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The biggest test in swimming’s 500 yard freestyle is durability.

Speed is nice, but first you have to last.

Cedar Ridge’s Sophia Stinnett proved her endurance once again by winning the 500 yard freestyle in her final trip to the Central Regional championships. On Saturday at the Greensboro Aquatic Center, Stinnett won her third career regional championship, finishing at 5:24.22. In a race that was neck-and-neck most of the way, Stinnett repeated as the 500 regional champion by beating out Carrboro’s Avery Shuping, who touched the wall at 5:26.48.

While Katie Belle Sikes is now swimming at the University of Georgia, Orange junior Piper White managed to keep the 50 yard and 100 yard regional championships in the Panther family. After Sikes won four consecutive 50 yard freestyle regional championships, White plopped herself down inside throne that Sikes vacated.

White captured her first regional championship with a time of 25.04 seconds, beating Ledford’s Parker Ridge. Later, White won the 100 yard freestyle at 54.33 seconds, finishing ahead of Carrboro freshman Eva Dziuba.

After winning the Central Conference championship last week, Cedar Ridge finished 2nd in the regional team standings at 280 points. Carrboro, which has won five state championships in the last six years, captured another regional team championship with 441 points.

“I was really proud of Sophia,” said Cedar Ridge swimming coach Amanda Jones. “It was a really fun race to watch. Sophia pulled away in the final 150 yards. It was really exciting to see her pull away at the end.”

In the 100 yard backstroke, Stinnett finished 2nd in the tightest race of the day. Stinnett, the defending regional champions, fell three-hundreths-of-a-second shy of defending her title. Carrboro freshman Annabelle Gangloff finished first at 1:01.83, while Stinnett came in at 1:01.86.

Cedar Ridge’s 200 yard freestyle relay team of Stinnett, Quinn McCrimmon, Hala Zafar and Margaret Payton broke the school record in the 200 yard freestyle relay. Stinnett, McCrimmon, Zafar and Payton claimed the regional championship at 1:45.88. That shattered the previous mark, set last year, by five seconds.

Stinnett, McCrimmon, Payton and Natalie Kunz broke their own school record for the third time this season in the 200 yard medley relay, finishing at 1:57.66. That broke the previous record by 5.67 seconds. It was good enough for a second place finish behind Union Pines’ Ava Milkowich, Claire Weld, Rebecca Kangas and Nyah Tranel, who registered a 1:55.73. Cedar Ridge still qualified for the state championships.

It was the best showing by Cedar Ridge as a 3A team in the regional championships. Stinnett and McCrimmon, the senior co-Captains, took the reigns for a team that reached the top of the Central Conference this year.

“Sophia and Quinn are definitely leaders in their own regard,” Jones said. “I think they do a really good job behind the blocks getting their younger teammates really excited before we swim. The other two swimmers on the relay team, one is a freshman and the other is a sophomore. They do a good job making them comfortable enough to swim in such a high pressure situation.”

Orange’s relay team of Addison Moore, Ainsley Rasinske, Zoe Jones and Piper White finished 4th at 1:57.84.

Payton earned her first trip to the state championships in the 200 yard freestyle as she finished 2nd at 2:05.51. Carrboro’s Shuping earned the regional title at 2:03.77. Orange junior Ainsley Rasinske earned a trip to the state championships with a 4th place finish, touching the wall at 2:07.37.

McCrimmon qualified for the state championships in two events. She finished 2nd in the 100 yard butterfly at 1:00.92. Southern Alamance freshman Madisyn Upton finished first with a time of 57.00.

McCrimmon also came in third in the 200 yard individual medley at 2:20.24. Upton claimed her second regional title at 2:10.36, while Carrboro’s Gangloff came in second at 2:16.06.

Orange senior Lily Howard finished 5th in the Central Regional diving championships with 247.50 points. Western Alamance’s Michaela Bentley took the regional title at 364 points, beating the runner-up by 39 points.

Finally, Orange men’s basketball came home on Tuesday night.

