Cedar Ridge High School

Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week: Naomi Dyreng

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is sophomore runner Naomi Dyreng. Last fall, Dyreng won the individual championship of the Central Conference women’s cross country meet at Lake Cammack Cross Country Course in Burlington. It was a Cedar Ridge finish in the top two. Abigail Klaitman finished second. Dyreng would go on to finish third in the Mideast Regional. For the second year in a row, Dyreng qualified for the 3A State Championships, where she finished 17th. This winter, Dyreng qualified for the 3A State Indoor Track & Field Championships. She finished 7th in the 1,600 meters in the 3A State Championships at the JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem. Dyreng qualified for the state championships when she finished with a time of 5:32.95 in the 1,600 meters at the East Chapel Hill Polar Bear at Dave Thaden Stadium on January 27. Last fall, Dyreng helped the Cedar Ridge women finish 2nd in the Central Conference championship meet. Now, she’s gearing up for the outdoor track and field season, which will begin next week. Last year, Dyreng won three Mideast Regional Championships at Franklinton High School. She won the 1,600 and 3,200 meters championships, as well as a relay championship. She ran in the state championships at North Carolina A&T University inside Truist Field in Greensboro. 

Ware scores 17 as Cedar Ridge women win in Central Conference Tournament; George leads Orange women over Williams

For all the the things that Amiyah Ware has accomplished for the Cedar Ridge women’s basketball team the past two years, the only thing missing was winning a tournament game.

Until Monday night.

In her final game inside Red Wolves Gymnasium, Ware scored 17 points as Cedar Ridge committed only four turnovers to defeat Southern Alamance 35-28 in the opening round of the Central Conference Tournament. The Red Wolves advance to face Eastern Alamance at Person High School in the semifinals on Wednesday night at 6PM.

It is the first postseason tournament win for the Red Wolves women’s basketball team since February 21, 2017, when they defeated Cleveland in the opening round of the 3A State Playoffs in Clayton.

Cedar Ridge trailed 16-15 at halftime, but the Red Wolves held the Patriots to three points in the third quarter. The sequence that changed the game came when Red Wolf freshman center Kate Finnegan blocked a shot off a drive from Madison Brouillard, which was captured by Hailey McCloud. In a rare transition attempt against the Patriots, Ware threw a diagonal pass to Jamee Watson, who scored off a lay-in as she was hacked on the arm by Morgan Edmunds to even the game at 19-19.

Ware grabbed a rebound following a Patriots miss and was fouled by Sarah Kathryn Maness, which led to two Red Wolf free throws to put Cedar Ridge ahead 21-19 with 1:20 remaining in the third quarter.

Cedar Ridge point guard Sarah Utley opened the fourth quarter with a three-pointer off a drop off from Ware. Following a three-pointer from Brouillard, Watson grabbed an offensive rebound and fed Ware for a lay-in. Ware scored six points in the fourth quarter.

Finnegan and Hailey McCloud kept the Patriots from scoring in the paint. Southern Alamance’s Sunny Yarnell, the team’s leading scorer, was limited to just two points with no field goals.

Finnegan finished with seven rebounds, three blocks and three steals.

It was the final game at home for Ware, Cameron Copeland, Cierra Copeland and Jordyan Delph.

Orange 62, Walter Williams 39: Just in time for the postseason, the Orange women’s team played its best half of the season against Walter Williams.

After getting blown out by 59-39 by the Bulldogs in Burlington on January 31, the Lady Panthers led wire-to-wire in an 62-39 victory in Hillsborough on Monday night. The Panthers advance to the Central Conference Tournament semifinals, where they will face top-seeded Western Alamance at Person High School on Tuesday night (tonight) at 6 PM.

Junior Evelyn George finished with 22 points and seven rebounds, while Shannon Murphy added ten points with eight rebounds.

In the first half, Orange (13-11) shot a torrid 15-of-18 of the field. Of the Lady Panthers 15 field goals in the first half, 13 were assisted.

Williams (15-10) Reagan Averett paced the Bulldogs with 13 points, but Williams shot just 26% from the field. Orange out rebounded the Bulldogs 43-34, with 17 offensive rebounds. Orange built its lead to as big as 27 points.

Orange point guard Maura McMurtry finished with nine assists.

It seemed destined to be a long night for Williams during pregame warmups when they were assessed a technical foul for leaving players out of their scorebook. Instead of a jump ball, the game started with George making two technical free throws and it didn’t get any better for the Bulldogs from there.

Murphy drained a short jumper off a pass from Marshea Byrd, who finished with ten points, four rebounds and three assists. George scored consecutive field goals, each one assisted by Byrd, and then Byrd scored off a pass from McMurtry to build a 10-3 lead, leading to a Williams timeout.

After Adkins cored a three-pointer with 3:21 remaining in the first quarter, Orange led 16-5. The lead stayed at double-digits for the remainder of the game after George added another shot from downtown.

 

Central Conference men’s, women’s basketball tournaments open tonight

For the first time since the formation of the Central Conference in 2022, there will be a neutral site for the league tournament’s semifinals and championship games.

Well, at least in theory.

