Uncategorized

Photo by Genesis Garcia 

Rice can now beat Texas in football.

Clemson basketball can win the ACC Tournament.

Vanderbilt can play in the SEC Championship game against Alabama next year. Provided their quarterback is healthy, of course.

That’s because Cedar Ridge wrestling has beaten Orange. And it really wasn’t that close.

It would have been unthinkable to write those words five years ago. Orange wrestling has been the most consistent athletic program at the school, winning 19 conference championships in the last 20 years and five state championships since 2005.

The Red Wolves scored pins in eight of the 14 matches to beat the Panthers 54-21 on Wednesday night at Cedar Ridge High School. Orange, which has won three straight conference titles since falling to Chapel Hill in 2020 just before the COVID-19 pandemic, is 3-6 overall, 1-2 in the Central Conference.

While the win was a historic moment for Cedar Ridge, it wasn’t shocking to anyone paying attention to the middle school scene recently. Two years ago, Stanback defeated Orange Middle School to end the Chargers long winning streak, which spanned well over a decade. The Bulldogs head coach was Grant Gibson, who is now in his first season at Southeast Alamance High in Haw River.

Orange had to replace ten seniors from last year’s team that won the Central Conference title and advanced to the 3A Eastern Regional Final in the state playoffs, where they fell to Union Pines. The Red Wolves return seniors Kaden Tatro and James Este-Wittinger, both of whom qualified for the state championships last year. On top of that, Cedar Ridge won the Central Conference Tournament last year at Orange, after the Panthers had secured the regular season crown.

For Cedar Ridge coach Scott Metcalf, it was bittersweet. From 1999-2002, Metcalf wrestled at Orange under the tutelage of Bobby Shriner, the legendary coach who won over 500 dual matches and five state championships before retiring in 2017. Shriner, who now travels and works with the UNC wrestling program, was in attendance Wednesday night.

“This is huge,” Metcalf said.” They pounded us for years. I think it was something like 82-6 when we faced them the first year I was here. We’ve come a long way. We’ve had some ups and downs over the years. To progress, it takes some parents being committed and kids being committed. Everybody working together, a great athletic director and support from the staff.”

Cedar Ridge junior Pierce Prescod opened the night with a pin over Adrian Sierra in 1:33 at 120 pounds. Orange’s Braden Crawford, who won the 126 pound championship at the Jim King/Orange Invitational last weekend, pinned Nathan Vendura in 1:58 to even the match at 6-6.

Cedar Ridge’s Graylon Collins pinned Jackson Runkle in 1:33 to put the Red Wolves back in the lead, but Orange’s Jared Hutchins scored a pin at 138 pounds over Jordin Blue in 1:10 to square the dual match again.

The Red Wolves notched pins in four straight matches to take control. At 144 pounds, Alejandro Briones defeated Talan Pearly in 1:31. Senior Angus Pritchard pinned pinned Colton Jones in 31 seconds. Junior Ryan Rakouskas, who finished third in the Mideast Region in 2022, pinned Aye Zan in 31 seconds to put the Red Wolves ahead 30-12. Then Cedar Ridge’s Shea Spiller added another pinfall win over Connor Harward in 2:14.

Cedar Ridge senior James Este-Wittinger earned the win that ensured the Red Wolves first-ever victory over Orange. Este-Wittinger defeated Jayden Medley 10-4 to give the Red Wolves an insurmountable 48-12 lead with four matches remaining.

“Pierce, Kaden, James and Ryan have all been our strongest wrestlers this year,” Metcalf said. “They’ve really led by example and worked really hard. I think the guys really feed off their example.”

Cedar Ridge senior Kaden Tatro defeated Orange’s Andre Hill 13-8 at 175 pounds. In Cedar Ridge’s subsequent dual match against Rosewood, Tatro pinned Aldinio Previl in 3:19.

The Red Wolves are now 3-0 in the Central Conference following earlier wins over Person and Southern Alamance. Next week’s trip to Eastern Alamance will play a huge factor in the Red Wolves chances of winning a regular season conference championship for the first time since 2010, when they competed in the 2A Mid-State Conference.

“It would be huge,” Metcalf said. “We’ve always fallen short of making the playoffs. Last year, there were a bunch of teams from other conferences that made the playoffs that we beat. And we were sitting at home. It was kind of painful. It would be something special for us to finally make it.”

