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Will Berger: Former Cedar Ridge pitcher Will Berger continues to excel as a member of the Wofford men’s track & field team. At the Bulldog Invitational in Birmingham, AL on February 14, Berger set a new school record in the 3,000 meters. He finished at 8:44.20. Last month at the Mondo College Invitational at the JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem, Berger finished 11th in the 3,000 meters at 9:14.76. Berger returned to the track this winter after redshirting last season. He also competes in cross country and outdoor track & field with the Terriers.

Caleb Barreto: The former Orange Panther is now a sophomore on the Division III Methodist men’s basketball team. This season, Barreto has played in ten games and is averaging 3.2 points per game. Barreto scored a season-high ten points in a game against Apprentice on November 13 in Newport News, VA. Most recently, he played against Greensboro College.

Takia Nichols: The North Carolina Central softball team went 1-2 in the HBCU Collegiate Invitational in Covington, GA last weekend. The Eagles opened with a 4-2 win over Southern University. Nichols started at first base and went 1-for-3. Nichols had a game-tying RBI single in the sixth as the Eagles scored three runs in its final at-bat to win. Alcorn State edged Central 8-7 in the Eagles’ second game on Friday. Nichols had a two-run double on Saturday, but Prairie View A&M defeated the Eagles 11-8. Games against Florida A&M and Grambling State were canceled due to the weather.

Mary Moss Wirt: The Elon softball team defeated Morgan State to start the Elon Classic at Hunt Softball Park last week. Wirt started as catcher as the Phoenix won 2-1 in eight innings. The remaining two games of the event were cancelled. Wirt played as a pinch-runner against N.C. State in Elon on Tuesday, a game the Wolfpack won 4-0.

Connor Kruse: The Lenoir-Rhyme men’s lacrosse team stormed back from a 6-0 deficit to defeat #8 Rollins 15-9 at the Moretz Sports Complex in Hickory. Rollins led 6-0 at one point. Lenoir-Rhyne is ranked #4. Kruse got one shot off as the Bears improved to 4-0. Lenoir-Rhyne will face #8 Indianapolis in Hickory on Saturday.

Nick Cardone: Now a sophomore, Cardone made his season-debut for the Division II Catawba men’s lacrosse team. Cardone played on defence as Catawba defeated Belmont Abbey 13-11 at Shuford Stadium in Salisbury. Catawba improved to 3-0.

Cy Horner: The Division III Methodist men’s lacrosse team scored eight unanswered goals to defeat Guilford College 10-7 at Monarch Stadium in Fayetteville. Horner fired seven shots, grabbed three ground balls and created one turnover.

Josh Crabtree: Also playing for Methodist, Crabtree had one ground ball and created two turnovers. The Monarchs are 1-2 and will face Virginia Wesleyan in Fayetteville on Saturday.

College baseball season got underway earlier this month. Here’s a list of Orange and Cedar Ridge products that are now playing at the next level.

Dante DeFranco: A former middle infielder with Cedar Ridge and Orange, DeFranco enters this season as a graduate student with the Charlotte 49ers. Charlotte had a wild 10-9 win over Old Dominion on Friday where they rallied from a 7-1 deficit to win. DeFranco started the second game of the season, a 3-1 loss to Northeastern, on February 14 as a designated hitter.

Ryan Honeycutt: Honeycutt has started his freshman year at Division II Lenoir-Rhyne. The Bears are 11-1 and won its opening game in the South Atlantic Conference over Wingate on Friday at Durham Field in Hickory.

Cross Clayton: Clayton has started his freshman season at Gaston College in the National Junior College Athletic Association. The Rhinos are 10-3-1 overall.

Mason Cates: The former Cedar Ridge hurler is now at Catawba Valley Community College in Hickory. The Red Hawks are 6-7 overall, 2-1 in Region X in the NJCAA.

Coltin Hedrick: A freshman at Wake Tech Community College.

Wyatt Hedrick: A freshman at Wake Tech Community College. The Eagles have opened the season 4-6, 1-2 in Region X.

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is freshman wrestler Jordan Barbee. This season, Barbee was one of numerous freshmen who started for the Orange wrestling team. In December, Barbee won all five of his matches when the Panthers won the Rumble in the Jungle dual team event at Carrboro High School. Barbee scored pins against Greensboro Page’s Luke O’Reilly, Arturo Cuellar of Ashley and Jesse Mcarthur of Leesville Road. Earlier this month, Barbee won the 190-pound Central Conference Championship at Walter Williams High School in Burlington. Barbee pinned Williams’ Sawyer Marshall to take the championship. Barbee went undefeated against opposition from the Central Conference this season. He pinned Person’s Christian Burwell on December 18 and defeated Cedar Ridge’s Will Meyer in 5:50 on December 11. Barbee’s freshman year ended in the consolation semifinals of the Mideast Regional championships at Cedar Ridge High School last Saturday. Barbee was the #4 seed in the 190-pound tournament and opened the event with a pinfall victory over Cape Fear senior Trenton Westbrook. Barbee would score two more wins in the tournament and fell one match short of qualifying for the state championships. Barbee will be an important piece as Orange wrestling looks to return to championship form next winter.

