Cedar Ridge Wrestling

Later this month, Cedar Ridge graduate Fernando Martinez will start his college wrestling career at Division II UNC Pembroke. It’s something of a surprise for Martinez, who didn’t envision his wrestling career extending beyond Cedar Ridge. For that matter, Martinez didn’t see his wrestling career going beyond 8th grade at Stanback Middle School. Fortunately for him and Cedar Ridge wrestling coach Scott Metcalf, Martinez proved to be a quick learner at Cedar Ridge. He finished his career with 143 wins, the most decorated 3A wrestler in school history. Last February, he advanced to the 113-pound 3A State Championship match, where he faced Jacob Kresicki of First Flight. There are only two wrestlers in school history with more wins than Martinez, which is all the more impressive since he was limited to just 24 matches in his sophomore year due to COVID-19. If he had a full season, there’s a chance he could have broken the school record for wins, held by Chandler Collins with 166 victories. During his senior year, Martinez was a part of a Cedar Ridge team that won the Central Carolina Conference Tournament championship at Orange High School. Martinez is one of only four wrestlers in school history to reach a state final. He was also the third member of HIllsboroughsports.com’s Four-Timers Club, winning Cedar Ridge Athlete of the Week four times in four years, along with Takiya Nichols and Cameron Lloyd.

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is sophomore wrestler Ryan Rakouskas. Last month, Rakouskas qualified for the 3A State Wrestling Championships for the first time in his career. Rakouskas finished third at 145-pounds in the 3A Mideast Regionals at Cedar Ridge High School. This season, Rakouskas went 36-20. He ended the season wrestling inside the Greensboro Coliseum. In the Mideast Regionals, Rakouskas pinned Jose Ortiz of Westover in 4:54 to earn a spot in the state championships. Rakouskas took the third place match over Eastern Guilford’s Nasir Grant via injury forfeit. Rakouskas pinned Joseph Vrabcak of Union Pines in the opening round of regionals in 3:32. In the consolation rounds, Rakouskas defeated Daniel Edmonds of Fayetteville 71st in 1:48. In the consolation quarterfinals, Rakouskas pinned John Mewborn of Harnett Central in 35 seconds. Rakouskas’ older sister, Marlee, was a conference champion volleyball player for Cedar Ridge who is now in Florida at the University of Miami. Rakouskas is also a practitioner of ju-jitsu, which runs counter to his wrestling training. This spring, Rakouskas is playing lacrosse for the first time in his career after a successful wrestling season. 

There was hope for a storybook finish in the final wrestling matches in the careers of Cedar Ridge’s Fernando Martinez and Orange’s Acoya Isley.

Each of them accomplished something in their own right when they reached their respective finals of the 3A State Wrestling championships at the Greensboro Coliseum last week. Martinez, who won the 113-pound Mideast Regional Championship in 2022, became the first wrestler for Cedar Ridge to ever reach a final in a 3A event.

Isley, at 195-pounds, is the first Orange wrestler to reach a state final since 2019. It’s only his second full year as a varsity starter.

Unfortunately, Martinez and Isley ran into quicker, stronger foes that denied them their dream finishes.

In the 113-pound final, Jacob Kresicki of First Flight defeated Martinez 8-3. Martinez was going for his second win against a regional champion in as many days. In the semifinals, Martinez defeated Israel Guerra of South Johnston, who won the Mideast Regional championship on February 11 at Cedar Ridge.

Dylan Smith of Fred T. Foard defeated Isley 10-4 in the 195-pounds championship. Smith, a senior, finished an undefeated season at 49-0.

Kresicki, a senior won finished 38-3, scored the opening takedown against Martinez just 24 seconds into the match with a single-leg. Martinez got an escape later in the period. Kresicki tossed Martinez off a collar-and-elbow tie-up to take a 4-1 lead at the end of the first period.

It remained 4-1 after two frames. Martinez had an escape point conceded by Kresicki to start the third period to make it 4-2. Kresicki shot in for a takedown, and after Martinez went for the back, Kresicki gets out and got the takedown with 1:31 remaining. Kresicki added another double-leg takedown late in the match.

