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If you’re going to win a volleyball regional championship for the first time in your own gym, it might as well be a classic match. That’s what Orange had on Tuesday night when they defeated Carrboro in five sets to win the Eastern Regional Championship in Hillsborough. Sophomore Katie Silcott nearly had a triple-double. The setter/outside hitter finished with 24 assists, 14 digs, seven kills and one block. Sophomore Mariah Poole slammed home a kill to clinch the fourth set. Poole also had two crucial blocks, both of which came late in the fourth set. Sophomore Aubrey Jordan finished with 15 kills, including scoring on match point to set off one of the biggest celebrations inside Orange High Gymnasium ever. Ava Wilkerson, another sophomore, had 13 kills with four blocks. The celebration continued long after Jordan slammed home set point as the Lady Panthers set up a trip to Raleigh to face Kings Mountain for the 3A State Championship. It’s Orange’s first regional title since 2004. It was the first time all year that Orange won a five-set match. It was also the first time that Orange won a match despite trailing by a set this season. The game time between the Panthers and the Mountaineers will be at noon on Saturday at Reynolds Coliseum. 

Orange volleyball’s Katie Silcott, Mariah Poole, Ava Wilkerson & Aubrey Jordan talk regional title

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I’m never going to grow up. And that’s OK.

I think.

On Tuesday night, I sat in the same gym I spent growing up in the late 1980s-early 1990s at Orange High School. Back then, volleyball was still in its formative years. The yearbook from my senior year shows that Orange finished with a 3-19 record. To date myself even more, a team couldn’t score points unless they were serving.

I was getting emotionally wrapped up in basketball games and wrestling matches at Orange inside that gym when I was a teenager.

Fast forward 32 years to this past Tuesday night. And what has changed?

Nothing! Except I was getting emotionally wrapped up in volleyball.

As Orange faced Carrboro for the 3A Eastern Regional Championship, I was still pumped up to see the team from Hillsborough potentially accomplish something that only one volleyball team from my alma mater has doine before: reach the state championship match. I was just as emotionally charged up when Cedar Ridge faced J.H. Rose in each of the past two regional championship games in 2021 and 2022 because I grew up with several of the Red Wolves players’ parents.

I guess that was reflected in the broadcast on Tuesday.

Listening back to the broadcast on Wednesday, that’s an understatement.

When Orange sophomore Katie Silcott scored to set up match point on a soft poke over the net, I couldn’t just label that “a kill” on the air. I had to emphasize the moment. So I drew it out, like Geddy Lee of Rush did leading into the guitar solo on the song “Anthem,”   (this reference is nearly 50 years old!).

“killlLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” is how it sounded. My lungs had to take the brunt at the expense of the emotion of the moment.

Maybe it isn’t healthy for someone my age to be this emotionally wrapped up into what teenagers play, but it’s why this website is taking up cyberspace. And what better moment to capture for the Orange seniors on Tuesday night? Ella Wimsatt, Sadye Porter, Josie Crawford and Blessiny Deronette truly deserve to play in Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh on Saturday at noon. And we’ll be there to broadcast it.

Hopefully, my lungs will have recovered by then.

We’re actually behind with our Magnificent 7, so we’re going back to the week of October 8-October 14 for this edition. We’ll play catch up once things start to slow down next week. Once again, these are the top performance aforementioned week in no particular order.

1. Finn Kelly, Orange, Sr.: It was a strong week for Orange men’s soccer. The Panthers defeated Cedar Ridge 2-0 in the second leg of the Hillsborough Derby. Kelly, the Orange goalkeeper, may have had the best week of his career. He had a clean sheet against the Red Wolves, followed with another clean sheet against Person and earned the win against Eno River Academy on October 13.
2. Rachel Alverson, Cedar Ridge, Sr: On her senior night, Alverson surpassed 1,000 career assists for the Cedar Ridge volleyball team as the Red Wolves defeated Walter Williams 3-0 in Hillsborough. Alverson finished with 35 assists against the Bulldogs as Cedar Ridge wrapped up second place in the Central Carolina Conference.
3. Katie Silcott, Orange, Soph.: On her way to 1,000 career assists, Silcott wracked up 27 helpers as the Orange volleyball team defeated Eastern Alamance 3-0 in Mebane. Against Williams in Burlington, Silcott had 21 assists. Silcott is the younger Orange player ever to 1,000 assists.
4. Naomi Dyreng, Cedar Ridge, Jr: Another strong finish for Dyreng in the NC Runners Elite Cross Country Invitational in Kernersville on October 14. In a field of 88 runners, Dyreng finished 13th with a time of 20:08.86. Cedar Ridge finished sixth as a team in a quality field of competitors.
5. Erinn Sollars, Orange, Sr: Sollars won her final tennis match at Orange on October 10. She defeated Camila Rosa of Eastern Alamance 8-0 at #1 singles. Orange won the match 8-1 to end the dual match season with a winning record.
6. Gabriel Schmid, Orange, Sr: Another strong finish for the Orange senior at the NC Runners Elite Cross Country Invitational. He finished second in a field of 153 runners. Only Dawson Reeves of Christ School finished ahead of Schmid. This weekend, Schmid will go for his second career individual state championship, also in Kernersville.
7. Joseph Lopez, Orange, Jr.: Scored the game-winning goal for Orange soccer in the overtime win over Cedar Ridge. He followed that with a goal in the 6-0 win over Person.

