At the start of her senior year in 2024, Cedar Ridge cross country runner Naomi Dyreng didn’t have individual goals.
Instead, she said she wanted to spread her love of cross country and spread it to more people that would benefit the team for the future.
Dyreng graduated in June, but her goal has continued to pay off for her old school.
On Saturday, the Cedar Ridge women’s cross country team won its second consecutive regional championship. At the 5A Central Regional championship inside the Ivey Redmond Sports Complex in Kernersvile, the Red Wolves narrowly finished ahead of crosstown rival Orange with 54 points to take the crown. Orange came away with 57 points.
It continued a tug of war between the two Hillsborough conference rivals for local championships. Last week, Orange narrowly held off Cedar Ridge to win the Big 7 Conference championship at Forest Hills Park in Durham by one point.
Cedar Ridge had six of the top 18 finishers, four of whom were sophomores. Leading the way for the Red Wolves was sophomore Isabella Taylor-Hall, who came in fifth overall at 20:00.87. While it was on another course in Louisburg, Taylor-Hall shaved 1 minute and 57 seconds off her regional time from last year, when she finished eleventh overall.
Another sophomore, Ila Diaz, finished right behind Taylor-Hall in sixth place at 20:18.50, which continued the wave of Red Wolf runners that would cross the finish line and lead them to a championship. Diaz cut off 2 minutes and 15 seconds from her regional time from 2024. Last year at regionals, Diaz finished 15th overall with a time of 22:34.25.
Junior Kate Finnegan, a three-sport athlete whose younger brother runs for Cedar Ridge’s men’s team, came in 13th (20:57.34). Finnegan was the leading scorer on the Cedar Ridge women’s soccer team last spring. Another Cedar Ridge junior, Gracie Whitaker, finished 14th at 20:58.69. Last year, Whitaker came in 27th at 23:01.38, so she improved her time by over two minutes.
Red Wolf sophomore Ayla Henry came in 16th at 21:20.79. Elaine Sobus, yet another Cedar Ridge sophomore, came in 18th at 21:53.69.
The top three squads in the team standings were from the Big 7 Conference. Seaforth finished third at 81 points, led by Chloe Freeman, who finished a runner-up behind Orange’s Reilly Jermyn for the individual championship.
Cedar Ridge’s Ann Williams finished 36th (23:09.06). The Red Wolves will look for the state championship this Saturday at the Ivey Redmond Sports Complex in Kernersville, the same course that hosted the Central Regionals.
After they won the Big 7 Conference championship in an upset last week, the Cedar Ridge men’s team finished third in regionals. The Red Wolves, led by senior John Ngunjiri Jr., registered 71 points. Oak Grove High out of Winston-Salem claimed the regional championship while Orange finished 2nd.
Ngunjiri came in seventh overall with a time of 16:26.71. Ngunjiri improved on his regional time from last year by 45 seconds. Another Red Wolf senior, Henry Alexander, finished 7th at 16:28.65. Cedar Ridge senior Ryan Matthews came in 14th overall at 17:05.44 as the Red Wolves placed three runners in the top 20 in a field of 95 competitors.
Cedar Ridge’s Michael O’Melia came in 31st at 17:58.41. Reece Finnegan, Kate’s youngest brother who is also a starter on the Red Wolves men’s soccer team, finished 42nd (18:32.74). Junior Callum Hinson came in 46th (18:48.92).
Seaforth, which finished fourth in the Big 7 Championships last week, came in 5th in the team standings with 167 points.
Last year, the Orange men’s team became the first squad from a higher classification to win a cross country team state championship. Neither Cedar Ridge or Orange women’s teams have won a state championship in cross country. The state championships will take place on Saturday in Kernersville.
