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James 1:27: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

That’s the verse that made Orange Wrestling a brand name. Not the wins, not the state championship banners, not the things that are measured on a scoreboard.

Those can all been seen by the naked eye. What made Bobby Shriner a coaching legend were the things that couldn’t be seen.

It went on in the privacy of his home in Schley, a community along Highway 57 in northern Orange County. In his early days as Orange coach in the early 90s, Shriner would take at-risk youth without father figures and have them live with him. The afternoons would be spent at wrestling practice. The evenings would end with Bible readings and dinner with his wife, Cindy (none of their five children were born yet). One student lived with Shriner for four years. Instead of wandering the streets of the rougher areas of Hillsborough, Coach Shriner set a path for them to follow.

Several of those understudies never forgot.Years later, after they had grown into men, some of them have served as voluntary assistants under Coach Shriner. For every match, they’re all adorned with a white dress shirt, orange tie and baige pants, identical to the man who took a risk on them long before the championships started rolling in.

Those students understood Coach Shriner was doing more than just helping the less fortunate.

He was coaching. In the purest way.

“Cindy has always been open to that,” said Shriner. “If you can help someone out that way, it means a lot. That’s what’s wrong with our society. Kids don’t have dads. A lot of young girls don’t have dads. That leads to chaos.”

Now, Coach Shriner has decided that after 29 years, 610 dual match victories, five dual state championships, nine regional championships and 16 consecutive conference championships is enough.

During lunch on Wednesday afternoon, Shriner gathered his team into Mr. Moore’s office beside the weight room to tell his wrestlers that he was retiring at the end of the academic year.

The shock of the announcement sent ripples throughout the classroom. Many had tears in their eyes, as did Shriner and longtime assistant Spencer Poteat. Orange Principal Eric Yarbrough and Athletic Director Mark McCauley were also in attendance.

It was a whirlwind day. Hours after announcing the most emotional decision of his life, Shriner was at Raleigh-Durham International Airport ready to fly to St. Louis. The NCAA Division I Wrestling National Championships start Friday, which Shriner attends annually with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Ministry, of which he serves on the national board.

By chance, while he was at the ticket counter, he ran into Stu Koman, whose son wrestled at Jordan. By then, word of Shriner’s retirement had spread quickly, and Koman hugged the coach of a former conference rival.

Shriner made the decision to retire at the beginning of the year, but kept it closely guarded. He didn’t even tell his team at the season-ending banquet on March 4.

“It’s been on my mind the last couple of years,” said Shriner. “You get older. It gets tougher pushing guys. Wrestling is a physical sport and so it gets tougher. I didn’t say anything to the kids because it’s not about me. It’s about the kids.”

“For 29 years, I’ve done the same thing,” said Shriner. “I’ve worked over holidays. Hopefully, I’ll get more time with my children.”

An ACC Champion at 195 pounds with UNC in 1983 and 1984, Shriner was an All-American with the Tar Heels his senior year. He served one season as the head coach at Chapel Hill High, then moved to Orange in 1990, where he also served as an football assistant under then-head coach Greg Gentry.

Through 29 years, he’s fathered five children with Cindy.

His older daughter, Madison, is a flight attendant in Newark, New Jersey. Michaela is at N.C. State studying to become a veterinarian.  His youngest daughter Mileah will graduate from Orange in June after serving as manager for the wrestling team for four years. She’s expected to attend Appalachian State or N.C. State next fall.

It’s poetic that Shriner’s final season at Orange included so many milestones, both planned and otherwise. In the season-opening quad meet on November 21, Orange wrestled Sanderson, coach by Shriner’s son Nicholas.

In December, Shriner got to go home again. Orange traveled for a tournament at Roselle Park, New Jersey, where Shriner was a three-sport athlete in football, wrestling and baseball in the late 70s.

On January 21, he won his 600th dual match, beating Apex Friendship 72-9.

After earning his 9th regional championship by beating Gray’s Creek on February 2, one last state dual championship would have been the storybook ending. But life is no storybook, though Orange was only one takedown away from securing it. Leading 27-17 with four matches remaining, Piedmont rallied to defeat Orange 29-27.

