Month: May 2025

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is freshman baseball player Jesus Velazquez. In his first varsity season this year, Velazquez hit .250 as the Red Wolves hosted a state playoff game for the first time since 2018. Among the season highlights for Velazquez came on April 15 when he drove in the game-winning runs in the 7th inning as the Red Wolves rallied to defeat Orange 6-1. Cedar Ridge scored six runs in the seventh inning, keyed by Velazquez’s two-run single. It was Cedar Ridge’s first win at Orange since 2012 and their first win over the Panthers overall since 2018. Jesus entered Cedar Ridge with success as the middle school level. In the 7th grade, he was a member of Stanback’s Orange Person Athletic Conference championship team. While he was a regular starter at second base, he improved as a pitcher as his freshman season progressed. By the end of the regular season, he started on the mound in a win over Southern Alamance, who went on to reach the state quarterfinals. Velazquez went 2-for-3 in a 5-1 win over Person in Hillsborough. He drove in two runs in a 12-2 win over Clover Garden School on March 19. Velazquez will be one of the vital players for head coach Bryson Massey as Cedar Ridge ventures into the brand new Big Seven Conference next year.

Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week: Jesus Velazquez

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is freshman baseball player Jesus Velazquez. In his first varsity season this year, Velazquez hit .250 as the Red Wolves hosted a state playoff game for the first time since 2018.

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is senior softball shortstop Sadie Cecil. This season, Cecil hit .465 for an Orange team that reached the second round of the 3A State Playoffs. She led the team with 33 hits, 27 runs scored and 21 singles. On March 7, Cecil hit two home runs and drove in four runs as the Lady Panthers defeated Roxboro Community School 4-2. She finished 3-for-4 against the Bulldogs. On April 15, Cecil went 3-for-4 with an RBI in Orange defeated Person 13-8 in Hillsborough. In March, Cecil signed with Mars Hill to play softball with the Lions. In four years at the varsity level, Cecil had a lifetime average of .390 with 46 career RBIs. This spring was the best hitting season of her career. In addition to playing softball, Cecil has been a vital member of the Orange athletic staff the past four years. She is a regular at football practices serving as an aspiring trainer alongside head trainer Emily Gaddy and assistant Alicia Harris. In her junior season, Sadie hit .410 as Orange reached the third round of the state playoffs for the first time since they won the state championship in 2017. This year, Cecil hit 2-for-5 with two doubles in Orange’s win over Triton in the state playoffs.

Orange Panther of the Week: Sadie Cecil

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is senior softball shortstop Sadie Cecil. This season, Cecil hit .465 for an Orange team that reached the second round of the 3A State Playoffs. She led the team with 33 hits, 27 runs scored and 21 singles.

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is junior pole vaulter Owen Grant. Last week at the NCHSAA 3A State Outdoor Track & Field championships, Grant finished in the top 15 in the pole vault at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro. Grant cleared eleven feet, six inches to place 14th overall. In April, Grant won the pole vault at the Orange County Championships at East Chapel Hill. Grant qualified for the Mideast Regional when he sailed over the bar at 12-feet. At the Mideast Regionals, Grant finished second behind eventual state champion Ender Buchanan of Cedar Ridge. Owen is a transfer from Walter Williams who spent his first year in Hillsborough this year. Grant also competed in running events this year. Over the winter, Grant qualified for the 3A State Indoor Championships at the JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem. He finished 16th at eleven feet, six inches. Grant started pole vaulting because he wanted to excel in a field event. He started clearing eight feet and has improved with time. Grant started going to Vault House in High Point to improve his form. He is now with Carolina Pole Vault, where he works with local competitors in the event. Owen will look to take another step forward next November when the indoor season starts.

Orange Panther of the Week: Owen Grant

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is junior pole vaulter Owen Grant. Last week at the NCHSAA 3A State Outdoor Track & Field championships, Grant finished in the top 15 in the pole vault at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro. Grant cleared eleven feet, six inches to place 14th overall.

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is senior soccer forward Fleury Nicholson. She joined esteemed company is winning this award for the fourth time in her career. She joins Takia Nichols, Cameron Lloyd, and Josh Mayhew as the only Cedar Ridge athletes to win the award four times. Nicholson scored a goal in the final home game of her esteemed career, a 4-1 win over Voyager Academy. This season, Nicholson was an instrumental part of a Cedar Ridge team that reached the state playoffs for the second straight year. She led the team with 17 assists. She also scored 17 goals. On April 16, she scored a hat trick in a 7-0 win over Person in Roxboro. On March 3, Nicholson scored two goals and three assists in a 9-6 win over Northwood in Hillsborough. Nicholson’s presence and leadership helped sophomore Kate Finnegan adjust to the top forward role in place of last year’s leading scorer, Katie Paulakonis. In her final game in a Red Wolf uniform, Nicholson assisted on both goals in a playoff loss to Richlands. In her junior season, Nicholson scored two goals as Cedar Ridge defeated Williams 4-1 in the state playoffs, its first playoff win since 2018. In August, Fleury will start at UNC-Chapel Hill after leaving an indelible mark on Cedar Ridge soccer for the past four years.

Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week: Fleury Nicholson

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is senior soccer forward Fleury Nicholson. She joined esteemed company is winning this award for the fourth time in her career. She joins Takia Nichols, Cameron Lloyd, and Josh Mayhew as the only Cedar Ridge athletes to win the award four times.

