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The first female wrestling champions from Hillsborough in the Jim King/Orange Invitational provided a study in contrasts.

Thalia Paterno is a freshman at Cedar Ridge who has wrestled since her sixth grade year at Stanback Middle School.

Chloe Pankratz is a senior at Cedar Ridge who started wrestling last year mainly because one of her best friends was the Captain of the women’s team who successfully talked her into joining the squad.

In terms of experience, Pankratz and Paterno are different. In terms of success so far this season, they’re similar.

On Saturday, Paterno won her second individual championship at the JKO, which hosted a women’s tournament for the second time ever at Orange High School. In a four-competitor, round robin format, Paterno pinned all three of her opponents in less than one minute. She defeated Kailey Cabrera of Bartlett Yancey in 19 seconds, then finished off Angela Chen of Cary in 38 seconds. In the de facto championship match, Paterno pinned Sophia Gould of Millbrook in 33 seconds.

Paterno is 13-1 with nine pins in her freshman season. Her only loss came in the championship match of the season-opening Atkins Invitational in Winston-Salem.

“I think I was pretty good,” Paterno said. “My first match wasn’t great, but I think my other two were pretty good.”

Paterno started her career in middle school when her parents lobbied her to play a winter sport in middle school. She would have selected Ultimate frisbee, but Stanback didn’t have a team. So she chose wrestling.

She’s also on the Cedar Ridge women’s junior varsity cross country team.

“Wrestling is fun,” Paterno said. “I get to make friends and I get to stay in good shape.”

Shortly after Paterno became the first female wrestler from Hillsborough to win a JKO Championship, Pankratz became the second. She pinned all three of her opponents in the 132 pound tournament , none of the matches exceeding one minute. Pankratz, the top-seed, pinned Leilani Valai of Terry Sanford in 51 seconds. In the semifinals, she finished Anneliese Garcia-Rodriguez of Middle Creek in 36 seconds. In the championship match, Katie Lloyd of Seaforth scored an early takedown, but Paterno quickly reserved it and scored a pin in 59 seconds.

This season, she is 16-1. In each of her non-forfeit victories, she has pinned her opponents, 12 times overall.

Pankratz joined Cedar Ridge’s wrestling team last year at the urging of Zoey Moreno, who won the Red Wolf Invitational at 120 pounds last year. In one year’s time, Pankratz went from failing to place at the Red Wolf Invitational in 2023 to winning the championship last month at 132 pounds.

Though Moreno graduated in June and is now wrestles at Division III Greensboro College, Pankratz hasn’t forgotten her. She ties her hair up in pigtails for each of her matches, just as Moreno did, as a standing tribute.

“It takes maybe five minutes,” Pankratz said.

What started as a hobby has turned into a borderline obsession for Pankratz. After every match, she scours video to find strengths, weaknesses and what to work on for the future.

With four wrestlers, Cedar Ridge still finished 4th in the women’s team standings with 51 points. Millbrook, with 12 competitors, won the women’s team championship with 153.5 points. Cary, fielding nine wrestlers, came in second with 65 points.

Orange’s Ava Lytle finished runner-up at 126 pounds. Lytle pinned Rebecca Parker of East Chapel Hill in the semifinals. Ellyaunnie Jacuinde Ramirez of Western Harnett took the championship.

Orange’s Rose Brady finished second in the 235-pound division. Brady pinned Ava Briel of Millbrook in 5:00 in the opening match of the round robin tournament. Cary’s Ella Taylor won the championship with a pin over Brady in the final.

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is senior wrestler Chloe Pankratz. On Saturday, Pankratz won the 138-pound championship at the Jim King/Orange Invitational at Orange High School. It was her third individual championship of the year. Last month, Pankratz won the Atkins Invitational in Winston-Salem. She has also won the Red Wolf Invitational, pinning all three of her opponents in a round-robin tournament. Pankratz is part of the emergence of women in wrestling locally. She just started competing last year because her friend, Zoey Moreno, was a team Captain who encouraged Pankratz to give the sport a try. She has quickly developed a love of wrestling and wants to continue her pursuit of excellence after she graduates in June. Pankratz constantly studies video of her matches, win or lose, and is now part of a Cedar Ridge team that is competing in dual matches for females only. Last month, Pankratz was seeded #3 in the Watkins Invitational, but pinned the two higher seeds to win the championship. In the semifinals, Pankratz defeated Amelia Martino of East Mecklenburg in 18 seconds. In the final, she pinned the #1  seed, Jadyn Magallanes of West Forsyth in 56 seconds. On Saturday, Pankratz pinned Katie Lloyd of Southeast Alamance in the championship match at 138 pounds. Pankratz pinned all three of her opponents on Saturday, including Anneliese Garcia-Rodriguez of Midde Creek in the semifinals. Pankratz pinned all three of her opponents in less than a minute on Saturday.

Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week: Chloe Pankratz

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is senior wrestler Chloe Pankratz. On Saturday, Pankratz won the 138-pound championship at the Jim King/Orange Invitational at Orange High School. It was her third individual championship of the year. Last month, Pankratz won the Atkins Invitational in Winston-Salem.

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is junior cross country runner Lucas Van Mater. Last month, Van Mater was a part of the ninth state championship team in Orange High School history. Van Mater finished 8th overall in the 3A State Championships at the Ivey Redmon Sports Complex in Kernersville, earning him a spot all the All-State team. His teammate, Myles Jermyn, finished sixth as Orange won its first state championship in men’s cross country with 63 points. North Lincoln finished in second place with 96. In his running career at Orange, Van Mater has been a part of three Central Conference champions and two Mideast Regional champions. This year, Van Mater finished 2nd overall in the conference championship race by only .53 seconds behind Jermyn. Van Mater is the third person in his family to compete at Orange. His older sister, Katelyn, played tennis, basketball and soccer. His older brother, Josh, also ran cross country. After winning the state champion, Van Mater has already started on his next chapter. He’s running indoor track this winter and has already qualified for the state championships in the 3,200 meters after he ran a 9:29.04 at the Fleet Feet Dash for Doodie at Reagan High School in Greensboro on November 16. The attached interview was taped hours after the Orange men’s cross country team won the state championship at a Chipotle in Burlington.

Orange Panther of the Week: Lucas Van Mater w/ 2024 3A State Men’s Championship Cross Country team

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is junior cross country runner Lucas Van Mater. Last month, Van Mater was a part of the ninth state championship team in Orange High School history. Van Mater finished 8th overall in the 3A State Championships at the Ivey Redmon Sports Complex in Kernersville, earning him a spot all the All-State team.

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PITTSBORO: There was something special waiting for the Cedar Ridge men’s basketball team as they approached Thanksgiving break.

Playing inside a gym adorned with championship banners even though it’s barely four years old, the Red Wolves hung in after a tough start to end a 16-game road losing streak.

While two guards were instrumental in keeping things close in the first half, it was a senior who paved the way to victory.

Braeden Wilbourn scored 13 of his 16 points in the second half as the Red Wolves defeated the Hawks 59-50 on November 26 at Seaforth Gymnasium. It was the Red Wolves first win over Seaforth.

It was Cedar Ridge’s first road win since they defeated Western Alamance 42-33 on February 3, 2023 in Elon.

“I just told them that,” said Cedar Ridge head coach Mike Jones, who just started his third year. “They didn’t believe me. It’s a relief, but at the same time I don’t want to make a big deal out of it because we still have work to do. I finally feel like we’re trending in the right direction. We’re just trying to build a program here.”

Junior Tripp Beasley, in just his third varsity game, scored 15 points as the Red Wolves improved to 2-1. Cedar Ridge opened the season with a victory over Carrboro in Hillsborough on November 15.

Seaforth, who lost at Carrboro to open the season, fell to 0-2.

The irony was that sophomore guard Jordan Jacobson, who kept Cedar Ridge in the game early with ten first half points, didn’t score after halftime until the final three minutes of the fourth quarter. Wilbourn set the tone of the second half when he drained a three-pointer on the first shot of the third quarter to put the Red Wolves ahead 26-25. Beasley added another 3-pointer and Seaforth spent the final 16 minutes chasing the Red Wolves.

On two separate occasions, Wilbourn scored a field goal, then stole the subsequent inbound pass and was fouled.

Seaforth didn’t score in the opening 5:00 of the fourth quarter. Christian Conrad, a backup forward, ended the Hawks dry spell when he scored off a stick back to cut Cedar Ridge’s lead to 57-52. Seaforth guard Nate Emerson, who led the Hawks with 13 points, scored off a steal to cut into the Cedar Ridge lead. Red Wolf junior center Jack Kelsey scored on two lay-ins during the third quarter, then came up with some crucial blocks in the final minutes as Seaforth tried to narrow the gap.

Wilbourn and Beasley sank pressure free throws down the stretch.

“I love Tripp,” Jones said. “Tripp is aggressive. Tripp is always looking to score. Tripp is really receptive to coaching. He’s going to be a big part to what we do this year, for sure.”