Afterwards, several reporters walking over to interview Shriner nearly tripped over Pam Hawkins, the wife of asssistant Randy Hawkins. She was on the floor embracing several inconsolable wrestlers, all of them shielding their tears on her sweatshirt.

While Shriner is too religious to be a poker player, he did tip his hand about his future during an subsequent interview. When a writer brought up Orange has three seniors next season, Shriner said, “You never know what can happen from one year to the next. You just hope for the best.”

Shriner is almost universally lauded among rivals and cohorts alike, which made his final competition one week later so ironic. With Payton Wilson going for the 220 state championship at the Greensboro Coliseum, he led Dan Louba of Hickory Ridge 4-3 in the final second of the third period. Louba shot in for a takedown as the clock expired. The referees ruled he scored the takedown before the final buzzer, momentarily giving Louba a 5-4 win for the state championship. And the first person to beat Wilson all year.

In a scene eerily similar to the Dusty Rhodes finishes in the Greensboro Coliseum during the mid-1980s, Louba began celebrating with his coaches. Meanwhile, Shriner appealed to the tournament director. Even though there were two referees, neither of them watched the clock as it ran out. The mat maids from Eden Morehead High (which, in another irony, has been Orange’s biggest rival in recent years) said the clock had expired before Louba scored the takedown.

Wilson was declared the winner, Shriner’s 24th individual state champion.

They were booed out of the building.

“Now I know what it’s like to be the bad guy,” said Shriner.

Now, Shriner will have more time to devote to his children, to the FCA, and to trying to grow the sport of wrestling. He’s been outspoken about the lack of middle school wrestling programs across the Triangle, namely in Raleigh.

His 24 state champions, nine regional titles and ten state championships (five dual and five in the individual tournament) will be what puts him in the NCHSAA Hall of Fame.

Looking after orphans in distress will be his legacy.

610 dual match victories, 9 regional championships, five state championships and countless lives influenced.

And now, after 35 years, Orange Wrestling Coach Bobby Shriner has decided that’s enough.

Shriner announced this afternoon that he will retire as a teacher at the end of this academic year. He leaves after coaching Orange to the 3A state championship in the individual tournament last month at the Greensboro Coliseum. Shriner’s last meet may have featured the most dramatic moment of his career. Payton Wilson won the 220 pound state championship over Dan Louba of Hickory Ridge 4-3, though Louba appeared to score a takedown in the last second of the match. Shriner appealed to the tournament director, who ruled that Louba’s takedown occurred after the final period had expired. Photographic evidence showed the takedown was, indeed, a fraction of a second late.

The Panthers captured the 3A Dual Wrestling Regional Championship, losing to Piedmont High for the state title in Monroe.

Shriner joined Orange in 1990 as an assistant coach under Jim King, taking over the reigns of the wrestling program a year later.

We’ll have more details later on.

Photo by Dave Lindaman 

When Orange Baseball Coach Dean Dease finished his fall workout in October, he looked at a blank lineup card thinking about potential starters for his season-opener in March.

An uneasy feeling set in.

For four years, the opening day starter was written in ink, barring injury. It was Bryse Wilson. And most of the starting lineup was almost as elementary.

That process grew much harder this year.

Orange baseball is going through 2017 following a dropoff in talent rarely seen over the course of a year. Bryse Wilson, the most successful pitcher in Orange history, graduated from Orange on June 9 with a career record of 33-4 with a 0.90 ERA. He struck out 335 batters in four years, which was really three-and-a-half because of a shoulder injury suffered in his sophomore season.

Accompanying him in turning the tassels was his battery mate for four years, catcher Brad Debo. He ended his Orange career with a .428 average with 13 home runs and 100 RBIs. Now a freshman at N.C. State, Debo has already started 13 games with the Wolfpack, hitting .340 with five doubles, a home run and 11 RBIs.

If you’re waiting for another arm like Wilson’s or a bat like Debo’s to pop up around Hillsborough again any time soon, you may as well be hoping to see Greyson Allen be honored at the Smith Center for his final game in Chapel Hill next year, if he’s even back to begin with.

