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Before school started in August, Naomi Dyreng laid out her objective for her senior year.

She had already won a conference championship in women’s cross country, plus several regional championships in track and field. Her goal for 2024 was to spread toe joy of running to her team in hopes of greater success as  a whole.

“I want to make Cedar Ridge a place where people can really learn how to love running,” Dyreng said back in August. “I want to be able to communicate what I’ve learned from my success to the new people we have coming up. I’m focus on that more than winning this race of that race.”

By that measure, Dyreng has already accomplished her mission.

On Wednesday, Cedar Ridge won the women’s cross country team championship at Lake Cammack Course in Burlington. Dyreng repeated as the Central Conference individual champion, finishing first with a time of 20:15.40. Orange’s Reilly Jermyn, a freshman, came in second at 20:38.60.

Dyreng’s first place finish was enough to give Cedar Ridge 31 points. Orange, with its best showing since the Central Conference was formed in 2021, finished second with 50 points.

Dyreng has spent the past week adding on to her legacy at Cedar Ridge. Last Saturday, Dyreng set the school record at the North Carolina Runners Elite Cross Country Invitational at the Ivey Redmon Sports Complex in Kernersville, which also hosts the state championship each November. Dyreng finished at 18:58.57, eighth overall against some of the top runners in the state.

In addition to two conference championships in cross country, Dyreng has also won three conference championships in outdoor track & field (two in the 3,200 meters, one in the 1,600 meters in 2023). She has captured three regional championships in outdoor track and field, winning the 1,600 and 3,200 meters in 2023 at Franklinton High School. Last year, she won the 3,200 meters at UNC Pembroke, along with a runner-up finish in the 1,600. She has qualified for the state championships three times, finished 7th in the 1,600 meters as a sophomore in 2023. Later that day at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro, she came in 8th in the 3,200 meters.

While Orange had three of the top five finishers, Cedar Ridge placed runners 6-through-9 to take the conference title. All four were underclassmen. Sophomore Gracie Whitaker came in sixth (23:01.63) while freshman Ila Diaz earned 7th pace (23:16.78). Elaina Sobus, a freshman, crossed the finish line 8th (23:23.34). Kate Finnegan, a sophomore who plays basketball in the winter and soccer in the spring, came in 9th (23:29.96).

Cedar Ridge senior Anna Peterson finished 11th at 24:08.36.

Jermyn, the younger sister of Orange’s Myles Jermyn, led the best individual finish by a female Orange runner in five years. Of the top five finishers, three were Orange freshman. Finishing behind Jermyn were Ava Bishop, who came in fourth at 21:36.32. Another Panther 9th grader, Kinsey Ross, came in fifth at 22:06.07.

Ava Childress of Walter Williams was the only non-Hillsborough runner in the top five, crossing the finish line in third place at 21:30.85.

Orange senior Caroline Cathey finished 15th (24:40.49). Cedar Ridge senior Serena Summers earned a 23rd place finish (26:56.12). Another Orange underclassman, sophomore Mia Blake, came in 25th at 27:06.67.

Orange and Cedar Ridge each qualified as a team for the Mideast Regionals, which will be held in Louisburg on October 26.

Walter Williams, the defending conference champions, came in third with 65 points. Western Alamance was fourth at 96 points while Southern Alamance was fifth. Person had several individual runners compete, as well.

With the title, Cedar Ridge already has more Central Conference championships this academic year than all of 2023-24. The volleyball team shared the conference title with Orange last week.

Last year, Cedar Ridge’s wrestling team won the school’s only conference regular season title. (The volleyball team won the conference tournament championship)

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is sophomore tennis player Ellie Wilson. Last week at the Central Conference Tennis Championships at the Burlington Tennis Center, Wilson qualified for the Mideast Regionals in singles play. Wilson had to win two matches in order to reach Regionals for the first time in her career. In the opening round, she defeated Jasmin Brown of Cedar Ridge 6-2, 6-3. With a spot in the Regionals on the line, Wilson got past Kensley Gasaway of Western Alamance 6-4, 7-5. This season, Wilson was placed in the starting lineup by head coach Justin Webb and she produced nine singles wins. Overall, Wilson has been a part of 14 victories as Orange finished in second place in the Central Conference. For the first time in school history, it appears that Orange will host a match in the State Dual Team Playoffs later this month. Wilson opened this season with a straight sets victory over Quinn Parker of Eno River Academy. She followed that by beating Alaina Bustillo of Voyager Academy 8-2. Wilson has played doubles with freshman Kalynn Mason and has amassed a 5-1 record. This Friday, Wilson will play in the Mideast Regional singles tournament at the Burlington Tennis Center looking to advance to the semifinals, which would earn her an automatic spot in the 3A State Singles Tournament.