Orange Panther of the Week: Jordan Barbee

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is freshman wrestler Jordan Barbee. This season, Barbee was one of numerous freshmen who started for the Orange wrestling team. In December, Barbee won all five of his matches when the Panthers won the Rumble in the Jungle dual team event at Carrboro High School.

Cedar Ridge senior Ryan Rakouskas has become the first Red Wolf wrestler to win a regional championship since Fernando Martinez in 2022. Last Saturday, Rakouskas won the 150-pound championship at the Mideast Regionals at Cedar Ridge High School. In his final match inside his home gymnasium, Rakouskas pinned Royce Espinoza of Triton in 23 seconds to take the championship. In the semifinals, Rakouskas advanced when Eastern Guilford’s Kolby Gryder, the top seed in the weight division, couldn’t continue after Rakouksas legally slammed him. Rakousksas was the #4 seed in the tournament. Two years ago, he finished third in his weight division when the regionals were held at Cedar Ridge. This is the second time that Rakouskas has qualified for the state championships. Rakouskas’ win over Gryder was the 144th of his career. It put Rakouskas past Fernando Martinez for fifth on the all-time school wins list. Rakouskas has been a varsity wrestler for four years at Cedar Ridge under head coach Scott Metcalf. He will end his career the way every wrestler in the state dreams of ending their careers–at the Greensboro Coliseum competing for a state championship. Rakouskas will start the state championships on Saturday against Eligah Brown of West Charlotte.

Cedar Ridge’s Ryan Rakouskas discuses winning the 150-pound Mideast Regional Championship

Cedar Ridge senior Ryan Rakouskas has become the first Red Wolf wrestler to win a regional championship since Fernando Martinez in 2022. Last Saturday, Rakouskas won the 150-pound championship at the Mideast Regionals at Cedar Ridge High School. In his final match inside his home gymnasium, Rakouskas pinned Royce Espinoza of Triton in 23 seconds to take the championship.

No last second foul. No clutch free throws. No drama.

Unlike last week’s season finale against Eastern Alamance, the Orange women’s basketball team put up a dominant performance against the Eagles. It has led the Lady Panthers to its first conference tournament championship game since 2017.

Junior Addie Atkins scored a season-high 16 points, shooting 3-of-7 from 3-point range, to help Orange in a wire-to-wire 54-36 win over Eastern Alamance in the Central Conference Tournament semifinals on the Coach Evans Court at Western Alamance High School.

Orange (17-8) will face top-seeded Western Alamance for the Central Conference championship in Elon on either Friday or Saturday. The Warriors crushed Walter Williams 77-22 in the other semifinal. The Warriors, who won the Central Conference regular season championship for the second straight year, have won 25 consecutive games against conference opponents.

Orange was the last Central Conference team to defeat the Warriors on January 3, 2024.

Atkins came up one point shy of her career-high of 17 points, set against Garner on December 12, 2023. Orange senior Evelyn George added 16 points and seven rebounds.

Aliya Trollinger paced Eastern Alamance (13-12) with 19 points. She was the only Eagle in double-figures.

The Lady Panthers have won six in a row, tying its longest winning streak under first-year head coach Josh Underwood.

“I think we picked up our defensive intensity the way we should have early on,” said Underwood, an Orange graduate who previously served as an assistant at Eastern Alamance. “We set a precedent for how good we could be early on against Cedar Ridge. Hopefully that will carry forward as we move on into the conference tournament final and the state playoffs.

Orange’s defense wore down the Eagles, who shot just 26% from the field. Orange built a lead up to 54-32 as they held the Eagles to just three points in the opening five minutes of the fourth quarter.

Shannon Murphy, a senior who drained two free throws with one second remaining to beat Eastern Alamance 64-63 on her senior night last Friday, opened the game with a 3-pointer. Eastern’s Ayanna Garner came back with a 3-pointer, notching the game’s only tie. Atkins scored five consecutive points to put the Panthers ahead for the rest of the game, including a 3-pointer assisted by point guard Maura McMurtry and a lay-in assisted by Murphy.