The emotion of the moment sank in quickly for Katie Silcott.

The tears of joy wouldn’t stop flowing as the celebration continued around her. After she won the match of her young life inside Orange Gymnasium, there was one fact that remained stuck in her head.

“I’m going to play inside Reynolds Coliseum!” Silcott said to several onlookers.

For Orange’s seniors, there was something else just as gratifying. For the past decade, Orange had been the overlooked team across all of Orange County. In the 2000s, East Chapel Hill won four straight regional championships. Over the past decade, Cedar Ridge, Chapel Hill and Carrboro have all captured state championships.

For seniors Ella Wimsatt, Sadye Porter, Josie Crawford and Blessiny Deronette, it was finally their time.

In possibly the greatest volleyball game ever played inside Orange Gymnasium, Orange defeated Carrboro 3-2 to win the 3A Eastern Regional Championship in front of a packed house on Halloween night. The Lady Panthers will face Kings Mountain on Saturday at noon inside Reynolds Coliseum for the State Championship.

It’s the first time that Orange has played for a state championship in volleyball since 2004. It will mark Orange’s first state championship appearance in any dual-team sport since the  wrestling team lost to Piedmont in the 3A State Championship in 2018.

Wimsatt finished with 19 kills and 29 digs, while sophomore Aubrey Jordan had 15 kills. Middle blocker Ava Wilkerson came away with 13 kills and three blocks in a match that was won at the net.

Orange coach Hope Heverly, who played on Orange’s 2004 Eastern Regional championship team, will return to Raleigh as a first-year head coach on Saturday. Heverly replaced Kelly Young, who was in attendance on Tuesday night, in April.

“I knew that these girls had the potential,” Heverly said. “I could see from the start that they had the talent and potential. They just needed a little push and drive. They have really been working hard all season to make this possible.”

It was the third straight five-set battle for Carrboro (29-2), who won at West Carteret and at Cape Fear leading into Tuesday’s classic in Hillsborough.

The Jaguars defeated Orange 3-1 on August 16 at Jaguars Gymnasium.

On Halloween night, Orange had moments where the end of its season appeared near, only to suddenly resurrect itself like Michael Myers in one of the numerous Halloween sequels. Carrboro’s Catherine Rucker, in her final match, finished with 20 kills and two blocks. Setter Rudy Van Gelder had 49 assists.

It was Orange’s depth that ultimately put them in Raleigh. In a match that spanned over two hours, Orange freshman Sawyer White, who was inserted into the starting lineup permanently starting with the Cedar Ridge match on October 18, had a season-best six blocks. Eight Lady Panthers scored points in the fourth set, while Rucker didn’t have another kill after Carrboro’s 12th point in the fourth set.

The irony is Orange lost the Cedar Ridge match where White took on a bigger role, but Heverly made the move to adjust Silcott to provide an additional attacker, while continuing as a setter. It paid dividends on Tuesday night. Silcott registered 26 assists, 20 digs and eight kills. While finished with 25 assists, 30 digs, five kills and seven blocks.

On a night full of turning points, naturally Wimsatt provided the final one. After Rucker knocked down a Wilkerson attack to tie the fourth set at 18-18, Wimsatt scored from the near pole off an assist from White, the first of seven straight Orange points that carried the match into a fifth set. Wimsatt continued the run with an ace to give Orange a 19-18 lead. Jordan had her best run of the night, scoring on a block, then another kill. Leading 22-18, Wimsatt dove headlong on an attack by Carrboro’s Carson McGuire, which led to a spike by Mariah Poole that sent the Orange student section into a complete frenzy. Jordan finished the set with consecutive kills as Orange broached into a fifth set for the first time in any of its 31 matches.

“I knew we would be able to take that energy and help us with the fifth set,” Heverly said. “I also know that Carrboro is a really strong team. They had come back from losing before so I knew that it wasn’t safe. But once Sawyer put up some solid blocks for us to start the fifth, I could quickly see that we had the energy.”

