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The past two years have been a time of transition for Orange wrestling.

Like Northern Durham football, UNC women’s soccer and Charlotte Independence football, Orange wrestling had a dynasty. They didn’t lose a conference match from 2010-2019. They won 16 consecutive conference championships across three different classifications and five State Championships under legendary head coach Bobby Shriner. It continued under his successor, Spenser Poteat.

And like every sports dynasty, there’s destined to be a drop-off simply because the highest level of achievement can’t sustain itself forever.

That’s where Orange finds itself as its transitions into a new era of high school sports in North Carolina, which isn’t to say there hasn’t been success stories.

Last Wednesday, Orange honored a group of seniors Braden Crawford, Jayden Medley, Adrian Sierra, Max Molinar, Eben Petrides, Andrew Pavalonis. Also honored were the lone senior on the women’s team, Ava Lytle.

Bolstered by pins from Crawford and Conner Harward and a sudden victory decision from Sierra, Orange defeated Southern Alamance 57-18 at Panther Gymnasium last Wednesday. Orange, which had its annual trip to the Havelock Duals canceled because of snow over the weekend, improved to 8-3 overall, 3-2 in the Central Conference.

Medley, who was an all-conference linebacker for Orange last year, won his final home match by forfeit at 215 pounds. Medley is 25-9 this season and is aiming to reach the 3A State Tournament at the Greensboro Coliseum next month.

Crawford is no stranger to Greensboro. He has qualified for the state championships his first three years at Orange. The latest member of Orange’s storied 100 wins club, Crawford won his final home match over Aiden Cameron to improve to 25-7 with his 18th pin of the season.

As a freshman, Crawford went 31-5 and finished 4th in the Mideast Regionals at Union Pines High School in 2022. He likely would have been the favorite to win the Central Conference Tournament at 120 pounds, but the event was canceled due to snow in the forecast.

In his sophomore season, Crawford won the Central Conference championship for an Orange team that claimed the league regular season title. He went on to finish 2nd in the Mideast Regionals at Cedar Ridge High School. He won two matches in the consolation bracket at the state championships beating Matthew Mehaffey of Pisgah 7-5 in a sudden victory round, then scoring a major decision over Skyler Oxford of West Carteret 20-7. He finished the year 32-6.

Last year, Crawford won the 126-pound  Central Conference championship at Williams High School in Burlington. He qualified for the state championships after a fourth place finish in a stacked weight division, beating Jazzmen Hall of Fayetteville 71st in the consolation semifinals. Crawford ended his junior season 31-5.

Against the Patriots, Logan Scarantino scored Orange’s first pin of the night over Dawson Pittard to put the Panthers ahead 12-6. Orange’s Brady McAdams earned a forfeit win at 106 to begin the evening. Southern Alamance’s Bennett Teague earned a pin at 113 pounds.

Orange’s Renn Van Hoose improved to 14-11 by pinning Dakota Jones. Sierra defeated Riley Neil 8-3.

At 144 pounds, Orange’s Sebastian Guardia pinned Hamden Wagner. It was Guardia’s third pin of the season. Markus Thomas earned a forfeit win to put the Panthers ahead 36-6.

In the most competitive match of the night, Pavalonis ended regulation against Southern’s William Coletrane tied at 1-1. In the opening sudden victory round, Pavalonis scored the match-winning takedown for a 4-1 victory. It was Pavalonis fifth win of the season.

At 175 pounds, Orange’s Conner Harward pinned Price Ivie. Harward earned his 12th win of the season after his fourth pin.

Orange freshman Jordan Barbee pinned Ashton Seagroves. Barbee scored five wins during Orange’s victory at the Rumble in the Jungle dual meets at Carrboro High School last month.

Lytle finished second at 126 pounds during the Jim King/Orange Invitational in December.

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is senior basketball forward Evelyn George. This week, George scored her 1,000th point in Orange’s win over Cedar Ridge at Red Wolf Gymnasium. George has played at the varsity level since her freshman year along her older sister, Samantha. Since then, George has had 20 career double-doubles. After Orange’s win over Person on Thursday night, George leads the team in scoring and rebounds with 17.3 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. She also leads the team in steals and blocks and is the top free throw shooter at 89%. She started this season with 20 points and eleven rebounds in a win over Garner. Last year against Walter Williams, George scored a career-high 31 points in a 46-44 win in Hillsborough. George is the first Orange player to reach 1,000 career points since Lauren Cates, who graduated in 2019. She has helped Orange reach the state playoffs in each of her four years in Hillsborough. Her reliability as a finisher has made George the leader of Orange women’s basketball. In addition, George played softball last year for an Orange team that reached the third round of the state playoffs. George’s spot in Orange women’s basketball history is firmly entrenched and she look to lead the Lady Panthers to a state playoff win for the first time since 2017 in February.

