This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is senior sprinter A.J. Richmond. Last week during a tri-meet in Northwood last Tuesday, Richmond won the 100 and 200 meters against the Chargers and Orange. Richmond won the 100 meters with a time of 12.14 seconds. In the 200 meters, Richmond finished at 24.24 seconds. He also finished second in the high jump with a leap of 5-feet. Since 2021 started, Richmond hasn’t had very much time off. He was a forward for the Cedar Ridge men’s basketball team, which swept the season-series from crosstown rival Orange. That included coming back from 19-point down on January 11 to beat the Panthers 67-66 in overtime. Richmond scored four points in that game. After basketball season ended, Richmond was a starting wide receiver and cornerback for the Cedar Ridge football team under head coach Corey Lea. Next week, Richmond will graduate. He plans to attend a community college this fall and start looking into a career with computer repair. Richmond is the son of Andre Richmond, a former Orange High football player who is now a deputy with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. Richmond will continue track and field season on Thursday with a meet at Dave Thaden Stadium at East Chapel Hill.

A combination of strong pitching and timely pitching carried Orange to its first win over Northwood in Pittsboro since 2016 on Tuesday night. The Panthers prevailed 9-4. Catcher Davis Horton extended his hitting streak to 12 games, dating back to his freshman year at Riverside High School. Horton continued the streak with an infield single in the 7th inning. He would go on to score off a sacrifice fly by Will Walker. Orange junior third baseman Cesar Lozano led off the third inning with a double that one-hopped the wall in left field. Lozano would go on to score off a bunt by Tyler Lloyd. In addition, Lozano was voted the consensus best kickball player on the team during a recent practice to work on base running at Orange softball field. Orange has won two in a row. Its their first season sweep of the Chargers since Bryse Wilson was a senior. Orange will play its final home game of the year on Friday night against Chapel Hill. The Panthers are 8-3. They will also travel to Cedar Ridge to continue the suspended game from last Friday. The makeup date is next Tuesday at 5 PM at Red Wolves Territory.

You haven’t lived until you’ve seen a ball thrown away at the Ronald Horton Baseball Complex at Northwood.

At most ballparks, there are fences along the first base line to help fielders whenever an errant throw gets past them.

There’s no fence at first in Pittsboro. There’s just a very big hill, which can lead to chaos on seemingly ordinary ground balls and two-to-three base errors more commonly than you would expect.

It’s also been a house of horrors for Jason Knapp.

Take 2019, for instance. In his first game against the Chargers as Orange coach, Knapp felt confident as his Panthers went into the bottom of the sixth inning with a 5-1 lead.

Then everything fell apart.

The Orange bullpen surrendered four hits and five walks in the final two innings. After trailing 5-3 in the bottom of the seventh, the Chargers scored three runs, including the game-winner of a bases-loaded walk, to escape 6-5.

It may have been bowling shoe ugly, but the Orange baseball team rode away from Pittsboro much happier on Tuesday night.

In a game with a combined 12 errors, the Panthers rode the strength of its offense and sophomore starting pitcher Ryan Hench to a 9-4 win at the Ronald Horton Baseball Complex on Tuesday. Hench allowed only one run off two hits with six strikeouts.

Senior centerfielder Jaren Sikes drove in the Panthers’ first run, scored by Hench, off a triple to left field in the bottom of the second inning off a fly ball hit over the head of left fielder Nate Ortiz.

Orange catcher Davis Horton extended his hitting streak to twelves games with an infield single in the seventh inning. Horton, who started the streak with two hits against Southern Nash during his freshman year at Riverside in 2019, also had a sacrifice fly in the 3rd inning for his team-leading 14th RBI of the year.

It was Orange’s first win at Northwood since 2016, when Bryse Wilson was a senior.

“Anytime you can come down here and get a win, it’s a good thing,” Knapp said. “It’s a tough place to play, but it was an ugly game on our part. I’ve been coming down here since 2000, and every time I come here, it’s tough. The score wasn’t indicative of how hard Northwood fought. Coach (David) Miller has done a great job and they’ve improved a lot since the first time we met.”

Northwood shortstop Mason Bae struck first after being drilled on the second pitch Hench threw. Catcher Luke Smith blooped a single to shallow centerfield, and Bae went to third went the ball got past an outfielder. After sophomore third baseman Zach Barnes walked to load the bases, Ortiz reached on a throwing error to score Bae.

