Month: February 2022

ELON–At the start of a grueling stretch of eight games across 13 days, Orange men’s basketball coach Derryl Britt said his goal was to have his team playing its best basketball by tournament time.

Not only has Orange delivered on that goal, but they’ve now won their first postseason tournament game since 2017.

At the same time, senior guard Jerec Thompson joined an exclusive club.

In his 70th career varsity game, Thompson scored 29 points to cross the 1,000 point barrier when he sank a free throw early in the third quarter against Western Alamance on Monday night. He became the first Orange player since Joey McMullin in 2020 to score 1,000 points.

Thanks in part to several underclassmen, Thompson’s career will see another game.

Junior A’mare Morgan scored on a lay-in with 1:23 remaining that proved to be the margin of victory as the Panthers defeated Western Alamance 56-53 in the quarterfinals of the Central Carolina Conference Tournament on Monday night at Coach Erma Evans Court in Elon.

Orange will face CCC regular season champion Northwood in Pittsboro on Wednesday night at 7:30. The top-seeded Chargers received a bye into the CCC semifinals.

With the game tied 51-51, Morgan took an entry pass from junior guard Kaleb Barnhardt. Western Alamance’s Dayvone Collins knocked the ball free in the paint, but Morgan used his muscle to pick it up, lay it in and draw a foul on Nick McGhee. The subsequent free throw bounced in after it clipped the front rim.

The Warriors’ Kristopher Barnwell sank an 18-foot jumper to cut Orange’s lead to 54-53 with 1:00 remaining. After Orange was called for traveling, the Warriors got the ball back with a chance to take the lead, but Thompson stole a pass into the paint with :24 seconds left.

Eventually, Thompson wound up at the foul line with :14 remaining and sank both free throws. Barnwell’s 3-point attempt to tie the game at the horn banged off the back of the rim and into the arms of Orange freshman Xandrell Pennix.

It was Orange’s first postseason win since they defeated Triton 67-47 in the third round of the 3A State Playoffs on February 25, 2018.

Western Alamance, who never trailed in beating Orange 56-50 on February 5 in Elon, played without starting point guard King Dorsey, who broke a bone in his hand last week. Aside from a few cameos from various reserves, the Warriors rotation was limited to six players.

With its season on the line, Orange showed tournament emotion from the very beginning. Every made shot, pass deflection, defensive stop and rebound triggered a collective roar from the Orange reserves seated on the bench as well as a healthy contingent of Panther fans who drove in from Hillsborough.

Orange got some friendly bounces early to jump out to a 12-5 lead. J.J. Thompson found Thomas Loch for a lay-in, which was followed by a jumper from Loch that hopped three times on the rim before falling through the twine. After Barnwell and Eric Wagoner scored consecutive field goals, Jerec Thompson drained a 3-pointer at the first quarter buzzer to put Orange ahead 15-9.

From the time Darius Corbett picked the pocket of a Western guard and scored on a lay-in to open the second quarter, the Panthers had possibly its best four-minute sequence of the season. Jerec Thompson added two free throws after Isaiah Seymour created a steal. After Barnwell drained two free throws, Thompson drilled a stepback 3-pointer to put Orange ahead 22-11.

Seymour added two free throws, then Thompson drained a 25-footer, then hit another 3-pointer to push the Panther advantage to 28-12, the largest lead of the game.

Western’s Brooks Allred started a comeback with five consecutive points, including the Warriors’ only 3-pointer of the game. Eric Wagoner followed with a 15-foot jumper. McGhee ended the half with a stickback lay-in at the first half buzzer to cut Orange’s lead to 32-26.

McGhee opened the second half with a lay-in and was fouled by Pennix. Allred cut Orange’s lead to 33-30 after a 15-footer. Barnwell had three consecutive field goals to give the Warriors a 36-33 with 5:43 remaining in the third quarter.