For the only time in the match, Orange won the opening point in the fifth set when Jordan scored off a crosscourt kill that stayed inside the left sideline, then added another. Carrboro tied it up at 3-3 after a block by Caroline Jones, then took its only lead of the frame after an ace from Max Jordy. White quickly tied things with a block, which triggered a decisive 6-0 run that came with senior Josie Crawford serving. Crawford would deliver an ace that landed in front of Jaguars libero Sophia Datto, while White and Poole had consecutive blocks. Another Kill from Wimsatt made it 10-5. Silcott set up the first match point with a light poke that bounced on the white line barely five feet from the net. Jordan ended the night with a spike off a feed from White.

In addition to winning a regional championship, Orange showed its mental toughness after dropping a classic third set, which had eight lead changes and 18 ties. Carrboro had five set points, starting when they were ahead 24-22. White scored on a block for Orange, and a return by Rucker that went long evened it up at 24-24. Orange fought off another set point when McGuire sent a serve into the net. Rucker scored off a kill to make it 26-25, but Wimsatt extended the set. Carrboro ended the struggle when McGuire scored off a block to put Carrboro ahead 28-26.

It was the first time all year that Orange won a match where they trailed by one set.

Orange captured the opening frame 25-20. In another example of Orange’s depth, five different Orange players had kills in its opening seven points. Jordan scored set point off an assist from White.

In the second set, Orange led 12-8 after a kill by Wilkerson. Jordy triggered five straight points to put Carrboro ahead 13-12. Jordy had an ace and a kill in that run. She evened the match with an ace to give the Jaguars the second set 25-21.

Orange principal Jason Jordan and several security guards kept the massive amount of Orange students from rushing the floor. After Athletic Director Jason Knapp presented the regional championship trophy to the Lady Panthers, the students and players joined as one in a joyous celebration that was a long time coming.

Is this the time for the Orange volleyball team? They certainly looked like a team ready to make a trip to Reynolds Coliseum in Saturday when they defeated J.H. Rose 3-1 in the state quarterfinals on Saturday. The Lady Panthers earned its first trip to the regional semifinals since 2004 with a victory over the Rampants, the defending 3A Eastern Regional champions. Ella Wimsatt finished with 19 kills, 33 digs, two aces, one assist and one block as the Lady Panthers improved to 26-4, its best mark since they reached the 2004 3A State Championship match. Middle blocker Ava Wilkerson had 14 kills with four blocks, including a crucial point in the fourth set that gave Orange a 21-19 lead. Senior libero Sadye Porter had her usual solid defensive performance with 13 digs, along with two assists. Orange is now one match away from the state championship match. They will host Carrboro tonight (Tuesday) at 6PM inside Orange Gymnasium. The Jaguars, who have won two state championships, defeated Orange 3-1 on August 16 in Jaguars Gymnasium. The Lady Panthers defeated Carrboro 3-1 last year in Hillsborough. The winner will face either North Iredell or Ashe County for the 3A State Championship in Raleigh on Saturday.

Orange volleyball’s Ella Wimsatt, Ava Wilkerson & Sadye Porter discuss playoff win over J.H. Rose

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There’s no need to ask Gabriel Schmid what his goal is for his final cross country race at Orange High this Saturdfay.

Ever since he crossed the finish line first to win the 3A State Cross Country championship last November, his goal has been to repeat.

The only thing he would like to change in his final trip to the Ivey Redmon Sports Complex in Kernersville would be for his teammates to join him on stage as team state champions.

For the second time in three years, the Orange men’s cross country team won the Mideast Regional Championship on Saturday at Franklinton High School. Running on the grassy terrain in Louisburg, Schmid won the individual championship, crossing the finish line at  16:19.50, beating out Ethan Rich of Western Harnett by seven seconds.

A week after the Panthers won the Central Carolina Conference championship, Orange’s top four runners all finished in the top eight. Sophomore Lucas Van Mater finished fourth overall at 16:39.69, while senior Alden Cathey came in sixth (16:59.41). Sophomore Myles Jermyn crossed the finish line eighth (17:06.22)

It was a full circle experience for Schmid. In 2021, Orange won the Mideast Championship behind the leadership of then-senior Spencer Hampton, who came in second overall. Schmid, then a sophomore, finished fourth overall.

“The course was amazing,” Schmid said. “It was like a golf course. The grass was perfect and our team was phenomenal”

Orange’s Nolan Hufner came in 19th to help the Panthers hold off Northern Nash for the team championship. The Panthers finished with 38 points, while the Knights had 60.

