Month: February 2023

The Orange swimming relay team of Katie Belle Sikes, Riley White, Ainsley Rasinske and Piper White made history during the 3A State Swimming Championships on Saturday at the Triangle Aquatic Center. They became the first relay team in Orange County history to win a state championship. In one of the tightest races of the event, Orange held off Northwest Cabarrus to win the 200 yard freestyle relay. Riley White opened and put the Lady Panthers in the lead with a lap of 24.90 seconds. Piper White followed with a 26-second lap. Rasinske, a freshman, kept Orange near the lead. Sikes swam the anchor leg in 22.65 seconds. Orange finished with a time of 1:41.04, edging Northwest Cabarrus’ time of 1:42.42. White, Rasinske, White and Sikes also won the 3A Central Regional championship and the Central Carolina Conference championship together. The group nearly won a second state championship at the beginning of the event. White, Rasinske, White and Sikes finished 2nd in the 200 yard medley relay. Central Cabarrus finished first. White, Rasinske, White and Sikes will all return next season for their senior year looking to repeat as State Champions, but their mark in Orange swimming history is permanently marked in stone. 

The Orange men’s basketball team has advanced to the semifinals  of the Central Carolina Conference Tournament. On Monday night, the Panthers pulled away from Cedar Ridge 83-61 at Orange High Gymnasium for its first home postseason win since 2017. The last time the Panthers captured a postseason victory, it was in the third round of the 3A State Playoffs when they defeated Triton. Orange seniors Darius Corbett, Kaleb Barnhardt, Isaiah Seymour, Thomas Locke and Caleb Barreto started on Friday night for their victory over Eastern Alamance that ended the regular season. Against the Eagles, all five of the Orange seniors scored, including Barreto getting five points. Barnhardt was crowned the Homecoming King last November at halftime of the Panthers’ football game against Cedar Ridge. Corbett was named All-Conference for the Orange soccer team last fall. A Captain, Corbett helped the Panthers reach the state playoffs for the first time since 2017. Isiah Seymour has started at center for portions of the last two years and scored seven points against Cedar Ridge on Monday night. The five Orange seniors will be on the bench on Wednesday night when the Panthers face Person in the CCC Tournament semifinals in Roxboro.

When the odds are against you with your season on the line, the best you can do is go out swinging.

That’s what Cedar Ridge seniors Jonovan Wingate and Colton Taylor, in their final game, did against Orange on Monday night.

Facing an Orange team with an infusion of young talent that has taken it to the upper half of the Central Carolina Conference, Wingate injected hope for Cedar Ridge with two early 3-pointers and came away with a team-high 13 points on the night. Taylor added two more treys late.

Once again, it was the Panthers’ depth that carried it past its crosstown rival. This time, it was in the Central Carolina Conference Tournament.

Panther freshman Coleman Cloer scored 23 points while another freshman, Kai Wade, added 17 to lift Orange over Cedar Ridge 83-61 at Panther Gymnasium. The Panthers (17-6) advance to face Person in the semifinals on Wednesday night in Roxboro at 6PM.

Cloer is already at 503 career points with his freshman season not even over yet. He’s had twelve 20-point games this season and has scored in double figures in 23 of 24 games.

Cedar Ridge ends the season 6-16.

It’s the first time in six years that Orange is assured of a state playoff birth while playing in a conference tournament. By his own admission, Panthers coach Derryl Britt, to coin a term used by Queen in the 1980s, wants it all and wants it now. Which is why he was unhappy with his team’s first half.

“We’ve been working on some things and we expected them to work better,” Britt said. “When you’ve beaten a team twice already, it can be hard to get guys up to play sometimes. Our veteran guys haven’t been through postseason play. So trying to get them to understand not to play while watching the scoreboard, just to play the best basketball we can play, is a work in progress.”

