Five years ago, the very thought of the Sate Dual Team Playoffs without Orange wrestling was sort of like having the Grammys without Taylor Swift.
The Panthers won 16 consecutive conference championships from 2005-2020, ending when Chapel Hill stunned the Panthers to win the 2021 Big 8 Championship a month before the COVID-19 pandemic started.
Orange reached the 3A Eastern Regional championship match in 2023, falling to Union Pines 37-24 in Hillsborough. With the ascendance of Cedar Ridge as Hillsborough’s top wrestling program, Orange missed the state dual playoffs in 2024 and 2025.
On its senior night on Wednesday, Orange ensured a return to the state playoffs with a 42-39 win over Seaforth inside Panther Gymnasium in Hillsborough. The Panthers finish the conference campaign 5-1, finishing only behind Cedar Ridge in the Big 7 Conference.
With Orange leading 36-33 going into the 215 pound bout, senior Jose Torres Bautista won the final home match of his career, pinning Jackson Knoll to secure the Panther win.
It’s just the second conference loss for Seaforth since the 2022-2023 season. The other came in December 3 when Cedar Ridge defeated the Hawks 54-24 inside Red Wolves Gymnasium.
Seaforth came into this season having won three consecutive Mid-Carolina Conference championships. Up until the loss to Cedar Ridge, the Hawks had won 36 consecutive matches against conference opponents.
The match contained five lead changes. After Seaforth’s Gerson Gutierrez opened the night with a forfeit win at 106 pounds, Orange scored consecutive pins. Sophomore Brady McAdams defeated Benjamin Miller. In his final home match, Orange’s Logan Scarantino defeated Hudson Brown at 120 pounds to put Orange ahead 12-6.
Seaforth’s Luke Ayers pinned Mason Horne at 126 pounds to square it up at 12-12.
Orange sophomore Renn Van Hoose, who is now 29-10 on the season, pinned Ian Winger. With Orange leading 18-12, the Hawks earned the only decision win of the night when Miles Johns edged Austin Sixtos 5-4 at 138 pounds. Seaforth’s Gabe Rogers put the Hawks back in the lead with a pin over Orange’s Grayson Dovenbarger.
Kolton Swinehart, an Orange sophomore, scored his tenth pin of the season against Jacob Winger at 150 pounds to give Orange a 24-21 lead. Seaforth’s Nolan Greiner pinned Antimo Artrip at 157 pounds.
Orange sophomore Markus Thomas, who won the 157 pound Eagle Invitational championship in December, put Orange ahead for good with a pin over Mattox Lloyd. Orange’s Conner Harward pinned Walter Radvansky to give the Panthers a 36-27 lead.
The opening round of the North Carolina High School 5A State Dual Team Playoffs is set for January 31.