The conference semifinals will be held on Tuesday and Wednesday night at Person High School, The men’s and women’s championship games will also be in Roxboro on Friday night, starting with the women’s game at 6PM.

The last two years, the tournament championship games were held at Northwood High School in Pittsboro, which won the men’s and women’s tournament titles each of the first two years of the league. The event is being held in Roxboro based on proximity with Southern Alamance being added to the Central Conference this year after Northwood moved back down to 2A.

In the men’s tournament, Orange is the regular season champion and will receive a bye into the semifinals. The Panthers will face either Walter Williams or Person in the semifinals on Tuesday night at 7:30 in Roxboro. The Rockets and the Bulldogs will play in Burlington tonight.

In the bottom half of the bracket, second-seeded Eastern Alamance hosts Cedar Ridge at Tal Jobe Gymnasium in Mebane. The third-seed, Southern Alamance, hosts Western Alamance in Graham. The winners will meet on Wednesday night at 7:30 in Roxboro.

Two of the three first-round meetings will be rematches from Friday night, the final night of the regular season. Williams upset Person 63-62 in Burlington, which put the Bulldogs in the top half of the league. In Graham, Western Alamance upset Southern Alamance 46-42 in Graham. The Warriors beat the Patriots on its senior night.

In the women’s bracket, Western Alamance has earned a bye after winning the regular season title. They will await the winner of Orange vs. Walter Williams, who will meet in Hillsborough tonight. Western Alamance will play on Tuesday night at 6PM in Roxboro against either Orange or Williams.

Eastern Alamance will host Person at Tal Jobs Gymnasium in Mebane. Also tonight at 6:30, 3rd-seeded Cedar Ridge will host Southern Alamance. The winners of EA/Person & Cedar Ridge/SAHS will meet on Wednesday night at Person at 6PM.

Cedar Ridge’s women’s game will almost certainly be the final home game for senior Amiyah Ware, Cameron Copeland, Cierra Copeland, Addie Reid and Jordyan Delph. The Red Wolves defeated Walter Williams 53-38 last Tuesday on Senior Night to sew up a spot in the top half of the conference.

Cedar Ridge will tip off at 6:30 tonight at Red Wolves Gymnasium.

Orange split the season-series with Williams, beating the Bulldogs in Hillsborough. They lost to Williams in Burlington.

Cedar Ridge also split the season series with Southern Alamance. The Red Wolves won against the Patriots in Hillsborough.

Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week: Sophia Stinnett

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is junior swimmer Sophia Stinnett. Last week at the 3A State Swimming Championships, Stinnett finished third in the state in the 100 yard backstroke. It was her first medal in the State Championships. At the Greensboro Aquatic Center on February 3rd, Stinnett won two Central Regional championships. She claimed the gold medal in the 500 yard freestyle and the 100 yard backstroke. It was the third time that Stinnett qualified for the state championships. Stinnett first reached the state championships as a freshman. In her sophomore season, she finished 6th in the 500 yard freestyle at the state championships. She finished 11th in the state in the 200 yard freestyle. This season, Stinnett won an individual Central Conference championship for the third time in her career. Stinnett captured the 500 yard freestyle with a time of 5:31.96. In 2022 and 2023, Stinnett won the conference title in the 200 yard freestyle. Stinnett was also part of the relay team for Cedar Ridge that won the 400 yard freestyle conference championship. Stinnett, Quinn McCrimmon, Hala Zafar and Sierra Godfrey captured the championship at 1:47.82. High school swimming season is over for Stinnett, but her club season continues this month and into the spring. This is the third time that Stinnett has earned Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week.

Cedar Ridge’s Hayden Kirk discusses commitment to Averett University

Hayden Kirk is a three-sport athlete at Cedar Ridge. In November, he officially signed to play football and lacrosse at Averett University, a Division III college in Danville, VA. In his sophomore season, Kirk’s defense helped the Red Wolves win a state playoff game over Western Alamance inside Red Wolves Stadium. He has also been a regular for the Cedar Ridge men’s basketball team for the past four years and was honored during Senior Night festivities against Walter Willimas on Tuesday night. He has also volunteered at the Orange County Sheriff’s Office for the past four years. When Hayden signed his letter of intent at Cedar Ridge last fall, Orange County Sheriff Charles Blackwood spoke about the contributions that Kirk has made. Kirk has been a wide receiver for the Cedar Ridge football team and plans to play on the gridiron at Averett. He has been a contributor in keeping Friday night lights on at Cedar Ridge after the school didn’t field a varsity football team in 2018 and in 2021. Kirk will conclude basketball season next week, then start preparing for lacrosse under head coach Cole Churchill. The Red Wolves lacrosse season starts on February 27 when they face Northwood, the defending 3A/2A/1A Eastern Regional champions, at Red Wolves Stadium.

Fitting finale; Ware scores 24, Utley adds 11 as Cedar Ridge women win on Senior Night; Williams downs Red Wolf men

It took a lot of waiting, plenty of patience and practices. Everything that the Cedar Ridge women’s basketball team has strived for the past four years paid off on its Senior Night.

After winning just seven games over the previous four years, the Cedar Ridge has secured a winning season.

