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The 35th Jim King Invitational Wrestling Tournament will be remembered at Orange for a variety of reasons.

Of course, foremost is the Panthers captured the team championship for the sixth time in the event’s history. Orange finished with 223.5 points, ahead of Southern Alamance’s 202,5. Cary, who has won the JKO 22 times, finished third with 196.5 points.

The tournament also featured another generation of grapplers under the tutelage of Bobby Shriner that progress to another level of success in a short amount of time.

Last year, Orange placed Byron Stephenson (heavyweight), Stone Edwards (220), and Gonzalo Cantoral (132) in the finals. Stephenson and Cantoral graduated, while Edwards is recovering from a foot injury suffered during football season.

While the Panthers didn’t have any individual champions this year, they had eleven grapplers place in the top six, including runner-up finishes for freshman Gavin Wiggins (113), Joe Scott (152), and Juan Torres (182).

Torres may have made the most improvement.

“His technique has really improved,” said Shriner, who came to Orange in 1990 to replace King as head wrestling coach. “He has a unique ability being so low to the ground. We’re really glad he came out for wrestling.”

Torres was quick to credit his training partners Payton Wilson (who finished 3rd at 220 after a 3rd place finish at 182 in 2014) and Shannon Thompson for getting him ready for the JKO.

“I’ve been improving a lot since last year,” said Torres. “In terms of condition, I’m getting better. Our sessions are intense. They push me and I push them. That’s how we get better.”

Freshman Gavin Wiggins, in his first JKO, finished 2nd at 113 pounds. He’s now 6-3 on the season.

“I was excited to come out here and wrestle, “said Wiggins. “I had some tough opponents to face. I was ready to come out here on the mat.”

For Scott, the runner-up finish was a dissapointment by his own admission. The 2013 JKO Champion at 120 pounds, Scott was focused on a championship for his senior year. Instead, he fell in the championship match to Eastern Alamance’s Mitch Dean, who was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament.

“I’ve got work to do,” said Scott, who is 10-1 on the season. “I can’t get too upset. Mitch Dean is probably the best in the state at that weight.”

Sophomore Bailey Hawkins finished 3rd at 120. The son of Cadwell’s Randy Hawkins, Bailey is 11-1 to start the season.

Hawkins went 0-2 in the JKO last season.

“We did a lot during the summer,” said Hawkins. “We went to Appalachian State for the summer camp. We went to Pennsylvania together for a tournament. Just worked hard.”

Orange will start its defense of the Big 8 dual meet Conference Championship on Wednesday night against Cedar Ridge at Jim King Gymnasium. First match is at 6.

For the first time since 2011, Orange captured the team championship at the Jim King Invitational. Coach Bobby Shriner discussed winning the championship.

Orange Wrestling Coach Bobby Shriner Discusses the Panthers Championship at the Jim King Invitation

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In America, this is the heart of the school year. Thanksgiving is over. Christmas is around the corner, and so is the holiday break. Summer vacation seems like years away.

In Australia, what we call winter is their summer vaction, and they’re on it right now. In recent years, various high school teams from the land Down Under journey across the southeast United States to play American teams.

On Monday night, Cedar Ridge will play one of those squads in Hillsborough.

Make no mistake, these are players dedicated to playing in America, even if its only exhibition games. They pay their own way for the 20-hour flight. They seek living arrangements with various American families in advance. Then they pay a grueling schedule across various towns, often as many as five games in a week.

Though it won’t count in the official standings, it’s a chance for the Red Wolves to gear up for another busy week. After a trip to Graham on Tuesday night, the Red Wolves start Big 8 Conference play on Friday night at archrival Orange.

Cedar Ridge arrives into tonight’s game against the Aussies with a 4-2 record. After beating Southern Alamance on Wednesday, the Red Wolves lost to Burlington Cummings 75-59 on Friday night.

Leading 31-28 at the half, the Cavaliers exploded for 31 points in the third quarter to put the game away. Peyt0n Pappas led the Red Wolves with 21 points while Jacob Thomas added 15.

Hillsboroughsports.com will have coverage of Orange-Cedar Ridge on Friday night starting at 6:50. Go to Hillsboroughsports.com Facebook page to listen in.

It’s safe to say Gavin Wiggins has come out of the gates running in his high school career. Only a freshman, Wiggins is already starting for the Panthers at 113 pounds, going 6-3 in his first two weeks as a high school grappler. In the King Invitational, Wiggins opened with a 4-3 decision over Clayton’s Christian Prescott. In the quarterfinals, Wiggins pinned Winston Salem Glenn’s Nick McCormick in 1:29. He advanced to the finals by beating Simon Ruff of Leesville Road 6-0. Wiggins discussed working with Coach Bobby Shriner in his opening weeks as a high school grappler and what lies ahead.