Following Sikes’ double in the second inning, Orange took the lead with three runs in the third inning. Tyler Lloyd drew a leadoff walk, followed by a liner to right field by Jackson Berini. Junior David Waitt doubled down the left field line to score Lloyd. Berini came in next off Horton’s sacrifice fly. With two out, Will Walker drove in a single to left field to plate Waitt.

Third baseman Cesar Lozano, who has been precipitously close to a home run throughout the season, nearly parked a fastball over the left field fence to leadoff the third. Instead, it one-hopped the wall and Lozano settled for a double. After Sikes walked, Lloyd laid down a bunt that was thrown into right field by the pitcher, and Lozano scored the first of several unearned Orange runs.

Sikes moved to third base off a Berini sacrifice bunt, which led to Twitter-caliber comedy. Waitt hit a fielder’s choice to Barnes at third base, who caught Sikes in a rundown at the plate trying to score. Sikes ran back to third, only to find Lloyd standing at third. Lloyd, who was nearly called out for sharing the same base, dashed to second. Sikes wound up being safe at third, and Northwood’s attempt to nab Lloyd during his retreat to second wound up with the ball thrown in the outfield. That allowed Sikes to score to put Orange ahead 7-1.

Following his 7th inning single, Horton ran for himself (usually Jacob Jones serves as his courtesy runner). After a errant pickoff to the death area at first, Horton took second and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Horton, who has started every game, would score his second run of the year off a sacrifice fly from Walker to centerfield.

Connor Funk was hit by a pitch, and Hench reached on a throwing error. With Mason Thompson replacing Hench as a courtesy runner, Lozano was hit by a pitch. Sikes reached on an infield throwing error to score Thompson.

Despite scoring nine runs, no Panther had a multi-hit game. Sophomore Joey Pounds recorded the final two outs, including taking care of a bunt by Andrew Johnson on the last play of the game. He also had a strikeout.

Orange will host Chapel Hill on Friday night at 6 for its final home game of the year.

With the Big 8 Conference Championship already secure, the Orange wrestling team maintained its undefeated record with little trouble in Yanceyville.

In a tri-meet, Orange swept Bartlett-Yancey 60-18 and Walter Williams 64-12 on Tuesday night. It happened a week after Orange defeated Chapel Hill to clinch the Big 8 title and finished 7-0 in conference action.

Against the Buccaneers, Orange senior Henry Joubert-Stanzel scored his team-leading seventh pin of the season after he finished off Jakoby Casselman at 170 pounds. Joubert-Stanzel got a forfeit win against Williams and is now 13-0.

Senior Elliott Woods, who made All-Big 8 Conference for football, earned his first pinfall of the season with a win over William Caldwell at 182 pounds. Another All-Conference football player, Hayden Horne, pinned Jada Davis at 220 pounds. At 160 pounds, Nate Hecht pinned Christian Scott. Dillon Heffernan pinned Paul Vogel at 113 pounds.

Joshua Dunn, Jared Hutchins, Kessel Summers, Avery Clark, and Matthew Smith-Breeden earned forfeit wins against the Buccaneers.

Summers improved to 15-0 on the season with a 13-1 major decision over Williams’ Sam Sturgill.

Against Williams, who will be a conference rival for Orange starting in August, the Panthers had three pins. Avery Clark defeated Saul Segura-Alejandrez to go to 12-3 on the season. At 152 pounds, Samuel Crawford defeated James Hurst. Crawford is now 8-3. Brendon Worsham pinned Treyvon Cousins at 182 pounds to bolster his record to 11-2. It was Worsham’s fourth pin of the year.

Smith-Breeden, Heffernan, Dunn, Hutchins, Hecht, Joubert-Stanzel, and Horne all had forfeit wins for Orange against the Bulldogs.

Orange’s next dual match is scheduled against Hough High School next Tuesday. The Panthers will conclude its regular season in a tri-meet against powerful Cardinal Gibbons and Enloe on June 9.

Women’s Tennis: Northwood 6, Orange 3; Northwood 7, Orange 2

The Orange women’s tennis team honored five seniors during a lengthy evening at Orange High Tennis Courts on Tuesday.