The Warriors built its lead to five points after a lay-in from Dayvon Collins before Orange’s J.J. Thompson drained a huge 3-pointer to cut it to 38-36. Orange’s Freddy Sneed made two huge plays in the final minute of the third quarter. Sneed scored on a lay-in after Morgan found him on a jump pass to tie the game. As Western held for one shot in the waning seconds, Sneed picked Allred’s pocket at midcourt and dribbled down the floor as the clock ran down to lay it in before the buzzer sounded to put the Panthers ahead 40-38.

ORANGE 56, WESTERN ALAMANCE 53

ORANGE: Jerec Thompson 29, Xandrell Pennix 4, J.J. Thompson 3, Isaiah Seymour 4, Thomas Loch 4, Freddy Sneed 4, Darius Corbett 3, A’mare Morgan 5.

WESTERN ALAMANCE: Kristopher Barnwell 18, Brooks Allred 13, Dayvone Collins 4, Eric Wagoner 9, Nick McGhee 6, Eric Hardy 2, Gabe Bennett 1.

The Orange men’s basketball team has won a game in a postseason tournament for the first time since 2017. On Monday night in Elon, Orange defeated Western Alamance 56-53 in the Central Carolina Conference Tournament quarterfinals. Junior Amare Morgan scored on a lay-in with 1:23 remaining, which proved to be the game-winning points. Freshman Freddy Sneed came off the bench to score four crucial points during a period of the game where the Warriors had come back from 17 points down to go ahead by five points. Both Morgan and Sneed were called up to the varsity team after Thanksgiving and have made an impact with the Panthers. Sneed scored nine points in his second varsity game against East Chapel Hill on November 30. The last time the Panthers won a postseason tournament game, it was the 2017 3A State Playoffs when they knocked off Triton 67-47 to advance to the state quarterfinals. Orange will get a shot at Northwood once again, this time in the Central Carolina Conference semifinals in Pittsboro. The Chargers swept the season series from Orange, beating the Panthers 78-62 on February 4 in Hillsborough. The Panthers will travel to Pittsboro on Wednesday night at 7:30.

When Katie Belle Sikes earned the right to choose her own walkout music for the 50-yard freestyle finals, she could only think of “Enemy” by Imagine Dragons.

The fact that the Las Vegas-based band had actually performed at PNC Arena in Raleigh just hours before Friday’s NCHSAA State Swimming Championships at the Triangle Aquatic Center in Cary was fitting, yet moot. Sikes, a sophomore, was focused on mental preparation.

“I thought it might intimidate the competition a bit,” Sikes said.

As the top-ranked sophomore swimmer in North Carolina, public or private school, Sikes had already secured two regional championships before Saturday. Along with that comes the feelings of being a marked woman and the pressure that could saddle a lesser competitor down, which made “Enemy” the perfect song to walk into the biggest race of her young life on several fronts.

Your words up on the wall as you’re praying for my fall

And the laughter in the halls and the names I’ve been called

I stack it in my mind and I’m waiting for the time

When I show you what it’s like to be words spit in a mic.

By the time the long day finally ended, Sikes dropped the mic and accomplished something that no female swimmer in the history of Orange High School has done: win a state championship.

Sikes won the 50 meter freestyle at a time of 23.24 seconds, earning All-American consideration. Carrboro’s Lindy Bilden came away with the silver medal at 23.65 seconds. West Carteret freshman Adeline Cloutier was third at 23.77 seconds.

“I was pretty confident in my 50 meter freestyle, but I was also the most stressed for that one,” Sikes said after a long day that started at 8:30 AM and didn’t end until nearly 12 hours later. “In my 100 freestyle I was seeded 2nd, so I was not as stressed about losing my ranking.”

Last year as a freshman, Sikes finished 2nd in the state in the 50 meter freestyle behind Charlotte Catholic’s Olivia Rhodes.

In the preliminaries earlier in the day, Sikes had the top time of 23.27 seconds, once again earning All-American consideration. Bilden was 2nd, while Parkwood’s Emilee Hamblin was third at 23.90.

The North Carolina High School Athletic Association has awarded state championships since 1950 in swimming and diving. In the 61-year history of Orange High School, only Ben Scott won a state championship in the 100 yard freestyle in 2018.

Orange’s Jennifer Rehm won two 4A State Championships in diving in 1999 and 2000.