In his final game for Cedar Ridge, senior Colton Taylor scored eleven points. It was the end of a whirlwind four months for first-year Red Wolves head coach Mike Jones, a former East Chapel Hill assistant who was hired just

“Jonovan played as well as he’s played all year,” Jones said. “Johnny shot the ball real well tonight. I’m real proud of him and I’m proud of my guys.”

A quick 10-0 burst by Orange early in the second quarter put the game out of reach. It started with a 3-pointer from Cloer, followed by a steal from Xandrell Pennix. Wade notched another steal and drove to the basket for a lay-in while getting fouled by Corin Wingate to take Orange’s lead to 31-16 with 6:46 remaining in the first half. Cloer added another 3-pointer.

Cedar Ridge fought back with a hook shot from Harrison Perel, followed by a 3-pointer from Wingate. Taylor hit five free throws in the second quarter, but the Panthers ended the run with another 3-pointer from Cloer.

It’s the second straight year that Orange has advanced in the CCC Tournament. It was their first home win in a tournament since they defeated Triton in the third round of the 2017 3A State Tournament.

Now that Jones’ first season is over, he will have something that he didn’t have from the moment he was hired: time.

He was forced to hit the ground running in November with barely enough time to get a team established, not to mention losing transfer Neco Clark to Southern Durham. He expects to take a month off before he gathers his team back for offseason workouts.

Despite the record, Jones maintained his enthusiasm during his first year as a head coach.

“It was up-and-down,” Jones said. “It was my first year. We learned a lot. I’ve learned a lot. I’m gonna grow a lot from this year. I think all of my kids, we grew as people. We grew as basketball players and I grew as a coach. I think the mindset is changing. The culture is changing. We don’t go into basketball games expecting to lose anymore. We go up and we fight. That’s the mindset. We’re just trying to get bigger, stronger, faster for next year.”

ORANGE 83, CEDAR RIDGE 61

CEDAR RIDGE: Colton Taylor 11, Landon Dalehite 9, Hayden KIrk 6, Braeden Wilbourn 2, Jonovan Wingate 13, Corin Wingate 4, Harrison Perel 10, Elijah Jenkins 2, Evan Marty 2, Brian Valentine 2.

ORANGE: Xandrell Pennix 7, Kai Wade 17, Ryan Honeycutt 14, Kaleb Barnhardt 4, Coleman Cloer 23, Ryan Moss 3, Isaiah Seymour 7, Malachi Poole 2, Caleb Barreto 4.

3-Pointers: CEDAR RIDGE 6 (Taylor 2, J. Wingate 3, Perel) Orange 6 (Cloer 4, Pennix, Wade, Moss)

By her standards, it had been a quiet night for Nikayla Whitted.

Facing the stifling, unrelenting, perimeter-focused defense of Eastern Alamance, Whitted had only mustered four shots from the field in the final minute of Orange’s Central Carolina Conference quarterfinal matchup against the Eagles in Mebane on Monday night.

With time running out in a game tied 31-31, Whitted took a skip pass from freshman Addie Atkins and drove past Eastern Alamance guard Tashawna Garner. Whitted attempted a running one-hander down the lane and ran into the arms of the Eagles’ Makayla Thompson, who was called for her fourth foul with :19.5 left.

Whitted had not attempted a free throw all night, but it didn’t stop her from calmly sinking both tosses to put Orange ahed 33-31

On the Eagles’ next possession, Thompson took the ball from forward Aliya Trollinger and found teammate Nicole Hester with a diagonal pass on the low right block. Orange center Erin Jordan-Cornell, trailing the play, got a piece of the ball from behind. It sailed over the rim and into the arms of Evelyn George.

A late, desperation 3-pointer by Garner missed at the buzzer, and Orange secured its second win over Eastern Alamance in three days.

The Lady Panthers (14-11) secured a spot in the semifinals, where they will travel to defending 3A State Champion Northwood on Wednesday night. The win also guaranteed Orange its third consecutive winning season.