For Freddy Sneed, it wasn’t just another home game. Along with his classmates Xandrell Pennix, Michael Clark and Ethan Ellis, it’s the start of a stretch run that started when they were freshmen, where times were hardly glamorous.

Following ten consecutive games on the road, Sneed scored a career-high 21 points as Orange defeated Walter Williams 72-54 at Panther Gymnasium on Tuesday night. Junior point guard Kai Wade added 21 points as the Panthers maintained its share of first place in the Central Conference, still tied in the loss column with Eastern Alamance.

Sneed played regularly with Pennix as freshmen in 2021-2022 on an Orange team that finished 8-17. Now, they’re gunning for a second straight Central Conference regular season championship.

It was Orange’s fourth wire-to-wire win in five games. As usual, the Panthers offense jump started its defense. The Panthers started the game on a 7-0 run, triggered by a 3-pointer from Wade. On the subsequent possession, Pennix poked the ball away from Williams’ Colby Elliott, then dumped the ball to Sneed for a breakaway lay-in.

Orange would increase the lead to 43-29 after two free throws by Wade in the second half, but the Bulldogs made a charge in the third quarter. Elliott drained three consecutive 3-pointers, followed by another shot from downtown by point guard Cavion Stokes. That reduced Orange’s lead to 47-41 with 1:11 remaining in the third quarter.

That would be the final 3-pointer for the Bulldogs. Wade made four free throws, followed by a 3-pointer from Clark from 26-feet, which he claimed was the deepest shot of his career. Orange would push its lead to 21 points in the fourth quarter.

Elliott led the Bulldogs with 28 points, the only Williams player in double figures.

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is senior swimmer Sophia Stinnett. On Saturday, Stinnett won her third career Central Regional individual championship. For the second year in a row, Stinnett won the 500 yard freestyle at the Greensboro Aquatic Center. She finished at 5:24.22, beating out Avery Shuping of Carrboro. Also, Stinnett swam the anchor leg as Cedar Ridge won the regional championship in the 200 yard freestyle relay at 1:45.88. Stinnett closed with a final lap of 25.09 seconds as she teamed with Quinn McCrimmon, Hala Zafar and Margaret Payton to earn the championship. Last week, Stinnett won two individual titles at the Central Conference Championships at the Orange County SportsPlex in Hillsborough. Stinnett captured the 500 yard freestyle and the 100 yard backstroke. Cedar Ridge won the Central Conference Women’s Swimming Championship. Last year, Stinnett won her first regional championship in the 100 yard backstroke. She went on to finish third in the state championships in the backstroke. Earlier this academic year, Stinnett signed to swim at Le Moyne College, a Division I school in DeWitt Town, New York. On Friday, Stinnett will swim in her final meet at Cedar Ridge, returning to the 3A State Championships at the Triangle Aquatic Center in Cary. Regardless of the result, she will go down in history as one of the most accomplished swimmers in Hillsborough history. She will look to become the first Cedar Ridge female swimmer to win a state championship since 2014.

February 1, 2025

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is senior swimmer Sophia Stinnett. On Saturday, Stinnett won her third career Central Regional individual championship. For the second year in a row, Stinnett won the 500 yard freestyle at the Greensboro Aquatic Center. She finished at 5:24.22, beating out Avery Shuping of Carrboro.

In its best season under third-year head coach Mike Jones, the Cedar Ridge men’s basketball team built another point of pride in Graham.

Jack Kelsey earned his first career double-double with 16 points and eleven rebounds as the Red Wolves defeated Southern Alamance 52-43 in Graham on Tuesday night. It ended a ten-game Central Conference road losing streak for the Red Wolves, who improved to 6-13 overall, 1-6 in league play after the win.

It’s the most wins for Cedar Ridge since the 2022-2023 season, when they finished 6-16. Previous to Tuesday, Cedar Ridge’s last road win in the Central Conference was on February 3, 2023 in a 42-33 victory over Western Alamance in Elon.

