Month: December 2017

As the Orange Wrestling team enters 2018, once again they appear to be the team to beat for the 3A Eastern Regional Team Championship, and possibly the entire state.

In its final meet of 2017, Orange swept all five matches in the West Stanly Open in Oaksboro on Saturday morning. A day that started with a 5:20AM bus ride ended with Orange remaining undefeated at 14-0 after five victories on Saturday.

Bailey Hawkins was named the Most Valuable Wrestler of the tournament following five victories, three by pinfall. In his final match of the day, Hawkins pulled out a 10-9 overtime victory over Mount Pleasant’s Dalton Milner.

Hawkins, who is now 26-4 on the season, started the day by pinning Central Davidson’s Brandon Goodnough in 1:57. In the following match against West Stanly, Hawkins pinned Kyle Black in 1:05. Following a forfeit win over Albermarle, Hawkins opened the match against Parkwood by pinning James Oliviero in 2:20.

Hawkins has ten pinfall victories this season.

The most competive deal match of the day came in the finale when the Panthers defeated Mount Pleasant 53-23. The Tigers took the opening five points with a technical fall at 138, but Orange assumed command after pins by Levi Anderson at 145 in 1:01 and Mario Manduiano in 1:34. Avery Penkins, coming off a 2nd place finish at the Tiger Holiday Classic, scored a technical falll 15-0 over Garrett McManus. Trey Jones pinned Pleasant’s Garrett Overbay at 4:56, while Josiah Ramirez remained undefeated on the season by pinning Nate Isenhour in 4:43. Braden Homsey, coming off a championship at the Tiger at 195, pinned Eli Gibson in :34.

At heavyweight, Daylan Alston edged Dustin Barnhardt 3-2 for his 101st career victory. Mitchell Askew pinned Travis Barley in 1:09 at 113.

Orange also defeated Central Davidson 59-18, West Stanly 64-6, Albermarle 71-6 and Parkwood 72-6.

Alston also earned five victories for the Panthers on Saturday. He pinned Central Davidson’s Anthony Chavis in just eight seconds, the fastest victory of Alston’s career. Alston also decisioned West Stalney’s Jessie Furr 7-2; pinned Albermarle’s Daylan Turner in :41 and pinned Parkwood’s Vareun Isaacs in :31.

Coming off his Tiger Holiday Individual Championship at 182 pounds, Josiah Ramirez remained undefeated on the season with four wins to improve to 28-0. Ramirez pinned Albermarle’s Montavius Hall in :33 and received forfeits against West Stanly and Parkwood.

At 195, Braden Homsey maintained his undefeated record with two victories to push his overall mark to 26-0. In addition to his pin of Hall, Homsey scored a forfeit win against West Stanly.

Gavin Wiggins had five victories on the day at 126. In addition to three forfeits, Wiggins defeated Central Davidson’s Drake Cullens by major decision 18-3. In his next match, Wiggins pinned West Stanly’s Korbin McNeill.

Mitchell Askew went 4-1 on the day at 113, as did Manduiano at 152 to improve to 22-13.

Orange returns to conference action on Wednesday at Northwood, who nearly defeated the Panthers in 2015. Action starts at 6 in Pittsboro.

12 months later, Eastern Guilford caught up with Orange.

After losing to the Panthers in the 2016 Eastern Guilford Christmas Holiday Tournament Championship game, the Wildcats led wire-to-wire to defeat the Panthers 69-50 to win the 2017 championship on Saturday night in Gibsonville. Jaylen Alston was named tournament MVP for the Wildcats (14-1).

Though Orange never led in the game, the Panthers (scored more points against the Wildcats than any other team in the tournament. Eastern Guilford blew out Graham 72-38 in the semifinals and romped past Western Guilford 77-29 on Thursday.

Orange was led by Mekai Holt with 18 points, while Mitch Portman finished with ten. Joey McMullin came away with five points.

Pascal, Portman and McMullin were named to the All-Tournament team.

In 2016, Orange (7-5) defeated the Wildcats 74-60 after trailing 17-2 to open the game, but this year there was no Connnor Crabtree or Logan Vosburg to carry the offensive load for the Panthers. Crabtree scored 27 in last year’s championship game, while Vosburg added 24 to hand Eastern Guilford one of its four losses for the entire season.