“I don’t think words can express how honored I am,” Sikes said. “I’m just so proud to be able to represent my school as best as I can.”

In addition, Sikes won the bronze medal in the 100 yard freestyle. She finished third at 51.37 seconds. J.H. Rose’s Madeline Smith, who was named the Most Outstanding Female Swimmer of the 3A Championships, finished first at 50.18, automatically earning All-American status.

Sikes, Melissa Campbell, Sandra McCouch and Ellie Wileman qualified for the state finals in two different relay events. The quartet finished 7th in the 200 yard medley relay at 1:59.28. In the 200 freestyle relay, Sikes, McCouch, Campbell and Wileman came in sixth with a time of 1:47.02.

McCouch, who is in her first year at Orange after transferring from Philadelphia last summer, finished 11th in the 100 yard breaststroke.

Campbell came in 16th in the 100 yard butterfly.

In men’s swimming, Orange freshman Luke Roman, who won two Central Carolina Conference championships, finished eighth in the 200 yard freestyle. Nick Baczara came in 15th in the same event.

Roman also came in ninth in the 500 yard freestyle at 5:08.06. Another Panther freshman, Alexander Andre, came in 7th in the same event.

Andre also came in 14th in the 200 yard individual medley, while Phillips finished 15th.

The Orange men’s team of Ian Moore, Evan Phillips, Andre and Luke Roman finished 8th in the 200 yard medley relay.

Roman, Baczara, Andre and Phillips finished 9th in the 400 yard freestyle relay.

Orange senior Evan Phillips reached the finals of the 100 yard breaststroke, finishing 8th.

In the 100 yard backstroke, Orange senior Ian Moore finished 11th at 59.71 seconds.

Since he was a freshman at Cedar Ridge wrestling at 106 pounds, Fernando Martinez has always had a goal of wrestling in the state championships at the Greensboro Coliseum.

Now, he’s going to Greensboro as a regional champion.

After being under-seeded last summer at 120 pounds, Martinez claimed the 113-pound regional championship at the Mideast Regional Championships at Union Pines High School in Cameron on Saturday. In the semifinals, Martinez defeated the #1 seed, Person’s Christian Lemaire, via an 8-2 decision to reach the final. Martinez needed only 23 seconds to record his first takedown against Lemaire. In the second period, Martinez scored two near fall points and was never taken down in the match.

In the regional final, Martinez defeated Union Pines’ Jayden Crawford 9-7 to take the championship. Crawford registered two takedowns in the opening period to take a 4-1 lead. Martinez battled back in the second period with two separate sequences where he nearly scored a pin. He earned six total near fall points to lead 7-4. Martinez got the only takedown of the final period and survived two penalty points in the final minute for the win.

Martinez, who is 37-8, now has 92 career wins as a junior. If it wasn’t for the pandemic, he would certainly be over 100 career victories by now, becoming only the fifth wrestler in school history to reach that plateau. Martinez would be the first Red Wolf grappler to record 100 wins since Chandler Collins, who won a school record 166 matches from 2003-2007.

In addition to Martinez, Cedar Ridge’s Kaden Tatro also qualified for the state championships at 170 pounds. Tatro finished 4th. He sewed up a spot in Greensboro after beating Northwood’s Cliff Davis 7-0 in the consolation semifinals. Though Cedar Ridge and Northwood are both from the Central Carolina Conference, Davis and Tatro didn’t square off during the dual match between the two schools on December 1. Tatro, who is 35-10 with 26 pins this season, qualified for the state championships for the first time.

In the team standings, Union Pines finished first. Orange came in second place with 170 points. The Vikings wound up with 197. Cedar Ridge finished 5th at 76.5 points.

Out of 13 competitors, no less than eight Orange wrestlers qualified for the 3A State Championships. At 126 pounds, junior Dillon Heffernan received a #1 seed and finished in second place. After receiving a bye into the second round, Heffernan reached the semifinals with a major decision over Justin Richardson of Douglas Byrd 16-3 Friday night. Heffernan opened action on Saturday by beating Luc Young of Terry Sanford 10-7 to move into the championship round. It was Heffernan’s 30th win of the season. Southern Durham’s Shyne Wharry defeated Heffernan 6-2 for the championship.

