Cedar Ridge Men’s Lacrosse

The Cedar Ridge lacrosse team is one step closer to moving on to the 3A/2A/1A State Playoffs. On Thursday night, the Red Wolves defeated Western Alamance 18-12 at Red Wolves Stadium. It was another big night for senior attacker Roman Oguntoyinbo, who scored six goals and six assists. Oguntoyinbo now has 45 goals this season and 70 points overall. Junior Billly Power, who transferred to Cedar Ridge in November, also notched six goals as the Red Wolves improved to 10-4 overall, 7-4 in the Mid-Carolina Conference. The Red Wolves are tied for third place in the loss column with Walter Williams after the win over the Warriors. Power has scored 32 goals this season for Cedar Ridge. Senior Alex Castro also had a hat trick and assisted on two goals as the Red Wolves jumped out to a 7-0 lead, keeping the Warriors scoreless for the opening 17:32 of the game. Senior James Clayton had two goals and five assists. Cedar Ridge returns home to face Walter Williams on Tuesday night. With a win, the Red Wolves will clinch third place in the Mid-Carolina Conference, which will help Cedar Ridge reach the 3A/2A/1A State Playoffs. Also in this interview, Cedar Ridge players discuss why they play jazz during pregame warmups and postgame, in lieu of the standard AC/DC/Guns n’ Roses rotation. 

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is senior lacrosse attacker Roman Oguntoyinbo. In 7th grade at Stanback Middle School, Oguntoyinbo was the team manager on the lacrosse team. Now, he’s been the leading scorer for the Cedar Ridge lacrosse team for the past two years. Last week, Oguntoyinbo scored six goals as the Red Wolves defeated Southern Alamance 16-6 at Red Wolves Stadium. The following night, the Red Wolves defeated Western Alamance 8-6 in Elon. Oguntoyinbo had a hat trick. On Friday night, the Red Wolves completed a 3-0 week with a 7-5 win over Williams. Oguntoyinbo finished with two goals and an assist. Oguntoyinbo was the leading scorer for Cedar Ridge last season with 58 points, including 26 goals. Beside Oguntoyinbo, Cedar Ridge reached the 3A/2A/1A State Playoffs. Now, Oguntoyinbo’s younger brother, Leo, is goalkeeper for Cedar Ridge under first-year head coach Cole Churchill. Oguntoyinbo is a senior co-Captain of the Red Wolves, who are currently ranked #5 in 3A/2A/1A by MaxPreps. Cedar Ridge will return to action against Northwood next Tuesday at Red Wolves Stadium.

The Cedar Ridge men’s lacrosse team isn’t far away from being undefeated in one of the best conferences in the state.

After a tight loss to crosstown rival Orange, the Red Wolves have responded with three consecutive wins. After beating Eastern Alamance 10-4 at Red Wolves Stadium last Thursday, Cedar Ridge stepped out of Mid-Carolina Conference play to handle Southern Alamance 16-6 in Hillsborough on Monday. Senior Captain Roman Oguntoyinbo scored six goals for the Red Wolves and finished with eight points. Oguntoyinbo scored the opening two goals of the first quarter, the second assisted by junior midfielder Billy Power.

Power finished with a hat trick for the Red Wolves and came away with seven points. Senior Logan Ekholm’s only goal put the Red Wolves ahead 3-1 at the end of the first quarter.

Leo Oguntoyinbo started as the Red Wolves goalkeeper. He finished with five saves. Josh Taylor replaced Leo Oguntoyinbo in the second half and had three saves.

Alex Castro scored two goals for Cedar Ridge. Harrison Neal, Mason Lynde, Holden Neal and Eric Thole also notched goals. Jacob Driver assisted on two goals.

On Tuesday night, Cedar Ridge had a hard fought 8-6 win over Western Alamance at Davis Morton Field in Elon. Power led the Red Wolves with four goals and one assist. Roman Oguntoyinbo had three goals and three assists as Cedar Ridge improved to 3-2 in the Mid-Carolina Conference. Mason Lynde added a goal.