Orange Panther of the Week: Ellie Wilson

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is sophomore tennis player Ellie Wilson. Last week at the Central Conference Tennis Championships at the Burlington Tennis Center, Wilson qualified for the Mideast Regionals in singles play. Wilson had to win two matches in order to reach Regionals for the first time in her career.

Since 2019, Hillsborough has been Volleyball Town in central North Carolina.

Cedar Ridge added to its claim by claiming a share of its fourth Central Conference regular season crown in five years last week. Playing three matches over a span of three days to culminate the regular season, the Red Wolves easily disposed of Walter Williams 3-0 in Burlington to finish with a conference record of 10-2. Junior Claire Hargett finished with her first triple-double of her career, registering 15 kills, 10 aces and 16 digs.

Cedar Ridge will be the #1 seed in this week’s Central Conference Volleyball Tournament and receive a bye to the semifinal round. On Wednesday night, the Red Wolves will face Person. If Cedar Ridge wins, they will host the championship match on Thursday.

Cedar Ridge, which enters the tournament 15-5 overall, started its preparation for the conference tournament a week early. They opened last week with a sweep of Granville Central on Monday. Following the sweep of Williams, the Red Wolves went to Person County and swept Roxboro Community School on scores of 25-17, 25-10 and 25-20.

“I think all games are planned strategically,” said Cedar Ridge head coach Latasha De Oliveira. “It was good for us to have some good touches and have these games ready to go for next week.”

In the regular season finale against Roxboro Community, Hargett finished with 17 kills to finish the season with a team-high 303. She also added 14 digs, finishing second on the team with 299. Only Sydnee Tapper, with 389, had more.

Hargett had double-doubles in 14 matches this year.

“Right now, we’re focused on playing our side of the net no matter who we face,” De Oliveira said. “I want to make sure we’re executing with the ball. I think we’ve been up-and-down with that a little bit. I want to focus on playing our game.”

Against the Bulldogs, Cedar Ridge only trailed once over three sets. They opened with a 6-2 run, triggered by an unassisted kill from Kayla Stoll. Mia Marty, who finished with 33 assists, eight digs and one kill, set up Hargett with two kills in the opening run. Cedar Ridge would stretch its lead to 22-14 following an ace from Tapper, who registered a team-high 19 digs. Junior Emory Williams closed out the set with an ace.

Cedar Ridge pulled out ahead in the second set with four straight points, starting with a kill from senior Charlotte Lowry. Hargett followed with consecutive kills to put the Red Wolves ahead 8-4. Cedar Ridge increased its lead to 13-5 thanks to consecutive aces from Hargett and a kill by Ellamarie Perel. Lowry and Stoll registered blocks in the second set. Cedar Ridge pushed its lead to 23-8 following a kill by Hargett. A kill by Stoll assisted from Marty put the Red Wolves ahead by two sets.

Hargett had six kills in the third set, which was the tightest of the match. Roxboro Community took its only lead of the match by scoring the opening point, which Cedar Ridge erased quickly enough with four consecutive points, including a block from Stoll. A kill from Lowry increased the Red Wolf lead to 14-9. The Bulldogs reduced its deficit to 17-15 before senior Alleah Fredrick scored on a spike assisted by Marty. Cedar Ridge ended the match by scoring the final three points, two of which came from Stoll. Hargett spiked down match point.

Cedar Ridge will look to win its fourth consecutive Central Conference Tournament this week. Last year, the Red Wolves actually entered the postseason as a dark horse after Orange swept the regular season championship. But Cedar Ridge upset the Panthers in four sets in Hillsborough in the tournament championship match.

Cedar Ridge won the 2021 and 2022 Central Conference Tournaments behind Cameron Lloyd, Cameron Lanioer, Julie Aliteri, Grace Young, Melissa Benkowitz and Anaya Carter, all of whom are now playing in college.

It was a game played at Cedar Ridge’s Stadium.