Seaforth led 19-10 at the end of the first quarter. Jacobson kept the Red Wolves close with a 3-pointer. Beasley, Jacobson and Luke Orstad each knocked down 3-pointers in the second quarter.

While Cedar Ridge returned three starters from last year’s team, the senior captain from the 2023-2024 team isn’t that far away. Landon Dalehite, who graduated from Cedar Ridge in June, has joined Jones staff as an assistant coach.

“Me and Landon think alike,” Jones said. “The kids listen to Landon. He can give them a teenage voice because he was teammates with half of them. We really enjoy having Landon here, for sure.”

Cedar Ridge will travel to Durham School of the Arts on Friday night.

The Red Wolves (2-1) lost its opening road game to Chapel Hill on November 19 in Tiger Gymnasium. Jeremiah McIlwaine led the Tigers with 19 points. Cedar Ridge was led by Jacobson, who scored 19 points, including 6-of-13 shooting from 3-point range.

Not even three weeks into the winter sports season, it’s already been a landmark year for Cedar Ridge senior Ryan Rakouskas.

At the Atkins Invitational, the opening tournament of the year, Rakouskas defeated Brice Baker of Oak Grove High in sudden victory to win the 157-pound championship. He also became the eighth Cedar Ridge wrestler to win 100 career matches.

On November 23, Rakouskas won his second consecutive Red Wolf Invitational championship and defeated the top-seed at 157 pounds to do it. Rakouskas pinned Andrew Taylor of West Rowan in 56 to successfully defend his championship. Last year, Rakouskas defeated Thomas Gingerich of Green Level 9-3 to take the tournament title.

Despite being the defending champions, Rakouskas entered the tournament as the #2 seed. But he pinned four opponents in four matches to repeat as champion.

Rakouskas finished off Bilial Benzenmour of Southeast Raleigh in the semifinals just as the first period ended. Rakouskas led 6-1 when he scored the pin as the official hit the mat just before the buzzer sounded. In the quarterfinals, Rakouskas pinned T’mari Mcclelland of McMichael in 29 seconds. After receiving a bye into the second round, Rakouskas pinned his own teammate, Isaiah Craig, in 1:17 in a rare instance of two competitors from the same team facing each other.

Rakouskas stood above the rest in a crowded field to repeat as champion. Cedar Ridge finished 4th in the team standings with 139 points. Seaforth took the team championship with 179 points. West Rowan finished 2nd. Person, led by defending 3A State Heavyweight champions Trevquan Gary, finished 3rd.

Orange finished 11th. The top Panther finisher was senior Jayden Medley who finished 3rd at 215 pounds. Medley, who was named All-Conference in football this week, defeated Quentez Butler of Asheboro in the consolation final 8-3. Medley pinned Gavin Jones of Person in the consolation semifinals.

Orange’s Braden Crawford finished 4th at 138 pounds. Crawford reached the semifinals after he pinned Graylon Collins of Cedar Ridge in 1:29. Jackson Young of Panther Creek defeated Crawford 6-2 in the semifinals. In the consolation semifinals, Crawford advanced when Person’s Jameer Farmer couldn’t continue due to injury. Stetson Collins of West Rowan, the top-seed, won the consolation final 9-2.

Cedar Ridge senior Pierce Prescod finished 3rd at 126 pounds. Prescod, the defending 120 pound champion, reached the quarterfinals before he was edged by Carter Furman of Northwest Guilford 5-4. Furman got an escape with 46 seconds remaining in the third period after Prescod earned a takedown to even the match at 4-4.

In the consolation round, Prescod earned technical fall win over Noah Vo of Panther Creek and Julian Combs of Person. In the consolation semifinals, Prescod’s match against Western Alamance’s Omar Rushing went to overtime. Prescod scored a rare pin in sudden victory to advance to the 3rd place match, where he faced Furman in a rematch. This time, Prescod led 11-8 before the match was stopped in the third period. Prescod was named the winner by disqualification.

At 150 pounds, Cedar Ridge’s Alejandro Briones finished 3rd at 150 pounds. Briones defeated Alexander Patino of Asheboro 19-11 in the 3rd place match. Briones, who won the 144 pound championship in the Central Conference Tournament last year, opened with a pinfall win over Gabriel Mumma of Panther Creek. Top-seeded Kevin O’Brien of West Rowan, the eventual champion, defeated Briones in the quarterfinals.

At 113 pounds, Cedar Ridge’s Favio Jaramillo Espar finished 4th. He opened by pinning Orange’s Mason Horne in 45 seconds. Jesse Farnsworth of Panther Creek edged Jaramillo 8-7 on a takedown coming with 18 seconds remaining. Farnsworth would upset the top-seed, Alex Raymundo of Randleman en route to the championship match.