The Northwood Chargers completed a suspended match that started on May 5 that was interrupted by rain, then won the regular scheduled match against Orange 7-2.

Orange seniors Halle Boroski, Ashley Behinger, Lindsey Jouannet, Morgan Gwinn, and Emma Williamson were honored before the match by head coach Justin Webb.

Freshman Grace Pell won in straight sets for Orange in singles play.

The Lady Panthers will finish the regular season at Chapel Hill on Wednesday.

Track and Field: Last Tuesday, the Orange and Cedar Ridge men’s and women’s track and field teams competed in a tri-meet at Northwood High School in Pittsboro. Cedar Ridge senior A.J. Richmond finished 1st in the 100 and 200 meter dash. Richmond had a new personal best with a time of 12.14 seconds in the 100. In the 200, Richmond finished at 24.24 seconds. In addition, Richmond finished second in the high jump with a leap of 5-feet.

For Orange, senior Erin Mink qualified for the Mideast Regionals in the pole vault. Mink cleared 10-feet, six inches to finish in first place. It was the huge day for Mink, who finished first in three different events. She won the long jump at 14-feet, eight-inches. She also captured the triple jump at 31-feet, nine inches.

Sophomore Abby Hengsterman won the 400 meter dash, crossing the finish line at 1:09.44. In the 300 meter hurdles, junior Samantha George finished first with a new personal best of 54.54 seconds.

For the Orange men, Spencer Hampton continued his strong season with victories in the 1,600 and 3,200 meters. Hampton, who has already qualified for the regionals, won the 1,600 at 4:24.10. In the 3,200, Hampton crossed the finish line at 9:53.60.

A week after winning in the 400 meter dash against Northern Durham and Vance County on Senior Day, Jeffrey Faulkner finished 1st in the 400 meters again at 53.24 seconds. Keanu Mims, who competed in the state championships as a sophomore on the 4×100 relay team, came in second at 54.24 seconds.

Orange captured three more events. In the high jump, Devin Goss finished first with a leap of 5-feet, 2-inches. Junior Caelin Sampey won the long jump at 15-feet, 6-and-a-half inches. Sampey also won the triple jump at 31-feet, 8.25-inches.

As Takia Nichols prepared to announce her destination to play college softball, she wanted three things.

The first was a program with teammates that she could bond with, just as she’s grown close to so many of her teammates at Cedar Ridge. The second was dugout energy, like what she saw when North Carolina Central faced North Carolina A&T at Thomas Brooks Park in Cary last month. The Eagle-Aggie rivalry is, by no means, limited to only the gridiron and the hardwood. When Joirea Dumas hit a walkoff single for Central in the bottom of the 10th inning to win 6-5, her Eagle teammates swarmed the field and mobbed her in celebration.

The third was a focus on her professional future for a career in crime forensics. It’s an area that her coach, Allen Byrd, is very familiar with. Byrd, who helped Nichols throughout the process of making her college decision, is an Assistant Chief with the Mebane Police Department.

On Friday night, Nichols made her decision final.

She was going to North Carolina Central.

Before she tweeted the official word, Nichols called Byrd to inform him. By that point, Byrd and his wife Brenda were cruising down Highway 17 near Brunswick County for their Memorial Day vacation.

As Brenda constantly reminds her husband, trips to Shallotte bring back unpleasant memories of Cedar Ridge’s crushing 4-3 loss in nine innings to West Brunswick in the third round of the 2018 3A State Playoffs. It ended the greatest season in Red Wolf softball history. Cedar Ridge was 17-1 and won the Big 8 Conference championship with a 14-0 record. The night ended with Byrd’s best player, Tori Dalehite, going to the hospital to treat a broken hand. After a four-hour bus ride back to Hillsborough, Byrd reported to work the following morning with no sleep. Four years later, he’s still not sure the right team won that night.

“I always throw my finger out where I ride past Brunswick County,” Byrd jokes. “But it’s only my index finger.”

The following year, Nichols was a freshman when the Red Wolves faced West Carteret in the 2nd round of the state playoffs. Before the game, Byrd treated his team to a walk along the beach near Morehead City. Hours later in the fourth inning, Nichols crushed a fastball over the left field fence that disappeared into the trees. It was the eighth home run of her career. Cedar Ridge would advance 6-3.

