Month: February 2023

It was a special Senior Night for the Orange women’s basketball team. The Lady Panthers never trailed and defeated Eastern Alamance 44-39 in front of a large crowd at Panther Gymnasium. The Eagles had defeated the Lady Panthers six consecutive times, including twice in the state playoffs in 2019 and 2020. In her final game inside a gym she knows all too well, Orange center Erin Jordan-Cornell scored 14 points to lead the Lady Panthers. Orange seniors Jada Reed and Nikayla Whitted each scored in the opening three minutes as the Lady Panthers roared out to an 8-0 lead. Reed had six points in her final game at Orange High. Whitted scored four. Forward Katelyn Van Mater, another senior, also scored four points. Van Mater is a three-sport athlete who, earlier this year, helped the Orange tennis team win its first-ever conference championship in school history. Van Mater’s tennis coach, Justin Webb, was in attendance on Friday night. It was a special way for the Orange seniors to play its final game on their home floor. Orange will prepare for another matchup against Eastern Alamance. This time, it will be in the opening round of the Central Carolina Conference Tournament. It will be contested in Mebane on Monday night at 6PM. The winner will travel to Northwood for the semifinals on Wednesday.

Cedar Ridge women’s basketball guard Amiyah Ware made more history in the Red Wolves regular season finale. On Wednesday night, Ware scored 51 points as the Red Wolves defeated Durham School of the Arts 65-57 at Sykes Gymnasium. It came just five days after Ware scored 54 points against Western Alamance, breaking the Orange County record which had stood since 1978. Ware is the first player to ever score 50 points in a game twice in a season in Orange County history. She did it in the span of three games. Ware scored all but one of the Red Wolves points in the second half as Cedar Ridge earned its fourth win of the year. Ware has 12 20-point games this season ever since she made her debut in a Red Wolves uniform against Voyager Academy in December. Ware had her second 50-point game just hours removed from LeBron James setting the all-time NBA scoring record against Oklahoma City in Los Angeles. While she sometimes looks up to James, Ware is a big Jayson Tatum fan. Cedar Ridge will start play in the Central Carolina Conference Tournament on Monday night against an opponent to be determined. There’s a chance Ware could face Western Alamance in the opening round, where Ware broke the county record last Friday.

DURHAM–It would be easy to draw comparisons between Amiyah Ware and LeBron James.

Just 24 hours removed from James breaking Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s NBA all-time scoring record, Ware made her own history inside Durham’s venerable Paul Sikes Gymnasium on Wednesday night. Against the Durham School of the Arts, Ware scored 51 points to propel the Cedar Ridge women’s team past the Bulldogs 65-57 in the Red Wolves’ regular season finale.

She became the first player in the history of Orange County, male or female, to have two 50-point games in the same season. It happened only five days after Ware set the Orange County record by scoring 54 points against Western Alamance, She topped the record set by Orange High’s Ronnie McAdoo in 1978 when he scored 53 against Southern Durham.

Like millions of others, Ware stayed up past her bedtime late Tuesday night to watch James sink a fadeaway for his 38,353rd point. Just as James captured the attention of the sports world, Ware’s domination of the Bulldogs riveted the fans inside Sikes Gymnasium, practically a miniature version of Cameron Indoor Stadium with bleachers on the lower-level and six rows of dark blue wooden seats circling the upper-deck and a crow’s nest.

Except Ware is more of a Jayson Tatum girl. She watched him play for her college team, Duke, growing up and thinks he’ll lead the Celtics to its 18th World Championship this year.

Ware closed out Cedar Ridge’s regular season by avenging an earlier loss to the Bulldogs. On November 21, the Bulldogs rolled past the Red Wolves 55-26 in Cedar Ridge’s home opener.

It should come as no surprise that Ware wasn’t in the lineup that night for the Red Wolves, still working her way back from a torn ACL in her right knee suffered last spring.

On Wednesday night, there was all sorts of obstacles that Ware overcame to lead the Red Wolves to its fourth straight victory of the year. At halftime, Cedar Ridge went to the locker room leading 32-28, with Ware scoring 18 in the first half. Yet when the Red Wolves walked out to start the second half, the overhead scoreboard read 32-30, the first of several discrepancies between the two teams’ scorekeepers on the night. After lengthy deliberation between the three officials, Cedar Ridge started the half with its four-point lead intact.

