It’s a new conference for Orange and Cedar Ridge’s cross country teams this year, but they’ve successfully kept the conference championships in Hillsborough.
Except this time, the roles were reversed.
After Orange won the men’s championship in all four years of the Central Conference and the state title last year, Cedar Ridge pulled an upset to narrowly finish ahead of its crosstown rival in the Big 7 Cross Country championships at Forest Hills Park in Durham last Wednesday.
Led by senior John Ngunjiri, the Red Wolves finished with 50 points to earn the conference title. Red Wolf senior Michael O’Melia keyed the Red Wolves by finishing 17th, which was the margin of victory.
Orange had the top three runners, led by junior Grant Schmid, who won the individual conference championship for the first time. Schmid clocked in at 16:54.80, narrowly beating out his teammate Myles Jermyn, the 2024 Central Conference champion. Jermyn finished at 16:55.40. Orange’s Lucas Van Mater finished in a dead heat with Jermyn for third place.
Schmid is the younger brother of Gabriel Schmid, who won the individual state championship for Orange in 2022 and 2023. Schmid, who is currently on a Mormon mission, is slated to start competing with the N.C. State cross country team next year. Gabriel Schmid won the Central Conference championship twice.
The top three teams were separated by only four points. Carrboro finished a tight third with 54.
In the women’s race, Orange won the team championship, its first conference title since 2015, at least, and likely much longer. Sophomore Reilly Jermyn captured her first individual conference championship, leading a pack of 48 runners. Jermyn won decisively with a time of 19:26.70, a good 55 seconds ahead of runner-up Madison Putnam of Seaforth, who finished at 20:21.80.
In another tight race, the Orange women won the team championship with 51 points, beating Carrboro by one point. Cedar Ridge, which won the conference and regional championships last year, finished third at 63 points, while Seaforth had 64.
Six of Orange’s seven runners are freshman or sophomores. None of them are seniors.
Cedar Ridge captured the men’s championship with five runners finishing among the top 17 spots. Ngunjiri finished fourth at 17:05.70. Senior Ryan Matthews came in sixth at 17:14.20.
The Red Wolves lineup was decorated with experienced runners who have improved dramatically from their freshman years. Ngunjiri’s first race as a freshman ended with a time of 25:18. His personal best for the season is 16:46. Matthews ran a 21:41 in his freshman year. His personal best this season is 17:06.
Cedar Ridge junior Landon Tillet finished 11th at 17:47.40. Henry Alexander came in 12th at 17:51.20, which proved to be impactful in the Red Wolves winning the conference title. Callum Hinson of Cedar Ridge finished 25th at 19:36.10, Senior Alexander Paterno finished 31st (20:42.40).
Orange freshman Jack Crandell came in 19th at 18:38.80. Panther senior Nolan Hufner clocked in 27th at 19:56.90. Another Orange freshman, Cameron Rios, finished 35th (21:29.30).
In the women’s race, Orange sophomore Ava Bishop had a crucial sixth place finish at 20:47.30. Another Panther freshman, Amatha Reddy, finished 9th at 21:13.50. Sophomore Kinsey Ross clocked in 13th at 21:57.50. Junior Mia Blake crossed the finish line 22nd (23:04.20).
Cedar Ridge sophomore Ila Diaz, who is the captain of the team, was the top Red Wolf runner at 7th place with a time of 20:53.90. The Red Wolves Isabella Taylor-Hall, who was a member of last year’s regional championship team along with Diaz, came in 8th at 21:06.20. Junior Kate Finnegan, a three-sport athlete who plays basketball at soccer, finished 11th at 21:39.20. Red Wolves junior Gracie Whitaker came in 18th (22:26.00) while Cedar Ridge’s Ayla Henry came in 19th (22:31.90).
The 5A Central Regional championships are slated for the Ivey Redmond Sports Complex in Kernersville this Saturday, the location that’s the annual course for the state championships.