Martinez ends his career as the most decorated 3A wrestler ever for Cedar Ridge. He finished with 143 career wins, 3rd in school history. The only wrestlers ahead of Martinez on the all-time wins list, Chandler Collins and Josh Collins, competed when Cedar Ridge was a 2A school. Martinez also became just the fourth Cedar Ridge wrestler to reach a state final.

Martinez was limited to 24 matches in his sophomore year because of COVID-19 restrictions. If he had a full season in 2021, he may have broken the all-time school record for career wins held by Collins, who had 166 from 2003-2007.

In the 195-pound title match, Smith double-legged Isley at the top of the circle just 25 seconds in. After a restart, Isley escaped to make it 2-1. Smith did most of his work in the second period as he started from the bottom. Isley tried to take him down but Smith escaped and got the reversal with three near fall points. Isley got a reversal. but Smith escaped to go ahead 8-3. Smith was fresher down the stretch as he prevented Isley from getting a takedown.

Smith is a member of the Fred T. Foard team that has won the Dual Team State Championships in 2022 and 2023.

Isley, known as “‘Bama,” ends the year 34-3. Last season, Isley qualified for the state championships at 195 pounds but didn’t place. He finishes his career with an overall record of 57-11 and helped Orange to back-to-back Central Carolina Conference championships.

Orange junior Jared Hutchins completed a successful season with a 5th place finish at 132-pounds. Hutchins reached the semifinals before he lost to Jackson Baglio of Central Cabarrus in 1:12. In the consolation round, Kevin Orien of West Rowan defeated Hutchins in 4:34. In the fifth place match, Hutchins defeated Barnett Klutzy of Wilson Fike 9-2. Hutchins led 5-2 after he scored the opening takedown with 38 seconds remaining in the first period, followed by two near fall points. Hutchins racked up three more near fall points in the second period. Hutchins ends the season 28-7.

Cedar Ridge’s Kaden Tatro finished sixth at 182-pounds. Tatro had a rematch against Pisgah’s Landon Pope, who he faced off with in the opening round. After Tatro won the first match 4-2, Pope took the battle in the consolation semifinals 5-2. In the fifth place match, Tatro had another rematch against Trevor Schweitzer of First Flight. Schweitzer, who lost to Tatro 6-2 in the quarterfinals, won the final match 2-0 off of two near fall points in the second period.

Tatro ends the season 54-8. He led the team in victories this season and has over 100 for his career.

Forget premature farewells and victories denied.

Cedar Ridge’s Fernando Martinez and Orange’s Acoya Isley are making their final days as high school wrestlers ones to remember.

Martinez and Isley have each reached their respective finals at the 3A State Wrestling Championships at the Greensboro Coliseum.

Martinez, competing in the 113-pound tournament, entered as the #4 seed from the Mideast Region. On Friday night, he defeated South Johnston’s Israel Guerra 6-4 in the semifinals. Guerra was the Mideast Regional Champion who captured the title at Cedar Ridge High School last Saturday.

Martinez, who is 46-11 on the season, bolted out to a 6-2 lead and held on as Guerra scored a reversal in the final 30 seconds. Martinez got called for a stall warning late, but time expired before Guerra could send the match to overtime.

Martinez, who is 3rd in school history with 142 career wins, becomes the first Cedar Ridge wrestler to ever reach the final of a 3A State Championship match. He is the first Cedar Ridge grappler to reach a championship final since 2006 when Chandler Collins finished 2nd in the 2A State Championships at 140 pounds. Randy Greenough also came in second at heavyweight in 2006 for Cedar Ridge.

The only Cedar Ridge wrestler to ever win a state championship was Josh Collins, who captured the 2A/1A 189-pound championship in 2005.

Martinez started Friday with a dominant performance over North Davidson’s Levi White in the quarterfinals. Martinez bull rushed White, scored an immediate takedown and hooked him into a pinning combination to score the fall at 1:07. Martinez, who finished fifth in the state at 113 pounds in 2022, opened the tournament on Thursday with an 8-4 decision over Kane Bryson of Pisgah, the Western Regional champion. Bryson fell to 44-3 after the loss.

Martinez will face Jacob Kresicki of First Flight for the 113-pound state championship. At the very least, Martinez will become just the third Cedar Ridge wrestler in history to finish as a state runner-up.