Nichols, the 2021 Big 8 Conference Player of the Year, is the all-time home run hitter in Cedar Ridge history with 26 in 42 games. This year, Nichols hit 13 home runs and 38 RBIs, both tops in the Big 8.

Marshall, Norfolk State, North Carolina A&T and Winston-Salem State showed interest in Nichols. Ultimately, Nichols said NCCU was the best fit for several reasons.

“I absolutely wanted to attend an HBCU,” Nichols said. “That was important to me. I love the energy that the Central players have. There’s nothing like that at any other place in softball. I saw that when they played A&T. That was the first thing that attracted me to Central.”

Central had reached out to Nichols during her junior year. Byrd knew several members of Central’s coaching staff.

“They were already looking at her,” Byrd said. “Knowing what type of kid she is and what type of student she is, it really worked out. It was truly great to see because when you see kids that work hard like she does, it’s great. Takia did it all herself.”

Nichols grew acclimated to the environment of HBCU softball several years ago when she traveled to Claflin University in Orangeburg, South Carolina during an individual camp.

“That opened my eyes,” Nichols said. “It was a whole new world. It reminded me of Cedar Ridge. I wanted to be at a place where the team is close. I want to have teammates with a friendship like me and Ava (Lowry, a Red Wolf shortstop who has committed to North Carolina Wesleyan) have. You can’t beat that.”

Nichols has also played summer travel ball with the N.C. Rockers, the Carolina Cardinals and the N.C. Firecrackers.

As for life after softball, Nichols wants to follow in her coach’s footsteps. She’s looking into criminal forensics.

“Allen has been very involved in this whole process,” Nichols said. “He’s met with coaches and talked with my mom. And he’s told me about what I life in law enforcement is like. The good and the bad.”

“At the end of the day, you want kids to pursue what they desire,” Byrd said. “As a head coach, to see a player follow in your footsteps, that’s kind of amazing.”

On May 15, North Carolina Central reached the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament Championship game, where they could have secured its first trip to the NCAA Division I Tournament. Morgan State ended the Eagles’ hopes with a 10-5 win in Norfolk, Virginia. Central is currently without a permanent head coach. Last September, Cat Tarvin became the interim coach after the resignation of Vashion Johnson, who left to pursue another opportunity. Central is expected to name a permanent head coach in July.

Durham college softball, still in its infancy, is red hot right now. Before his departure, Johnson took Central to a 23-win season in 2019, including an upset over North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Duke, in its fourth season as a program, won its first Atlantic Coast Conference championship earlier this month.

All of that is in the distant future for Nichols. There’s still the matter of her final season at Cedar Ridge. She isn’t treating it as a stepping stone before leaving for Division I college softball. It’s the last time she gets to play with classmates Ava Lowry and Olivia Aitkin, as well as rising juniors Hayley King and Tori Carden.

2021 left a sour taste in her mouth. In a standard year, the Red Wolves #33 ranking in the MaxPreps standings would have put them comfortably in a 64-team field for the 3A State Playoffs. But because of the pandemic, it was reduced to a 32-team tournament and the Red Wolves were on the outside looking in for the first time since 2017.

Nichols knows firsthand that she’s about to enter the new 3A Central Conference, which will bring higher-caliber competition. It includes 2019 3A State Champion Eastern Alamance, Western Alamance, as well as familiar rivals Orange and Northwood.

It also isn’t changing her goals for her Cedar Ridge swan song.

“I want to make states next year,” Nichols said. “I know we’re in a new league. But this team and this school mean a lot to me. I don’t want to leave without winning another playoff game. I think we can do better next year and I can do better. That’s my goal.”

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is senior wrestler Henry Joubert-Stanzel. Last week, Joubert-Stanzel pinned Chapel Hill’s Danny Miranda in 2:26 to wrap up a 45-22 Orange win over the Tigers. In the process, Orange captured the Big 8 Conference Championship, winning a conference title for the 17th time in the last 18 years. This season, Joubert-Stanzel is 11-0 with six pins. Since wrestling two varsity matches as a freshman, Joubert-Stanzel has showed improvement year-after-year. As a sophomore, Joubert-Stanzel went 16-22. Last year, he was 29-14 with 16 pins. Joubert-Stanzel was also a part of two Orange-Person Athletic Conference championship teams with Stanford Middle School. With no 3A State Dual Team Tournament being held this year, Joubert-Stanzel is focused on making the state tournament. The 3A Mideast Regionals will be held on June 15 at Eastern Guilford High School. As a team, Orange is 13-0 overall, 7-0 in the Big 8 Conference. On Tuesday, they will host Bartlett Yancey and Walter Williams in a tri-meet.