It was played at their pace.

It was played with Cedar Ridge getting the better chances in the final 50 minutes.

Yet it was Orange who came away from the Hillsborough Derby victorious continuing to take giant steps towards unprecedented heights in the 37-year history of the program.

Daniel Toledo’s goal in the 35th minute, assisted by Yurem Tapia Mendez, was the only tally on the night as Orange defeated Cedar Ridge 1-0 at Red Wolves Stadium. Orange improved to 10-4 and remains on pace to tie the school record for most wins in a season.

The 2010 Orange team finished 15-6, losing in the opening round of the 3A State Playoffs to Western Alamance 1-0 in Elon.

Orange junior Demetrius Holmes triggered the game’s only goal with a long dribble past midfield. A quick feed to Mendez on the right side of the penalty area drew Cedar Ridge goalkeeper Erik Galunas off his line. Mendez first thought about shooting but decided to send a diagonal pass to Toledo, who fired the ball into an empty net with 5:28 remaining in the first half.

Orange sophomore goalkeeper Hector Garrido, who had not played organized soccer before this year, earned his fifth clean sheet of the season, but it wasn’t a game where the Panthers dictated play. Following Toledo’s goal, the Red Wolves came away with better scoring opportunities in the second half.

“I think we played the way that Cedar Ridge wanted us to play,” said Orange coach Palmer Bowman. “They got us off our game. We were fortunate to get one. They won a lot of balls out of the air and dictated how the game went tonight.”

Cedar Ridge (5-7-2 overall, 4-4 in the Central Conference) immediately had a chance off a corner kick. A ball sent in bounced off the head of Alex Rosales, hopped off the ground and bounced off the crossbar. Garrido’s momentum nearly took him into his own net as he grabbed the ball for the save.

“Before the game in the locker room, I told the boys to go out and give 100% on every single play,” said Cedar Ridge assistant coach Seth Foster. “Regardless of the outcome, at the end of the day, we’re happy with that. The boys came out at the beginning of the game and set the tone. They controlled the flow. I thought we outplayed them for the majority of the game. We had one simple mistake in the first half. Overall, I was happy with how we played.”

Cedar Ridge’s Salomon Hernandez had a breakaway opportunity five minutes into the second half. Garrido came out of the net to shut down his angle, leaving Hernandez with no choice but to fire from 21 yards, which rolled wide.

With 29:05 remaining, Hernandez would get another chance with a free kick of 23 yards. Hernandez aimed it for the upper left corner, but Garrido used his 6-1 frame to gently tap it over the left post for his best save of the night.

Orange centerback Dallas Johnson disrupted several Cedar Ridge chances throughout the night, denying a run by Cedar Ridge forward Edwin Diaz in the final ten minutes. The Red Wolves best chance in the waning minutes came when Niko James sent a wormburner on net from 18 yards, which bounced off Gurrido’s chest as Rosales ran in. Gurrido smothered the ball before Rosales could get the equalizer.

Orange is 5-2 in Central Conference play. Currently, Orange’s RPI is #9 in the 3A East Region. If the Panthers can maintain that standing for the remainder of the regular season, they will likely host a state playoff game for the first time since the program started in the summer of 1987 under original head coach Pat Todd.

Photo by WNC

by Jon Franklin

HOME WRECKED

It’s been a while since I last posted an article here on HillsboroughSports.com. During my period of abeyance, I was very much busy in PA announcing games at Cedar Ridge, occasionally broadcasting Orange and Cedar Ridge games on the website, and of course, working my job in various public services.

Throughout my time writing various editions of The Franklin Mint and on-air, I’ve often recalled fond memories of past games from my hometown of Marion, McDowell County, and throughout Western North Carolina as they are near and dear to me. 

Yet, two weeks ago as a result of the devastation of Hurricane Helene, the areas I called home are almost unrecognizable. In some parts, they’ve disappeared.

Marion, Old Fort, and McDowell County were a part of a huge swath of territory along with Asheville, Boone, Burnsville, Chimney Rock / Lake Lure, Marshall, Newland, Spruce Pine, Swannanoa, and others were devastated due to the immense flooding. Massive recovery and humanitarian efforts are ongoing, continuing to help those ravaged by this terrible event.