Isley became the first Orange wrestler to reach a state championship final since Levi Anderson in 2019. Facing Dudley’s Tayshaun Glover in the semifinals, Isley shook off conceding an early takedown to win 10-4. In the midst of the first period, Glover had to be checked out by his coaches, which required a trash can to be placed on the mat. As Glover got instructions, Isley pounded his chest with his right hand, then proceeded to take the lead with a takedown. In the final period, Isley clung to a 5-4 lead after Glover scored a reversal. Isley used his strength to backslide Glover’s shoulders down for a near fall in the final seconds. Glover, the Midwestern Regional Champion, suffered only his second loss of the season against 52 wins.

Isley started the day with a dominant win over Justin Bullock of Fike. Isley scored his second pin of the tournament in 3:34. He was ahead 5-1 at the time of the pin. On Thursday, Isley reached the quarterfinals after he pinned Eddie Solo of Asheboro in 2:34.

It’s the first time that Isley has ever placed in a state tournament.

Cedar Ridge’s Kaden Tatro fell in the semifinals at 182-pounds. North Iredell’s Brixon Burgess defeated Tatro 9-1 to advance to the final. Earlier in the day, Tatro defeated Trevor Schweitzer, the Eastern Regional Champion out of First Flight, 6-4. Tatro conceded a late escape but held on to win, his 54th victory of the year. Tatro, who surpassed 100 career wins earlier this year, will take on either Landon Pope of Pisgah or Braxton Berger of West Rowan in the consolation semifinals.

In the opening round, Tatro defeated Pope 4-2.

Orange’s Jared Hutchins reached the semifinals at 132 pounds. Hutchins went into attack mode against West Brunswick’s Luke Connick, the Eastern Regional Champion, and scored a pin in just 1:25. Central Cabarrus’ Jackson Baglio defeated Hutchins in the semifinals. Hutchins, who is 27-6, will face either Cristian Rothrock of Douglas Byrd or Kevin Obrien of West Rowan in the consolation semifinals. Rothrock held on to defat Hutchins 10-8 last week in the 132-pound Mideast Regional Final.

Orange’s Braden Crawford remains in contention to place at 126 pounds. Crawford had one of the most thrilling matches of the day in his consolation opener. Against Pisgah’s Matthew Mehaffey, Crawford trailed 5-0 at the end of two periods. He roared back to even it up with ten seconds remaining in regulation with three near fall points, then got the match-clinching takedown 13 seconds into overtime.

Crawford’s next victory wasn’t nearly as dramatic. He defeated Skylar Oxford of West Carteret 20-7. Crawford will face Cain Solis of Montgomery Central in the consolation quarterfinal on Saturday morning.

Cedar Ridge’s James Este-Wittinger (195), Jalen Williams (126) and Ryan Rakouskas (145) all competed in the state championships for the first time on Thursday.

Orange’s Ben Musser ended his season in the consolation round on Friday.

The career of one of the most successful Cedar Ridge wrestlers ever to put on a singlet will wind to a close this weekend at the 3A State Championships. Fernando Martinez started when he was a freshman under head coach Scott Metcalf in 2019. Since then, he has won the 113-pound Mideast Regional Championship in 2022. He has won 140 matches in his career, good enough for third all-time in school history. Only Chandler Collins (Class of 2007 with 166 wins) and Josh Collins (Class of 2005 with 151 wins) are ahead of Martinez. He has also qualified for the state championships twice. On Thursday, in the opening round of the 3A State Championships at the Greensboro Coliseum, Martinez defeated Kane Bryson of Pisgah, the 113-pound Western Regional Champion 8-4. Martinez also won the Central Carolina Conference championship at 113-pounds last month. He defeated Person’s Christian Lemaire in the championship match. Martinez has a goal of placing in this weekend’s tournament in Greensboro. He will attempt to reach the semifinals on Friday morning. In the second round, Martinez will face Levi White of North Davidson. This season, Martinez is 44-11.

Earlier this winter, Cedar Ridge junior Zoey Moreno became the first female Red Wolves wrestler to win a tournament.

While she didn’t quite reach the North Carolina High School Athletic Association’s Women’s Invitational Tournament last weekend, she didn’t leave empty handed.