“Addison has had some great practices,” Underwood said. “She’s really knocked down some shots for us. Tonight, she put everything together on a night where we needed someone else to step up. She stepped up.”

George and sophomore Lily Wilson added consecutive field goals to push the Panther advantage to 13-5, but the Eagles inched back. Trollinger and J’Mya Stump keyed six consecutive Eastern points to cut the Panther lead to 13-11 at the end of the first quarter.

Atkins opened the second quarter with back-to-back 3-pointers, including one on the wing assisted by Murphy. Senior center Marshea Byrd, who finished with seven points and ten rebounds, extended the Panther run with a lay-in while getting fouled by Ayanna Garner. George scored on a lay-in off a steal to push the Panther lead to 24-13.

The Panther lead would grow to 27-13 after another lay-in by George. Atkins and Wilson added the final two field goals of the first half as the Panthers went into the locker room ahead 32-19.

The last postseason tournament championship for the Orange women’s basketball team came in 2017, when they defeated Northwood 58-34 to take the Big Eight Championship. Kaylen Campbell, currently the Orange women’s junior varsity head coach and a varsity assistant, led the Panthers with 21 points against the Chargers.

In the tournament championship game, Orange will be the decided underdog against a Western Alamance team that has defeated Orange four straight times, including last year’s tournament semifinals. The Warriors would go on to take the postseason championship.

“They have one of the best back courts in the state,” Underwood said. “They’re a tough team. I feel like we played them tough at their place. It was a game of 3-pointers the last time in Elon. We made two. They made eleven. I feel like our defense is much better now. We’re a much different team than we were at that time.”

Photo by Ben McCormick of the Courier-Times 

As the handshake line formed, several celebratory Person players taunted the Orange student section by waving goodbye.

It was reminiscent, and probably inspired by, Damian Lillard when he scored 50 points, including a 3-pointer to eliminate the Oklahoma City Thunder from the 2019 playoffs.

But in the situation that played out on Tuesday night, Person was waving goodbye not just to their Hillsborough rivals for this year, but probably for the next four years as a conference rival.

If not longer.

If so, the Rockets got the last laugh.

Person’s Tyler Wilson scored on a stickback bucket as time expired to lift Person over Orange 55-53 in the Central Conference Tournament semifinals. The Rockets (24-2) will face Eastern Alamance for the Central Conference Tournament championship at Orange High either Friday or Saturday night.

It was the third time this year that a matchup between Orange and Person was decided by two points or less. The Panthers defeated the Rockets 67-65 in Roxboro on January 9. Two weeks ago, Person’s Tae Winstead scored off an offensive rebound with 1:51 remaining to put the Rockets ahead in a 53-52 win in Hillsborough.

There was another wild finish on Tuesday night. Xandrell Pennix drained a 3-pointer contested by Wilson to tie the game at 53-53 with :7.1 remaining. Pennix, who scored his 1,000th point in Monday’s quarterfinal win over Southern Alamance led the Panthers with 21 points.

On the final play of regulation, Person forward Lance Clarke found Quante Bowman, who drove the left baseline. Bowman put up a floater that banged off the rim. Winstead had a catch-and-shoot from point-blank range, but it missed. Wilson got his first offensive rebound of the game and got the ball of his fingertips and through the net just as the final second rolled off the clock.

Clarke led the Rockets with 28 points and seven rebounds.

In the game two weeks ago, Person outrebounded Orange 53-41, including 21 offensive rebounds. Orange played a more deliberate style and limited Person’s advantage on the boards to 40-35. The Panthers actually got more offensive rebounds 12-11. As it does so often between Person and Orange, the second half was nip-and-tuck. There were eight lead changes in the second half.

Clarke scored off a pass from Kyan Lunsford with 2:19 remaining to put the Rockets ahead 48-46. Orange reserve guard Kamaal Smith, who scored a career-high 12 points, sank two free throws. On the subsequent inbounds pass, Freddy Sneed poked it away at midcourt. Panther point guard Kai Wade threw to Sneed for a lay-in to put Orange ahead 50-48, but Sneed immediately went down with a cramp injury to his right leg.

The Rockets threw the ball away on its next possession. Leading 50-48 with the ball and 1:08 remaining, the Panthers coughed it off 75 feet from their basket when Lunsford poked the ball away, leading to Sneed being called for his fourth foul.

On the next play, Lunsford grabbed an offensive rebound and found Clarke, who drove over Smith, scored on a bank shot and drew Sneed’s fifth foul in the process. Clarke’s free throw put Person ahead 51-50. Orange turned the ball over again and Winstead drained two free throws with 38 seconds remaining.

