After winning his 100th career match in November, Ryan Rakouskas became the latest Cedar Ridge wrestler to celebrate 100 career pins.

In the quarterfinals of the Coach T Memorial Classic at Riverside High School in Durham on Saturday, Rakouskas pinned Topsail’s Luke Williams in 4:00 for his 100th career pinfall. It came two weeks after Rakouskas teammate, Pierce Prescod, earned his 100th career pin.

Rakouskas competed against Williams twice. In the consolation final, Rakouskas pinned Williams again, this time in 3:43, to earn third place in the tournament. Rakouskas improved to 39-6 on the season with 27 pins. He surpassed Randy Greenough for sixth on the all-time schools career win list.

Speaking of which, senior Pierce Prescod continues to move closer to the all-time record, held by Chandler Collins, with 166 career wins. Prescod is now at 152 wins after finishing 2nd in the 120-pound weight division. In the semifinals, Prescod pinned Santos Marin of Wakefield in 3:01 for his 152nd career victory, surpassing Josh Collins for third place on the all-time list. Prescod, who is looking to qualify for the state championships for the first time, lost in the finals to Cape Fear’s Mac Johnson, who was the #3 seed.

Kaden Tatro, who graduated from Cedar Ridge, is #2 in school history with 159 wins.

In the women’s tournament, Cedar Ridge freshman Thalia Paterno continued an impressive rookie year with a second place finish at 100 pounds. In a round-robin event, Paterno score pins in each of her opening three matches, none of which exceeded one minute. Paterno pinned Kaleigh Poteat of Southeast Alamance in 13 seconds; pinned Ashley Smith of Wakefield in 37 seconds and finished Anai Carrillo of Cardinal Gibbons in 50 seconds.

It set up a championship match with Morgan Carpenter of Pine Forest, who had also won her opening three matches. Carpenter scored a pin at 4:49. This season, Paterno has won three individual championships at the Red Wolf Invitational, the Jim King/Orange Invitational and the Eagle Invitational in Mebane.

At 113 pounds in the men’s tournament, Cedar Ridge junior Favio Jaramillo captured 3rd place in a tournament where he scored three wins to boast his record to 37-8 on the season. Jaramillo, who won the championship of the Eagle Invitational last month, dominated Bennett Teague of Southern Alamance 16-3 in the 3rd place match. Jaramillo, seeded #2, scored a technical fall over Jaxton Couch of Pine Forest 19-3. In the consolation semfinals, Jaramillo defeated Jacob Keel of Rolesville 19-11. Top-seeded Spencer Sterling of Cardinal Gibbons won the 113-pound championship with an 11-4 decision over Jacob Pope of Topsail.

Sophomore Alejandro Briones had tough luck in a fourth-place finish at 144 pounds. Briones, who is 37-8 on the year, won his quarterfinal match over Troy Crain of Seaforth. Broughton’s Benjamin Zeren scored a takedown in the third period to defeat Briones in the semifinals 9-6. Briones pinned Wesley Taylor of Cape Fear to reach the third place match. Cardinal Gibbons’ Derek Mason a takedown with :08 remaining to edge Briones 10-9 in the consolation final.

In the women’s tournament, Cedar Ridge’s Chloe Pankratz finished fourth at 138 pounds. Pankratz, a senior who won the JKO tournament in December, opened with a pin over Izabella Roldan of Curritcuk County. Italia Squicciarini of Topsail pinned Pankratz in the second round robin match. Katie Lloyd of Southeast Alamance pinned Pankratz in the 3rd place match.

Cedar Ridge’s Carolina DonJuan was the only entrant in her weight class and claimed first place at 235 pounds.

On Saturday, Cedar Ridge will compete in the Central Conference Championships at Williams High School in Broughton. Briones and Prescod each won their respective conference championships last year in Burlington.

For the first time, there will be a conference tournament for women’s wrestling. This season, Cedar Ridge had several dual women’s matches, including wins over Person, Chapel Hill, East Chapel Hill, Walter Williams and Southern Alamance.