For the third year in a row, Orange’s Brendon Worsham reached the regional final at 182 pounds. Worsham, who also played linebacker for the Orange football team the past three years, reached the finals after pinning the #2 seed, Demontrious Ratliff of Fayetteville 71st, in 1:12. It was Worsham’s third pin of the tournament. Cape Fear’s Jaden Paul, seeded fifth, defeated Worsham 15-2 in the regional championship match.

The biggest surprise of the weekend came from Orange’s Andre Hill, who stunned top-seeded Wade Johnson of Harnett Central in the quarterfinals at 160 pounds. In the semifinals, Hill polished off Samaj Jones of Vance County 10-2 to reach his first regional final. In the championship match, Union Pines’ Brock Sullivan pinned Hill, who is now 24-16 in his first year as a starter.

At heavyweight, Orange’s Hugo Vazquez also had a runner-up finish. Vazquez defeated Major Phillips of Northern Nash 2-1 in the semifinals when Phillips received a penalty point for stalling in the third period. In the quarterfinals, Vazquez earned another 2-1 decision, this time over Franklinton’s Landon Michael. Person’s Trevquan Gary pinned Vazquez in the finals.

Another Panther who earned a top-seed, Elijah Acosta, faced Northwood’s Jake Dunning for the fourth time this season in the semifinals. This time, Dunning managed to upset Acosta 5-2. In the consolation semifinals, Acosta pinned Fayetteville 71st’s Jamieson Alston in 2:49. Acosta held off Triton’s Malachi Nettles 3-1 in the consolation final. It was Acosta’s 31st win of the season, which is tied for the team lead.

Junior Acoya Isley also finished third at 195 pounds. Isley, 26-6 on the season, was sent to the consolation bracket after losing to top-seeded Michael Locklear 7-3 in the semifinals. Locklear eventually claimed the regional title, and Isley was the only opponent he didn’t pin. In the consolation semifinals, Isley pinned Western Alamance’s Chandler Baysdon in 48 seconds. Isley clinched third place after pinning Walter Williams Jeremiah Lumpkin in 43 seconds.

Another surprised occurred at 145 pounds. Avery Clark, seeded #7, finished in 3rd place. Clark lost in the second round on Friday, but weaved through the consolation gauntlet on Saturday to earn a trip to Greensboro. Clark started a day of four matches with an 11-5 decision over Dylan Stewart of Lee County. In the next round, Clark pinned Janson Tyndall of Triton in 1:45. Clark earned a technical fall over Edward Lopez of Harnett Central 16-1. Finally, Clark was awarded the consolation match over #2 seeded Jackson Lusk of Franklinton, who was injured in his preceding match.

Orange’s Jared Hutchins registered a 3rd place finish at 132 pounds. On Friday, Hutchins won his opening two matches, but lost a heartbreaker to Western Harnett’s Cameron Curva 12-11 when Curva escaped out of a near fall with four seconds remaining, vaulting him ahead after Hutchins had nearly scored a pin in the waining seconds. Curva would go on to win the regional title. Hutchins defeated top-seeded Ivan Benitez 10-6 in the consolation semifinals, then scored a decision over Union Pines Finnius McCafferty 10-6. Last year, Benitez qualified for the state championships.

At 120 pounds, Orange’s Braden Crawford finished 4th. In the semifinals on Saturday afternoon, Crawford had a thrilling match against Dakota Little of Westover, which went into overtime. Crawford scored an escape with three seconds remaining to even the match 13-13 at the end of regulation. Little notched a takedown with nine second remaining in the first sudden victory period to secure the win.

In the consolation semifinals, Crawford defeated Person’s Derrick Laycock 16-4 to reach the consolation final and his first trip to the state championships.

Photo by Kylee Harvey

Orange relied on one of its veterans to win its final regular season home game of the season Friday night.

On Saturday, they relied on a freshman to win its final road game.