Meanwhile in Mebane, the Orange Women’s Basketball Team wrapped up third place in the Eastern Alamance Holiday Hoops Invitational, beating Big 8 Conference rival Northern Durham 48-44 on Saturday afternoon. Lauren Cates found her shooting touch to torch the Knights for 27 points, including five 3-pointers.

Northern (2-9), who suited up seven players, was led by sophomore Breanna Jenkins’ 19 points. Freshman Jakayla Carr added ten.

As the game grew tighther in the fourth quarter, sophomore Grace Andrews hit three key field goals for the Lady Panthers (5-7). Orange played without Icez Barnett, who returned to action on Thursday against Burlington Williams after missing four games with a right foot injury. Barnett rested to prepare for Friday’s return to Big 8 Conference action against Northwood in Hillsborough.

Cates was named to the All-Tournament team. Leesville Road defeated Eastern Alamance for the tournament championship 67-47.

The Orange Men’s team returns to action on Tuesday to face Pinecrest at 7:30 in Hillsborough. The Orange Women return to action on Friday with a home game against Northwood in Hillsborough at 5:30, followed by the men’s game at 7.

EASTERN GUILFORD 69, ORANGE 50:

ORANGE: Portman 10, Paschal 4, Joey McMullin 5, Holt 18, Eli Haithcock 9, Jason Franklin 3, Nigel Slanker 1.

EASTERN GUILFORD: Jaylen Alston 29, Montez Venable 14, Dominque Graves 10, Nic Cheeley 7, Nick McMullen 7, Nathan White 2.

ORANGE (GIRLS) 48, NORTHERN DURHAM 44.

NORTHERN DURHAM:  Breanna Jenkins 21, Asia Rahman 5, Amanda Holland 6, Jakala Carr 10, Nia Bonney 2.

ORANGE: Grave Dively 2, Kate Burgess 4, Janea Myers 4, Lauren Cates 23, Grace Andrews 6, Jala Rainey 2, Xandria Moore 3.

Recently, a big night from Mitch Portman has been a requirement for Orange to stay competitive in tight games.

Not so on Friday.

Portman had 21 points against Southern Peninsula in the quarterfinals, 22 against South Granville last Friday and 22 against Cedar Ridge, was held to a season-low three points against Northeast Guilford.

However, Joey McMullin and Morgan Paschall were there to fill the void.

Mullin scored 16 while Paschall had a season-high twelve as the Panthers defeated the Northeast Guilford Rams 57-48 in the semifnals of the Eastern Guilford Christmas Holiday Tourmanent in Gibsonville.

For the second year in a row, Orange will face Eastern Guilford for the tournament championship. On Friday night, the Wildcats defeated Graham 83-47.

Last year, Orange fell behind 17-2 to Eastern,  but stormed back to win 74-60 behind 27 points from Connor Crabtree and 24 points from Logan Vosburg.

McMullin’s total was his best since opening the season with 37 points against the North Carolina School of Science and Math.

For Orange, Marquis Phelps had four points, Matt Atherton two, Machai Holt two, Eli Haithcock 6, Kendall Whitted 6, and Ryan Sellers 3.

Orange will face Eastern Guilford at EGHS at 8:30 on Saturday night.

Unlike the previous night against Williams, there was no early game drought for the Orange Women’s Basketball team against Eastern Alamance.

Just a late one.

After leading 15-6 at the end of the first quarter, the Lady Panthers shot only 17% in the second half and fell to the Eagles 43-35 in the semifinals of the Eastern Alamance Holiday Hoops Tournament in Mebane on Friday night.

Autumn Self paced the Eagles (6-4) with 13, while center Erin Blueford had ten. Eastern Alamance will face Leesville Road for the women’s championship on Saturday.

Orange (4-7) sophomore Lauren Cates had 13, including three 3-pointers in the opening five minutes. However, Orange only scored five field goals in the final three quarters. Janea Myers finished with eleven.

The Panthers will face Northern Durham on Saturday in the third place game at 3.

“Down the stretch, we had it hard offensively, “ said Orange Coach B.J. Condron, who led the Panthers to the 2016 Eastern Alamance Holiday Hoops Championship. “We got a little bit tighter. Eastern did a great job playing defense. They played a sagging man-to-man, making us shoot outside. We didn’t shoot that great.”