Moreno won her bracket at the Women’s Wrestling Showcase, held at the RISE Sports Complex in Bermuda Run, last Friday. Competing at 120 pounds, Moreno was the only competitor from Hillsborough in the event.

Moreno defeated Anella Fabriziani of Willow Spring 7-4 in the opening match. It took Moreno 1:04 to score the opening takedown. Fabriziani came back with a reversal and two back points to take a 4-3 lead at the end of the first period. Moreno notched four points in the final period to earn the win.

In the second match, Moreno defeated Amyna Denton of Hayesville via pinfall in 49 seconds. In the finale, Moreno pinned Annaleigh Tinoco of North Henderson in 44 seconds.

On January 26, Moreno competed against eleven other wrestlers in the 120-pound division of the Mideast Regional at Jack Britt High School in Fayetteville. Moreno defeated Jenna Phelps of Triton via pinfall in 1:09 of the opening round. Joce Carter of Hoke County, who went on to finish runner-up in the tournament, defeated Moreno in the 2nd round.

In the consolation round, Moreno pinned Ariana Anampa of Green Hope in 2:53. Jack Britt’s Samantha Dedeaux defeated Moreno in the consolation semifinals, which determined who would advance to the state tournament.

Moreno concludes her season with a 12-5 record.

In December, Moreno won the Green Hope Girls Grapple in Cary. Moreno defeated Ana Lytle of Wakefield for first place via pinfall in 33 seconds to win the championship.

Indoor Track: 

The Orange Indoor Track & Field team will have five competitors in the 3A/2A/1A NCHSAA Indoor Track and Field State Championships at the JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem on Friday.

Junior Aedan Sampey cleared 11-feet, 6-inches in the pole vault during the Eastern Alamance Polar Bear at Fred Brady Stadium in Mebane on January 31. The minimum qualifying standard is 10-feet. Previously, Sampey qualified for the state championships when he cleared 11-feet at the Eastern Alamance Polar Bear #2 on January 10.

Orange senior Issac Seymour will be going to the State Championships in the high jump. On December 10 at Dave Thaden Stadium, Seymour cleared 5-feet, 10-inches to finish in second place at the East Chapel Hill Polar Bear #2 meet. The minimum high jump standard is 5-feet, 8-inches. At the Eastern Alamance on January 10, Seymour won the high jump with another top leap of 5’8′, two inches better than Bron Rogers of Walter Williams.

Last week in the final regular season meet of the indoor season, Seymour again cleared 5’8″. He finished third. Brayden Garrett of J.F. Webb came in first with a leap of 5’10”.

Seymour also won the East Chapel Hill Polar Bear #4 meet on January 21. He cleared 5’10” for a new personal best.

The Orange men’s 4×400 meter relay team qualified for the State Championships at the East Chapel Hill Polar Bear on January 21. They won a meet, comprised of seven team, with a time of 3:42.16, beating the Wakefield squad by .23-of-a-second.

Also on January 31, Orange junior Katheryn Scully qualified for the high jump. She won the event with a leap of 5-feet. The qualifying standard for high jump in the state championships is 4’10”.

At the East Chapel Hill Polar Bear on January 21, Orange’s Grace Pell had a jump of 4’10”, earning her a spot in Winston-Salem. Pell qualified for regionals for the Orange women’s cross country team last November.

Orange junior Gabriel Schmid, who won the 3A State Cross Country Championship last fall, qualified for the state championships in the 3,200 meters during the first meet of the season on November 19 at the New Balance Dash for Doobie 3,200 in Pfafftown.

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is senior wrestler Fernando Martinez. In turn, Martinez becomes a member of a select club: he wins the Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week for the fourth time. Thus, he becomes a member of the Four-Timers Club, only the third-ever member of the club. He joins Cedar Ridge softball third baseman Takia Nichols and volleyball outside hitter Cameron Lloyd. Last week, Martinez won the 113-pound title at the Central Carolina Conference championships at Orange High School. Martinez’s victory helped Cedar Ridge to win the Central Carolina Conference tournament championship. Martinez also won the Silver Fox Invitational at Riverside High School in Durham at 113-pounds on January 14. Martinez is third all-time in school history with 139 career victories. This season, he has a record of 41-9. Martinez is the defending 113-pound champion of the Mideast Regional. Next week, Martinez will attempt to qualify for the 3A State Championships for the second time in his career. In the CCC Tournament championship match last Saturday, Martinez defeated Person’s Christian Lemaire. Earlier this year, Lemaire defeated Martinez twice during the regular season. Martinez will graduate in June as one of the most decorated wrestlers in Cedar Ridge history.