Xandrell Pennix, in only his eleventh varsity game, sparked the Panthers with a career-high 15 points, including a trio of 3-pointers in the final 6:00 minutes of regulation against Cedar Ridge on Saturday afternoon. Orange, which trailed 50-39 with 6:03 remaining, ended the game on an 18-3 run to sweep the season series from the Red Wolves 57-53.

Orange (7-16, 3-9 in the Central Carolina Conference) ended the regular season on a three-game winning streak and tied Eastern Alamance for fifth place in the CCC. It was Orange’s first true road win since December 2nd, when they defeated North Carolina School of Science and Math in Durham. On Sunday morning, Orange won a coin toss against Eastern Alamance to earn the #5 seed for the CCC Tournament, which starts tonight. The Panthers will travel to Western Alamance at 7PM, only nine days after the Warriors defeated Orange 56-50 in Elon.

It was another frustrating loss for Cedar Ridge (4-15, 1-11), which had a 13-point lead against Eastern Alamance on February 1 in Mebane, only to have the Eagles go on a 15-4 run to even the game. Eventually, Eastern prevailed 66-64.

The Red Wolves will travel to Roxboro tonight to face Person in the opening game of the Central Carolina Conference Tournament. The Rockets defeated the Red Wolves 75-50 on February 2.

Juniors Colton Taylor and Kamil Harrison led the Red Wolves with 14 points each.

Cedar Ridge never trailed through the opening three quarters. Leading 42-33 going into the final frame, the Red Wolves took a 50-39 lead with 6:06 remaining after Harrison found Rawlins Taylor on a transition lay-up.

Up to that point, Orange was only 3-of-16 from 3-point range. Then Pennix made three consecutive shots from downtown. His final trey, assisted by senior Jerec Thompson, reduced Orange’s deficit to 50-48 with 3:44 remaining, the closest the Panthers had come to tying since it was 4-2.

Two free throws by junior forward Darius Corbett evened the game at 50-50 with 2:22 remaining. It was the first tie of the day. In the midst of the Orange run, the Red Wolves missed nine consecutive shots from the field. Corbett later returned to the foul line and gave the Panthers its first lead at 52-50 with 1:52 left.

Jerec Thompson grabbed a rebound after another Cedar Ridge miss, and Pennix was fouled by Cedar Ridge forward Neco Clark, who fouled out. Pennix converted the two free throws to increase Orange’s lead to 54-50.

Harrison scored off a lay-in and was fouled by Orange’s Isaiah Seymour. Colton Taylor rebounded the subsequent missed free throw. After a timeout, Taylor was fouled on a jump shot and split two free throws to cut Orange’s lead to 54-53. Seymour, who finished with nine rebounds, got the board, which led to Thompson draining two free throws to push the Panther lead to 56-53.

With a chance to tie on its final possession, the Red Wolves committed a turnover when a player dribbled the ball off his foot out of bounds. Pennix scored the game’s final point.

Throughout the game, the Red Wolves accomplished its mission of not getting beat by Thompson, who scored 40 points the night before in Orange’s win over Eastern Alamance. The Red Wolves held Thompson scoreless in the first half. In the opening quarter, Orange shot just 2-of-6 from the field and committed eight turnovers. Five different Red Wolves scored field goals in the opening eight minutes as Cedar Ridge led 13-6 going into the second quarter.

The Red Wolves shot six-of-nine from the field in the second quarter. Cedar Ridge junior Jonovan Wingate came off the bench to score the Red Wolves’ opening five points of the second half to increase its lead to 18-8. Colton Taylor drained a 3-pointer with 51 seconds remaining to put Cedar Ridge ahead 27-16 at halftime.

Orange swept the season series from the Red Wolves for the first time since the 2018-2019 season.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: ORANGE 51, CEDAR RIDGE 16

Orange senior Samantha George scored nine points in the opening quarter, all off 3-pointers, as the Lady Panthers bolted out to a 16-1 lead and eventually defeated the Red Wolves 51-16.

George, who scored 16 points in an overtime loss to Eastern Alamance the night before, led the Lady Panthers with 18. Her younger sister, freshman Evelyn George, added ten points.