In Marion, homes, roads, land, and businesses located near a body of water were decimated as Buck Creek, the Catawba River, Goose Creek, Lake James, Lake Tahoma, Toms Creek, Peppers Creek, and the Second Broad River all sprawled out of their banks, taking out everything in sight. The northwestern part of Marion located along the Catawba near McDowell High School became impassable, cutting off Marion from the northern part of the county. 

Also affected was Old Fort, which also became inaccessible. Old Fort is the location source of the Catawba and the namesake of the mountain on Interstate 40 that was victim of a large landslide, cutting off Western North Carolina to the rest of the state.

In the wake of the devastation, the Baxter plant in the northern part of McDowell in North Cove – manufacturer of 80% of intravenous bags and fluids used in healthcare and McDowell’s largest employer – abruptly ceased production due to mudslides and the floodwaters entering into their sterile environment. The bridges and access roads on all sides of their immense property were destroyed as a result of the nearby raging Peppers Creek and the Catawba’s north fork. Normally, this plant churns out more than twenty million IV bags each day, ranging from half-liter field bags to the six-gallon bags used in dialysis. Efforts at Baxter’s home base in Illinois are ongoing to ramp up production other Baxter plants so that the world’s healthcare facilities are not impacted.

Many of you know that I previously worked for many years as a corrections officer in our state and federal prisons. Oddly enough, the four state facilities that I worked at in WNC while employed with the NC Department of Correction have all evacuated their inmates and relocated them to facilities unaffected. The timetable of restoring power, sewer, and water services to these institutions are unclear as the infrastructure to these facilities must be rebuilt.

Nothing was more crushing than to witness than the total destruction of the villages of Chimney Rock & Lake Lure in nearby Rutherford County. This serene and tranquil area located thirty minutes from my childhood home, was often a fun place to go to during the summer. On a hot day, nothing beat taking a dip in the ponding cold water at the summit of the Hickory Nut Falls or to just take in the views from the rock itself. The Village Scoop was another favorite of mine to enjoy an ice cream after a day of adventure.

Chimney Rock was featured in the 1992 epic film, The Last of The Mohicans that starred Daniel Day-Lewis and was based off of the 1826 novel of the same name by James Fenimore Cooper. Lake Lure was featured in many of the scenes of the 1987 smash romance drama Dirty Dancing, starring the late Patrick Swayze. But after Helene’s fury, the quaint shops, restaurants, and small businesses that lined NC 9 are now reduced to rubble or relocated to the waters of Lake Lure. 

If you’re wondering, I have been in communication with family and friends. My parents are safe, but have slight damage to their home. My sister had major structural damage to her house, but she and her family are also alive and well. Other family and friends are in similar situations, but are safe. As fate would have it, my brother-in-law is one of the leading insurance agents in McDowell County and had been looking forwards to retirement. But now, he has enough work to keep him and his agency in business for an exceptionally long period of time. While my family was relatively unscathed despite being without power and cell phone service for nearly ten days, others are currently without power and cell service, now more than two weeks removed. Other families weren’t so lucky as their homes and roads were obliterated – and even lost loved ones.

But as Western North Carolina was dealt a dirty hand, the rock-solid resolve of its’ people never wavered and became lifelines to their family, friends, and neighbors.

My home church, Marion’s New Manna Baptist Church, along with other places of worship in McDowell, have stepped up to support their own by transforming their facilities into shelters serving hot meals, receiving and distribution centers for food, water, and supplies, and becoming relief stations for first responders and linemen. Other relief agencies such as Baptists on Mission, Hearts with Hands, and Samaritan’s Purse are supplementing their efforts by ensuring their work is not in vain or depleted of resources. 

Such supplementation came from our nearby area. Lee’s 24-Hour Towing of Durham, has utilized their fleet of trucks to haul trailers of food, water, and supplies all over the mountains. Fredrickson Aviation based out of Timberlake, has airlifted supplies to inaccessible areas of WNC using the Burlington-Alamance Regional Airport as their hub of operation. 

But come Hell or High Water, the work must continue to help our families, friends, and neighbors in Western North Carolina.

If you have supported any these causes by donating blood, food, water, supplies, finances, or even your time to help load a vehicle with supplies, I can speak for the thousands of Mountaineers to say thank you for supporting some of the finest people you’ll ever meet. If the roles were reversed from our area, they would be the first to help us in our time of need. Please continue these efforts as they have a long road ahead of them.