Orange Panther of the Week: Evelyn George

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is senior basketball forward Evelyn George. This week, George scored her 1,000th point in Orange’s win over Cedar Ridge at Red Wolf Gymnasium. George has played at the varsity level since her freshman year along her older sister, Samantha. Since then, George has had 20 career double-doubles.

Against a Chatham Central team that arrived into Hillsborough with an 8-2 record, the Cedar Ridge women’s team had young players came through in the clutch to deliver its biggest win of the season.

Junior Jamee Watson hit two free throws with 54 seconds remaining to put the Red Wolves ahead while sophomore Esther Mwirinzi added two insurance points in the final seconds to lift Cedar Ridge over Chatham Central 36-33 on Wednesday night at Red Wolf Gymnasium. In a time game where neither team led by more than six points, free throws proved to make the difference. Cedar Ridge was 6-of-9 from the stripe in the fourth quarter while the Bears were 4-of-8.

Watson led Cedar Ridge with eight points while freshman Elliott Weisenfeld added seven.

Chatham Central (8-3) was led by Karaleigh Dodson, who finished with 15 points and nine rebounds. With 2:10 remaining in regulation, Dodson hit two free throws to tie the game at 32-32. The Bears, who had 13 offensive rebounds, took the lead with 1:29 remaining after Dodson sank a free throw with 1:29 remaining to conclude a trip where Central grabbed three offensive rebounds.

With 5:54 left in regulation, Dodson tied the game off a strip and steal and scored in transition. Cedar Ridge freshman Kennedi Fearrington drained a short jumper while getting fouled by Central’s Sydney Scott. Dodson found Addison Goldston to tie the game at 30-30.

Cedar Ridge’s Kate Finnegan put the Red Wolves ahead 32-30 on a breakaway layup off a pass from Ava Smith with 3:58 remaining.

Chatham Central led 9-5, then Cedar Ridge went on an 8-0 run in the second quarter. Mwirinizi drained a 3-pointer off a pass from freshman Kassidy Tolliver. Mwirinzi threw to Watson for another 3-pointer to give the Red Wolves its first lead since its was 2-0. Tolliver scored a three-point play to conclude the first half after getting fouled to send the Red Wolves into the locker room with a 16-12 lead.

Orange 62, Person 36: The Lady Panthers outscored the Rockets 21-6 in the second quarter to beat the Rockets for the eighth straight time.

Two day after scoring her 1,000 career point, Orange forward Evelyn George led the Lady Panthers with 19 points and nine rebounds. Orange claimed its third straight win.

Orange senior Shannon Murphy added 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field. She knocked down 3-of-4 from 3-point range.

The Lady Panthers forced 35 turnovers and had 21 steals. George, McMurtry and Kyla Mehl each had four steals each. Orange improved to 8-6 overall.

Person led 14-13 at the end of the first quarter because of 7-of-15 shooting from the field. Ava Mandizha opened the game with a field goal and Nayahana Marner added all six of her points in the first quarter. The Lady Panthers took its first lead of the game when Evelyn George scored on a short jumper off a pass from Mehl.

Orange outscored Person 21-6 in the second quarter and didn’t look back. The Lady Panthers shot 9-of-11 from the field in the second quarter and forced 12 turnovers to turn the game into a rout. After Marshea Byrd’s lay-in assisted by Mehl, Orange kept its lead in double-figures for the rest of the game.

Orange’s lead grew to 31 points in the second half. Midway through the third quarter, Murphy and George combined to hit three straight 3-pointers as the lead stayed about 20 points for the rest of the game.

Bryce Jones scored a late field goal for Orange

Nayahana Marner and Destyni Harris each had seven points to lead the Rockets. Person falls to 7-7, 2-1 in the Central Conference.

Person’s last win over the Lady Panthers was on December 17, 2013.

Orange will travel to Durham Academy for a game that will tipoff at 6PM. Orange returns to Central Conference play against Southern Alamance on Tuesday night in Graham.