A thin Red Wolf team that played just six players was enough to defeat a depleted Southern Alamance squad, which has lost starting guards Kaleb Kronbergs and Bo Day due to injuries. Cedar Ridge sophomore Jordan Jacobson added 16 points for the Red Wolves.

Micah Stone paced Southern Alamance (4-14, 1-6) with 16 points. Southern Alamance’s Riley Warren, who finished with eleven points and eight rebounds, gave the Patriots a 17-15 lead after he cashed in a lob from Stone. After Southern’s Brandyn Gonzalez nailed a 3-pointer off a pass from Eli Gilley, Cedar Ridge went on a 12-0 run. They held the Patriots scoreless in the final 4:47 of the first half.

Jacobson started the run with a 3-pointer off a skip pass from Wilborun. Wise got an offensive rebound off a miss and stuck it back in, which put the Red Wolves ahead for the rest of the night. Kelsey scored consecutive field goals, again off offensive rebounds. Jacobson ended the half in style with a 3-pointer to give Cedar Ridge a 31-23 lead at halftime.

The Red Wolves built a 12-point lead in the third quarter after Wilbourn found Kelsey for a lay-in, vaulting the Red Wolves ahead 37-25 with 5:03 remaining in the third quarter. Cedar Ridge outrebounded the Patriots 46-29, including 15 offensive rebounds. Kelsey, who is in his first year at the varsity level, finished with his most impressive line of the year. He came away with 16 points, eleven rebounds, four blocks and three steals.

The Patriots shot just 4-of-22 from the 3-point line and only 29% from the field overall.

Southern Alamance climbed with six early in the fourth quarter after guard Drayden Brewer scored on a lay-in. Cedar Ridge’s Kevin Etim scored off his own miss, which was followed by a crucial 3-pointer from Red Wolf sophomore Tripp Beasley. To end the game, Beasley sank two free throws.

Women’s basketball: Cedar Ridge 34, Southern Alamance 12: The Cedar Ridge women’s basketball team earned its first conference road win of the season with a dominant victory over the Patriots on Tuesday night in Graham. Cedar Ridge allowed only 12 points, the lowest total by an opponent this season.

Freshman Kassidy Tolliver led the Red Wolves with nine points and eight rebounds as Cedar Ridge improved to 6-9, 2-5 in the Central Conference. Both of Cedar Ridge’s conference wins have come against Southern Alamance.

Sarah Kathryn Manness led Southern Alamance with eight points. Manness scored all three of the Patriots field goals.

Manness gave Southern Alamance its only lead of the game when she scored in the opening minute off an offensive rebound. The Red Wolves went on  an 11-0 run, which started when sophomore Kate Finnegan split two free throws. Guard Ava Smith drained a jumper off a pass from freshman Kennedi Fearrington. Tolliver scored off a turnover to finish the first half.

Smith finished with a career-high eight points for Cedar Ridge. Finnegan finished with five points and four rebounds. Fearrington had four points as the Red Wolves started a string of three road games over the span of four days with a victory. Cedar Ridge built its lead to as large as 23 points in the second half.

Katie Belle Sikes: On Senior Day for the Georgia Bulldogs swimming team, Sikes won the 50 yard freestyle at the Bauerle Pool at Gabrielsen Natatorium on Saturday. Sikes finished with a B-cut time of 22.28 seconds as Georgia defeated Emory 191-102. Sikes has first place finishes against Florida and UNC Wilmington in the 50 yard freestyle this season. Georgia will focus on the SEC Championships in Athens, Georgia February 17-22.

Ryan Moss: Now a freshman at Division III Waynesburg University in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, Moss recently scored his first points at the college level. Moss scored a field goal against Thiel College on January 18 in Beegly Gymnasium in Greenville, PA. Moss played four season under head coach Derryl Britt at Orange High School.