Only a sophomore, Cedar Ridge wrestler Pierce Prescod won a conference championship over the weekend. At the Central Carolina Conference championships at Orange High, Prescod pinned Taveon Moss of Person in 1:08 to take the 120-pound championship. In the semifinals, Prescod pinned Logan Church of Walter Williams. This season, Prescod is 42-9 with 29 pins. On January 14, Prescod took the 120-pound championship at the Silver Fox Invitational at Riverside High School. Prescod has 2nd on Cedar Ridge this season in victories. His performance helped Cedar Ridge win the Central Carolina Conference Tournament last weekend at Orange High. It was the first team championship for Cedar Ridge in wrestling as a 3A team. Prescod and the rest of the Red Wolves will return to action at the 3A Mideast Regionals, which will be hosted by Cedar Ridge High School starting February 10. Prescod, Kaden and Fernando Martinez all won conference championships for the Red Wolves last weekend.

A day of redemption and rematches led to the greatest success as a 3A team for the Cedar Ridge wrestling team.

Inside the home of its crosstown rival that’s won title after title for decades, the Red Wolves captured its own championship on Saturday. Behind individual titles from senior Fernando Martinez, junior Kaden Tatro and sophomore Pierce Prescod, Cedar Ridge won the Central Carolina Conference Tournament championship at Orange High School. The Red Wolves finished with 185.5 points. Person came in second with 177 points

Orange, the regular season champions of the CCC, was hampered by the absence of six starters, including Acoya Isley, Dillon Heffernan and Hugo Vazquez. The Panthers finished fourth with 138 points.

Cedar Ridge coach Scott Metcalf, a graduate of Orange High School, led the Red Wolves to its second tournament championship in as many weeks. The previous Saturday, Cedar Ridge won the Silver Fox Invitational at Riverside High in Durham.

“It’s pretty awesome,” Metcalf said after the Red Wolves were awarded the team trophy. “We lost to Orange and Person in the regular season so coming back and winning here in the end means a lot. It’s special for our guys to finish strong like this.”

It was an extra special day for Martinez, who won the 113-pound championship. Martinez defeated the top-seed, Person’s Christian Lemaire, 13-2 in the title match. It was the third match this season between Martinez and Lemaire. In the Red Wolf Invitational on November 19 at Cedar Ridge, Lemaire defeated Martinez 7-5 in the championship match at 120 pounds. Three days later in a dual match between Person and Cedar Ridge, Lemaire defeated Martinez 9-0.

It was a blow to Martinez’s confidence after he won the 113-pound Mideast Regional championship last February.

“Honestly, I was expecting to get beat down a bit,” Martinez said. “I didn’t have much faith in myself in the beginning.”

Before his championship rematch against Lemaire, Martinez talked with an old coach who was in the stands that filled him with confidence.

“I knew I could perform way better than what I did originally,” Martinez said. “So I just blew it out of the water today. He told me I knew about my own abilities. I should embrace that. I am good, it just took me forever to acknowledge the fact that I am good.”

Martinez scored a takedown off a fireman’s carry just 31 seconds into the match. Lemaire could only muster an escape point in the opening period. Martinez avoided a single-leg takedown and put all his weight forward to start the second period to earn back points off a near fall and went ahead 4-1. He notched another takedown to take a 6-1 lead.

Martinez is 40-9 on the season.

Tatro rolled to his third individual championship this season at 182 pounds. Facing Ethan Kuball of Northwood in the championship, Tatro won 8-3 to improve to 49-4 on the year. In the semifinals, Tatro pinned Jordan McDowell of Walter Williams in 2:14.

In the championship match, Tatro immediately notched a takedown, then grabbed Kuball’s left leg and got two points for a near fall. In the second period, Tatro started from the bottom and immediately gained a sweep with 1:22 remaining. Tatro led 6-0 going into the third period.