The Jim King/Orange Invitational is a staple during the opening weekend of December at Orange High School.

During a time of transition for the Orange wrestling team, the Panthers still crowned two individual champions on Saturday. At 126 pounds, junior Braden Crawford captured his first JKO championship.

In the most competitive championship match of a lengthy day, Orange senior Andre Hill earned his first JKO title at 170 pounds.

Crawford, whose sister Josie recently won a regional championship in volleyball for Orange, pinned Tiaj Thao of Davie County in the 126 pound championship match. Thao, the top-seed with a 11-0 record going into the final, shot in for the opening takedown. Crawford eluded Thao and gained his side, then pushed off his legs to put Thao on his back. Crawford scored the pin in 1:00.

Crawford, who is now 8-0 on the season, pinned East Chapel Hill’s Jackie Crozier of East Chapel Hill in 3:16 in the second round. In the quarterfinals, Crawford defeated Connor Herbert of Hough 7-2. Following a scoreless first period, Crawford gained three back points on a near fall to take a 6-2 lead midway through the third period. In the semifinals, Crawford held off Tremayne McNeely of Eastern Guilford 5-1. Crawford scored a takedown with 14 seconds remaining in the first period and never trailed again.

Hill, an offensive lineman for the Orange football team, had a hotly contested final against Giancarlo Evans of Hough. Evans led 2-1 at the end of the first period. On the coin toss to start the second period, Evans elected to start from the bottom. Hill struggled the entire period to gain the escape point to tie the match. Hill broke free, but Evans wrapped his arm around his leg to maintain contact. At first, the officials ruled Hill had not escaped, but changed course at the end of the period.

With things all square at 2-2 to begin the third, Evans got an escape. Hill gained Evans back with 1:04 remaining to take the lead, then held on for all he was worth to keep Evans from escaping. Hill’s grip was strong enough to gain the win 4-3. Hill, who was seeded #3, is 10-0.

In a tight team race, Eastern Guilford won the team title on the penultimate match of a long second day. In the 215 pound championship match, Xavier Wilson pinned Jiwaun Flemming of Pine Forest in 2:47 to earn the Wildcats six points.

Davie County could have tied the Wildcats in the final championship match of the day. At heavyweight, the War Eagles’ Ryder Strickland defeated Eastern Guilford’s Christopher Riley 3-1 in sudden victory, while only gave Davie County three points. Eastern Guilford won the team title with 264 points, while the War Eagles finished with 261.

Orange senior Jared Hutchins, who qualified for the state championships last year, finished 2nd at 138 pounds. Hutchins defeated Andrew Davis of Davie County 16-7, Jackson Rowling of Hough took a big lead early in the championship match, then held on to defeat Hutchins 6-4.

Hutchins pinned Cedell Alexander of Northern Durham in 2;50 of the second round. Hutchins scored a major decision over Andrew Matters of Cary 11-1 in the quarterfinals.

At 106 pounds, Orange senior Chris Winstead finished fifth, the only other Panther to place. Facing Tyron Grant of Pine Forest in the fifth place match, Winstead blocked a shot in the second period. He pinned Grant at 1:14.

The JKO also had a women’s event this year. Ava Lytle of Orange finished highest in the female tournament. She came in 2nd at 126 pounds. Alfa Dominguez of Cary won the final over Lytle 3-1 in the championship. At 165 pounds, Kode Phillips of Orange finished in fifth place. Millbrook was the women’s team championship with 137 points, barely holding off Wake County rival Cary, who had 134 points.

Life is never easy on the road in high school basketball. Just before Thanksgiving, the Orange men’s basketball team had to battle a humid new gymnasium at Northern Durham, 12 straight fouls called against them in the second half and the loss of their leading scorer in a victory over Northern Durham on November 22. Junior guard Xandrell Pennix drained two clutch 3-pointers, including one with :54 seconds remaining that put the Panthers ahead 57-53. Pennix drained his final two shots from downtown and finished with 14 points. Orange center Ryan Honeycutt led the Panthers with 17 points. He also had seven rebounds. Orange won the first varsity game inside the new Northern Durham Gymnasium. Kai Wade added ten points as Orange improved to 2-0 despite the loss of sophomore Coleman Cloer, who suffered a left ankle injury two weeks ago during practice. Orange suffered a tough loss to Riverside on Tuesday night in Hillsborough, dropping its record to 2-2. The Panthers will play Jordan coming up tonight (Thursday) at Falcon Gymnasium. It will be the fourth DAC-VII opponent that the Panthers have faced this season. Orange defeated Hillside in the opener. Hillsboroughsports.com will broadcast tonight’s game starting at 7 PM.

