A pair of Orange seniors finished their careers among the top three runners at the 5A State Men’s Cross Country Championships.
In his final cross country run for the Panthers, Myles Jermyn finished runner-up in a field of 145 competitors at the State Championship at the Ivey Redmond Sports Complex in Kernersville last Saturday. It was the best finish at the state championships of his career.
Michael Ferguson of North Buncombe won the 5A State Championship at 15:18.31 Jermyn’s time of 15:24.65 was an improvement of nearly 30 seconds from the year before, when he finished sixth.
After winning the 3A State Championship last year, Orange finished 2nd in the 5A State Championships. Oak Grove High School out of Midway in Davidson County finished with 60 points. Orange came in with 98 points.
Oak Grove also finished ahead of Orange in the Central Regionals on October 25 in Kernersville. Cedar Ridge edged Orange by one point for the Big 7 Conference Men’s Team Championship.
The Orange senior class of Jermyn and Lucas Van Mater helped Orange win Mideast Regional championships in 2023 and 2024, three conference championships and the 2024 3A State Championship. It was Orange’s first state championship ever in men’s cross country.
For the second year in a row, Jermyn and Van Mater each made the All-State team, awarded to the top ten finishers. Van Mater finished 3rd with a time of 15:33.60, his best time ever at the Redmond Sports Complex. Last year during Orange’s state championship run, Van Mater finished at 16:04.59. He shaved 31 seconds off his time from last year.
For the first time, Cedar Ridge senior John Ngunjiri achieved All-State honours. Ngunjiri finished tenth at 16:11.12, which was over 71 seconds better than his time from last year. Last year, Ngunjiri came in at 17:2289.
Cedar Ridge finished fifth in the state with 133 points. The Red Wolves, the Big 7 Conference Champions, registered 133 points behind three runners who finished in the top 35.
Orange junior Grant Schmid, the younger brother of Gabriel Schmid, became the third Panther to earn All-State honors. Schmid finished ninth at 15:58.58. It was an improvement of 54 seconds from 2024 at the state championships. Last year in Kernersville, Schmid came in at 16:53.36.
Following Schmid, the next Orange finisher was freshman Jack Crandell, who crossed the finish line 42nd at 17:22.12. Senior Dallas Johnson, who is a midfielder for Orange men’s soccer team that won the Big 7 Championship four days before the meet at Seaforth, came in 53rd at 17:35.19. Another Orange senior, Nolan Hufner, came in 90th at 18:25.69. Panther freshman Cameron Rios came in 137th at 20:25.01.
Cedar Ridge’s Henry Alexander narrowly missed reaching the All-State game. The senior clocked in at 16:21.60, ten seconds behind his teammate Ngunjiri. Alexander, who finished 53rd at the state championships last year, improved his time by over a minute last year. Red Wolf junior Landon Tillet came in 33rd (17:09.30). In his final run for Cedar Ridge cross county, Ryan Matthews came in 40th (17:21.22). Another Red Wolf senior, Michael O’Melia, came in 46th (17:24.83). Callum Hinson came in 104 (18:49.13). Cedar Ridge senior Alexander Paterno finished 124th (19:32.38).
It was a dramatic rise for Oak Grove High School, which finished ninth in the 3A State Championships in 2024. Last year, the Grizzlies finished 202 points behind Orange for the state championship. Luke Vannoy was the highest finisher for Oak Grove, coming in fifth place. The Grizzlies had four of the top 12 finishers which helped them finish first among 18 teams.
Hunter Creech finished seventh for Oak Grove (15:54.75), joining Vannoy on the All-State team. Oak Grove’s Bryson Vann came in eleventh (16:16.55). Aiden Edwards finished 12th for Oak Grove (16:19.78).
Eric Gillis of Jesse Carson finished 4th. Cameron Bitts of Havelock also made the All-State team with a sixth place finish.