The Orange men’s basketball team will start its final third of the season against Western Alamance on Friday night in Elon. The Panthers currently are tied with Eastern Alamance for first place in the Central Conference. The game against Western Alamance will end a string of ten consecutive games away from home for Orange, which hasn’t played inside its own gymnasium since December 20. Orange is 13-5 overall. Among their most dramatic wins came on November 22 when they defeated Mt. Zion Christian Academy 60-56 in Hillsborough. Senior Ethan Ellis drained a dramatic 3-pointer with 13 seconds remaining to put the Panthers ahead. Point guard Kai Wade led the Panthers with 18 points against the Warriors. Xandrell Pennix added 16 as Orange pulled out a dramatic win at home. Senior Michael Clark scored ten points. It was one of several vital nonconference wins for the Panthers, who would go on to beat Chapel Hill on December 10. It was the Panthers first win over the Tigers since 2019. After this Friday, Orange will have six consecutive home games to wrap up the regular season. The Panthers will try to win the Central Conference regular season championship for the second year in a row. Pennix will try to surpass 1,000 points in his career. Pennix has over 900 points after Orange’s win at Southern Alamance last week.

Orange men’s basketball’s Kai Wade, Ethan Ellis & Freddy Sneed discuss win over Mr. Zion Christian

The Orange men’s basketball team will start its final third of the season against Western Alamance on Friday night in Elon. The Panthers currently are tied with Eastern Alamance for first place in the Central Conference. The game against Western Alamance will end a string of ten consecutive games away from home for Orange, which hasn’t played inside its own gymnasium since December 20.

Photo by Ben McCormick of the Courier Times

At the risk of dating myself more than I already do, I’m a massive fan of The Who.

I sit on my couch many nights while I’m writing and listen to “Who’s Next,” “Tommy,” “Face Dances.” I even like “Who are You,” generally considered their worst album and released just as their drummer Keith Moon died in 1977.

Most Who fans that do even the most basic research about the band understand two things:

1. They haven’t really been a band since 2002 when their bassist, John Entwhistle, died in the most rock n’ roll way possible. In Las Vegas, naturally.

2. The two surviving members, Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey, hate each other.

Perhaps that bitterness is from Townshend, who wrote most of the band’s songs. Maybe he’s upset that his solo career didn’t rise to the popularity of the Who and couldn’t surpass his work from the 1960s and 1970s.

The bottom line is regardless of how much animosity exists between the two, which is plenty, Townshend and Daltrey do their best work together.

Which brings us back to January 9 in Roxboro.

The Orange men’s basketball team was down 28-9 against Person with 5:30 remaining in the first half. The Rockets had a 13-0 record and looked unstoppable. Orange wasn’t just on the ropes. They were on the verge of being knocked out of the Central Conference championship race before MLK Jr. Day.

In prior years, Orange may have turtled up inside its shell, got blown out by 25 points and traveled back up Highway 57. Instead, Xandrell Pennix came up with his best game ever in Roxboro, scoring 19 points. Orange made 11-of-14 shots in the third quarter, including 6-of-9 from 3-point range. Orange trailed by nine at halftime. By the end of the third quarter, they were up nine.

The fact they didn’t have their point guard, Kai Wade, because of foul trouble didn’t stop them. Ethan Ellis, Freddy Sneed, Jalen Crayton, and Michael Clark all made big plays down the stretch.

The fact that a conference championship race hung in the balance wasn’t lost on both times. That’s why trash talk went back-and-forth and the night continued.

In other words, it was a rivalry.

And they brought out the best in each other.

And it’s been one for a long time. Some of my earliest memories as a high school student go back to being a camerman for the Orange junior varsity basketball team in the early 1990s. Winning at Person was HARD. I’ve seen Orange men’s basketball play in Roxboro at least 15 times. The win two weeks ago was only  the second time I ever saw Orange beat Person.

Plus, when I was 15, Person’s gym felt mammoth. I was used to bandbox gymnasiums. The fact that Person had a second deck where you coach watch the games down below made it seem like it was Madison Square Garden in my sheltered mind.

For over two decades, that rivalry ended when Orange moved down from being a 4A team in 2001 when Cedar Ridge opened. But Person and Orange were reunited as conference rivals when the Central Conference was formed in 2022.

That’s now in jeopardy.

Last month, the North Carolina High School Athletic Association released its first draft of conference realignment for the new eight classification system. Orange would be in a league with Cedar Ridge, Seaforth, Durham School of the Arts, South Granville and Webb. It would be a group of exclusively 5A teams, one of the few non-split conferences in the new alignment.

Person would remain a 5A team, as well. They would be with Eastern Alamance, Western Alamance, Southeast Alamance, Williams, Southern Alamance, and Rockingham County.