Grace Dively rattled in a 12-footer to open the 2nd half, tying the game at 21. But it was the only tie for the rest of the game. Self responded with a three-pointer over Cates on Eastern’s next possession.

Orange shot only 2-of-8 from the field in the third quarter and trailed 32-24.

The Eagles dominated the glass during the second half, pulling down eight offensive rebounds. Of the 17 rebounds Orange was credited with in the 2nd half, five were team rebounds, meaning they came off missed shots that went out of bounds.

“The two girls they had in the low post were a big difference,” said Condron. “They were both so physical. That was a big factor in the game.”

Janea Myers provided a spark in the fourth quarter, knocking down Orange’s only 3-pointer in the second half, then canned a 15-footer with 4:45 remaining to narrow the Eastern lead to 32-30. It was the only time in the second half when Orange scored on consecutive possessions.

Eastern reeled off six in a row behind a lay-in from Buford off an entry pass from Adela Morrison. On the next trip down, Self was fouled outside the arc by Cates and sank all three free throws.

Cates, who scored eleven points in the first quarter, was held to two for the rest of the game.

“I think she tried to force a few things but it just didn’t come for her,” said Condron. “That’s how it is with shooters. Sometimes they’re on and sometimes they’re off.”

The Orange Women’s Basketball team got off to a good start in the semifinals of the Eastern Alamance Holiday Hoops Tournament in Mebane on Friday night. The Lady Panthers led Eastern Alamance 15-6 at the end of the first quarter, but Orange’s shooting touch was never the same afterwards. The Eagles defeated the Panthers 43-35 to advance to the championship game, where they will face Leesville Road. Orange will take on Big 8 Conference foe Northern Durham in the third place game on Saturday afternoon at 3, the first of three games between the two teams over the next six weeks.

Very quietly, the Orange men’s basketball team did something that no other Panther team has ever done on Thursday.

They played a game where they weren’t opposed by a high school. Instead, it was a club team from Australia.

Though the Southern Peninsula Sharks lost 80-42 to the Panthers in the opening round of the Eastern Guilford Christmas Holiday Tournament in Gibsonville, the Sharks have seen plenty over the past week. Since leaving its home of Melbourne, Australia last week, they’ve flown 12 hours into Los Angeles to reach a connecting flight to Atlanta, leading to another 3-and-a-half hours in the air. They drove to Durham on Tuesday, just in time to celebrate Boxing Day.

Orange ended a two-game losing streak and will face Northeast Guilford in the semifinals on Friday afternoon at 4. The Rams, coached by former UNC star Curtis Hunter, defeated Southeast Guilford 65-46 on Thursday.

Orange (6-4), who captured the Eastern Guilford tournament in 2016, bounced back from a devastating loss to South Granville on Friday, when  the Vikings’ Bobby Pettiford hit a shot at the buzzer to beat the Panthers 65-63.

“We tried to put that game behind us,” said Orange Coach Greg Motley. “We thought we played well enough to win it, and they just made a big play at the end and took it away. We didn’t seal that one away.”

The day after Christmas at 9 AM, Motley had a simple message for his team.

”He told us Christmas was over and let’s get to work,” said Orange guard Mitch Portman, who paced Orange with 21 points on Thursday. “And we got to work.”

Portman guided Orange to an early 23-14 lead at the end of the first quarter with 12 points. Joey McMullin added 14 for the Panthers. Matt Athlerton added six points with nine rebounds.

The Sharks were led by Caden Adams with 13, while Daniel Munns had twelve.

ORANGE 80, SOUTHERN PENINSULA 42:

SOUTHERN PENINSULA: Jordan Good 4, Oscar Keating 6, Tom Marshall 7, Daniel Munns 12, Caden Adams 13.

ORANGE: Marquis Phelps 2, Mitch Portman 21, Kendall Whitted 4, Morgan Paschall 6, Joey McMullin 14, Jason Franklin 5, Matt Atherton 6, Mechai Holt 2, Zyon Pettiford 4, Marvante Beasley 6, Eli Haithcock 6, Jacoby Satterfield 2. Morning

Orange opened the Eastern Guilford Christmas Holiday Basketball Tournament with a victory over Southern Peninsula on Thursday morning. Southern Peninsula, a club team from Australia, flew from Melbourne, Australia to Los Angeles to Atlanta, then drove up for the tournament. Portman paced the Panthers in scoring to end a two-game losing streak and advance to Friday’s semifinals.