In the second half, Ware scored 33 of Cedar Ridge’s 34 points. Senior Grace Young’s fourth quarter free throw was the only exception to the Red Wolves’ second half scoring total.

Ware had to play the final quarter with four fouls. On the other hand, she fouled out three DSA guards sacrificed with the unenviable task of defending her all night. That included Lindsay Suitt and Nylah Daniels, the Bulldogs’ top two scorers.

Late in the game, a DSA reserve got extra aggressive and caught Ware with a hand across the face, which fired up the Cedar Ridge bench, not to mention Ware. Late in the game, Ware laid down a crossover move on another DSA substitute which left the hapless  Bulldog sprawling to the floor flat on her backside, sending every fan in the gym reeling. It led to Ware’s final free throws of the game.

Ware’s latest extraordinary effort led to a successful farewell for seniors Cameron Copeland, Cierra Copeland, Grace Young, Beysi Asencio, and Deepmala Ford-Williams, all of whom won their final regular season game.

Men’s Basketball: Durham School of the Arts 62, Cedar Ridge 56

Cedar Ridge hoped that a viral campaign to make guard Landon Dalehite eligible for Wednesday’s game against Durham School of the Arts would be enough to carry the Red Wolves to victory.

Though Dalehite was allowed to play by the NCHSAA, DSA was able to avenge a loss from November.

Josh Dorsette scored 25 points as the Bulldogs (6-16) defeated the Red Wolves 62-56. Early in the third quarter, Cedar Ridge took a 35-34 lead after a lay-in by Colton Taylor, who paced the Red Wolves with 21 points. Cedar Ridge built its lead to 37-34 after a transition basket by Taylor on a feed from Dalehite. Shortly afterwards, Taylor was called for his third and fourth fouls, which sent him out of the game for the final 3:02 of the third quarter.

The Cedar Ridge scorekeeper had Taylor for one foul at the end of the first half, but the Durham School of the Arts scorekeeper had him with two. The home scorebook is the official scorebook for all games at non-neutral sites.

After Taylor picked him his fourth foul, Cedar Ridge was never able to regain momentum offensively. Jaden Haynes drilled a 3-pointer late in the third quarter to put the Bulldogs back ahead. Dorsetts scored eight points in the fourth quarter.

Cedar Ridge (6-15) will start play in the Central Carolina Conference Tournament on Monday night against an opponent to be determined. If Orange defeats Eastern Alamance this Friday, and if Person knocks off Walter Williams, then the Red Wolves will travel to Orange for the opening round.

On Tuesdays night in Burlington, Walter Williams defeated Cedar Ridge. Dalehite was ejected after two technical fouls that Red Wolves coach Mike Jones, along with many others on the team, took issue with. It led to the Cedar Ridge Instagram account starting a viral campaign named #Freelando. It worked, as Dalehite was cleared to play by the NCHSAA hours before tipoff.

Women’s Basketball: Cedar Ridge 65, Durham School of the Arts 57: 

Cedar Ridge: Amiyah Ware 51, Annora Leaf 2, Grace Young 4, Jamee Rose Watson 8.

Durham School of the Arts: Nylah Daniels 15, Lindsay Suitt 27, Eboseta Arhuidese 11, Genesis Danies 2, Tatyana Cheek 2.

3-pointers: Cedar Ridge 2 (Watson 2) Durham School of the Arts 3 (Daniels 3)

Fouled Out: Durham School of the Arts (Suitt, Daniels, Kamryn Ettson)

Men’s Basketball: Durham School of the Arts 62, Cedar Ridge 56

Cedar Ridge: Colton Taylor 21, Jonovan Wingate 4, Hayden Kirk 5, Braedon Wilbourn 8, Landon Dalehite 4, Harrison Perel 2, Luke Orstad 6, Corin Wingate 6.

Durham School of the Arts: Darryn Johnson 10, Josh Dorsette 25, Kaleb Lucas 6, Jaden Haynes 17, Billy Dupree 4.