Leo Oguntoyinbo played the second half for the Red Wolves and came up with some huge saves. He earned the win with nine saves. Taylor started in net. Jimmy Orozco had five ground balls for Cedar Ridge, while Kadin Brown and Eric Thole were credited with four ground balls each.

Cedar Ridge will play its final game before spring break at Williams in Burlington on Friday night.

Men’s Tennis: Carrboro 6, Cedar Ridge 3

In a tight match between two of the top teams in the area, the Jaguars outlasted the Red Wolves courtesy of wins in the final four singles matches. Cedar Ridge’s Josh Mayhew remained undefeated on the season with a three-set victory over Jonathan Baddour. Mayhew captured the match 6-2, 4-6, 10-3. Mayhew is now 8-0.

At #2 singles, senior Eli Rachlin won over Wesley Hanes 6-4, 6-1. Rachlin is 6-1 on the year.

Cedar Ridge’s only doubles win came from the #1 team of Mayhew and Seth Upchurch, who defeated Baddour and Jonas Miyagawa 8-5. The Red Wolves were supposed to face Williams in a critical Central Carolina Conference match last Wednesday, but it was rained out. On Thursday, the Red Wolves will host Northwood in Hillsborough.

Orange 8, Roxboro Community School 1

The Orange men’s tennis team completed a season-sweep of Roxboro Community School with a 8-1 win at Panther Tennis Courts last Thursday. Freshman Porter Pelphrey was named the Orange Panther of the Match after winning at #2 singles 8-1. Senior Justin Conover won twice on the day for the Panthers. He prevailed at #1 singles 8-1. Then at #1 doubles, Conover teamed with Pelphrey to win 8-0.

Orange swept all six singles matches. At #3, Joseph Clark won 8-4. At #4, junior Nathan Pavalonis prevailed 8-2. Tristan Plummer won at #5 8-2. Junior Brendan Kassler completed the sweep with a 8-3 victory.

At #3 doubles, sophomore Jackson Panning and freshman Ryan Jouannet team to emerge victorious 9-7.

Orange 5, Western Alamance 4: Orange won its first Central Carolina Conference tournament match of the season with a victory over the Warriors on Tuesday in Hillsborough. Orange’s doubles team of Clark and Pavalonis had the decisive victory at #2 doubles, winning 8-2.

Orange won four of the six singles matches. Justin Conover prevailed at #1 singles 6-1, 6-2. Clark won at #3 singles 6-2, 6-0. Pavalonis also was victorious at #4 singles 6-2, 6-0. Plummer captured his match at #5 singles 6-2, 6-4.

Orange will face Williams in Burlington on Friday.

For the second year in.a row, the COVID-19 pandemic will keep the Bull City All-Star Game from being played at Koskinen Stadium at Duke University.

But that doesn’t mean players from around the state can’t be honored.

Over the weekend, two 32-player rosters were released by representatives from the Bull City All-Star Game. Comprised of 64 seniors, players from Wilmington to Weddington were included on the men’s roster.

There were also four players from Hillsborough included after a season where Orange and Cedar Ridge finished in the top two spots in Conference 9.

After being named an All-American last month, Orange long stick defenseman Duncan Grant was included on the Blue Team. Joining Grant on the Blue squad was his Orange teammate Cy Horner. Also on the Blue team was Cedar Ridge defenseman Dov Bearman.

On the White team was Orange’s leading scorer, Ryan Merrill.

In April, Grant was named an All-American by USA Lacrosse. He became the first Orange player to ever be named an All-American.

“It is a testament to the type of game changing player he was for us,” said Orange Lacrosse Coach Chandler Zirkle. “Having a guy who could not only guard the other team’s best player but who could also score 2-3 points a game.”

Grant led Orange with 38 takeaways, nearly three-times more than any other player on the team. He also had 68 ground balls, which was second behind sophomore Jake Wimsatt, Orange’s top face-off man. Grant’s inclusion on the Bull City All-Star team continues a spring that has been filled with postseason honors. He was the Conference 9 Player of the Year and was named to the 3A/2A/1A All-Region team by the North Carolina Lacrosse Coaches Association. Grant will graduate next week and plans to attend N.C. State.