The Orange girls’ basketball went into the opening game of the Eastern Alamance Holiday Tournament on a four-game losing streak, and it appeared only a Christmas miracle would keep it from becoming five games.

Against Burlington Williams, coached by former Cedar Ridge boys’ basketball Coach Jim Pappas, the Panthers were held to one point in the first quarter. They trailed 23-8 at the half.

Yet the Panthers found the outside shooting they needed from sophomore Lauren Cates to find a way to advance.

Cates scored twelve points and Janea Myers held a layup in the final minute to put Orange ahead as the Panthers defeated the Bulldogs 37-35 at Eastern Alamance Gymnasium. The Panthers (4-6), who claimed the championship last year in the midst of a 21-game winning streak to start the season, advance to the semifinals to face Eastern Alamance on Friday night at 6.

Grace Dively hit two free throws in the waning minutes for Orange, who won for the first time since December 12. Cates came up huge in the fourth quarter, scoring eleven points after being held without a field goal in the first three quarters.

The game also marked the return of guard Icez Barnett, who had not played since injuring her right foot against Hillside on December 15. She finished with eight points.

Mekayia White led Williams (3-4) with 20 points. The Bulldogs were held to three points in the third quarter and four field goals in the second half.

ORANGE 37, WILLIAMS 35

ORANGE: Grace Dively 6, Lauren Cates 12, Janea Myers 8, Ices Barnett 9, Jala Rainey 2.

WILLIAMS: Makayla Crawley 7, Mekayla White 20, Kimberly Jara 6, Jada Lightsey 2.

Since 1991, the Orange Wrestling team has won five state championships, nine regional championships, 620 dual matches, crowned 24 individual state champions and have had 42 wrestlers win 100 matches. All of that was under Coach Bobby Shriner, who retired in June every bit the legendary figure within his own program and Mike Krzyzewski and Dean Smith are in theirs.

Yet Orange Wrestling never captured the championship of the Tiger Holiday Classic.

Until now.

Behind two individual championship performances from seniors Josiah Ramirez and Braden Homsey, the Panthers finished atop the 36-team field in the 25th Tiger Holiday Wrestling Classic. The two-day event concluded Saturday at Chapel Hill High School.

It also became clear that a rematch from the 2016 3A State Championship Dual Match between Orange and Piedmont could be on the horizon. Orange finished 1st with 230.5 points, while Piedmont came in 2nd with 201.5.

Wrestlers from Piedmont and Orange faced off in five different weight classes, wiith Piedmont coming away with a 3-2 edge. In February in Monroe, Piedmont rallied from a 27-17 deficit with four matches remaining to hand Orange a 29-27 defeat, its only loss of the 2016-17 season.

After trying for four years, Ramirez finallly came away with a Tiger Holiday Invididual Championship at 182 pounds. After finishing fifth at 170 pounds in 2016, Ramirez defeated South Vie’s Tyrese Bryd 4-1 for his third individual championship this season. Ramirez, now 24-0, pinned Terry Sanford’s Finley Allen in 1:25. It was only the second loss of the season for Allen.

Homsey’s victory at 195 came in his second appearance in the Tiger Holiday Classic. Last season, was eliminated without placing at 182. For the past three years, Orange’s top 195 pounder has been Jamar Davis, who focused on soccer this season. Homsey defeated Chapel Hill’s Bradley Kenyon by major decision 19-9 in the semifinals, then grinded out a 5-3 victory over Cameron Blizard of Ragsdale. Homsey also has three individual championships this season and is also 24-0.

Even for those who didn’t win their respective tournaments, it was a weekend of milestones. Heavyweight Daylan Alston won his 100th match, becoming the 41st member of Orange’s 100-win club. After a semifinal loss to Ragsdale’s Brandon Williams, the eventual champion, Alston defeated New Bern’s Jacob Flowers 3-1 for win #100. Alston finished 4th at heavyweight after coming in 5th in 2016.