Orange men’s basketball’s Ryan Honeycutt & Xandrell Pennix discuss win at Northern Durham

No Description

The Orange men’s basketball team’s season opener will go down as a classic. The Panthers defeated Hillside in front of a packed Orange High Gymnasium on Friday night. In a frantic final 15 seconds, Kai Wade tied the game with a 12-foot jumper with ten seconds remaining. As Hillside tried to inbound, Freddy Sneed poked the ball away. Sneed threw the ball to Xandrell Pennix, who found a wide-open Malachi Poole on the wing. Poole, who had not attempted a shot in the game, fired in a 3-pointer with two seconds remaining. The crowd rushed the floor as Orange defeated Hillside for the first time since 2009. Wade has been a spark plug on offense since he started his first varsity game as a freshman last year in Orange’s opener against East Chapel Hill. With the leading scorer from last year, Coleman Cloer, out for the Hillside game with a sprained ankle, Wade carried the load offensively for the Panthers scoring 18 points. Orange will go for its second win of the season tonight (Tuesday) when they trek to the new Northern Durham High School to face the Knights. It will be the first trip for Orange to the new Northern Durham High School.

Orange men’s basketball’s Kai Wad & Malachi Poole discuss dramatic opening win over Hillside

The Orange men’s basketball team’s season opener will go down as a classic. The Panthers defeated Hillside in front of a packed Orange High Gymnasium on Friday night. In a frantic final 15 seconds, Kai Wade tied the game with a 12-foot jumper with ten seconds remaining.

Before she could even form coherent thoughts, Katie Belle Sikes seemed to know she was born to be a swimmer before everyone else did.

When she was three years old, Sikes somehow eluded her parents attention and jumped off the diving board at her grandparents swimming pool. With no hesitation, she plopped herself into the deep end while she tried to reach a nearby ladder, where her brother was stationed.

The fact she had not learned how to swim yet didn’t stop her, though it did leave her parents horrified.

Yet before they could jump in the water, Katie Belle popped up from underneath and reached the wall much to everyone’s relief.

It was a harbinger of things to come.

On Wednesday afternoon, hundreds of workouts at the Orange County Sportsplex, dozens of trips with travel teams and high school competitions all led to a ceremony at Orange High School’s Gymnasium. It’s where Sikes formally signed with the Georgia Bulldogs, where she verbally committed last fall.

Georgia, a seven-time NCAA National Champion in women’s swimming, is home to Gabrielsen Natatorium, where Sikes first competed in middle school.

Katie Belle was accompanied in the signing ceremony by her parents Kristin and Thomas Sikes, along with her coaches Rob and Kristie Geib.

“I have so many emotions right now,” Sikes said. “I’m extremely excited. I have so many emotions for so many people. Swimming in Garbielsen Natatorium was very intimidating when I was in eighth grade, but also super exciting to be swimming in a poll where so many national titles had been won.”

Sikes quickly established herself during a freshman year that was anything but typical. In the pandemic year of 2021, she found herself practicing in reduced lanes due to COVID restrictions. She didn’t have one in-person class as a freshman. Sikes won the first of her six regional championships in the 50 yard freestyle at the Greensboro Aquatic Center and finished second in the 3A State Championships behind Olivia Rhodes of Charlotte Catholic.

As a freshman, she was named the Big 8 Conference Female Swimmer of the Year.

In 2022, she became the first female swimmer in Orange High history to win a state championship when she finished 1st with a time of 23.24 seconds.

The 2023 State Championships at the Cary Aquatic Center may have been the greatest singular athletic performance in the history of Orange High School. Sikes won two individual state championships. She set a new state record, regardless of classification, in the 50 yard freestyle at 22.17 seconds. It was the tenth-fastest time ever recorded by a high school athlete nationally, earning her automatic All-American status. She also set the 3A State Record in the 100 yard freestyle at 49.45 seconds, her first state title in the event.