Comeback wins don’t come much more special than what the Orange men’s basketball team pulled off on Thursday night. Trailing 28-9 in the second quarter, the Panthers shot 11-of-14 from the field in the third quarter to stun Person 67-65 in Roxboro. The Rockets came into the game with a 13-0 record. Senior Xandrell Pennix scored 19 points, scoring ten points in the third quarter to lead the comeback. Another senior, Michael Clark, added eleven points, including two 3-pointers in the third quarter. Clark also had a lay-in with 12 seconds remaining off a gorgeous pass from Hector Garrido that put the game away. It was a crucial win for Orange, who tied the Rockets for first place in the Central Conference. Senior Ethan Ellis drained a huge 3-pointer after Person took a 63-60 lead midway through the fourth quarter. From there, the Rockets were held scoreless in the final 3:50 of regulation until the very end. Orange sophomore Kamal Smith scored a career-high nine points, all of 3-pointers. Two of them came in the third quarter. Pennix is now at 894 career points as he plays the final games of his Orange career. Orange will continued a 10-game road swing when they travel to Graham to face Southern Alamance on Tuesday night.

Orange basketball’s Xandrell Pennix, Michael Clark and Kamal Smith discuss comeback win at Person

Comeback wins don’t come much more special than what the Orange men’s basketball team pulled off on Thursday night. Trailing 28-9 in the second quarter, the Panthers shot 11-of-14 from the field in the third quarter to stun Person 67-65 in Roxboro. The Rockets came into the game with a 13-0 record.

Photo by Ben McCormick of the Courier Times

ROXBORO–The Funky Freight Train rolled through Roxboro.

That’s what Derryl Britt told his Orange men’s basketball team at halftime on Thursday night for inspiration. It didn’t matter that Person, coming in with a 13-0 record,  led 33-24 at halftime. At one point, Orange trailed 28-9.

Britt had faith and he needed it.

He had no way of knowing his starting point guard would sit for much of the second half because of foul trouble in a game that would likely determine Orange’s fate of winning a second consecutive Central Conference championship.

Even without Wade, Britt’s mantra that the train was coming proved true.

The Panthers (12-4) shot 11-of-14 from the field in the third quarter, keyed by Xandrell Pennix scored ten of his 19 points in the frame. Trailing by nine going into the second half, Orange led 54-45 at the end of the third quarter.

Showing a new level of grit in the midst of ten consecutive road games, Pennix scored the game-winning field goal on a driving lay-up with 2:47 remaining as Orange defeated Person 67-65 inside a feverish Rockets Gymnasium on Thursday night. The Panthers held Person scoreless in the final 3:58 aside from a meaningless 3-pointer from Quante Bowman with two seconds remaining.

By that point, Orange senior Michael Clark had sewed up the game on a lay-in off a perfectly delivered backdoor pass from center Hector Garrido.

Now, the race in the Central Conference is wide open entering the final eight games of the regular season. Person, Orange and Eastern Alamance are tied in the loss column for first place in the league. Orange is 4-1 in the league, while the Eagles and the Rockets are each 2-1.

How big was coming back from a 19-point deficit to beat an undefeated Person team in Roxboro?

“Aside from winning the conference tournament championship here last year, I’d put it right behind it,” Britt said. “We’ve had some milestone wins in my seven years here, but not as big as this. We knew that we were going to be in the mix with Person for the conference championship. For those guys to be undefeated and for us to come into this building, it’s gratifying.”

Last February, Orange defeated Person and Eastern Alamance in Roxboro to win the Central Conference Tournament.

Even though Orange erased a 19-point deficit in less than seven minutes of game time, the odds of the Panthers winning seemed to grow against them as the night progressed. Wade picked up his third and fourth fouls with 6:34 remaining in the third quarter after receiving a technical foul, singled out for taunting on a night where the trash talk between the two rivals flowed like champagne on New Year’s Eve.

Orange sophomore center Jalen Crayton, who finished with eight blocks, fouled out with 6:07 remaining in the fourth quarter.

In a heated game, it was a night of attrition. Person’s Lance Clarke, their leading scorer, was hampered throughout the second half. As Pennix scored the game-winning layup, Clarke came down wrong on his right leg and had to be carried off the floor by his teammates. He didn’t return.

Bowman led Person (13-1) with 19 points.

In the fourth quarter, the Rockets went on a 12-0 run with Tae Winstead scoring six straight points. Clarke scored off a lay-in off a feed from Jashawn Graves to put Person  ahead 60-59 with 4:32 remaining. Clarke scored in transition of a pass from Bowman, which would be the Rockets final field goal before the waning seconds. Orange’s Ethan Ellis banked in a crucial 3-pointer from 25 feet to tie the game at 62-62.