The Orange men have now won three straight conference championships, as well as two of the last three Mideast Conference titles.

For the second year in a row, Cedar Ridge sophomore Ryan Matthews qualified for the state championships individually. Matthews finished 21 at 18:27.03. Edgar Ibarra finished 26th for the Red Wolves at 18:35.53.

Last year, Schmid became just the second runner in Orange history to win a state cross country championship. In 1997, Bradsher Wilkins won the 4A State Championship as a junior. The following year, Wilkins repeated as state champion.

As a team, Orange is the second seed going into Saturday’s state championships. Croatan, who edged Orange during the North Carolina Runners Elite Invitational in Kernersville on October 14, will be the top seed. Croatan had 69 points during the event while Orange finished with 78.

Cedar Ridge has had one individual men’s cross country champion in school history. A.J. Tucker won a pair of 2A State Championships, the first in 2011. He repeated in 2012.

The Cedar Ridge women’s team qualified for the state championships with a fourth place finish in the Mideast Regionals. Led by junior Naomi Dyreng, who won the Central Carolina Conference individual championship last week at Lake Cammack Course in Burlington, the Red Wolves finished third as a team with 123 points. Carrboro won the team regional championship with 56 points. Walter Williams, who edged Cedar Ridge to take the CCC team title, finished second at 111 points.

Dyreng finished third overall with a time of 20:10.56. It will be Dyreng’s second trip to the state championships.

Freshman Brinkley Robinson of Franklinton won the state championship, pacing the field at 19:35.34. Robinson finished thirty seconds ahead of runner-up Addison Barlett of Durham School of the Arts, who came in at 20:05.06.

Cedar Ridge junior Abigail Klaitman finished seventh at 21:13.84. Red Wolf freshman Kate Finnegan finished 24th in her first regional meet at 23:47.44. Anna Peterson of the Red Wolves came in 42nd. Red Wolf freshman Safiyya Frej (52nd at 26:30.09), Samantha Quade (54th at 26:42.72) and Gracie Whitaker also finished for the Red Wolves.

Orange’s top female finisher was senior Channing Mahaney, who came in 57th. Grace Pell came in 58th for the Lady Panthers. Arely Cabarera also competed for Orange.

If there was ever a sign of how deep the Central Carolina Conference was in football, it came Saturday morning.

Despite finishing 3-7, the Orange football team is in the 3A State Playoffs for the first time since 2017, when current N.C. State linebacker Payton Wilson did almost everything to get the Panthers to the Big 8 Conference championship.

Despite losing to Eastern Alamance 41-27 in its home finale at Auman Stadium on Friday night, the Panthers actually improved on its RPI rating and drew a #29 seed in the 3A East Region. The Panthers will travel to Hanford Stadium in Graham to face Southern Alamance, the CCC Champions.

On Friday night, the Patriots wrapped up an undefeated run through the league with a 16-14 win over Western Alamance, clinching its first outright conference championship in over 20 years.

Southern Alamance defeated Orange 49-0 on October 13, a night where Patriots running back Jackson Parrish rushed for three touchdowns. Senior Logan Faust ran for 153 yards and two scores.

The Patriots (9-1) moved to 3A over the summer after spending two years as a 4A team in the DAC-VII Conference, where they opposed teams like Chapel Hill, Jordan, Riverside and Hillside.

While Orange hasn’t had a victory since they defeated Cedar Ridge on September 29, they are being rewarded for playing a difficult schedule. Of the Panthers ten opponents, eight made the state playoffs. That includes first-year school Southeast Alamance, who Orange defeated 33-20 on August 18 in the season opener. Vance County, who pulled out a 28-19 win over the Panthers in Henderson on September 1, finished undefeated and won the Northern Lakes Conference.

“I don’t care who we play,” said Orange coach DeVante Pettiford after Orange’s . “I just want to make the playoffs. It’s something that this program needs. I know it’s going to be tough sledding. I know we gotta play teams that are at the top, but we see that every week. The program needs that. Guys around here need to know that we’re good enough to make the playoffs. It’s part of taking steps forward.”

On Friday night, the Eagles prevailed in a penalty-marred matchup more reminiscent of a preseason jamboree than the regular season finale. The two teams combined for 27 penalties amassing 233 yards. The Eagles won despite committing three turnovers, plus a turnover on downs at midfield in the third quarter when a 4th-down conversion was botched because of a fumbled snap.

In his final game at Auman Stadium, senior Tyler Narold caught a touchdown and threw a touchdown pass. The Panthers took a 61-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Hank Nunnery with 6:05 remaining in the first quarter.