Mia Davidson-Smith: There’s news in several professional leagues regarding the all-time home run hitter in Orange softball history. Davidson began play in Liga Mexicana de Softbol in Mexico playing for Diablos Rojos Femenil. Davidson hit a two-run homer in just her second at-bat of the season to put Diablos ahead 4-0. It was the first home run by any player in Liga Mexicana de Softbol this year. On Tuesday, Davidson caught the first perfect game history of LMS, thrown by Megan Faraimo in a 6-0 win over El Aguila de Veracruz. On Wednesday, Davidson was selected in the inaugural Athletes Unlimited Softball League draft. She was picked by the Bandits in the fifth round with the #17 draft. Davidson has been with Athletes Unlimited since she graduated from Mississippi State, but the league is shifting to a traditional franchise model for the upcoming summer. She will start a 24-game season in June. That’s in addition to playing in Japan’s Diamond Softball League, where she plays for the Denso Bright Pegasus.

The college softball season is underway for Division II schools, and will formally start for Division I schools on Friday. Here’s some of the Hillsborough products that will be playing at the next level.

Takia Nichols: The all-time home run leader in Cedar Ridge history will start her junior season at North Carolina Central on Thursday. Nichols started 14 games for the Eagles last season and hit .308 with 12 hits and three RBIs. The Eagles will play in the Elon Softball Classic at Elon University against Ohio University on Thursday morning.

Mary Moss Wirt: The former Orange third baseman will start her junior season at Elon. In her sophomore season, Wirt played 33 games and made 19 starts. She scored seven runs. The Phoenix will face Ohio in the Elon Softball Classic. The Phoenix will face North Carolina Central on Saturday.

Carson Bradsher: After one season at South Carolina Upstate, Bradsher transferred to Division III Averett University in Danville, VA. The Cougars will start its season with a doubleheader against Salem College on February 16 at Cougar Field.

Ava Lowry: The former Cedar Ridge Red Wolf will start her junior season at Division III North Carolina Wesleyan on February 20 against Pitt Community College in Rocky Mount. Last season, Lowry started 31 games and hit .349, driving in 15 runs. She was a regular starter at shortstop last season, where she played at Cedar Ridge.

Kelsey Tackett: Tackett will start her sophomore season at North Carolina Wesleyan. Last year, Tackett played in two games.

Brianne Foster: Breezy will start her sophomore season at Wake Technical Community College later this month. Last year, the Eagles went 15-22. Last year, Foster played 33 games as a freshman and frequently played at catcher.

Tori Dalehite: After graduating from UNC Greensboro, Dalehite will come home to start another aspect in her career. Dalehite has joined the staff of Cedar Ridge softball, where she was the leader of the Red Wolves first-ever conference championship in 2018. Dalehite will serve as an assistant on the staff of head coach Allen Byrd. Cedar Ridge starts its season against Wakefield on February 24.

BURLINGTON–Methodically, Orange senior Braden Crawford ended a period of dominance at his final Central Conference Tournament championship meet.

Crawford won his 3rd tournament championship at 138-pounds, pinning Jameer Farmer of Person in the championship match in 1:20. It was more than a championship final for Crawford. In his four years at Orange, he has never lost a conference match.

Crawford likely would have very likely had four tournament championships on his resume. In 2022, the Central Tournament, slated for Eastern Alamance High, was canceled because of winter weather. He won all five of his conference matches he competed in during the 2021-2022 season.

Crawford, who won the championship of the Eagle Invitational in Mebane on December 21, will go into the Mideast Regionals with an overall record of 27-7 on the season. He has 124 career wins. Crawford won his 100th career match during the Wolverine Challenge at Wakefield High School in November. He has qualified for the state championships three times. As a sophomore, he finished 2nd in the Mideast Regionals at 126 pounds.

“I feel, great, excited and happy,” Crawford said as he held the completed tournament bracket in his hands following the awards ceremony last Saturday.

Overall, Orange had its best showing as a team in the Central Conference Tournament since 2023. Bolstered by four individual championships, the Panthers finished 2nd in the team standings with 178 points. Person, which completed the regular season 17-0 under the direction of former Orange High wrestler Chase Kernodle, captured the team championship with 211 points. It’s the first time since 1976 that Person won a regular season and conference tournament championship in the same season.