Over the next 4:26, Orange’s defense forced four turnovers and Person miss three shots from the field and two free throws with Clarke being worked on the Rockets bench.

Pennix and Freddy Sneed combined to scored ten consecutive points to open the second half. Sneed’s only 3-point attempt put the Panthers’ ahead 34-33 with 6:34 remaining in the third quarter. After Person’s DaeJon Hodge dropped in a lay-in to tie the game at 39, Orange scored on five straight possessions, including 3-pointers from sophomore Kamal Smith and Michael Clark. Later, Clark dropped in a lay-up to put the Panthers ahead 53-43.

Person used hot shooting from Clarke and seven offensive rebounds to take a 20-9 lead at the end of the first quarter. Clarke score seven points in the first quarter while Bowman added six. The Rockets went on a 13-0 run in the gap between the first and second quarters with Bowman’s layup putting the Rockets ahead 28-9 with 5:44 remaining in the first half.

Orange slowly ate away at the lead in the final five minutes of the first half after Clarke picked up his second foul. Wade and Pennix drained consecutive shots from downtown. Wade made a pull-up jumper for the final field goal of the first half to get Orange’s deficit down to 33-24.

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The Orange men’s basketball team claimed its eighth straight win over crosstown rival Cedar Ridge 63-41 at Red Wolves Gymnasium on Tuesday night. Early in the third quarter, Cedar Ridge led 23-22, but Orange went on a 18-6 run to put the game away. Orange’s Ethan Ellis drained a 3-pointer as the first half expired to put Orange ahead 22-18, which was its largest lead of the game at that point. Orange’s defense held the Red Wolves without a field goal in the second quarter. A big part of that was sophomore Jalen Crayton, who finished with seven points and five blocks. Crayton, the younger brother of 2024 Orange graduate Lily Crayton, found himself manning the middle after the transfer of Mason Robinson from Greensboro Day School last summer. Crayton has continued to make progress for a different type of Orange squad compared to last year’s conference championship team. This Panther team is driven defensively by guard Kai Wade, Xandrell Pennix and Freddy Sneed. Last week, Ellis hit two crucial 3-pointers in Orange’s win over Williams in Burlington. It was the Panthers fifth straight win over Williams and their third straight in Burlington. Orange will continue a busy week wit a trip to Roxboro to face rival Person in a crucial Central Conference battle on Thursday night.

Orange’s Jalen Crayton and Ethan Ellis discuss win over Cedar Ridge

The Orange men’s basketball team claimed its eighth straight win over crosstown rival Cedar Ridge 63-41 at Red Wolves Gymnasium on Tuesday night. Early in the third quarter, Cedar Ridge led 23-22, but Orange went on a 18-6 run to put the game away.

Since her freshman year, Evelyn George has gone about things her own way with the Orange women’s basketball team.

She’s never been the most physically imposing or boisterous. But she has been remarkably consistent as the Lady Panthers have reached the 3A State Playoff each of the last four years.

Very quickly during her senior year at Orange, George has had the landmark moments in her career add up. Last Friday, she registered her 20th career double-double in Orange’s 58-41 win at Williams, the Lady Panthers first victory in Burlington since 2018.

On Tuesday night, George became the first Lady Panther to score 1,000 career points in six years. True to form for one of the most consistent finishers in school history, George surpassed the milestone off a lay-in assisted by Maura McMurtry.

George is the first Orange player to score 1,000 points since Lauren Cates, a three-point ace who graduated in 2019. Cates was a member of Orange’s last conference championship team in 2016-2017.

George finished with 18 points, nine rebounds, four assists and four steals as Orange (7-6 overall, 2-2 in the Central Conference) defeated Cedar Ridge 47-22 at Red Wolves Gymnasium. After Cedar Ridge freshman Elliott Wisenfeld scored on a lay-in assisted by Kassidy Tolliver, Orange went on a 12-2 run. The Lady Panthers limited the Red Wolves to three field goals in the first half.

Orange senior Kyla Mehl had a career-high five points during the early spurt that put the game away. Natalie Robertson and Marshea Byrd had field goals to close out the first quarter as Orange shot 5-of-8 from the field in the opening eight minutes.

George opened the second quarter by sinking a jumper, then created a steal off full-court pressure and scored off a lay-in.

Cedar Ridge, who swept the regular season series from Orange last year, was led by Wisenfeld with six points. The Lady Panthers defense sunk its claws into the Red Wolves defensively. Cedar Ridge shot just 13% from the field.

Senior Shannon Murphy added eight points for Orange, while senior center Marshea Byrd added six points and seven rebounds.