s just stuck with it. He really likes the community and being around like-minded people. He really be his true self when he’s around the team. It brings out his true personality.”

The Orange volleyball team is moving on to the round of 16 in the 3A State Playoffs. The Lady Panthers defeated South Central 3-1 in the 2nd round at Panther Gymnasium on Thursday night. Junior Ava Wilkerson finished with 17 kills as Orange won its seventh playoff game over the past two years. Orange trailed 23-20 in the first set before Wilkerson scored three straight points. In overtime, Wilkerson slammed down set point. Junior setter Katie Silcott finished with eight kills, 16 digs and 23 assists. Last week against Western Alamance, Silcott had her first career triple-double as the Lady Panthers advanced to the Central Conference Tournament championship match. Junior outside hitter Aubrey Jordan finished with eight kills. Orange will face crosstown rival Cedar Ridge in the round of 16 later today (Saturday). It will be the 13th matchup between the two teams since 2021 and their fourth meeting this year. Last week, Orange defeated Cedar Ridge in five sets to win the Central Conference Tournament, which led to Orange hosting this afternoon’s state playoff match. Cedar Ridge has won in their last two trips to Orange High School, including a sweep of the Lady Panthers on September 3. The Red Wolves also defeated Orange to win the 2023 Central Conference Tournament championship.

Orange volleyball’s Ava Wilkerson, Aubrey Jordan & Katie Silcott discuss win over South Central

The Orange volleyball team is moving on to the round of 16 in the 3A State Playoffs. The Lady Panthers defeated South Central 3-1 in the 2nd round at Panther Gymnasium on Thursday night. Junior Ava Wilkerson finished with 17 kills as Orange won its seventh playoff game over the past two years.

The Orange men’s soccer team is another step closer to tying the school record for most wins in a season. Earlier this week, the Panthers survived a tight match at Southern Alamance to win 2-1 at Hanford Stadium in Graham. The following night, Orange rolled past the Patriots 6-0 in Hillsborough, putting the Panthers at 14 goals for the season. Orange senior Joseph Lopez scored a goal for Orange. Lopez scored Orange’s game-winning goal against Walter Williams on October 9, which clinched a season sweep of the Bulldogs. Daniel Toledo scored two goals for Orange, putting him at 7 goals for the season. Panthers goalkeeper Hector Garrido earned his sixth clean sheet of the season. Garrido is in his first season as Orange goalkeeper. He never played organized soccer before this season, but he hit the ground running when he earned a shutout against Carrboro in the season opener. The Panthers have clinched an automatic spot to the 3A State Playoffs. Now, they’re trying to become the first team in the 37-year history of the program to host a state playoff game. The Panthers will face Eastern Alamance in Hillsborough on Monday night. With the extension of the fall sports season, Orange will travel to Haw River to face Southeast Alamance on November 6 for the regular season finale.

Orange men’s soccer’s Joseph Lopez and Hector Garrido discuss Williams win

The Orange men’s soccer team is another step closer to tying the school record for most wins in a season. Earlier this week, the Panthers survived a tight match at Southern Alamance to win 2-1 at Hanford Stadium in Graham. The following night, Orange rolled past the Patriots 6-0 in Hillsborough, putting the Panthers at 14 goals for the season.

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is junior setter Katie Silcott. Last week, Silcott had a triple-double as the Lady Panthers won the Central Conference Tournament. In the semifinals against Western Alamance, Silcott finished with 12 kills, eleven digs and 32 assists. The following night in the championship match against Cedar Ridge, Silcott missed a triple-double by one dig. She finished with ten kills, 22 assists and nine digs. Orange won two five-set matches on back-to-back nights in order to secure its first conference tournament championship since 2005. Orange also won its third straight match at Cedar Ridge. Silcott has been Orange’s setter since her freshman year. She has a total of 1,769 assists. In her sophomore season, Silcott put up a school-record 1,037 assists as Orange won the Eastern Regional championship, facing Kings Mountain for the state championship at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh. Silcott had a double-double with 22 assists and eleven digs in the state championship match. Silcott has been a regular starter for an Orange team that has won back-to-back regular season conference championship for the first time since 2004-2005. With the addition of Sawyer White to the lineup, Silcott has become a lethal attacker and a blocker at the net. Orange will face Triton in the opening round of the state playoffs tonight in Hillsborough.

Orange Panther of the Week: Katie Silcott

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is junior setter Katie Silcott. Last week, Silcott had a triple-double as the Lady Panthers won the Central Conference Tournament. In the semifinals against Western Alamance, Silcott finished with 12 kills, eleven digs and 32 assists.

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is sophomore tennis player Ellie Wilson. Last week at the Central Conference Tennis Championships at the Burlington Tennis Center, Wilson qualified for the Mideast Regionals in singles play. Wilson had to win two matches in order to reach Regionals for the first time in her career. In the opening round, she defeated Jasmin Brown of Cedar Ridge 6-2, 6-3. With a spot in the Regionals on the line, Wilson got past Kensley Gasaway of Western Alamance 6-4, 7-5. This season, Wilson was placed in the starting lineup by head coach Justin Webb and she produced nine singles wins. Overall, Wilson has been a part of 14 victories as Orange finished in second place in the Central Conference. For the first time in school history, it appears that Orange will host a match in the State Dual Team Playoffs later this month. Wilson opened this season with a straight sets victory over Quinn Parker of Eno River Academy. She followed that by beating Alaina Bustillo of Voyager Academy 8-2. Wilson has played doubles with freshman Kalynn Mason and has amassed a 5-1 record. This Friday, Wilson will play in the Mideast Regional singles tournament at the Burlington Tennis Center looking to advance to the semifinals, which would earn her an automatic spot in the 3A State Singles Tournament.

Orange Panther of the Week: Ellie Wilson

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is sophomore tennis player Ellie Wilson. Last week at the Central Conference Tennis Championships at the Burlington Tennis Center, Wilson qualified for the Mideast Regionals in singles play. Wilson had to win two matches in order to reach Regionals for the first time in her career.

Go to @bwillgfx on Instagram for more photographs for Braeden Wilbourn.