It’s a bad draw for Orange and Person. They’re natural conference rivals not just in terms of geography, but also competition. Last year, Orange football’s most inspired effort came against Person. They’re also natural rivals in softball. Many of the Lady Panthers live in northern Orange County, only about 10-15 minutes from Roxboro.

If the first draft of the new alignment is passed, Orange and Cedar Ridge won’t have any traditional rivals aside from each other. Webb was in the old Big Eight Conference with Orange and Cedar Ridge in the 2010s, but the games with the Warriors were hardly the stuff of legend.

Geographically, Person could fit in a league based in Granville County. The Rockets were rivals with Webb for years in the 80s and 90s.

Part of the reason why Person remains such a rich area for high school athletics is because they still have traditional media outlets. They have WKRX Radio, which broadcasts the Person football and basketball games. They have a newspaper, run by my friend Kelly Snow, that puts the Rocket first and foremost in their coverage. And their fan following, unlike other schools in bigger cities, hasn’t suffered.

That’s what makes games like January 9 so special. And high school sports special.

Orange and Person don’t like each other.

And they do their best work together.

Lottie Scully: For the first time, Scully was named the American East Setter of the Year. She led the conference with 8.73 assists per set and 917 total assists. The Binghamton volleyball team ended the year in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship, where they lost to Bowling Green in the opening round 3-1. Scully ended the year with her sixth consecutive double-double with 38 assists and eleven digs, her tenth of the season. Binghamton won the American East Regular Season championship after sweeping the New Jersey Institute of Technology 3-0 on November 17. It secured the Bearcats second regular season title in three years. Albany upset Binghamton in the American East Tournament 3-1 on scores of 22-25, 25-12, 25-21 and 25-23. Scully had 39 assists and eleven digs against the Great Danes. Binghamton ended the year 19-10 overall, 8-2 in the American East. Scully was named to the College Sports Communications All-District team. She has a 3.51 GPA in Environmental Sciences.

Cameron Lloyd: The Bucknell volleyball team ended the year with a loss to Army in the Patriot League Tournament semifinals. The Bison, which finished second in the Patriot League, ended the year 21-5. Bucknell finished with the highest winning percentage in team history at .808, beating the previous record of .788 set by the 1995 team. This season, Lloyd appeared in all 26 matches and registered 174 kills, 21 aces and 241 digs. Against Army, Lloyd tied for the team lead with eleven kills, along with eleven digs and an ace.

Cameron Lanier: The Elon volleyball team’s season ended with a loss to Delaware on November 16. The Phoenix finished 11-18, 5-13 in the Coastal Athletic Association. Lanier finished second on the team with 245 kills and 2.97 points per set. She had 598 total attacks, which led the team. After the season ended, Elon head coach Mary Tendler retired. Matt Troy, who won a national championship at Division III Johns Hopkins, was named the new head coach of the Phoenix.

Graylinn Serge: In her freshman season, Serge played in 13 matches for UNC Greensboro. She had four service aces across 31 sets. Used mainly for defensive purposes, Serge had 47 digs for a Spartans team that finished 8-22 overall, 2-14 in the Southern Conference.

Julie Altieri: The Division III Salisbury volleyball team reached the championship match of the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference, falling to the second-seeded Christopher Newport Captains 3-2 (25-22, 13-25, 25-20, 30-32, 15-13) on November 16 at the Freeman Center in Newport News, VA. Altieri had a career-high with 56 assists and 20 digs, her 18th double-double of the year. Salisbury earned a trip to the NCAA Division III Tournament, where they lost to Middlebury 3-1 (25-14, 15-25, 25-17, 25-14) at the Kennedy Sports and Recreation Center in Huntingdon, PA. Altieri had 36 assists with 17 digs. Altieri finished the year with 1,048 assists, the ninth-most in school history. Salisbury won the Coast to Coast Regular Season Conference championship and finished 24-3 overall.

Ella Wimsatt: The Lenoir-Rhyne volleyball team finished the season in the opening round of the NCAA Division II Tournament. Augusta defeated the Bears 3-0 (25-11, 25-18, 25-14) at Cuddy Arena in Wingate. In her freshman year, Wimsatt played 56 sets and had 27 kills, 12 aces and 140 digs. The Bears finished 25-7 overall, 15-4 in the South Atlantic Conference.

