The nominations are out for the HighSchooolOT.com Honors for 2022, operated by Capitol Broadcasting, and Cedar Ridge has two finalists.
In the category of Boys Tennis Player of the Year, Cedar Ridge junior Josh Mayhew is one of five nominees. Also nominated are Carrboro’s Aidan Chung, Greensboro Grimsley’s Carl Gedlitchka, Greensboro Day’s Carter McWhorter and Carmel Christian’s Gabe Avram.
For the award of Female Coach of the Year (regardless of sport), Cedar Ridge volleyball coach Fiona Cunningham is one of the five nominees. Joining Cunningham on the finalists list are Alston Godbold, the head coach of the Green Level Volleyball team; Deb Clarke of the Fuquay-Varina volleyball team; Kerri Snipes, the women’s basketball coach at Northwood; and Julie van Olden of the Marvin Ridge women’s tennis team.
Voters are allowed to go to HighSchoolOT.com and vote once per day until May 15. The finalists will be honored during an awards ceremony at the Duke Energy for Performing Arts Center on June 18 in Raleigh.
The High SchoolOT.Com honors are statewide and not limited to one geographic region.
Last May, Mayhew became the first Cedar Ridge men’s tennis player to reach the finals of the 3A State Tennis Singles Tournament. This season, Mayhew helped Cedar Ridge win its conference conference championship in men’s tennis. On Wednesday, the Red Wolves will face Carrboro in the opening round of the 3A State Dual Team Tennis Tournament.
As Cedar Ridge’s #1 singles player, Mayhew was named the Central Carolina Conference Player of the Year. He qualified for the Mideast Regionals, which will start this Friday at the Burlington Tennis Center. If Mayhew advances to the semifinals, he will qualify for the 3A State Championships for the second straight year.
This season, Mayhew went 12-0 as a singles player as the Red Wolves went 9-1 in the Central Carolina Conference. He faced players from Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Northwood en route to an undefeated regular season.
In her second season at Cedar Ridge, Cunningham led the Red Wolves to the 3A State Championship in volleyball last November. It was the first state championship by a women’s team in school history. The only other female team to ever win a state championship in Hillsborough was the 2017 Orange High softball team.
Cunnigham’s first season as Cedar Ridge head coach (in 2020-2021) was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but she hit the ground running. In her second game as a head coach on November 19, 2020, the Red Wolves swept Chapel Hill 3-0 at Smith Middle School. The Tigers were a year removed from winning the 3A Eastern Regional Championship. Cunningham played at Chapel Hill High and served as an assistant coach under current Tigers head coach Ross Fields before starting her head coaching career with the Red Wolves, replacing Anna Seethaler.
In two seasons as a head coach, Cunningham is 23-0 against conference opponents. She has won two conference regular season championships, the 2021 Central Carolina Conference Tournament championship, and the 2021 3A Eastern Regional championship. Last November, the Red Wolves defeated North Iredell 3-1 at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh for the 3A State Championship.
Playing in possibly the toughest 3A conference in the state, Cunningham played a non-conference schedule that was every bit as rigorous. On August 20, 2021, the first Friday night of the academic year, the Red Wolves made it clear this would be a special season when they defeated D.H. Conley, the defending 3A State Champions, 3-0 in Greenville. Cedar Ridge also played Conley in Hillsborough, as well as Chapel Hill, Green Hope, Carrboro and Pinecrest. The Red Wolves faced Northwood, Person and Orange in conference play, all of whom were ranked in the #10 of the 3A East Region.
Cunningham, who formerly played at UNC Asheville, managed to accomplish winning the state championship while expecting her first child. Tony Collichio arrived just in time to see his mother’s favorite basketball team, the UNC Tar Heels, make the most surprising run to the NCAA Championship game in school history.