Jaramillo scored a technical fall over Mason Browne of Apex Friendship to start his stint in the consolation round. He pinned David Matus of Athens Drive in 49 seconds. In the consolation semifinals, Jaramillo held off Damonte Bradley of Carrboro 3-0.

Raymundo won the 3rd place match 16-5.

Last year, Jaramillo finished 3rd at 106 pounds.

For the second year in a row, the Cedar Ridge women’s wrestling team crowned a champion at the Red Wolf Invitational.

In fact, they crowned two.

Chloe Pankratz claimed her first individual championship at 138 pounds, pinning all three of her opponents in a round-robin tournament that featured four other competitors.

At 100 pounds, Thalia Paterno defeated top-seeded Eva Serrano of Panther Creek in the semifinals and went on to claim the championship. She scored pins in both of her matches as the Red Wolves finished 4th in the women’s team standings with 54 points. Panther Creek captured the women’s team championship with 141 points.

Pankratz, who didn’t play in the 132-pound tournament last year, pinned Aaliyah McNeill of South Garner in 15 seconds in her opening match. Pankratz defeated Cece Maldonado of Southeast Alamance in 31 seconds. With the championship at stakge, Pankratz pinned Caroline Cook of Seaforth to clinch her first individual championship.

Last year, Cedar Ridge’s Zoey Moreno won the 120-pound title at the Red Wolf Invitational. Moreno pinned Adriana Gruner of Northern Durham in 15 seconds to take the 2023 championship.

The 100 pound championship turned into an all-Hillsborough matchup. After Paterno pinned Serrano, Orange’s Elyse Wilscam pinned Alexus Pementhal of West Rowan in 14 seconds to reach the final. Paterno pinned Wilscam in 1:03 to earn her first individual championship.

Orange’s Ava Lytle finished 3rd at 126 pounds. After Gianna Susser of Garner, the eventual champion, won in the opening round, Lytle Andrea Thornton of Asheboro via pinfall in 1:32. In the consolation final, Lytle pinned Aaliyah Pearson of Southeast Raleigh in 18 seconds.

Pankratz started the season with a runner-up finish in the Atkins Invitational at Atkins Academic and Technology High School in Winston-Salem on November 14. Pankratz scored three pins on her way to the final. She defeated Leora Hein of Oak Hill Academy in 36 seconds. She pinned Ashley Hernandez of Oak Grove in 1:12, then pinned 2nd-seeded Amelia Martino of East Mecklenburg in the semifinals in 5:13. Top-seeded Jadyn Magallanes of West Forsyth claimed the championship.

Paterno also reached the finals of the Atkins Invitational at 100 pounds. In a five-competitor field, Paterno pinned Naria Selomith of West Forsyth in 14 seconds. Victoria Pioquinto of West Forsyth pinned Paterno in 3:36 in the final, though Paterno did have a 5-1 lead with 1:00 remaining in the second period.

Also at the Atkins, Cedar Ridge’s Melissa Avendano won her opening round match at 165 pounds. In the quarterfinals, Avendano defeated Aaliyah Page of East Mecklenburg. Isabelle Clemmons of Atkins Academic won the championship over Janiyah Quidachay of Southeast Alamance in the final.

The Cedar Ridge women’s team has grown to the point that they’re now holding standard dual meets against Central Conference opponents. Last week, the Red Wolves women’s team won its first dual match when they defeated Person 24-12, though all of the matches were forfeits because Cedar Ridge had four wrestlers who were unrivaled in their respective weight classes. Caroline Donjuan, Pankratz, Paterno and Mariana Duqum all claimed victories.

Also in the tri-meet against Person, Cary defeated Cedar Ridge 42-18. Of the three matches that didn’t end in forfeit, Cedar Ridge won two of them. Pankratz defeated Treasure Harvest at 138 pounds via pinfall. At 100 pounds, Paterno pinned Angela Chen.

The Orange women’s team started the season at the Wolverine Challenge at Wakefield High School in Raleigh on November 16. At 100 pounds, Wiscam finished in third place after she pinned Alena McNaughton of Panther Creek in 2:56. In the opening round, Wiscam advanced to the semifinals with a pinfall victory over McNaughton in 3:30.

Orange’s Ava Lytle was the top seed in the 126 pound tournament and finished fourth. Lytle pinned Miracle Lester of Hoke County in the consolation round. In the consolation semifinals, Lytle pinned Vanity Martinez of Currituck County.

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