Sikes swam the anchor leg for the 200 yard freestyle team with Riley White, Piper White and Ainsley Rasinske, which became the first relay team to win a state championship in Hillsborough history.

As a junior, she was named the Most Outstanding Female Swimmer of the 3A State Championships.

Of course, Sikes still has a senior year starting later this month. It wouldn’t be a campaign without new goals to aim for to complete a career that’s already firmly entrenched into the Orange High Hall of Fame.

“Last year, our freestyle medley relay was just shy of a state championship,” Sikes said. “I would really like to close out the season bringing both of our relay teams to state championships. I also would like to set another record in the 50 yard freestyle and another record in the 100-yard freestyle.”

Last summer, Sikes was named the HighSchoolOT. com Female Swimmer of the Year. She is a three-time USA Swimming Scholastic All-American. She has a 4.0 grade point average.

The old saying at the Masters every April is “the tournament doesn’t start until the back nine on Sunday.”

At the 3A State Cross Country state championship on Saturday, the event didn’t start on the first mile.

As far as Gabriel Schmid was concerned, it started on the second. The other 166 runners didn’t find out until it was too late.

The first mile, Schmid played it easy running with the group, hanging back just a bit. When the second mile started, several months worth of training kicked in.

“The plan was to kick in and roll for the second mile,” Schmid said. “Just bang mile after mile and we did that. That’s the pace we had run all season. It was a strategy we developed. When you go into these bigger races, anything can happen. It can be totally running all out as a team and make it a full sprint, then just die around the finish line. Or it can be we run the first mile in five minutes, take the second mile in 4:55, then lay the hammer down in the final mile. You have to be prepared for either one.”

Schmid’s instincts, along with his team, proved correct once again at the Ivey Redmon Sports Complex in Kernersville on Saturday.

Schmid won the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 3A Men’s State Cross County Championship for the second year in a row, crossing the finish line at 15:14.75. The runner-up, Tyrese Cone of Croatan, came in 33 seconds behind Schmid at 15:48.42.

In his final cross country race for Orange in an NCHSAA-sanctioned event, Schmid improved on his time from last year’s state championship race. And he won by a wider margin. In 2022, Schmid completed the 3.1-mile course in 15:44.28, beating Stephen Fernetti of North Lincoln in 16 seconds.

Schmid became just the fourth runner in the history of Orange County to win back-to-back individual state championships. Orange’s Bradsher Wilkins won consecutive state crowns at the 4A level in 1997-1998. Cedar Ridge’s A.J. Tucker is the only Red Wolf to ever win a state cross country championship, winning the 2A titles in 2011 and 2012. Taylor Gilland of Chapel Hill captured the 4A championships in 2007 & 2008.

As a team, Orange had its best-ever finish in a state championship meet, finishing runner-up to defending state champion Croatan. The Panthers registered 93 points. Croatan claimed its second straight team crown with 67 points. Orange’s team of Lucas Van Mater, Alden Cathey, Myles Jermyn, Peter Musser, Nolan Hufner, and Cyrus Neal won the Mideast Regional Championship at Franklinton High School, its second regional crown in three years.

Cedar Ridge sophomore Ryan Matthews qualified for the state championships for the second consecutive year. He crossed the finish line at 17:49.52, finishing 93rd overall.

Schmid, who completed a run on Saturday night after winning his second state championship, was confident in his chances to earn another individual crown. Born in Phoenix, Arizona, Schmid competed in the American Ninja Warrior while living in Longmont, Colorado in middle school. He ran in the Junior World Championships in Minneapolis and New Mexico while living in Vancouver, Washington before his family moved to Hillsborough four years ago.

Schmid now has three individual state championships overall. He also won the 3,200 meters in the 3A State Outdoor Track and Field Championships at North Carolina A&T University last May. In addition to two individual cross country regional championships, he also won two Mideast Regional titles in the 1,600 and 3,200 meters last May at Franklinton. He finished second in the state championships in the 1,600 meters.

“Obviously, I’ve taken running a lot farther than any of those sports,” Schmid said. “The will to be the best at something or set a goal for something that won’t come overnight. That’s what makes me tick. If I can’t have it tomorrow, then I’m going to work for it.”

Yet just two years ago, cross country wasn’t his only fall sport. He was also a men’s soccer player for Orange under head coach Palmer Bowman.