Then there’s the six other position players that Orange lost. First baseman Austin Sykes, shortstop Cameron Mehl, left fielder Chandler Compton, right fielders Jamil Jordan and centerfielder Johnny Flynn and 3rd baseman Cole Campanile.

And top reliever Landon Riley.

Those players were part of four consecutive Big 8 Conference Championships, two district titles, and a sectional championship. They went 92-16 over a four year period.

Now, with Orange facing a lull in action this week because of rain and cold weather, the Panthers will continue its season against Corinth-Holders with a 1-3 record following a 3-0 loss to Southern Lee on Saturday.

Before the season started, Dease compared his 2017 squad to his 2009 team. Orange had won the 2008 2-A State Championship but lost nine seniors to graduation. The 2009 squad finished 7-7.

“We hope to be a good team by April,” said Dease after the loss to the Cavaliers on Saturday. “We have younger players to develop. The only position players we have returning from last year are Jaydin Poteat and Jason Slaughter. So we have some growing to do.”

Southern Lee (6-0) notched its fourth straight shoutout, though there were anxious moments. The Panthers loaded the bases in the 4th inning with no outs after Caige Clayton reached on an error, Eric Nichols ripped a line drive down the third base line, and catcher Dylan Hall reached on another error. Cavaliers pitcher Topher Grant calmly struck out the next two batters, then shortstop Joey Berini lined out to left fielder Jonathan Husk to escape the treat unharmed.

Despite taking his first loss of the season, Orange pitcher Derek Lindaman threw a solid five and two-thirds innings. Two of Southern Lee’s runs came when the first three batters of the game reached in the first inning. Grant lined a two-run single to left field to score Husk and Noah Terhune.

In the middle innings, Lindaman retired 12 in a row. He finished with ten strikeouts, yielding only three hits.

Orange’s game against East Chapel Hill was postponed on Wednesday night at Panther Field because of wet grounds. A make-up date hasn’t been released.

Our first Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week for the spring sports season is pitcher Brandon Andrews. Last week, Andrews threw a five-inning no-hitter in the Red Wolves season-opening 15-0 win over Hillside. Andrews struck out ten, surrendering only one base runner, who reached after getting hit by a pitch. Andrews also went 2-for-4 with a home run.

Two days later, Cedar Ridge improved to 2-0 in beating Roxboro Community 14-0. Andrews went 1-for-3 with an RBI single as the Red Wolves finished the game with a 9-run fourth inning.

Cedar Ridge travels to Mebane today to face Southern Alamance. They return home on Friday to face Carrboro.

Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week: Pitcher Brandon Andrews

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In August, the Cedar Ridge girls tennis team wasted no time in laying notice to the rest of the Big 8 Conference that they would be a force to be reckoned with. They wound up winning the first conference championship in school history.

While it’s too early to say the Cedar Ridge boys tennis team has served a similar wake up call, they certainly looked dominant in its conference opener. Against its crosstown rival, no less.

On Monday, the Red Wolves swept Orange 9-0 at Red Wolves tennis courts. Like their female counterparts, the Red Wolves have a combination of seniors and underclassmen throughout its lineup.

At #1 singles, senior Bryce Phares defeated Orange’s Evan McCallum 6-0, 6-1. Freshman Ivo Gardener, senior Trent Gill, sophomores Seth Malie and David Vaslef all captured singles victories for CRHS, dropping a combined ten games in five matches.

Phares & Gardner teamed in doubles to win 8-0 to ensure the victory, improving Cedar Ridge’s record to 3-0. The Red Wolves opened the season with a 7-2  victory over Eastern Alamance, then swept Durham School of the Arts 9-0.

On Wednesday, Eastern Alamance travels to Hillsborough to face the Red Wolves.

Orange fell to 2-2. The Panthers started the season with a 8-1 victory over Southern Alamance. After a 9-0 loss to Burlington Williams, they topped Eastern Alamance 7-2. Freshman Ronan Towell and Noah Miller have singles victories for the Panthers, who face Burlington Williams on Thursday.