Senior Jayden Medley captured his first tournament championship at 215 pounds. Medley earned a technical fall over Alfonzo Gonzalez of Eastern Alamance 15-0 in the semifinals, then pinned Western Alamance’s Esaiah Slade in 4:56 to earn the title. Medley, who is 27-8 this season, earned his second individual title of the year. He also won the Eagle Invitational in December. Medley earned All-Conference honors in football, finishing with 104 tackles, second on the team.

Freshman Jordan Barbee continued a strong season by winning the 190 pound tournament. Barbee scored a major decision over Sawyer Marshall of Walter Williams 17-8 in the championship match. Barbee, who was the top seed, pinned Christian Burwell of Person in 2:25 in the semifinals. Barbee improved to 22-9. In December, Barbee won all five of his matches at the Rumble in the Jungle event at Carrboro High School.

The surprise of the day came at 175 pounds. Sophomore Connor Harward captured the championship for the Panthers, his first individual title. The top-seed, Gage Latta of Person, came into the tournament with a 34-7 record. Walter Williams’ Gavin McMahon pinned Latta in the semifinals in 3:57. Harward, who was the sixth-seed, trailed Cedar Ridge’s Will Meyer 6-2 going into the final period of the second semifinal match.  Harward scored four near fall points in the final period and wound up with a 8-7 victory. Harward held on to defeat McMahon 8-5 in the championship match, outscoring McMahon 7-2 in the second period on the strength of four nearfall points.

In the women’s tournaments, Orange senior Ava Lytle and junior Rose Brady both finished second in their respective weight divisions. Lytle pinned Laura Blanchard of Walter Williams in 1:05. Toriana Murphy of Western Alamance defeated Lytle 7-0 to win the 126-pound championship.

At 235 pounds, Brady pinned Cedar Ridge’s Caroline DonJuan in 2:54. Eastern Alamance’s Jazmine Smith took the 235-pound title in the first women’s tournament in conference history.

On January 24, Orange defeated Eastern Alamance 60-20 at Tal Jobe Gymnasium in Mebane in its final dual match of the season. The Panthers scored seven pins to finish the regular season 10-3 overall, 4-2 in the Central Conference. Harward, Medley, Barbee, Logan Scarantino, Adrian Sierra, Markus Thomas and Renn Van Hoose all earned pins for the Panthers. Crabtree and Sebastian Guardia picked up forfeit victories.

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is senior forward Michael Clark. This season, the Orange Panthers are off to the best start since Derryl Britt became the head coach in 2018 even though they lost Coleman Cloer, the top-ranked junior in North Carolina, last season. Clark has delivered with leadership from the very beginning of the season, when he scored a career-high 23 points against Voyager Academy in the season-opener. Clark has been a varsity performer since his freshman season, when he scored 13 points against Southern Alamance in his first varsity game. Later on in his freshman year, he scored 17 points against Northwood. As Cloer and Mason Robinson left the team last summer, Clark has filled in every conceivable role possible. He had a double-double of 13 points and ten rebounds against Eastern Alamance on December 13 in Mebane. On January 7, Clark had 14 points in a victory over Cedar Ridge.Against Wakefield, Clark scored 18 points in a 64-59 win in the Southern Alamance Holiday Invitational Tournament. Orange is in contention for its second straight Central Conference regular season championship and Clark has been an invaluable commodity over the past four seasons. He scored a lay-up that sealed Orange’s win over Person in Roxboro on January 9, a game where the Panthers roared back from a 28-9 deficit to win. He will continue his senior season when the Panthers face Person in a crucial game on Tuesday night in Hillsborough.

Orange Panther of the Week: Michael Clark

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is senior forward Michael Clark. This season, the Orange Panthers are off to the best start since Derryl Britt became the head coach in 2018 even though they lost Coleman Cloer, the top-ranked junior in North Carolina, last season.