3-Pointers: Cedar Ridge 3 (Taylor, Orstad, Wilbourn) Durham School of the Arts 4 (Dorsette 2, Haynes 2)

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is senior high jumper Issac Seymour. This Friday, Seymour will compete in the 3A State Indoor Track and Field Championships at the JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem. Last winter, Seymour was a member of the Orange men’s basketball team, along with his brother Isaiah. This year, he focused on track and field. He has broken the state championship qualifying standard for the high jump of 5’8” four times. On December 10, Seymour set his personal best jump of 5’10” at the East Chapel Hill Polar Bear #2 meet at Dave Thaden Stadium. On January 10, Seymour won the meet at the Eastern Alamance Polar Bear #2 on January 10 at Fred Brady Stadium in Mebane. Seymour cleared 5’8”. Last week in the final regular season meet of the indoor season, Seymour again cleared 5’8″. He finished third. Brayden Garrett of J.F. Webb came in first with a leap of 5’10”. Seymour will compete at the JDL Fast Track for the first time this Friday. He will be joined by other teammates who have qualified for the state indoor championships: Gabriel Schmid, Aedan Sampey, Katheryn Scully and Grace Pell.

For the second year in a row, the Orange men’s swimming team has followed a Central Carolina Conference championship with a runner-up finish in the Central Regionals.

On Friday at the Greensboro AquatIc Center, the Panthers has two Silver Medals from Sophomore Luke Roman and two bronze medals from senior Evan Phillips to finish with 252 points. Carrboro claimed its second straight 3A Central Regional title with 376 points.

Roman, who captured three gold medals at the CCC Championships on January 25 at the Orange County Sportsplex, finished 2nd in the 200 yard freestyle. He set a new school record at 1:47.43. Carrboro junior Andrew Commins took the gold medal at 1:44.00. Orange’s Alex Andre finished fourth, also qualifying for the 3A State Championships, with a time of 1:51.54.

In the 500 yard freestyle, Roman had another school record at 4:52.23, good enough for second place. Commins took the gold medal at 4:41.69. Andre finished fourth, earning another spot in the state championships, at 5:05.20.

Roman also teamed with Phillips, Alexander Andre and Andrew Weeks to finished 2nd in the 200 yard medley relay. The quartet, with Roman swimming the anchor leg, finished at 1:46.96. They finished less than a second behind the Durham School of the Arts team of William Gray, Dreizin Ginsberg, Lucca Battaglini and Carson Sheehan, who finished at 1:46.07.

Roman, Phillips, Alexander and Weeks also qualified for the state championships in the 400 yard freestyle relay. They finished third with a time of 3:28.23. Carrrboro’s team of Commins, Matt Strada, Will Thompson and Sam McCallion finished first at 3:18.84.

Phillips, who also won three conference championships in Hillsborough, came in third in the 200 yard individual medley. He set a new personal best time of 2:07.25. William Sikes of Northwood captured the regional title at 2:01.23.

In the 100 yard breaststroke, Phillips finished third at 1:03.40, another personal best to advance to the state championships.

Orange senior Andrew Weeks qualified for the 100 yard backstroke. Weeks finished fourth after he touched the wall at 1:00.29. Carrrboro’s Will Thompson finished first at 50.23 seconds.

The State Championships will be held on Saturday at the Cary Aquatic Center.

Cedar Ridge’s junior Nikhil Agans, who won the CCC Championship in the 200 yard freestyle, earned the bronze medal in the same event at regionals. Agans touched the wall at 1:47.77, but a fraction of a second behind Roman. Agans also qualified for the state championships in the 100 yard free. Agans came in fourth at 49.92 seconds. Carrboro’s Thompson captured the regional title at 46.44 seconds.

Cedar Ridge finished 11th in the men’s team standings with 95 points.

The Panthers, who won the Central Carolina Conference championship for the second year in a row, had six male swimmers earn a spot on the podium at regionals. Last year there were five.

In 2022, Roman finished 2nd in the 200 yard freestyle.

This year, the Panthers were without diver Stanz Zitko, a diver who won four consecutive 3A/2A/1A Central Regional Championships during his stint at Orange. Zitko, who graduated last summer, finished 2nd in the State Championships last February.

Orange has only had one male swimmer win a state championship in school history. In 2018, Ben Scott won the 3A State title in the 100 yard freestyle with a time of 45.95 seconds.