Grant was a key defensive player on the most successful lacrosse team in Orange history, even though the Panthers relied on a goalkeeper-by-committee approach the entire season. Orange captured the Conference 9 Championship and advanced to the 3A/2A/1A State Quarterfinals for the first time ever. They defeated Terry Sanford and Northwood in the state playoffs before falling to eventual Eastern Regional Champion East Chapel Hill.

Cedar Ridge’s Dov Bearman was the Conference 9 Defensive Player of the Year. He led the Red Wolves in ground balls and takeaways. Cedar Ridge finished 5-4. In its five wins, the Red Wolves held each of its opponents to three goals or less. With the help of Bearman and goalkeeper Aiden Kehoe, Cedar Ridge had three shutouts in 2021, including a 14-0 win at Northern Durham at Durham County Stadium on March 1. Bearman will attend UNC-Chapel Hill in August.

Merrill was Orange’s leading scorer with 40 goals and 61 points. He opened the season with six goals in an 18-15 win over Walter Williams. Three weeks later, he scored six goals against Cedar Ridge in a 10-6 Panther win at Auman Stadium. Merrill was the most reliable Orange scorer right up until the very end of his career, when he scored four goals in the playoff loss to East Chapel Hill.

Horner finished the season with seven goals and 15 assists. In the victory over Cedar Ridge, Horner had a season-high four takeaways. He registered two goals in wins over Carrboro and Northern Durham during early March.

Players for the Bull City All-Star Game are nominated by coaches from across the state.

The Bull City All-Star Game is an annual doubleheader featuring the top men’s and women’s lacrosse seniors in North Carolina. It has been held at Koskinen Stadium since its inception in 2017. The game is also a fundraiser for the Duke Cancer Institute and the Tony Cullen Memorial Scholarship.

Tony Cullen was a former player at Duke who went on to coach the Blue Devils for nine years. Cullen was part of the inaugural class of the North Carolina Lacrosse Hall of Fame. After he resigned as Duke’s coach, he went into officiating. He served as the head official for ten ACC Tournaments and five NCAA Division I title games.

The Bull City All-Star Game plans to return with a doubleheader at Koskinen Stadium on June 4, 2022.

The postseason honors continue to pour in for Orange and Cedar Ridge men’s lacrosse teams after a season where both teams made the state playoffs.

On Tuesday, the North Carolina Lacrosse Coaches Association named its 3A/2A/1A All-Region team. Orange longstick midfielder Duncan Grant and senior attacker Ryan Merrill each made the first-team. For Cedar Ridge, junior attacker Roman Oguntoyinbo and defenseman Dov Bearmann also made first-team.

Last month, Merrill and Oguntoyinbo were named co-Conference 9 Players of the Year. Bearmann was honored as co-Conference 9 Defensive Player of the Year, while Grant was named Conference 9 Player of the Year.

In addition, Orange sophomore Jake Wimsatt and freshman midfielder Connor Kruse were named second team All-Region.

Oguntoyinbo was the leading scorer for Cedar Ridge this season with 26 goals and 32 assists. He had five hat tricks, including a six-goal game in a 13-3 win over Vance Charter School in Hillsborough on March 9. He started the year with four goals and three assists against Walter Williams on January 29 in Burlington. Against Orange on February 24, he factored in on all six of the Red Wolves’ goals, scoring three and assisting on the other three.

Oguntoyinbo also led the team with 44 shots on goal and was second with 34 ground balls.

Bearmann provided steady defense for a Cedar Ridge team that held opponents under five goals in all of its wins this season. Bearmann led the Red Wolves with 46 ground balls and six takeaways. He was also occasionally utilized in the face-off circle by head coach Patrick Kavanaugh.

Cedar Ridge made the 3A/2A/1A State Playoffs for the first time since 2018.