After becoming just the second tennis player in the history of Hillsborough high school athletics to reach a state championship match, Cedar Ridge sophomore Josh Mayhew has been named All-Big 8 Conference.

In addition, Cedar Ridge’s Eli Rachlin and Will Ballenger also were named to the All-Big 8 Conference team. Orange’s Justin Conover and Brandon Gwinn were also named first-team All-Big 8.

On May 15, Mayhew defeated Soham Pradhan of Marvin Ridge 6-2, 6-4 to reach the 3A State Tennis final at the Burlington Tennis Center. He became the first Cedar Ridge singles player to become a state finalist. The only other player from the Orange County School District to ever reach a state final was Britton Webb of Orange, who played for the 2A championship in 2005.

This was Mayhew’s first full varsity season. He went 14-4 in singles play. All four of his losses were to 3A State Champion Dennis Perumov of Chapel Hill, who naturally was also the Big 8 Conference Player of the Year. Mayhew finished second in the Mideast Regional, where he defeated Chapel Hill’s Eddy Ferreira 6-2, 6-2 in the semifinals. Mayhew qualified for the state championships on May 8 with wins over Western Alamance’s Will Geiger and East Chapel Hill’s Rama Varanasi in the opening rounds of the Mideast Regionals. He became the first singles player from Cedar Ridge to qualify for the state tournament since 2014.

Rachlin was the junior co-Captain of the team. He started all matches at #2 singles. Rachlin helped the Red Wolves sweep the season series from crosstown rival Orange. On March 22, Rachlin defeated Orange’s Colin O’Hagerty 6-2, 7-5. Throughout the season, Rachlin teamed with Lev Bearman on #2 doubles. Together, they defeated Northwood’s #2 doubles team 8-7, winning the tiebreaker 7-5 on March 15. It preserved a 5-4 Cedar Ridge victory.

Ballenger had 14 wins this season. He teamed with Mayhew to go 8-2 as the Red Wolves’ top doubles team. Ballenger also played #3 singles for much of the year, including a three-set victory over Carrboro’s Joseph Lee that ended 2-6, 7-5, 7-6 (12-10). It helped the Red Wolves defeat the Jaguars 9-0 at Carrboro Tennis Courts.

Orange’s Brandon Gwinn teamed with O’Hagerty to reach the 3A State Doubles Tournament. It was the first time since 2013 that Orange High was represented in a state tennis tournament. On May 8, Gwinn and O’Hagerty defeated Northern Guilford’s Duncan Moore and James Harrington 6-3, 6-4 to reach the 3A Mideast Regional semifinals. Earlier in the day, Gwinn and O’Hagerty knocked off Isai Gutierrez & Francisco Urieta of Harnett Central.

Gwinn, a sophomore, had 12 wins overall in 2021. Despite facing players from perennial powerhouses Chapel Hill and East Chapel Hill, Gwinn finished 7-4 in singles play. Gwinn defeated Ballenger 6-1, 7-6 (8-6) on April 14 at Red Wolves Tennis Courts.

In his third year as a varsity player, Conover was usually Orange’s #1 singles player. He helped the Panthers to a winning season on the strength of two wins over Northwood. Conover defeated the Chargers’ Jio Sumogod 6-4, 6-4 on March 24. A month later, Conover defeated Sumogod 7-5, 6-4 as Orange defeated Northwood 5-4 in Hillsborough.

Bearman was named Honorable Mention All-Big 8 for Cedar Ridge. O’Hagerty was named honorable mention for Orange.

In addition to tennis, the Big 8 Conference has named its All-Conference teams for men’s golf. Orange’s Josh Frank and Cedar Ridge’s Bradley Monschein made All-Big 8.

Frank, a senior, had a nine-hold average for the year below 42. He qualified for the 3A Mideast Regionals at Keith Hills Golf Club on the campus of Campbell University. On April 13, Frank shot a 79 at Occoneechee Golf Course in Hillsborough, the home of Orange and Cedar Ridge golf.