Avery Jenkins (160) and Trey Jones (170) finished 2nd in their respective weight classes. Jenkins, who competed at 145 last season and won two matches without placing, defeated Pinecrest’s Will Herbert 5-0 to reach the finals. Union Pines Alex Faison, now 29-0, defeated Jenkins for the championship 7-2. Jenkins is now 19-4.

Jones, competing in his first Tiger Classic, won four matches overall in the tournament, including a 6-1 decision over West Cartaret’s Micah Dixon in the semifinals. In the championship Newton Conover’s Joshua Nichols pinned Jones at 2:40.

Mitchell Askew placed third at 113 pounds, while Gavin Wiggins finished 3rd at 126.

Bailey Hawkins, who claimed his 100th win last week, came in 5th at 132. Mario Manduiano, competing in his first Tiger Classic at 152, finished 6th.

Orange will resume its dual team season on Saturday at West Stanley. The Panthers are 9-0 on the season, 3-0 in the Big 8 with wins over East Chapel Hill,  Cedar Ridge and Hillside.

When the Tiger Holiday Classic resumes on Saturday morning at Chapel Hill High School, Orange High will have seven wrestlers competing in the semifinals.

At the end of day one of the 30-team event on Friday, Orange led the team standings wth 141.5 points. Fittingly, Piedmont High is in 2nd place at 123 points. Piedmont defeated Orange for the 3A Dual Team State Championship last February in Bobby Shriner’s final dual match as head coach of OHS.

Gavin Wiggins (126), Bailey Hawkins (132), Avery Jenkins (160), Trey Jones (170), Josiah Ramirez (182), Braden Homsey (195), and Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion Daylan Alston all advanced to the semifinals on Friday.

Wiggins opened by pinning Piedmont’s Jackson Little in 1:11. Last February, Wiggins defeated Piedmont’s Jordan Parlmer 3-1 at 120. In the quarterfinals, Wiggins improved to 18-3 on the season with a 9-3 victory over Union Pines Michael Shook. Wiggins will face Holly Springs’ Jaxon Maroney (9-0) in the semifinals on Saturday morning.

At 132, Bailey Hawkins pinned North Pitt’s Dalton English in 1:06. In the quarterfinals, Hawkins scored a major decision over J.H. Rose’s Phifer Osijek 13-2. Hawkins, who has won 14 consecutive matches, will face junior Colby Funderburk of Piedmont tomorrow in the semifinals. Last season, Hawkins fell to Piedmont’s Michael Flitz 8-5. Funderburk claimed the state championship at 113 for Piedmont when he scored a technical fall over Noah Davis.

Avery Jenkins improved to 17-2 by winning both of his matches on Friday. He started by pinning Piedmonth’s Kylan Thomas in 5:16, then pinned Croatan’s Sean O’Connell in 4:27. Next up for Jenkins will be Will Herbert of Panther Creek, who is 13-2.

At 170, senior Trey Jones grinded out a 15-11 decision over Union Pines Caleb Kimpler. In the quarterfinals, Jones pinned Liam Harris of Rutherfordton-Spindale High in 3:23. In Saturday’s semifinals, Jones will tangle with West Cartaret’s Micah Dixon.

Josiah Ramirez remained undefeated at 182. Ramirez is now 20-0 after starting the day with a 7-2 decision over Riverside’s Jatavian Hart. In the quarterfinals, Ramirez pinned West Brunswick’s Sae’vyon McCray in 1:31. Ramirez will have among the most anticipated matches of the day tomorrow when he faces undefeated Finley Allen of Terry Sanford in the semifinals.

Braden Homsey remained undefeated on the season at 195 with two pins on Friday. He started by pinning North Pitt’s Artemio Sanchez in :45. Then Homsey pinned Joey Ferguson of William Hough in 1:45. Homsey faces Chapel Hill’s Bradley Kenyon on Saturday morning, a preview of a Big 8 Conference match next month.

At heavyweight, Alston was extended to triple overtime in the opening round by Croatan’s Nathan Waltrip. Alston earned an escape point in the third extra session to remain undefeated. The quarterfinal match against Grayson County (VA) Matthew Bourne was anticlimactic, with Alston cruising to a 17-6 major decision. Alston is now 19-0.