Merrill led Orange with 40 goals and 21 assists. He had eight hat tricks, including two 6-goal games. The first was against Walter Williams on February 4, the other against Cedar Ridge.

Merrill’s junior season was limited to six games because of the pandemic. Overall, he ended his Orange career with 56 career goals and 90 points.

Grant was a steady all-around presence for the Panthers on both ends of the field. He registered 18 goals and 23 points in his senior season. He was second on the team with 68 ground balls and led the squad with 38 takeaways.

Under Coach Chandler Zirkle, Orange had the most successful season in team history. They romped through Conference 9, winning its first league championship with a 4-0 record. In the 3A/2A/1A State Playoffs, the Panthers defeated Terry Sanford 17-1 in the opening round. It was the first playoff win for Orange in any sport since May 2019, when the Orange softball team defeated Jacksonville.

Against the Bulldogs, Merrill scored four goals. Grant had six ground balls and four takeaways.

That led to a second round game against Northwood, who throttled Orange 17-6 just nine days prior in Pittsboro Merrill scored three goals and two assists against the Chargers, including the Panthers’ first two markers.

Grant had eight ground balls against the Chargers.

The Panthers reached the State Quarterfinals for the first time in school history, where they face East Chapel Hill. It turned out to be the final game at Orange for Grant and Merrill. Grant had a season-high four points. Merrill scored four goals and three assists against the Wildcats, who defeated the Panthers 15-12 en route to the Eastern Regional Championship.

Just as Merrill and Grant represented Orange’s senior leadership, Wimsatt and Kruse provided a glimpse into the future. Wimsatt was the Panthers’ face-off ace. He won 73% of his draws and led the Panthers with 120 ground balls. Wimsatt also scored five goals in the playoffs and won 20 of 26 face-offs in the East Chapel Hill postseason meeting.

Kruse, who played at Stanford Middle School in 2020, scored the game-winning goal in the playoff win over Northwood. In his first varsity season, Kruse had 24 goals and 17 assists. That included four hat tricks, starting against East Chapel Hill in a 19-14 loss during the regular season on February 10. Kruse also had hat tricks against Northern Durham and Carrboro.

Players from Orange, Cedar Ridge, East Chapel Hill and Chapel Hill comprised 11 of the 14 spots on the first team All-Region. East Chapel Hill’s Sam Reece, Nick Castro, and Alec Levy made the first-team. Chapel Hill was represented by defenseman Carter Grubbs, Zack Riepl, and face-off specialist Damien Kerner. Northwood goalkeeper Hunter Klingel, Topsail’s Brayden Velasquez and First Flight’s Nick Gardill rounded out the first team.

After the Cedar Ridge men’s lacrosse team made its return to the 3A/2A/1A State Playoffs for the first time since 2018, three Red Wolves shared Conference 9 Player of the Year awards.

In addition, six Red Wolves were named to the All-Conference 9 first-team.

Cedar Ridge’s leading scorer, Roman Oguntoyinbo, was named the co-Conference 9 Offensive Player of the Year. Senior Aiden Kehoe was named the co-Conference 9 Goalkeeper of the Year, while senior long stick midfielder Dov Bearmann was honored as co-Conference 9 Defensive Player of the Year.

Oguntoyinbo, Kehoe and Bearmann were named All-Conference 9. Joining them on the first team was Cedar Ridge junior defenseman Kellan Hepditch, senior midfielder Matt Miller, and sophomore defenseman Gavin Vukmer.

“I am thrilled with the recognition of all of them,” said Cedar Ridge lacrosse Coach Patrick Kavanaugh. “It was a tough year to get through, but they showed persistence and we ended up having a decent year despite the obstacles to practices and not having the numbers we normally have.”

Oguntoyinbo, a junior attacker, had a career-high 26 goals and 32 assists. His 58 points led the Red Wolves. Oguntoyinbo’s tallied ten points in a game twice, both against Vance Charter School. On February 22 in Hillsborough, Oguntoyinbo scored four goals and dished out six assists in a 16-1 win. In Henderson, Oguntoyinbo fired a season-high 12 shots on goal. He scored six goals against the Knights, and tallied four assists as the Red Wolves won 13-3 to sew up second place in the Big 8.

