Two weeks ago, I was on vacation in Boone to visit my old stomping grounds at Appalachian State. Every time I talk to my old college friends, I have to fight the urge to say “Boone has changed so much” because I hate being repetitive.
But it has. Most of the restaurants and bars that I frequented in the late 1990s are something else now.
It was the 25th anniversary of my college graduation. I texted that to Amanda Smith, a friend who watched me finally walk across that stage at Varsity Gymnasium in December 1998. She simply replied with a gif of a clock with wings, flapping by with nothing limiting its headlong flight.
That’s how 2023 felt. From last winter, when Orange and Cedar Ridge wrestling each won conference championships. To the spring where Orange baseball pulled off an epic comeback in the state playoffs. To the fall when Orange and Cedar Ridge volleyball had memorable wins and Gabriel Schmid ended a legacy. It flew by.
It’s an unofficial list, but here are the top 10 Hillsborough sports moments from 2023.
10. Salomon Hernandez scores game-winning goal for Cedar Ridge men’s soccer against Western Alamance, September 20: The game against Cedar Ridge and Western Alamance at Red Wolves Stadium had been a fierce scoreless contest entering the final minutes. It appeared that the Warriors would break the scoreless draw with 27:36 remaining when Konnor Johnson lined up for a penalty kick. As Cedar Ridge goalkeeper Erik Galunas lined up, Johnson sent the shot wide right. With 4:36 left, Cedar Ridge Captain Iliah Babchenko stepped back for a corner kick. The corner was deflected by to Babchenko, who returned a cross into the penalty box. Hernandez timed his jump perfectly and made enough contact to knock it into the lower left corner of the net, setting off a wild celebration and leading to Cedar Ridge men’s soccer earning its first home game in the state playoffs since 2015.
9. Orange’s Acoya Isley wins 195-pound Mideast Regional championship, February 16: Going into the Mideast Regional championships at Cedar Ridge High last winter, Isley was the #2 seed in the 195-pound tournament with a 28-2 record. He faced the #1 seed Karin Sein of Eastern Guilford, in the championship match. It took only 41 seconds for Isley to score the match’s only takedown. To start the second period, Isley sunk in a half-nelson and scored back points when Sein suffered an injury and couldn’t continue. Isley became the first regional champion from Orange since Levi Anderson in 2019. Isley would eventually reach the 3A State Championship match at 195 pounds.
8. Cedar Ridge wrestling wins Central Conference Tournament championship:, January 21: 2023 will be remembered as the year where Cedar Ridge wrestling stepped out of Orange’s shadow. In December, Cedar Ridge defeated Orange in a dual match for the first time ever. The Red Wolves finished with 185.5 points behind individual championships from Fernando Martinez, Kaden Tatro, and Pierce Prescod. The success carried over into the following academic year. Cedar Ridge is one win away from taking its first regular season championship at the 3A level.
7. Orange lacrosse defeats First Flight to reach 3A/2A/1A East Region Final, May 9: Orange lacrosse hosted its first regional championship match in 2022 against First Flight. The Nighthawks drove over six hours from Kill Devil Hills and frustrated the Panthers with superior defense and a fabulous transition game that led to a 13-7 win. Last spring in the 3rd round of the state playoffs, Orange welcomed First Flight back to Hillsborough and had more offensive weapons. Tigh Metheny scored Orange’s first three goals while the Panthers held the Nighthawks scoreless for 18:56. The Panthers would host the regional championship game for the second straight year.
6. Cedar Ridge volleyball upsets Orange to win Central Conference Tournament, October 18: Possibly the biggest upset of the year locally in any sport. Orange had dominated the Red Wolves in its two previous matchups during the regular season. In the conference tournament title match, Cedar Ridge sophomore Claire Hargett had a career-high 24 kills. Senior Graylinn Serge finished with 12 kills and a season-high 24 digs. Cedar Ridge’s defense found a way to contain Orange’s taller outside hitters. Senior libero Natasha Buchler-Fosado had a career-best 25 digs as the Red Wolves won a conference championship for the fourth straight year.