Orange Freshman Gavin Wiggins Finishes 2nd at 113 in initial King Invitational appearance

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After opening the season with ten consecutive victories, Orange senior wrestler Joe Scott finished 2nd at 152 pounds in the 35 Jim King Invitational on Saturday at King Gymnasium. Eastern Alamance’s Mitch Dean, who was named Most Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament, edged Scott 4-2 in the championship.

Scott talked about his performance in the tournament afterwards.

Joe Scott Goes to 10-1 on the Season after 2nd place finish at King Invitational

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Caldwell’s Bailey Hawkins finished third in the 120-pound weight class at the Jim King Invitational, going 4-1 for the weekend. Hawkins scored pins in his opening two matches. In the consoloation bracket, he earned consecutive victories by scores of 4-0 & 7-3. He talked about his weekend and what’s ahead in the Tiger Holiday Classic later this month.

Orange’s Bailey Hawkins Finishes 3rd at King Invitational

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Senior Juan Torres improved to 9-1 on the season after finishing 3-1 in the Jim King Invitational. His only loss came in the championship match at 182. Juan discusses his rigorous training under Coach Bobby Shriner.

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Torres finished 2nd at the Jim King Invitational on Saturday, helping Orange win the team championship for the first time since 2011.

There a scene in the early moments of “Hoosiers” when Norman Dale has just arrived in Hickory, Indiana. With a laced up basketball in his hands, he says to no one in particular “What kind of hand have I been dealt?”

Two games into the 2015-16 season, that’s what Greg Motley is trying to sort out. He’s had two weeks to work with a full hand, but he lost his ace in the hole before the dealer even finished.

On Thursday night, Sanderson rallied to beat the Panthers 61-58 in Raleigh. The Panthers led by as many as 8 early in the third quarter, but lost Conner Crabtree after he was called for a charge with 5:25 remaining in the third quarter. He didn’t return until 4:27 remaining in the game.

Daniel Mulligan led Orange with 18 points. Center Logan Vosburg and Crabtree added 15. Vosburg scored 11 in the second half, seven in the fourth quarter.

Crabtree’s 3-pointer with 3:57 remaining gave the Panthers a 56-5 lead, but Spartans point guard Taj Thompson took over the game in the final stanza. He nailed a trio of 3-pointers and hit five of six free throws down the stretch.

While Orange has its best performances ahead of them, it’s doubtful they’ll play a quirkier game this season.

In the first quarter, Sanderson had a free throw waved off because of a goal tending call.

Later in the third quarter, Spartan forward Antonio Freeman was fouled by Vosburg going strong to the basket. The crowd has already quieted as Freeman went to the line when one of the referees blurted out to the scorer’s table “The basket was good.” That announcement was met with confused looks from both benches and snickers from the Sanderson fan section, who could have sworn Freeman’s shot missed everything. On the next trip down the floor, Vosburg was credited with a field goal courtesy of a goaltending coal that was almost as mysterious.

Late in the fourth quarter, Thompson had a critical free throw waved off because his feet were on the free throw line.

In the end, the Panthers fell to 0-2, which is hardly surprising. Motley has six players in his rotation that just got finished with football season. Plus, there’s the loss of point guard Eryk Brandon-Dean, who is lost for the season after tearing his ACL in September against Southern Durham.

On the positive side, Orange led 39-35 going at the end of the third quarter. The Panthers only scored 35 points in its season-opening loss to East Chapel Hill on Tuesday night.

The Panthers will play its first home game on Tuesday night against Heritage.

Sanderson improves to 2-1 with the win, which has followed an early pattern. They lost to Knightdale 62-58 and defeated Holly Springs 58-56.

Orange Basketball Coach Greg Motley Discusses the Panthers 61-58 loss to Sanderson

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Cedar Ridge’s jump to the brink of the Big 8 Soccer Championship paid off with a dual honor for the team’s coach and second-leading scorer on Monday.

Red Wolves midfielder Chris Walker was named Big 8 Player of the Year on Monday. Walker led the team with nine assists, and added ten goals this season for a Cedar Ridge team that finished 13-6-2 this season. They went 9-12 in 2013.

Because of that improvement, Walker’s father, Chris Walker Sr. was voted Big 8 Coach of the Year. It was Walker’s third season as the head coach at CRHS. The Red Wolves made the 3-A state playoffs, defeating Northwood in the opening round. They fell to Cleveland 2-0 in the 2nd round.

Joining Walker on the All-Big 8 team was goalkeeper Brandon Boss, striker Ivan Carbajal, midfielder Lachlan McGrath and striker Noah Leesnitzer.

Carbajal led Cedar Ridge in scoring with with 20 goals and 45 points. Leesnitzer played 19 games and added five goals. McGrath added seven goals, which was third on the squad.

Orange, which defeated Chapel Hill for the first time in school history this season, placed centerback Chandler Compton, striker Alfredo Rodriguez and midfielder Lionel Reid-Shaw on the All-Big 8 squad.

Rodriguez finished with ten goals this season. Reid-Shaw led the squad with 15 goals and 14 assists. Compton was the 2nd Hillsboroughsports.com Orange Panther of the Week.