Orange Panther of the Week: Nikayla Whitted
This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is senior basketball guard Nikayla Whitted. On December 6th, Whitted set her career-high with 14 points in Orange’s 41-36 win over Carrboro. On December 2, Whitted scored eleven points as the Lady Panthers defeated Riverside 46-8 in Durham. Last week, Whitted was named to the All-Tournament team for the Eastern Guilford Holiday Invitational in Gibsonville after Orange won the championship. Whitted started the tournament with eleven points as the Lady Panthers defeated The Burlington School on December 26. Presenting the award to Whitted was Orange guard Jada Reed, who has been teammates with Whitted since they played together with the Orange Parks and Recreation Department. Both have started each game this season for Orange. Last week’s tournament win for the Orange women’s basketball team was its first tournament championship since the 2017 team won the Big 8 Conference Tournament. The Orange women’s basketball team was the only basketball team in Hillsborough to reach the state playoffs last year. This year’s team will look to reach the state playoffs, as well. The Lady Panthers will host Cedar Ridge tonight at Orange High Gymnasium.
Orange wrestling finishes undefeated at West Stanly Duals
Photo by Katie Medley
December is always a busy month for the Orange wrestling team.
They usually compete in three individual tournaments, including hosting their own on the first Saturday of the month. There’s always the Tiger Holiday Invitational, among the largest in the state, either the week before or the week after Christmas. And then there’s the annual two hour trip to Oakboro for the West Stanly Duals.
As a team, Orange will go into the new year with an undefeated dual record.
On Friday, the Panthers emerged from Oakboro with five wins. The Panthers defeated Montgomery Central 54-24; West Stanly 66-16 and Metrolina Christian Academy 69-9. Orange also won two other dual matches to remain undefeated during the dual season.
Orang also had another wrestler move closer to 100 career wins. Dillon Heffernan pinned Jagger Dry of West Stanly and Luke Niday of Metrolina Christian Academy. That places him at 99 career wins. Heffernan will attempt to become the latest member of Orange’s 100 career wins club on Wednesday night in Hillsborough when the Panthers face Northwood. Fittingly, it will be senior night.
A year after the Panthers reached the Eastern Regional Finals of the 3A East Dual Team Tournament, the Panthers are 14-0, 4-0 in the Central Carolina Conference. Orange is two wins away from its third consecutive conference championship. Following Northwood, Orange will face Person.
Orange has won 18 conference championships in the last 19 years.
A week earlier, four Panthers placed in the Tiger Holiday Invitational. The annual event brought 37 teams from across the state to Chapel Hill High School on December 22 and 23.
Orange’s Acoya Isley, whose record was 16-2 after the tournament, wound up finishing 2nd at 195 pounds. In the championship match, top-seeded Joshua Knipe of West Carteret defeated Isley 6-3. With 40 seconds remaining in the first period, Knipe scored a reversal and scored back points to take a 3-0 lead. Isley escaped but trailed 4-2 at the end of the first period.
In the semifinals, Isley defeated Bo Schiano of William Hough 12-1 to reach the finals. Isley started the tournament by pinning Elisha Roberts of Southern Durham in 1:26. In the quarterfinals, Isley pinned A.J. Pile of Croatan in 1:18.
At 152 pounds, senior Sam Crawford finished 4th place. Crawford reached the consolation final after a forfeit win over Adam Yessef of Pinecrest. Crawford pinned Ja’Bari Stroud of Durham School of the Arts in 28 seconds. In the consolation round, Crawford pinned Jonathan Moses of Jacksonville in 2:22. Crawford, who is 14-6 on the year, defeated Houston Leeah of Union Pines via pinfall in 2:43.
Heffernan finished fifth at 145 pounds. He pinned Har Htoo of New Bern in 1:55 in the fifth place match to improve to 18-3 on the season. Heffernan reached the semifinals after he edged Will McRae of Hough 2-0. In the second round, Heffernan pinned Noah Ramirez of Jack Britt in 40 seconds. Tyler Tracy of Cardinal Gibbons, who eventually won the championship, defeated Heffernan via technical fall.