Payton Wilson: On January 11, Wilson played in his first NFL Playoff game for the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Baltimore Ravens defeated Pittsburgh 28-14 at M&T Bank Stadium in the AFC Wildcard round. Wilson found himself in the line of fire as the Ravens set a playoff franchise record with 299 rushing yards. Wilson made six tackles, including one for a loss. Pro Football Focus named Wilson as the #13 overall linebacker, regardless of experience, among players who took at least 20% of their team’s snaps. PFF graded Wilson at 75.3, second among rookie linebackers only behind Green Bay’s Edgerrin Cooper. He finished the season fourth on the team with 78 tackles.

Katie Bells Sikes: The #11 Georgia women’s swimming team defeated UNC Wilmington in its first dual meet of the new calendar year on Saturday. Sikes won the 50-yard freestyle with a B-cut of 22.39 seconds. Sikes, who won her first college relay race in October, also saw the third leg of the 200 yard medley relay race, which the Bulldogs won at 1:38.67. Sikes finished her lap in 23.22 seconds. Georgia will face Tennessee in Knoxville on Saturday.

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It was a joyous holiday for Juan and Favio Jaramillo at the Eagle Invitational in Mebane on December 21. Juan, a freshman, won the 106-pound championship, his first individual tournament title as a Red Wolf. Favio, a junior, won the 113-pound championship. It helped Cedar Ridge to a 1st place finish at the Eagle Invitational, the Red Wolves second team tournament championship this year. Juan scored pins in all three of his matches. In the championship match, he defeated Roland Owen of East Chapel Hill in 5:58. At the time of the pin, Juan led the match 10-1. Juan also pinned Junior McKay of Overhills and Max Molinar of Orange in the tournament. Favio was seeded #2 in the 113-pound tournament and pinned top-seeded Alex Raymundo of Randleman in 4:28. In the semifinals, Favio scored a technical fall against Wyatt Collins of Northwest Guilford 16-1. Favio has had a strong freshman year. Juan is 26-10 with ten pins this season. Favio had a career-high 34 wins with eleven pins this season. Together, they’ve helped Cedar Ridge reach the 3A State Dual Team Playoffs for the second consecutive season after beating Walter Williams on Wednesday night. The Red Wolves have already clinched 2nd place in the Central Conference and the Jaramillo brothers have been a big reason for the team’s success.

Cedar Ridge wrestling’s Juan and Favio Jaramillo discuss their championships at Eagle Invitational

It was a joyous holiday for Juan and Favio Jaramillo at the Eagle Invitational in Mebane on December 21. Juan, a freshman, won the 106-pound championship, his first individual tournament title as a Red Wolf. Favio, a junior, won the 113-pound championship.

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is senior men’s basketball guard Xandrell Pennix. On Tuesday night, Pennix surpassed 900 career points in Orange’s 76-36 win over Southern Alamance. Last week, Pennix played possibly his greatest half of basketball at Person. With Orange trailing Person 28-9, Pennix scored 14 points in the second half, including three 3-pointers in the third quarter. Pennix scored the game-winning basket on a lay-in with 2:56 remaining as the Panthers won 67-65. Midway through the 2021-22 season, Pennix was called up to the varsity squad as a freshman. He immediately made a difference by scoring 13 points in just his fourth varsity game at Williams. Since then, Pennix has been a vital part of an Orange team that went from eight wins his freshman year to winning the Central Conference regular season and tournament championship in his junior season. This year, Orange is 13-4, it’s best start since the 2016-17 season. Pennix scored 18 points in a win over Northern Durham. Last year, Pennix scored 21 points in a victory over Currituck County in the opening round of the 3A State Playoffs. Pennix’s incredible shooting ability will remain his legacy after he graduates from Orange in June. His presence over the past four years has led to the Orange men’s basketball program returning to championship form.

Orange Panther of the Week: Xandrell Pennix

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is senior men’s basketball guard Xandrell Pennix. On Tuesday night, Pennix surpassed 900 career points in Orange’s 76-36 win over Southern Alamance. Last week, Pennix played possibly his greatest half of basketball at Person.

In a pressure situation, two players stepped up for the Cedar Ridge women’s basketball team in its biggest win of the season. Junior Jamee Watson drained two free throws with 54 seconds remaining for the game-winning points as the Red Wolves defeated Chatham Central 36-33 on January 10 at Red Wolves Gymnasium. The Bears came into the game with an 8-2 record. Sophomore Esther Mwirinzi added six points, including two more free throws after a steal by Kennedi Fearrington with 17 seconds remaining. Watson finished with eight points to lead the Red Wolves. Watson has been on the varsity since her freshman year under head coach Megan Skouby. Mwirinzi is in her second year at the varsity level. To start 2025, Cedar Ridge defeated Southern Alamance 37-29 for its first Central Conference win of the season. Watson scored nine points against the Patriots and also had four steals. Cedar Ridge forced 28 turnovers in the win over the Patriots. Mwirinzi has learned on the job as the starting point guard this season after the transfer of Sarah Utley during the summer. The win over the Bears gave a boost for Cedar Ridge to make the state playoffs for the second year in a row. The Red Wolves will commemorate Senior Night with a home game against Walter Williams on Friday night in Hillsborough.