Jordan-Cornell led the Lady Panthers with 18 points, 14 rebounds, two blocks and two steals. In an obligatory rockfight against Eastern Alamance, the Lady Panthers 2-3 zone infused headaches throughout the game for the Eagles, who nearly won despite shooting 18% from the field, including 1-of-15 from 3-point range.

The Lady Panthers built a 15-7 halftime lead, the largest by either squad on the night, after they held the Lady Eagles (13-12) to one point in the second quarter, which featured Eastern Alamance missing all seven of its field goal attempts.

George assisted on each of Orange’s opening two field goals of the second quarter, starting with a lay-in by Jordan-Cornell. After George blocked a shot by Thompson, she fed Maura McMurtry for the Lady Panthers’ only 3-pointer of the game. Seniors Katelyn Van Mater and Jada Reed each added baskets to push the Lady Panthers lead to 15-6. Only Garner’s free throw with 3:29 remaining in the first half kept the Eagles from getting shut out.

Eastern Alamance went over 15:50 without a field goal, yet still erased its eight-point deficit in just three-and-a-half minutes to open the second half. Thompson triggered a 10-2 run with a lay-in off a pass from Trollinger. Marion Scott’s two free throws evened the game at 17-17 with 5:44 left in the third quarter.

Garner missed the final minutes of the third quarter after she picked up her third foul, which allowed its guard more passing latitude to Jordan-Cornell and George in the paint. Jordan-Cornell scored a second-chance basket after an offensive rebound from George to put the Lady Panthers ahead 21-19 with 3:42 remaining in the third. Jordan-Cornell scored again off another stickback basket, but Scott struck back with a 15-footer. George ended the third quarter with her only field goal to put Orange ahead 25-21 at the end of the third quarter.

Orange jumped out to a 29-23 after Jordan-Cornell scored on a lau-up with 5:50 left in the game. Trollinger responded with the Eagles’ only 3-pointer of the night, followed by a free throw from Hester.

With Orange ahead 31-27 with 1:35 remaining, Garner took an offensive rebound and scored on a coast-to-coast lay-in while getting fouled by Jordan-Cornell. Garner completed the three-point play. Eastern Alamance’s Jada Graves grabbed the rebound after a missed Orange 3-pointer and Garner was fouled by Reed on a drive to the basket on a borderline call under the basket. Garner hit the first free throws to tie the game 31-31, but missed the second. Trollinger got an offensive rebound in the backcourt. After Eastern coach Tim Krotish called timeout, Trollinger missed a shot from the foul line that would have given the Eagles its first lead since it was 6-5, and George grabbed the rebound.

Orange has now won back-to-back games against the Eagles. Before the Lady Panthers’ win over the Eagles last Friday in Hillsborough, Eastern Alamance had beaten Orange six straight times.

ORANGE 33, EASTERN ALAMANCE 31

ORA: 6       9       10      8–33

EA: 6          1          14   10–31

ORANGE: Evelyn George 2, Nikayla Whitted 4, Jada Reed 6, Erin Jordan-Cornell 16, Maura McMurtry 3, Katelyn Van Mater 2.

EASTERN ALAMANCE: Tashawna Garner 8, Aliya Trollinger 9, Marion Scott 4, Nicole Hester 4, Makayla Thompson 6.

3-pointers: Orange (McMurtry) Eastern Alamance (Garner)

FOULED OUT-none.

REBOUNDS: ORANGE 42 (Jordan-Cornell 14), Eastern Alamance 37 (Hester 8)

Where do you go from here?

Asking Katie Belle Sikes that question was the best way to get her to hesitate after she captured her first 3A State Championship in February 2022. At the time, it was something she didn’t have a precise answer for.

So much has changed since then.

She’s committed to swim at Georgia. She changed travel teams. She qualified for all eight individual events for the Central Regionals this winter, even though there were less dual meets for her Orange women’s swimming team.

Now, she’s accomplished something that most swimmers only dream of.