Cedar Ridge’s Pierce Prescod claimed his second individual title after winning the 120-pound championship. Taking on Person’s Taveon Moss, Prescod got a trip takedown 39 seconds into the match. Prescod got Moss onto his back and wrapped up the pin at 1:07 for his 42nd win of the season.

On a day filled with rematches, Orange’s Elijah Acosta continue his rivalry with Northwood’s Jake Dunning in the 220-pound championship match. Facing each other for the sixth time in the last two years, Acosta avenged a loss from January 4th with a 3-0 victory. Acosta, who is 24-5 on the season, scored the opening point on a escape 45 seconds into the second period. Late in the frame. Acosta shot in and bullied Dunning down for a late takedown to increase his lead to 3-0.

Dunning spent the third period futilely trying to break Acosta’s grip for an escape point.

On January 4, Dunning defeated Acosta 5-1 in a dual match, also at Orange Gymnasium.

At 152 pounds, Orange’s Sam Crawford defeated Western Alamance’s Mason Hogsed 7-5 in what may have been the most dramatic championship final of the day. Crawford charged out to a 5-1 lead after he gained Hogsed’s back for the opening takedown with 1:05 remaining in the first period. Crawford escaped from the bottom to go ahead 3-0 in the second period. Hogsed got an immediate sweep from the bottom to reduce the deficit to 5-3. Crawford escaped, but Hogsed got a single-leg takedown. After Crawford scurried free to go up 7-5, Hogsed charged and nearly had a takedown as the match ended. Hogsed appealed to the referee for a takedown after the final buzzer sounded, but no points were awarded and Crawford got his hand raised to improve to 31-9.

Orange junior Jared Hutchins won the 132 pound championship. Hutchins pinned Coltrane Northington of Northwood in 1:12. It took Hutchins only five seconds to get the opening takedown. Northington nearly got a headlock for a reversal, but Hutchins used his strength to get Northington on his back and score the pin at 1:11.

At 126 pounds, Orange sophomore Braden Crawford defeated Walter Williams Zy’Aire Priester for the title. Crawford led 5-2 at the end of the first period. Priester was a penalized a point after he grabbed Crawford’s trunks. Priester gained Crawford’s back and got both of his legs in midway through the period, but Crawford scored a sweep and earned the pin at 2:55.

Cedar Ridge had four other grapplers finish in second place. At 145 pounds, sophomore Ryan Rakouskas pinned Orange’s Aiden Cain in 42 seconds to reach the final. Northwood’s Ronald Walker claimed the championship with a pin at 2:18 of the championship match.

At 160 pounds, Cedar Ridge sophomore Edwin Huerta defeated Northwood’s Elijah Farrow 7-5 in the semifinals. Easton McCain of Person won the championship via pinfall in 4:00.

Cedar Ridge junior James Este Wittinger pinned Walter Williams Cameron Pettigrew in 3:00 of the 195-pound semifinals. Victor Rodriguez of Person won the 195-pound title.

At heavyweight, Cedar Ridge’s Conner Womble reached the championship match after he pinned Orange’s Jacob Carter in 1:31.

Orange’s Ben Musser finished 2nd at 138 pounds. Person’s Rodney Lyons claimed the 138-pound title via a 5-3 decision.

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is sophomore wrestler Pierce Prescod. This season, Prescod is 38-9 with 29 pins. On Saturday, he secured his first individual championship at Riverside High School at 120-pounds. Prescod pined Thomas Crowley of Riverside in 2:51 of the championship match. In November, Prescod finished third in the Red Wolf Invitational. As a sixth grader, Prescod was ready to quit wrestling after just his third day of practice. His coach managed to talk his way back into returning and Prescod has turned out better for it. Currently, he’s second on the Cedar Ridge team this season in victories. Prescod has competed in some of the biggest tournaments in the state over the past six weeks, including the Holy Angels Invitational in Asheboro earlier this month. He also competed in the WRAL Invitational in Knightdale on December 16 and 17, where he competed at 126-pounds. Prescod will join his fellow Red Wolves in the Central Carolina Conference Tournament this Saturday at Orange High School.