Cedar Ridge junior Grace Young had a career-high nine points.

Orange will open the Central Carolina Conference Tournament as the #4 seed. The Lady Panthers will host Western Alamance tonight at 6.

Cedar Ridge will travel to Walter Williams tonight at 6PM.

MEN’S BASKETBALL: ORANGE 57, CEDAR RIDGE 53

ORANGE: Jerec Thompson 9, Isaiah Seymour 6, Thomas Loch 4, Darius Corbett 11, Xandrell Pennix 15, Amare Morgan 12.

CEDAR RIDGE: Colton Taylor 12, Garrett Ray 4, Neco Clark 5, Rawlins Taylor 10, Kamil Harrison 17, Jonovan Wingate 5.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: ORANGE 51, CEDAR RIDGE 16

ORANGE: Samantha George 18, Aaliyah Harris 2, Katelyn Van Mater, 4, Jarmil Wingate 2, Jada Reed 3, Evelyn George 13, Aisha Caron 2, Haley Reynolds 1, Nakayla Whitted 4, Katie Perkins 2.

CEDAR RIDGE: Grace Young 9, Cameron Copeland 1, Julie Altieri 4, Reagan Simmons 2.

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is freshman swimmer Alex Hill. In his first dual meet for the Red Wolves on November 23, Hill automatically qualified for the 3A Central Regionals by winning the 200 yard freestyle, touching the wall at 2:01.40. He also automatically qualified for the 200 yard individual medley, finishing in 1st place at 2:08.02. In the 500 yard freestyle, Hill also finished first with a time of 5:09.28. Additionally, Hill also qualified for regionals in the 400 yard freestyle relay, teaming wit Matthew Czar, Jason Pattinson and Nikhil Agans wit 3:47.61. Alex started training for swimming in Cary. He currently is enrolled in online programs at Cedar Ridge. Hill finished 2nd in the 200 yard freestyle in the Central Carolina Conference championships at the Orange County SportsPlex on January 27. Hill was a member of the 200 yard freestyle relay team in the Conference Championships with Pattinson, Agans and Czar. The team of Hill, Agnes, Pattinson and Czar finished 2nd in the conference championships with a time of 1:54.14. This interview was taped before the regionals.

For the second straight game against Cedar Ridge, a first-year varsity player led the Orange men’s basketball to victory. On Wednesday night, it was Isaiah Seymour. On Saturday afternoon, it was freshman Xandrell Pennix. In just his tenth varsity game, Pennix led all scorers with 15 points, leading the Panthers back from an eleven point deficit with 6:27 remaining to a 57-53 victory. Orange finished the game on a 18-3 run in the final six minutes. On three consecutive possessions in the fourth quarter, Pennix drained three 3-pointers, the last of which put the Panthers within 50-48 wit 3:44 remaining. Pennix is one of several first-year varsity players who have made a major impact since joining the team since Christmas. Junior Amare Morgan and freshman Freddy Sneed have also greatly helped the Panthers at various points this year. This was the second time this year that Pennix scored in double figures. He also had 13 points against Walter Williams on January 25 in Burlington. Orange will travel to Western Alamance in the opening round of the Central Carolina Conference Tournament on Monday night at 7 o’clock. The winner will face Northwood in the semifinals on Wednesday.

Orange senior Samantha George is playing the best basketball of her career as her time with the Lady Panthers winds down. George has been the Lady Panthers’ leading scorer in each of its last two games, including Saturday when Orange defeated Cedar Ridge 51-16. George hit three 3-pointers in the first quarter as Orange as Orange started the game on a 9-0 run and never looked back. On Friday in an overtime loss to Eastern Alamance, George led Orange with 16 points. Samantha is a two-sport athlete at Orange. The Lady Panthers ended the regular season 14-7, 6-6 in the Central Carolina Conference. On Monday, the Lady Panthers will host Western Alamance in the opening round of the Central Carolina Conference Tournament inside Panther Gymnasium at 6PM. The winner of the game will travel to Central Carolina Conference regular season champion Northwood for the semifinals on Wednesday in Pittsboro.