On Saturday, Sikes won three gold medals at the NCHSAA 3A State Swimming Championships at the Triangle Aquatic Center in Cary. Sikes repeated as champion in the 50 yard freestyle, setting a new state record (regardless of classification) of 22.17 seconds. The time was the 10th fastest ever recorded during a high school meet in American history. It also earned Sikes automatic All-American status.

For the first time, Sikes won the 100 meters state championship. She touched the wall at 49.45 seconds, another automatic All-American time. Sikes’ time was a 3A State Championship record. The state record is held by Teresa Ivan of Ardrey Kell at 49.25 seconds.

Sikes also made history when she swam the anchor league for the first Orange relay team to ever win a state championship. Riley White, Piper White, Ainsley Rasinske and Sikes captured 1st place in the women’s 200 yard freestyle relay at 1:41.04. In a tight race, Sikes swam the final leg in 22.65 seconds, two seconds faster than Northwest Cabarrus’ Caroline Rinker.

White, Rasinske, Sikes and White are the first relay team in Hillsborough history to win a state championship.

Sikes was named the Most Outstanding Female Swimmer of the 3A State Championships, another first-time award for any swimmer from Orange or Cedar Ridge High School.

Last year, Sikes felt more relief than joy after she captured her first state championship. The day, in and of itself, is long. There are preliminaries that start at 9AM, followed by a three-hour wait for finals to begin at 5PM. Last year in between sessions, Sikes got to go back to her grandparents house, Linda and Donald, and take a nap before she became the first Orange female swimmer to win a state championship.

Sikes attributes her better performance in the state championships to a new travel team, Eastern Carolina Aquatics, coached by Claudio Battaglini.

“It definitely helped a lot,” Sikes said. “From the times that I swam and how I broke the record, I owe a lot of that to him. He put a whole program out for me, just for high school and states, and it was really great. My old coach didn’t like high school swimming as much as Claudio does. Claudio is all-in. He knows this is a big meet for everyone and wants me to do much better. We train differently. We did more sprint work and I got to rest a little bit more.”

Sikes now has four state championships for her career. As a freshman in 2021, she finished second in the 50 yard freestyle to Olivia Rhodes of Charlotte Catholic, who edged Sikes by .37 of a second for the state title.

“I reached the goals I set for myself,” Sikes said. “I may have over exceeded a little bit. I definitely wasn’t expecting to set the best time not only for my high school career, but also for my club career. I’m really happy with how I swam.”

After one of the greatest athletic performances in county history, it’s easy to forget that Sikes is a junior. She still has one more year remaining at Orange and finding motivation won’t be hard.

“Honestly, it’s not that hard,” Sikes said. “I love my team and I love my sport. It might seem like I have done everything I can do this year, but I’m just going to go back at it again next year to see how much better I can get.”

The Orange women finished fourth in the team standings. Carrboro came away with the team state championship with 196 points. Orange had 154 points.

In addition to their 200 yard freestyle relay championship, White, Rasinske, White and Sikes finished second in the 200 yard medley relay. They finished behind Central Cabarrus, who beat out Orange by .15-of-a-second.

In the 50 yard freestyle, Piper White finished 10th at 25.78. Piper also came in 10th in the 100 yard freestyle.

Orange’s Riley White came in fifth in the 100 yard butterfly at 59.55 seconds. She finished 7th in the 100 yard backstroke at 1:01.57. Abby Cronin, a sophomore from Central Cabarrus, won the state title at 58.28 seconds.

Cedar Ridge’s Sophia Stinnett finished 6th in the 500 yard freestyle at 5:26.76. She finished  11th in the 200 yard freestyle at 2:02.35.

Another Red Wolves sophomore, Quinn McCrimmon, finished 13th in the 200 yard individual medley at 2:24.19. Maya Lambert of Carrboro came away with the state championship at 2:04.16. Lambert also captured the state title in the 100 yard butterfly.