At 126 pounds, Orange’s Braden Crawford also finished fifth. Crawford defeated Mason McMullen of Jacksonville 10-4 in the opening round. Crawford reached the semifinals after beating East Chapel Hill’s Asher Yeo 7-4. Liam Hickey of Cardinal Gibbons, another eventual champion, pinned Crawford in the semis. In the fifth place match, Crawford defeated Yeo again by an 8-4 margin.
Junior Andre Hill finished sixth at 170 pounds. Hill, an offensive lineman in football, started with a 10-1 major decision over Dustin Maness of Union Pines. Hill advanced to the semifinals after Richard Post of Rutherfordton-Spindale was injured.
Orange went into the Tiger Holiday Classic without the services of two wrestlers who qualified for the state championships last year. The Panthers finished eighth in the team standings with 109 points. Union Pines won the team championship with 180.5 points. Cardinal Gibbons finished second with 150.5 points.
Alumni Update: Wilson announces return to N.C. State in 2023
Payton Wilson: In somewhat of a surprise, Wilson announced he would return to N.C. State for his senior season on Saturday. Last month, Wilson took part in graduation exercises with the Wolfpack and many figured he would declare for the NFL Draft after this season. On Friday, on what was one full day for N.C. State athletics, the Wolfpack lost to former Atlantic Division rival Maryland 16-12 at the Duke’s Mayo Bowl at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. Wilson finished with ten tackles, two sacks and three tackles for loss. N.C. State ended the year 8-5. This season, Wilson was tied for third on the team with 82 tackles. He had 12.5 tackles for loss, which was also third on the team. Wilson also had 4.5 sacks with one interception. Next season will be a senior. He started at N.C. State in 2019.
Trenton Gill: Gill’s rookie season with the Chicago Bears of the National Football League is winding down. On Sunday, the Detroit Lions defeated Chicago 41-10 at Ford Field. Gill had seven punts for an average of 45.9 yards. His longest punt was 56 yards. Three of them were downed inside the 20-yard line. On December 24, the Buffalo Bills pulled away from the Bears 35-13 at Solider Field. Gill had four punts for an average of 49.3 yards. His longest punt was 63 yards. One was downed inside the 20-yard line. The Bears are 3-12 and will face the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday to finish out the season.
Bryse Wilson: Last week, Wilson was designated for assignment by the Pittsburgh Pirates after 18 months with the franchise. Wilson was removed from Pittsburgh’s 40-man roster. Within the next week, Wilson must either be traded or placed on waivers. Last season, Wilson went 3-9 with a 5.52 ERA in 25 appearances with the Pirates. Wilson, who recently became a father, was traded by the Atlanta Braves to Pittsburgh on July 30, 2021.
Connor Crabtree: The Richmond Spiders men’s basketball team lost to George Mason 62-58 in its Atlantic 10 opener on Saturday at EagleBank Arena in Fairfax, VA. Crabtree played two minutes and had one steal. On December 28, Richmond routed Coppin State 83-65 at the Robins Center. Crabtree played four minutes and didn’t score. The Spiders are 7-7, 0-1 in the Atlantic 10.
Joey McMullin: The Sandhills Community College men’s basketball team opened 2023 with a 84-76 loss to Davidson-Davie Community College 84-76 on Sunday in Pinehurst. McMullin scored six points in 22 minutes. He also had three rebounds, three assists and two steals. The Flyers fall to 12-3. They will play Hines Prep on Tuesday.
Braden Homsey: The Division III Ferrum College wrestling team placed sixth in the Citrus Invitational at the Broward County Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale, FL on Thursday and Friday. Homsey finished 7th in the 197-pound tournament. He opened with a technical fall victory over Stephen Jennings of Castleton 16-0. In the quarterfinals, Nigel Williams of UNC Pembroke defeated Homsey 3-2. Homsey won his consolation match over R.J. Iban of Ozarks via tech fall 15-0. Haven Tartarek of Castleton defeated Homsey 6-5 in the consolation semifinal. In the seventh place match, Homsey defeated Garrett Steele of UNC Pembroke via medical forfeit.