“My mom sat me down and told me I needed to choose between one or the other,” Schmid said. “I was a whole lot better at running than I was at soccer.”

At the Great American Cross Country Festival in Cary, Schmid broke 16-minutes for the first time. That’s when he decided to leave soccer behind.

“Coach Bowman was very supportive,” Schmid said.

Six months later, Schmid finished second in the 3,200 meters in the State Outdoor Championships.

In addition to running, Schmid also volunteers for the Efland Fire Department, where he’s frequently on call. There’s training on Thursday night. Out of the department’s 700 calls in 2022, Schmid ran 203 of them.

The entire Cedar Ridge team qualified for the women’s race. As a squad, the Red Wolves finished 12th out of 18 teams. Naomi Dyreng, the Central Carolina Conference individual champion, was the highest Red Wolf finisher, coming in 17th at 19:43.71. Junior Abigail Klaitman finished 47th (20:44.40), while freshman Kate Finnegan crossed the finish line in 113th place (22:51.32). Cedar Ridge junior Anna Peterson finished 130th (23:46.44), while freshman Safiyya Frej came in 141st (25:00.05). Another Red Wolf freshman, Samantha Quade, finished 146th. Freshman Grace Whitaker came in 148th (25:45.02).

For the first time since 2015, the Orange volleyball team has reached the third round of the 3A State Playoffs. On Tuesday night, the Lady Panthers defeated Northern Nash 3-0 on scores of 25-14, 25-10, 25-10. Orange’s young but imposing front line provided a size advantage, once again, that overwhelmed the opposition. Sophomore middle blocker Ava Wilkerson finished with eleven kills. Freshman Sawyer White rotated between setter and right outside hitter. She registered five kills, two aces, seven digs, 16 assists and one block. Wilkerson, with her 6-foot-3 frame, leads Orange with 57 blocks. She also has 234 kills, which is second on the team. White has worked her way into the regular rotation for 1st-year head coach Hope Heverly. It was a long wait for Orange to finally reach the 3rd round of the state playoffs for Orange. The Lady Panthers had been eliminated in the second round each of the past two years. Now, Orange has not only reached the third round, but they will host Union Pines on Thursday night in Hillsborough. Orange hasn’t reached the state quarterfinals since 2007, when they were a 2A team. They will get their opportunity when they host Union Pines on Thursday night at 6PM in Hillsborough. The 2007 Orange squad finished with 25 wins. The current Lady Panthers are 24-4.

Orange volleyball’s Ava Wilkerson & Sawyer White discuss playoff win over Northern Nash

For the first time since 2015, the Orange volleyball team has reached the third round of the 3A State Playoffs. On Tuesday night, the Lady Panthers defeated Northern Nash 3-0 on scores of 25-14, 25-10, 25-10. Orange’s young but imposing front line provided a size advantage, once again, that overwhelmed the opposition.

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is junior men’s soccer defender Salomon Hernandez. On September 20, Hernandez scored the game-winning goal as the Red Wolves defeated Western Alamance 1-0 at Red Wolves Stadium. It’s the only conference loss the Warriors have suffered this season and put Cedar Ridge in first place in the Central Carolina Conference. Against Southern Alamance, Hernandez scored his first career hat trick as the Red Wolves defeated the Patriots 7-2 at Red Wolves Stadium on October 4. Hernandez trains with Wake FC in Holly Springs and has also spent time with the North Carolina FC Academy in Cary. This season, he has been one of the sparkplugs for the most successful season for the Red Wolves in recent history. He has scored six goals, with additional tallies against Eastern Alamance and Person. Next week, Cedar Ridge will officially make the 3A State Playoffs for the first time since 2016, which was the goal of the team from the very beginning of the year when they defeated Eno River Academy on August 14. Hernandez has been a member of the varsity since he was a freshman. Cedar Ridge will wrap up the regular season against Eastern Alamance at Red Wolves Stadium on Tuesday night.

Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week: Solomon Hernandez

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is junior men’s soccer defender Salomon Hernandez. On September 20, Hernandez scored the game-winning goal as the Red Wolves defeated Western Alamance 1-0 at Red Wolves Stadium. It’s the only conference loss the Warriors have suffered this season and put Cedar Ridge in first place in the Central Carolina Conference.