Cedar Ridge’s Jamee Watson & Esther Mwirinzi discuss win over Chatham Central

In a pressure situation, two players stepped up for the Cedar Ridge women’s basketball team in its biggest win of the season. Junior Jamee Watson drained two free throws with 54 seconds remaining for the game-winning points as the Red Wolves defeated Chatham Central 36-33 on January 10 at Red Wolves Gymnasium.

GRAHAM–It was bound to happen.

Throughout the year, Orange center Jalen Crayton has teased a euphoric, exhilarating slam dunk when set up under the basket. He came close at the end of 2024 against Western Alamance, but the ball ricocheted off the room high in the air.

Not only did Crayton deliver a monster dunk in Orange’s rout of Southern Alamance on Tuesday night, but he delivered several, sending the visitors bench and fan section at Patriots Gymnasium into hysteria each time.

That was the theme of a dominant 76-36 Orange win. Senior Xandrell Pennix surpassed the 900 point mark in his career with 14 points, including the opening 3-pointer of the game in a wire-to-wire Panther win. Junior Kai Wade scored 20 points to lead Orange, who crossed the midway point of the Central Conference season tied with Eastern Alamance for first place. The Panthers improved to 13-4, 5-1 in league play.

The Patriots (3-11, 1-3) entered the game shorthanded with shooting guard Bo Day sidelined with a walking boot. in the first quarter, starting guard Kolby Kronberg’s injured his ankle after getting a lay-up blocked going up against Orange’s Freddy Sneed.

Orange went on a 20-0 run in the first half to take a 39-9 lead late in the first half. Pennix scored ten points in the opening quarter. Wade drove at will against the Patriots guards and scored nine of his 20 points in the second quarter. Orange nearly held Southern Alamance without a point in the second quarter until Micah Stone scored on a lay-in with 43 seconds remaining in the first half.

Crayton had three dunks in the second half to finish with a career-high 12 points. Coming off a game where he had six blocks against Person, Crayon added two blocks.

Orange sophomore Hector Garrido added seven points and Barrett Liner came off the bench to drain a 3-pointer during garbage time.

Orange is the first team in the Central Conference to reach the midway point of the league campaign. They will step out of Central Conference play to face undefeated Reidsville on Saturday afternoon. The Panthers will end a 10-game road swing with a crucial trip to Western Alamance next Tuesday.

Women’s basketball: Orange 56, Western Alamance 13

The Lady Panthers (9-6, 4-2) held Southern Alamance without a field goal for over 20 minutes in an easy win on Tuesday night in Graham.

Orange spread the wealth on offense with eight different players winding up on the score sheet. Addie Atkins opened the game with a 3-pointer as the Lady Panthers never trailed in improving to 9-6 overall, winning its fifth straight.

Atkins, Alexis Stephens and Maura McMurtry each scored nine points. Orange led 12-5 at the end of the first quarter after Southern’s Emory Gilley scored on a lay-in. The Patriots wouldn’t score another field goal until late in the fourth quarter when Jaylin Palmer knocked down a short jumper while getting fouled.

Orange started to pull away after McMurtry drained two 3-pointers in the first quarter. Senior Shannon Murphy scored all eight of her points in the second quarter. Atkins drained two more 3-pointers in the second half to establish a new personal season-high. Senior center Marshea Byrd scored eight points in the first half.

Senior Kyla Mehl added eight more points in the third quarter, including two 3-pointers.

Chloe Caldwell, Payton Borland, Rhiley Crabtree, Chloe Caldwell, Bryce Jones and Annabelle Monteith all played in the fourth quarter. Orange established a running clock after their pushed their lead to over 40 points early in the third quarter.

Sarah Kathryn Maness led Southern Alamance (2-11, 0-4) with four points.

Orange will travel to Reidsville on Saturday afternoon. The Lady Panthers will continue its Central Conference slate against Western Alamance in Elon on Tuesday night.