Oguntoyinbo had five hat tricks. In Cedar Ridge’s only game against Orange on February 24, he factored in on every goal. Oguntoyinbo had three goals and three assists. He added three goals and six assists in a 14-0 win over Roxboro Community School in Roxboro on March 4.

Kehoe shared co-Conference 9 Goalkeeper of the Year with Kole Walker of Roxboro Community. He made a season-high 16 saves against Chapel Hill on March 11 at Culton-Peerman Stadium. Even though Chapel Hill held the ball most of the first quarter, they didn’t score largely because of Kehoe’s work in the net.

Kehoe earned four shutout wins in 2021, including three straight against Northern Durham, Roxboro Community and Vance County (he played 24 minutes in each of those games, sharing time with Joshua Taylor in net).

“I remember the first practice of the season where Coach (Kavanaugh) said if we could get ten games in, that would be good,” Kehoe said after the Chapel Hill game. “In general, I think we can be pretty happy with how many games we played. I wish we could have played Orange at our place, but that didn’t happen. But I’m happy with how many played.”

Kehoe has played lacrosse since fourth grade, when he started with the Durham Blues of the Rival Lacrosse League. “That’s where I learned I was the quarterback,” Kehoe said. “I talk a lot. I’m loud. I try to talk my defense through everything.”

Bearmann shared the co-Defensive Player of the Year honor with Jake Wimsatt of Orange. Bearmann led the Red Wolves with 46 ground balls and six takeaways. Bearmann had a season-high eight ground balls and two takeaways against Vance Charter on February 22. Against Roxboro Community on March 4, he finished with seven ground balls.

Hepditch wound up with five takeaways, second on the team. He also wound up with 16 ground balls, including six against Vance Charter on March 9 in Hillsborough.

Miller completed the season with 13 goals and four assists. He had two hat tricks, starting in the season-opener against Walter Williams on January 29 in Burlington. In Cedar Ridge’s first win of the season against Northern Durham on March 1, Miller added three more goals. He had a pair of four-point games, against Vance Charter School on March 9 and against East Chapel Hill in the opening round of the state playoffs on March 15.

In nine games, Vukmer had 19 ground balls. Possibly his best game came against Chapel Hill, where he scooped up five ground balls as the Red Wolves held the Tigers to three goals in the first half.

Backup goalkeeper Josh Taylor and midfielder James Clayton were named honorable mention All-Conference.

Cedar Ridge finished 5-4 overall this season, 2nd in Conference 9 with a 3-1 mark. Its was their best finish in conference play since 2017, when they captured the 3A/2A/1A Eastern Regional Championship and faced Weddington for the state title at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary.

Jaden Hurdle: The former Orange High first baseman had a big weekend as Patrick Henry Community College swept Cleveland Community College in a doubleheader on Sunday. Collectively, Hurdle went 6-for-7 with two doubles, a home run and four RBIs as the Patriots swept the doubleheader 5-3 and 23-3 in Shelby. In the opening game, Hurdle went 2-for-3 with two RBIs, and a run scored after a home run. According to records from the National Junior College Athletic Association, it was Hurdle’s second home run this season. In the second game, Hurdle went 4-for-4 with two double. She scored twice with two RBIs. Hurdle closed the second game as pitcher. She threw two-and-two thirds innings. She surrendered three hits, one run and one walk with two strikeouts.

Mia Davidson: #5 Florida swept the Mississippi State softball team over the weekend at Nusz Park in Starkville, MS. In Friday’s 1-0 loss to the Gators, Davidson hit a double.

Montana Davidson: Montana started all three games against Florida at third base. The Bulldogs are 15-11 overall, 0-6 in the Southeastern Conference.