Monschein was the Red Wolves’ top player throughout the season. In mid-March at Occoneechee Golf Course, Monschein led Cedar Ridge with an 87 over 18 holes, which was tied for fourth among competitors from five different schools. Somewhat remarkably, Monschein didn’t start getting serious about golf until about a year ago. This was his first season on the Cedar Ridge golf team. He’s currently playing for Cedar Ridge’s junior varsity baseball team.

Landon Riley: The Liberty Flames were upset in the Atlantic Sun Tournament championship game by Jacksonville 7-3 on Saturday at Harmon Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida. Riley threw one inning of scoreless inning against the Dolphins with one walk and one strikeout. Liberty defeated North Florida 5-2 in Friday’s semifinal game. On Thursday, Jacksonville defeated the Flames 2-1, Liberty’s first loss in the tournament. On Friday morning, Liberty shut out Kennesaw State 6-0. The Flames now await for the NCAA Selection Show at noon on Memorial Day to learn if their season will continue. Projections from Baseball America and D1baseball.com both have Liberty receiving an at-large bid for the NCAA Tournament. The Flames have two wins over North Carolina, as well as victories over Virginia and Virginia Tech. Liberty, which won the Atlantic Sun regular season championship, are 39-14. In 18 pitching appearances this season, Riley had a 2-0 record with a 4.08 ERA and five saves. In 17-and-two-thirds innings, Riley had 19 strikeouts and nine walks.

Joey Berini: #11 East Carolina was eliminated by UCF on Saturday in the American Athletic Conference Tournament at BayCare Park in Clearwater, Florida. Berini entered the game as a pinch hitter for the Pirates in the eighth inning and hit a two-out single to centerfield. It was Berini’s third hit of the season. Berini also played Wednesday at East Carolina defeated Cincinnati 13-9 in an elimination game. He went 0-for-1 as a pinch hitter. East Carolina is 41-15 and will wind up with a spot in the NCAA Tournament when the field is announced later today. Berini has played in eleven games this year.

Brandon Andrews: The Jacksonville State baseball team ended the year with consecutive wins over Eastern Illinois. It was not enough for the Gamecocks to qualify for the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament. They finished 26-27, 10-14 in the Ohio Valley Conference. Andrews pitched in one game for Jacksonville State after he transferred from Nicholls State. He has one season of eligibility remaining.

Bryse Wilson: After his win over the Toronto Blue Jays last Friday, Bryse Wilson was optioned back to the Gwinnett Stripers of Triple-A East. On Friday night, Wilson earned the win as the Stripers defeated the Memphis Redbirds 8-2 in a rain-shortened six innings. It was the first complete game by a Gwinnett starter this year. He struck out five over six innings and surrendered only two runs. He also had a bunt hit in the third inning and scored off a home run by Jason Kipnis. In his last nine starts with the Stipers, Wilson is 8-0 with a 1.58 ERA dating back to July 21, 2019.

Marvin Jones: Jones competed for North Carolina Central at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field East Regional Preliminary Championships at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, FL. Jones finished tied for 37th place in the high jump with a 2.06-meter leap. During his senior season, Jones had five top-5 finishes with three wins. He won the gold medal at the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

Olivia Ward: The former Cedar Ridge women’s tennis player ended the year on a strong note for Division III Methodist. On April 25, Ward defeated Chandler Brice of North Carolina Wesleyan 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) in the opening round of the USA South Women’s Tennis Tournament. North Carolina Wesleyan won the match 6-3 at the Slick Family Tennis Center in Rocky Mount. Ward ended the year with wins in six consecutive matches. Methodist end the year 8-14, but finished 2nd in the USA South Conference with a 5-1 record.

Brad Debo: Though he didn’t play for N.C. State this season, Debo was still honored during the Wolfpack’s home game against Florida State on May 22 at Doak Field in Raleigh. Debo didn’t have a senior day game during his senior year in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Debo played in eight games in 2020 for the Wolfpack as a catcher and designated hitter. He hit .263 with one double. For his Wolfpack career, Debo hit .284 with nine home runs and 96 RBIs. He has started work as an organizational instructor for catchers at North Carolina Development Baseball out of Durham.