Earlier this winter, Cedar Ridge junior Zoey Moreno became the first female Red Wolves wrestler to win a tournament.

While she didn’t quite reach the North Carolina High School Athletic Association’s Women’s Invitational Tournament last weekend, she didn’t leave empty handed.

Moreno won her bracket at the Women’s Wrestling Showcase, held at the RISE Sports Complex in Bermuda Run, last Friday. Competing at 120 pounds, Moreno was the only competitor from Hillsborough in the event.

Moreno defeated Anella Fabriziani of Willow Spring 7-4 in the opening match. It took Moreno 1:04 to score the opening takedown. Fabriziani came back with a reversal and two back points to take a 4-3 lead at the end of the first period. Moreno notched four points in the final period to earn the win.

In the second match, Moreno defeated Amyna Denton of Hayesville via pinfall in 49 seconds. In the finale, Moreno pinned Annaleigh Tinoco of North Henderson in 44 seconds.

On January 26, Moreno competed against eleven other wrestlers in the 120-pound division of the Mideast Regional at Jack Britt High School in Fayetteville. Moreno defeated Jenna Phelps of Triton via pinfall in 1:09 of the opening round. Joce Carter of Hoke County, who went on to finish runner-up in the tournament, defeated Moreno in the 2nd round.

In the consolation round, Moreno pinned Ariana Anampa of Green Hope in 2:53. Jack Britt’s Samantha Dedeaux defeated Moreno in the consolation semifinals, which determined who would advance to the state tournament.

Moreno concludes her season with a 12-5 record.

In December, Moreno won the Green Hope Girls Grapple in Cary. Moreno defeated Ana Lytle of Wakefield for first place via pinfall in 33 seconds to win the championship.

Indoor Track: 

The Orange Indoor Track & Field team will have five competitors in the 3A/2A/1A NCHSAA Indoor Track and Field State Championships at the JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem on Friday.

Junior Aedan Sampey cleared 11-feet, 6-inches in the pole vault during the Eastern Alamance Polar Bear at Fred Brady Stadium in Mebane on January 31. The minimum qualifying standard is 10-feet. Previously, Sampey qualified for the state championships when he cleared 11-feet at the Eastern Alamance Polar Bear #2 on January 10.

Orange senior Issac Seymour will be going to the State Championships in the high jump. On December 10 at Dave Thaden Stadium, Seymour cleared 5-feet, 10-inches to finish in second place at the East Chapel Hill Polar Bear #2 meet. The minimum high jump standard is 5-feet, 8-inches. At the Eastern Alamance on January 10, Seymour won the high jump with another top leap of 5’8′, two inches better than Bron Rogers of Walter Williams.

Last week in the final regular season meet of the indoor season, Seymour again cleared 5’8″. He finished third. Brayden Garrett of J.F. Webb came in first with a leap of 5’10”.

Seymour also won the East Chapel Hill Polar Bear #4 meet on January 21. He cleared 5’10” for a new personal best.

The Orange men’s 4×400 meter relay team qualified for the State Championships at the East Chapel Hill Polar Bear on January 21. They won a meet, comprised of seven team, with a time of 3:42.16, beating the Wakefield squad by .23-of-a-second.

Also on January 31, Orange junior Katheryn Scully qualified for the high jump. She won the event with a leap of 5-feet. The qualifying standard for high jump in the state championships is 4’10”.

At the East Chapel Hill Polar Bear on January 21, Orange’s Grace Pell had a jump of 4’10”, earning her a spot in Winston-Salem. Pell qualified for regionals for the Orange women’s cross country team last November.

Orange junior Gabriel Schmid, who won the 3A State Cross Country Championship last fall, qualified for the state championships in the 3,200 meters during the first meet of the season on November 19 at the New Balance Dash for Doobie 3,200 in Pfafftown.