5. Amiyah Ware scores 54 points, breaks Orange County basketball scoring record, February 3: Chances are Amiyah Ware would have set records late in 2022, but she was still recovering from a torn ACL that required her to miss the opening games. Once she got healthy, she etched her name in the record books permanently. Ware scored 54 points against Western Alamance in Elon. She beat the county record set by Orange High’s Ronnie McAdoo set in 1978 when he scored 53 points against Southern Durham. Five days later, Ware scored 51 points in a win at Durham School of the Arts, becoming the first player, regardless of gender, in Orange County history to score 50 points in a game twice in the same season.
4. Orange baseball comes back from five runs down in the bottom of the tenth inning to beat Triton, May 12: Things looked bleak for Orange in the 10th inning against Triton in the 2nd round of the 3A State Playoffs. The Hawks got a three-run triple from Kenneth McCoy, then added an RBI single from Wyatt Avery to go ahead 8-3. Orange made its comeback 90 feet at a time in wildly random fashion. In the bottom of the 10th, Orange got five walks, three hits and a hit batter to make the greatest comeback in team history. Among the highlights was Garrett Sawyer, who had not had a plate appearance all year, somehow batting in the cleanup spot and drawing a walk with one out to score Jackson Berini and cut the lead to 8-7. After Neo Best, who was 0-for-5, tied the game with another bases-loaded walk, Wyatt Hedrick grounded a single up the middle to score Cameron Guentensberger to complete the comeback and send Orange to the round of 16.
3. Orange volleyball defeats Carrboro, wins 3A Eastern Regional championship, October 31: The 2023 Orange volleyball team never had the state championship as a goal. Since 2020, they hadn’t even been the best team in its own town, much less the state. Under first-year head coach Hope Heverly, Orange played ten straight matches away from home in late August and September. They won seven of them, setting up a undefeated run to the Central Conference championship. They avenged a loss to Carrboro in the Eastern Regional championship match on Halloween. Trailing two-sets-to-one, Orange won the fourth set 25-19. In the fifth, Katie Silcott scored the 14th point. Aubrey Jordan spiked home match point to carry Orange to a 15-9 win. Ella Wimsatt, the 2023 Central Conference Player of the Year, finished with 19 kills and 19 digs. Libero Sadye Porter, whose return to the team after sitting out her junior season can’t be underestimated, had 34 digs. Aubrey Jordan finished with 15 kills while Ava Wilkerson had 13 kills as Orange reached the state championship match for only the second time ever.
2. Gabriel Schmid repeats at 3A State Cross Country champion, November 4: Gabriel Schmid doesn’t live in his comfort zone. That’s how he went from not qualifying for the 3A State Cross Country Championships as a freshman to becoming just the second Orange High runner to win a state championship in cross country. On November 4, Schmid won his second 3A State Championship at the Ivey Redmond Sports Complex in Kernersville. He finished with a time of 15:14.75, a good 34 seconds ahead of the closest competitor. Last month, Schmid announced his commitment to run at N.C. State. Schmid improved on his time from the 2022 state championship that he won, also in Kernersville.
1. Katie Belle Sikes named Most Outstanding Swimmer of 3A State Championships, February 16: In 2022, Sikes changed travel teams to a coach that encouraged swimming in high school competitions. Mind you, Sikes became the first Orange swimmer to win a state championship as a sophomore. Last February, Sikes won the 50 yard freestyle and the 100 yard freestyle state championships at the Triangle Aquatic Center in Cary. She set a new state record in the 50 yard freestyle (regardless of classification) at 22.17 seconds. It was the 10th fastest time ever recorded in a high school meet in American history. She won the 100 meters championship at 49.45, another automatic All-American time. She took the anchor leg in the 200 yard freestyle relay with Riley White, Ainsley Rasinske and Piper White, becoming the first relay team to win a state championship in Orange history. Sikes officially signed with the University of Georgia last month. She’s already qualified for five regional events this winter.