It took a week longer than she would have liked, but Jacki Mignosa has earned her first win as the Orange girls soccer coach.

On Monday night, the Panthers blanked Riverside 5-0 at Panther Soccer Pitch behind two goals from Becca Shinnick. Kayla Hodges opened the scoring just a minute into the game. Shinnick added an assist.

Kerissa Lane and Leila Andrews also scored for the Panthers, who improved to 1-2. Natalie Chandler notched an assist, as well.

In the opening week of the season, Northern Guilford defeated the Panthers 3-0 in Greensboro. Last Friday, Burlington Williams defeated Orange 3-1.

Mignosa replaced Palmer Bowman as the head coach of the Orange Girls Soccer team. Bowman remains the head coach of the Orange boys team.

The Lady Panthers went 13-10 last season, reaching the 2nd round of the playoffs after a thrilling 5-4 double overtime victory over Southern Lee in Sanford. They finished 3rd in the Big 8 Conference with an 8-4 record, behind regular season champion Chapel Hill and Northwood.

Orange returns to action on Monday night for its Big 8 opener against Northern Vance at 6 PM.

Orange Freshman Grace Andrews made a splash during her first week as a varsity softball player. She scored the game-winning run in the bottom of the 7th inning off a wild pitch as Orange rallied from a 3-1 deficit to defeat East Chapel Hill 4-3 on Friday night at Orange High Softball Field.

Orange’s Grace Andrews Discusses Game Winning Run vs. East Chapel Hill

Andrews, a freshman, scored on a wild pitch as the Panthers rallied from a 3-1 deficit to defeat East Chapel Hill 4-3 on Friday night.

The most suspense going into Orange softball’s season opener was whether Mia Davidson would break the career NCHSAA state home run record against Cardinal Gibbons, or whether the record would last another night.

Turns out, she tied it. And the scene shifts to Kacie Chamberlain Field in Hillsborough for the Lady Panthers’ home opener against East Chapel Hill…and possible history.

Oh yes, the game last night.

Davidson smashed her 42nd career home run, tying the state record as the Panthers defeated Cardinal Gibbons 17-2. The Panthers roared out to a 9-0 lead, pounding out 19 hits.

In her first varsity game, freshman Jayden Hurdle smashed a home run, finishing 3-for-6 with 3 RBIs. Davidson, among the candidates for National Player of the Year honors, started her senior season by going 2-for-3 with 3 RBIs.

Davidson’s classmate, Abigail Hamlett, went 4-for-5 with four runs scored.

Senior Kristina Givens threw three innings for the win, yielding just one hit. Hurdle, in her first varsity game,  throwing four relief innings, yielding three hits and two runs. She struck out six.

Leading 9-2 going into the seventh, Orange put up eight runs in the final frame to put the game away.

Orange faces East Chapel Hill tonight at 6. We’ll have live coverage on HillsboroughSports.com.

There was no Bryse Wilson on the mound or Brad Debo behind the plate for Orange baseball in its 2017 season opener, yet the Panthers still got a shutout.

Senior Derek Lindaman scattered three hits and struck out six against only one walk as the Panthers defeated Riverside 6-0 in a rain-shortened season-opener on Wednesday night at Panther Field.

Juniors Craig Clayton and Noah Rogers smashed homers for the Panthers during a five-run third inning. It was the first hits for Clayton and Rogers, who were both making their first varsity starts. And they weren’t alone.

Only Jaydin Poteat, Ryan Puckett, and Jason Slaughter had ever started a varsity game going into Wednesday’s opener. Poteat was the regular starter in centerfield last season before he broke his right hand sliding into home plate against Northwood.

Rogers finished 3-for-3 with 2 RBIs, including a double along with his dinger. Poteat reached in all three of his plate appearances, scoring twice.

Lindaman, who was the regular second-day starter behind Wilson last season, threw five innings before giving way to Kaymin Matsko, who retired one batter before torrential storms forced the game to be stopped in the top of the fifth inning.

Orange travels to Jordan tonight for a stiff test. The Falcons are 2-0 after early wins over Green Hope and Panther Creek.