And they will host a conference tournament game next week.

It all was secured on Tuesday night when the Red Wolves defeated Walter Williams 53-38 at Red Wolves Gymnasium to conclude the regular season. The Red Wolves will go into the Central Conference Tournament with a 12-11 mark and will finish in 3rd place in the Central Conference.

In her final regular season game at Red Wolves Gymnasium, senior Amiyah Ware finished with 24 points, five rebounds and seven steals. Junior Sarah Utley added eleven points and four rebounds as the Red Wolves gained a split in the season series against the Bulldogs.

“Amiyah is just a baller,” said Cedar Ridge women’s coach Megan Skouby. “She works hard out there. She draws all the attention. Every team we’ve played, they’ve put up a box-and-one against her. She’s still dropping 20 points a night, which is a pretty big feat if you ask me.”

The inclusion of Utley, a junior who transferred from Burlington Christian Academy over the summer, has led Ware to move to her natural off guard position.

Cedar Ridge actually never trailed against the Bulldogs after they jumped out to a 9-1 lead with Ware scoring all there field goals in the opening quarter. Williams didn’t get its first field goal until Jordan Taylor scored off a pass from Ryleigh Surles with 7:01 remaining in the second quarter, but Cedar Ridge still led 14-5.

“I think this year we’re played much more as a team,” Skouby said. “Everyone has concentrated so much this year on Amiyah, some other people have really stepped up. They’ve all contributed to that.”

Williams opened the second half with four straight 3-point baskets, including one from Surles that tied the game at 26-26. After Ware sank an outside jumper off a pass from Cierra Copeland to put the Red Wolves back in front, Williams’ Scout Winter drained an attempt from downtown to even it back up at 29-29.

Cedar Ridge ended the quarter on a 10-3 run to keep the lead for good. After Utley hit a free throw, Ware scored off a strip and steal. Freshman Kate Finnegan scored off a shot from point-blank range to end the quarter with Cedar Ridge leading 39-32.

Junior Jamee Watson opened the fourth quarter by hitting two three-pointers to open up a 45-36 lead for the.Red Wolves.

Seniors Addie Reid, Cierra Copeland, Cameron Copeland and Jordyan Delph were also honored on Senior Night. Reid, who is going to play volleyball at North Carolina Central, had her former volleyball coach, Fiona Cunningham in attendance.

It was a gratifying win for the Copeland sisters, who played on the varsity basketball team during the pandemic in 2021 when the Red Wolves often had just five players on the team.

“I’m really excited for them,” Skouby said. “They’ve worked hard and come a long way. They’re always there and always pushing their teammates.”

Men’s Basketball: Walter Williams 49, Cedar Ridge 36: 

Despite losing its top two post players early in the fourth quarter, Walter Williams held Cedar Ridge 17-9 in the fourth quarter to beat the Red Wolves on senior night.

The Red Wolves were without Luke Orstad and senior Hayden Kirk, regular rotation players who were both injured.

It was the final home game for Landon Dalehite, Harrison Perel, Tyler Fields, Brian Valentine and Kirk.

Perel led Cedar Ridge with 16 points and eleven rebounds, but the Red Wolves shot just 28% from the field. Williams out rebounded the Red Wolves 49-32. The Bulldogs had 21 offensive rebounds.

Brian Williams paced the Bulldogs with 17 points. Milton Turner had seven points and 12 rebounds for Williams before he fouled out with 6:11 remaining. At that point, Williams led 37-30, but Brian Williams scored six points down the stretch while the Red Wolves couldn’t get traction on offense.

Cedar Ridge will play at Eastern Alamance in the opening round of the Central Conference Tournament in Mebane on Monday night.

Cedar Ridge seniors Ware, Copeland, Reid, Copeland and Delph discuss Senior Night win

Three yeas ago, it would have been hard to fathom the Cedar Ridge women’s basketball team finishing with a winning season, much less making the state playoffs. On Tuesday night, the Red Wolves sewed up a winning season with a 53-38 win over Walter Williams on Senior Night at Red Wolves Gymnasium. Seniors Amiyah Ware, Cameron Copeland, Addie Reid, Cierra Copeland and Jordyan Delph were honored between games of the doubleheader. Once again, it was Ware who provided the fireworks offensively for the Red Wolves. She scored 24 points to lead all scorers. Ware’s name will go down in the record books after she broke the county record with 54 points against Western Alamance last year, breaking the Orange County record that had stood for 45 years. For Reid, it was her final regular season game inside a gym she’s grown very accustomed to over the years. She won two conference championships and a regional title inside Red Wolves Gymnasium in volleyball. On Tuesday night, her former high school coach, Fiona Cunningham, was in attendance. Cunningham is now an assistant at North Carolina Central, where Reid will attend next season. Cameron and Cierra Copeland have stuck through the program from the very beginning of their freshman year, when the pandemic was still present. The Red Wolves had just five players for some games. The Copelands were two of those players who stuck it out through a winless season. Now, they will host a game in the Central Conference Tournament next Monday. Delph is in her first season on the varsity. Cedar Ridge will await to see who they will place for the Central Tournament, which will be Monday night at Red Wolves Gymnasium.