The Eagles quickly responded when quarterback Jason Ball threw a 44-yards pass to Charlie Deacon. Running back Joshua Murray carried the ball into the red zone off a 15-yard gain, then scored the Eagles opening touchdown off a six-yard run. Reagan Sawyer’s extra point put the Eagles ahead 7-6.

The Eagles drove to the Orange 16-yard line late in the first quarter, but senior Jayden Medley recovered a fumble. On the next play from scrimmage, Eastern’s Jamari Gibbs picked off a pass from Nunnery.

Murray, who rushed for 104 yards, scored a touchdown from seven yards out early in the second quarter to go ahead 14-6. On the subsequent kickoff, Orange freshman Kayden Bradsher ran it back 85 yards. Only Gibbs stopped Bradsher from scoring.

Brandon Cummings caught a 21-yard touchdown pass from Nunnery to put the Panthers within two points. Late in the first half, Eagles junior running back Tyrek Samuels, who finished with 110 yards to go over 1,000 on the season, notched his first touchdown off an 11-yard run.

Samuels would add another touchdown in the fourth quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Orange sophomore linebacker Jaylen Starks picked off a pass from Ball and returned it 36 yards. Nate Sorrells, in his final game in Hillsborough, scored a touchdown from three yards out.

When August practice started for the Cedar Ridge men’s soccer team, the goal was to make the state playoffs.

It was a common refrain. The Red Wolves haven’t been since 2016 when current Chicago Bears punter Trenton Gill played for the Red Wolves, coached by Chris Walker.

Nonetheless, it felt like a lofty goal after the Red Wolves finished 5-15-1 last year.

Then the Red Wolves started 2023 with six wins in its opening nine games. Needless to say, their goals got bigger.

Tonight (Monday), the Red Wolves will host a state playoff game inside Red Wolves Stadium for the first time since 2015.

The Red Wolves received a #14 seed for the 3A State Playoffs. They will host Southern Lee, the #19 seed from the 4A/3A Sandhills Conference tonight at 6PM.

Along the way, the Orange men’s soccer team has made its own history. The Panthers also made the field of 64 for the 3A State Tournament, receiving a #26 seed. The Panthers will journey to Sanford tonight to face Lee County, the champions of the Sandhills Conference.

It’s the first time in the 35-year history of the program that Orange (8-7-3) has made the state playoffs in back-to-back years. Orange sewed up its spot in the state playoffs with a 2-0 victory over Eastern Alamance last week in Mebane. Traver Bruhns, in his final regular season game, scored two goals. It was the first brace of his high school career.

Orange goalkeeper Finn Kelly earned the clean sheet. The winner of Lee County/Orange will face either Western Alamance or Walter Williams in the second round.

It’s a bittersweet draw for Cedar Ridge, who finished the regular season 12-4-3. While they’re hosting a state playoff game, they nearly made history by winning the Central Carolina Conference championship. It would have been the first men’s soccer championship in school history. Two weeks ago, the Red Wolves played to a scoreless tie at Western Alamance. They maintained the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Warriors and were two wins away from taking the crown. But on October 18, the Red Wolves lost to Walter Williams 1-0 on a goal by Anderson Aguilera with 6:42 remaining in regulation. Western Alamance closed with decisive wins over Person and Southern Alamance to take the conference crown.

“I couldn’t imagine that it would have gone that way this year,” said Cedar Ridge coach Chancey Brummell. “Last year was a good group of kids. I don’t think they played as a team and it showed. I thought going into this year we were going to be competitive. But if you had asked me ‘Coach, would Cedar Ridge be in contention to win the conference?’ I would have told you no. I didn’t think we were going to be up there with the likes of a Western (Alamance) and a Williams.”

If Cedar Ridge’s season could be defined in one imagine, it would be Salomon Hernandez running across the field after scoring on a header against Western Alamance with 4:17 remaining in regulation. Goalkeeper Erik Galunas would earn the clean sheet as the Red Wolves defeated the Warriors 1-0 on September 20.

“When we won the first few games, I knew then we were going to become something special,” Brummells said. “It was disappointing to come up short against Williams last week. But compared to where we were last year, I will take that any day. It’s impressive not just for the players, but I think for the program and the school. It’s shows other players that Cedar Ridge soccer is going somewhere.”

It’s Cedar Ridge’s first trip to the 3A State Playoffs since 2016, when they lost to Corinth-Holders 1-0 in the opening round. The Red Wolves were an 11-seed. Back then, the 3A State Tournament was a 32-team tournament.

The last time Cedar Ridge hosted a state playoff game inside Red Wolves Stadium, it was 2015. They defeated Northwood 2-0.