The Chapel Hilltopper Lacrosse Foundation, a charitable organization set up by the Zirkle family in Chapel Hill, was recognized by the NCHSAA in December for their extensive work in the local lacrosse community and for their contributions to the NCHSAA Scholarship Fund.  Through the Bull City All Star Game, the Foundation has raised nearly $50,000 for the Cullen Fund, which provides four scholarships (two men and two women) for graduating seniors who will play lacrosse collegiately.  The Foundation has also been active in local lacrosse supporting and establishing middle school programs while also supporting high school programs.  A prime example of their work includes helping to start the Neal Middle School lacrosse program through financial assistance, donation of equipment, and providing leadership in the development of that program.  Neal Middle School is perhaps the most improbable school in Durham demographically to introduce lacrosse, yet this is why the school was chosen, to introduce a new sport and give back to that community.  The foundation has donated helmets and gear to several programs in Orange and Durham County.

Franklin Zirkle, or Coach Z, retired from High School coaching in 2021 after successful stints and East Chapel Hill High School and Leesville Road High School.  His teams appeared in 3 NCHSAA State Championships and won the title in 2006.  Coach Z finished his relatively short career with over 200 wins, a number rarely reached in high school lacrosse.  Kimberly Zirkle graduated from Chapel Hill High School where she played tennis.  She graduated and attended Guilford College where she was a member of the 1982 National Championship Tennis team.  Eventually she played lacrosse her senior year after Franklin turned over the reigns of coaching the Guilford women’s team to join the men’s staff.  Guilford was a Nationally ranked team during Coach Z’s playing and coaching days.  He attributes much of his success to the mentoring of his collegiate Coach Geoff Miller.

In 1992 while living in Durham, Coach Z was recruited back to the game as an official by former Duke Coach Tony Cullen and  local NCAA official Rick Wooten.   Z had a successful officiating career that included refereeing three NCHSAA Championship games and selection as referee on the National Championships for Club lacrosse.  He also served as an NCAA official for many years.  Tired of the long collegiate officiating travel and wanting to spend more time with his family he applied for the East Chapel Hill job.  He took over a program that just won a NCHSAA Championship, interestingly in a game he officiated.  Despite losing 18 seniors, he returned the program to two consecutive State Title games in Cary.  All his teams competed in the playoffs, with many reaching the semi-final game.  While he coached many All-Americans he seems most proud of the numerous Academic All American’s he coached over his twelve year career.

After leaving East, Z started the Carolina Hilltopper Lacrosse travel program.  Now the oldest travel team in the area, the Toppers have placed over one hundred players on collegiate rosters.  The program has always been a family affair, with son Chandler, now Head Coach at Orange High School, providing a leadership role both with travel lacrosse and the Bull City All Star Game.  Hartford Zirkle, the youngest son, has coached at all levels in the program and retains the distinction of being the first Hilltopper.   Both sons and Coach Jacob Manning and Coach Daniel Thayer were members of the East Chapel Hill team that appeared in the 2011 title game.   The Topper staff is comprised of many former colleagues and players who have had successful careers and players and coaches.  Many of the coaches have had NCHSAA State Title game experience and received recognition for their coaching.  The program is old enough that several successful former Toppers are now coaching, not only with the program but also in local high school.

The Bull City All Star game and Cullen Classic for Cancer was created to honor a mentor to Coach Z, as Tony Cullen coached against Z, officiated with Z, and upon his unfortunate passing, Coach Z was able to coach two of Tony’s sons at East Chapel Hill.  Jeff Spear, a co-founder of the game, played for Tony Cullen at Duke and served as a Captain during his senior year.  Through Jeff’s connections to Duke, he was able to open many doors and solicit financial support from former players who wanted to honor Coach Cullen.  The annual game provides one last venue, at Koskinen Stadium on the Duke campus, for top female and male seniors to play while raising money for both the Cullen Fund and Duke Cancer.

Kimberly Eastman Zirkle or “Mamma Z” as she is known by players, is also Co-Chair of Christmas House, part of the Chapel Hill Service League’s commitment to the local community.  Christmas House provide toys and clothing for over 800 families needing financial assistance in making Christmas a joyous time in many households.

When asked about the award, Coach Z stated, “It’s an honor to be recognized by the NCHSAA for the work of the Foundation.  We learned a long time ago that the reward is seeing others succeed, create opportunities for those in need, and teaching a great game with substantial meaning.  I have been blessed to enjoy this adventure with my family, many former coaches on my staff, and great people who love the game of lacrosse.  There is so much satisfaction in watching players learn life lessons, celebrate victories and learn to accept the occasional defeat.”