Tori Dalehite: Dalehite scored in the opening game of the UNC Greensboro softball team’s doubleheader against Elon on Friday. In the Spartans’ 11-3 win over the Phoenix, Dalehite replaced Kayleigh Willis as a pinch runner. Dalehite scored off a wild pitch in the 4th inning to increase the Spartans lead to 6-1. UNCG split the Friday doubleheader, but swept Elon in another doubleheader on Saturday. UNCG is 13-6.

Kaylen Campbell: A member of Orange’s 2016-17 Big 8 Women’s Basketball Conference Championship team, forward Kaylen Campbell was honored on Senior Night for the Division III Trinity College over the weekend. Campbell’s senior year was canceled because of the pandemic, but the Bantams played two exhibition games against Connecticut College on Saturday and Sunday. Campbell was named a Captain for this year’s team. Last year, Campbell played in 20 games for the Bantams and averaged 2.6 points and 2.1 rebounds. She is majoring in music at Trinity and is the co-founder of Trinity’s Athletes of Color Coalition. At Orange, Campbell was the Captain of a team that won a school-record 21 consecutive games to open the season, swept the Big 8 regular season and postseason tournaments and reached the third round of the 3A state playoffs.

Bryse Wilson: Wilson had a strong spring training start for the Atlanta Braves on Saturday. He allowed one run over 4 and two-thirds innings as the Braves defeated Boston 8-2. Wilson is 2-0 this spring. He surrendered five hits and three walks with three strikeouts. In the first at-bat of the game, Wilson had a comebacker go off his calf, but remained in the game until the fifth inning.

Landon Riley: The Liberty Flames closer didn’t get a save this weekend. He got his first win instead. On Saturday, Riley threw the ninth inning in Liberty’s 3-2 win over VCU. He entered with the game tied 2-2 and threw another shutout inning. He surrendered two walks and struck out one batter. The Flames got the win in the bottom of the ninth when Aaron Anderson hit a walkoff double to left field. Liberty has won eleven in a row, including a two-game sweep of UCF and two midweek wins over North Carolina.

Joey Berini: #9 East Carolina fell to UNC Wilmington 10-2 at Brooks Field in Wilmington last Wednesday. Joey Berini entered the game in the eighth inning as a pinch hitter and grounded out to third base. East Carolina rebounded to sweep a weekend series against Illinois State. Berini has played in three games this season for the Pirates.

Phil Berger: The former Cedar Ridge pitcher started the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader against Brevard College. Brevard swept the doubleheader, taking the nightcap 9-7. Berger earned a no-decision. He completed four innings and surrendered four hits, two runs and one walk. Berger struck out six. Through six games, Berger is 2-1 with a 2.14 ERA for the Pacers. He has ten walks and 16 strikeouts.

Dylan Boyer: The Lenoir-Rhyne men’s lacrosse team, ranked #5 in Division II, defeated # 12 Queen’s University 15-7 on Saturday night at Dickson Field in Charlotte. Former Orange High midfielder Dylan Boyer actually helped the Royals build a 3-1 lead. He scored two goals, including an unassisted marker in the first quarter. Boyer added a man-up goal in the fourth quarter. It was his first goals at the college level. Queen’s is 3-3 overall, 3-1 in the South Atlantic Conference.

Jaylin Jones: The Division III Pfeiffer men’s lacrosse team defeated William Peace 21-9 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Raleigh on Wednesday night. Jones scooped up a ground ball for the Falcons. On Sunday, Pfeiffer defeated Methodist 18-8 at Lefko Field in Misenheimer. Jones also played for the Falcons and had another ground ball.

Luke Hernandez: Hernandez, a member of Cedar Ridge’s 2017 Eastern Regional Championship team, entered the game as a defenseman for the Falcons in the victory over Peace. Hernandez has played in two games this season. Pfeiffer is 5-1, and sits atop the USA South Athletic Conference at 3-0.

Adam Chnupa: The Elon Phoenix football team fell to William & Mary 31-10 at Zable Stadium in Williamsburg, VA on Saturday. Chnupa, the former All-Conference selection in football at Cedar Ridge, got some snaps on offense for the Phoenix.