Person started the game with five consecutive points, but Orange scored eleven in a row, holding the Rockets scoreless for 6:17. Wade scored seven of his ten points in the first quarter as the Panthers led 11-7 at the end of the first eight minutes.

Orange built a 23-17 lead in the first half after Pennix scored on a lay-in off a pass from Sneed. Person scored seven straight points to take its only lead of the second quarter, ending with a lay-in by Clarke off a sharp pass from Wilson. Wade drained a pull-up jumper to put the Panthers ahead 25-24 at the half.

Orange (18-8) will wait for the 3A State Playoff brackets to be released on Sunday. They’re hopeful of earning an opening round home state playoff game. Currently, the Panthers have the #12 RPI in the East Region.

Person had to win in order to keep its hopes alive for taking one of the top eleven seeds for the state tournament. Currently, the Rockets’ RPI is #4 in the latest 3A East Region rankings. If Eastern Alamance wins the tournament championship, the highest seed in the state playoffs that Person could receive would be #12.

The relationship between Xandrell Pennix and Derryl Britt is more than just player and coach.

It’s personal.

Pennix scored his 1,000th point in the Orange men’s basketball team’s win over Southern Alamance in the Central Conference Tournament quarterfinals at Panther Gymnasium on Monday night. Pennix eclipsed the plateau with a 15-foot jumper along the right wing, where it touched nothing but nylon. As the game was momentarily stopped, Pennix exchanged chest bumps with teammates Freddy Sneed and Kai Wade.

Pennix and Sneed were called up from the junior varsity team in 2021, a period of transition for Orange basketball. Two years later, they would help take Orange to the top of the Central Conference.

In a postgame chat, when he is asked how much Pennix helped him establish his footprint within the Orange program, Britt gets a distant look in his eyes.

It takes him a full 15 seconds to find the right words.

Because Pennix reminds Britt of the son he lost in 2008.

Just five days after reporting to boot camp at Fort Jackson in Columbia, South Carolina, Derryl Lamont Britt Jr. died of an aneurysm at the age of 20.

“I’ve been a coach since I was 16 years old,” Britt said. “Of all the players I’ve ever had in my coaching career, Xandrell reminds me of my son the most. He’s quiet. He listens. He’s tenacious on defense. He can put the ball in the bucket with the best of them.”

Orange public address announcer David Gaddy introduces Pennix as the Silent Assassin. When Pennix does talk, his teammates know it’s something urgent.

Britt hails from the Commonwealth of Virginia, where Allen Iverson is an icon.

“That smaller frame guy who plays really, really tough was my son,” Britt said. “Xandrell plays that way and he’s not from there. He’s not afraid of any moment.”

Last season when Wade and Coleman Cloer were out with injuries, Britt was left searching for a point guard against Forsyth Country Day and East Chapel Hill. Pennix approached him and asked for the assignment, knowing he would face one ball hawk after another.

“He’s fearless and tough as nails,” Britt said.

Pennix finished with a season-high 21 points as the Panthers advanced to the conference tournament semifinals to face Person on Tuesday night. Orange will host the Rockets at 7:30 at Panther Gymnasium.

Pennix opened aggressively as the Patriots stood toe-to-toe with the Panthers early. Southern Alamance center Riley Warren scored eight points in the opening quarter. It appeared that Orange’s defense was still in recovery mode after a difficult loss to Eastern Alamance to finish the regular season on Friday. Early in the second quarter, the Patriots tied the score at 18-18 following a 3-pointer from Bo Day.

Pennix drained two 3-pointers in the second quarter as Orange pulled away. Wade and Hector Garrido added 3-poiners as the Panthers pushed its advantage to 42-21 at halftime. Pennix’s 1000th point was the first basket of the second half. Wade finished with 14 points.

The game marked the varsity debuts of Logan Edwards and L.J. Graves, who were called up from the junior varsity team for the postseason.

For the third year in a row, Orange and Person will square off in the Central Conference Tournament. Each matchup between the Rockets and the Panthers has been memorable this season.

On January 9th, Person led 28-9 early in the second quarter. The Panthers roared back to win in Roxboro despite Wade fouling out in the fourth quarter.

Two weeks ago, Person held off Orange 53-52 in Hillsborough. The Rockets are 23-2. Both of its losses came within five days last month, to Orange and Eastern Alamance.

Person defeated Cedar Ridge 63-54 in Roxboro on Monday night.

The Orange-Person game will be one of two games at Orange High on Tuesday night. In the opening game of the Central Conference semifinals, top-seeded Eastern Alamance will face Walter Williams. The Bulldogs edged Western Alamance 51-49 on Monday night in Burlington. The Eagles, the top-seed in the tournament, received a bye into the semifinals.

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