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The Orange lacrosse team has won 14 state playoff games since 2021. Last week, the Panthers opened the 2025 3A/2A/1A State Playoffs with a 11-7 win over Carrboro. Brett Clark scored the Panthers final four goals. Orange started the game with a 10-3 run. In his final game at Auman Stadium, senior longstick defensemen Kale Womble had several interceptions of Jaguars passes which led to Orange transition opportunities. Womble is second on the team with 31 turnovers created. He has 52 ground balls. Sophomore goalkeeper Jackson Runkle only allowed four goals in the final 36 minutes of the game and earned another win in net. Junior Matthew Macneir has been a starter on the varsity team since his freshman year. Against the Jaguars, he scored two goals. Sophomore Jackson Eakes leads the team with 98 ground balls. Going into the Carrboro game, Eakes has won 228 face-offs and has provided an important spark plug for the Panthers offense. On Tuesday night, the Panthers won at Seaforth to advance to the state quarterfinals for the fifth straight year. For the third time in four years, Orange will face First Flight in the state playoffs. It will be the Panthers first-ever trip to Kill Devil Hills. In 2022, First Flight defeated Orange to win the 3A/2A/1A Eastern Regional Championship. In 2023, Orange gained revenge with a win over the Nighthawks during the state quarterfinals in Hillsborough.

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The Orange lacrosse team has won 14 state playoff games since 2021. Last week, the Panthers opened the 2025 3A/2A/1A State Playoffs with a 11-7 win over Carrboro. Brett Clark scored the Panthers final four goals. Orange started the game with a 10-3 run.

Photo by Abigail Pfeiffenberger

PITTSBORO–It’s May and the Orange Panthers are the best lacrosse team in their conference again.

Yet Orange’s win at Seaforth on Tuesday night in the 3A/2A/1A State Playoffs felt different. It wasn’t the domination that the Panthers had established against its Mid-Carolina Conference rivals the past four years.

In fact, Orange went into Tuesday’s game knowing it probably wouldn’t be.

Last year, Orange swept the season series from Seaforth by a combined score of 39-9. Panther coach Chandler Zirkle played his junior varsity players in the second half of both games to rest his starters.

As Seaforth has quickly established itself across the athletic landscape in its brief history, things changed very quickly.

In March, the Hawks ended Orange’s 47-game conference regular season winning streak–in Hillsborough. They tied the Panthers for the Mid-Carolina Conference championship.

For the first time since 2019, Orange had to play a third round state playoff game on the road on Tuesday night. After a shaky start, Orange’s depth and a spectacular effort from its sophomore goalkeeper paved the way to its fifth consecutive trip to the state quarterfinals.

Orange sophomore Owen Wimsatt scored four goals while Jackson Runkle made 16 saves as the Panthers defeated Seaforth 10-8 at Hawks Stadium. Gray Crabtree added three goals, his third hat trick of the year.

“I think we have some really committed kids,” said Orange head coach Chandler Zirkle said. “Owen was phenomenal in the offseason. He has already been voted one of our offseason captains for next year as a junior, which was incredible. There are only three players we’ve ever had voted as junior captains. The other two were Connor Kruse and Jake Wimsatt.”

The Panthers advance to face First Flight in the state quarterfinals in Kill Devil Hills on Friday night.

It was Orange’s first road win in the state playoffs since 2019 when they defeated Northside-Jacksonville, the very first postseason win for Zirkle.

Sophomore Jackson Eakes and longstick midfielder Logan Horn took turns at the face-off circle. They combined for eight wins, six from Eakes, which triggered an Orange comeback.

“With have a jangle of Jacksons on our team and they all played great tonight,” Zirkle said. “It comes down to getting the ball and getting shots. It’s the key to the game.”

Orange’s defense held Seaforth’s leading scorer, junior Ivan Grimes, without a goal for just the second time this season. Senior longstick defensemen Kale Womble was assigned on Grimes the whole game.

Nonetheless, Seaforth stormed out to a 4-1 lead in the opening quarter. The Hawks’ Cameron Exley, in his final game, scored the opener off a feed from Grimes. After Orange’s Brandon Williams tied the game courtesy of a pass from Wimsatt. The Hawks scored three unanswered goals. Tyler Watkins put the Hawks ahead on a man-advantage goal following a slashing penalty on Orange. Jackson Powell and Carter Kearny added goals to put Seaforth ahead.

The momentum changed during the first quarter break when Seaforth’s Liam McCann was penalized for an illegal stick. Orange scored two man-advantage goals in the opening minutes of the second quarter from Matthew Macneir and Drew Jouannet. It triggered a 5-0 Panther run in the second quarter. Wimsatt took a pass from Williams and scored from point-blank range to tie the game with 9:09 remaining in the first half. Crabtree put Orange ahead for good off an assist from Holden Ray. Wimsatt added insurance with his second goal assisted by Macneir as the Panthers went into the locker room leading 6-4.

Seaforth’s Connor Yalch make an incredible dodge to set up Exley’s second and final goal with 8:43 remaining in the second half. It broke a 18 minute goalless stretch for the Hawks.

Play grew more frantic as the second half continued. After Tyler Watkins was hit with a slashing penalty, Wimsatt completed his hat trick after accepting a pass from Macneir to put Orange ahead 7-5.

Seaforth countered with its own man-up goal scored by Watkins off a pass from Oscar Ditter. As time ran out in the third quarter, Grimes unleashed a shot that bounced off the crossbar. Some Seaforth fans thought it crossed the goal line, but it was ruled no goal and Orange maintained a 7-6 lead going into the fourth quarter.

Orange completed a successful clear to start the fourth quarter. Senior Aidan Monteith took a pass at midfield and ran 45 yards unchecked until he stopped and fired in a shot past Seaforth goalkeeper Finn Prospero to increase the Orange lead to 8-6 with 11:14 remaining. Crabtree added a crucial goal with 9;15 remaining. Orange’s leading scorer, Brett Clark, registered his first point of the night assisting on a goal from Wimsatt to make it 10-6, the largest lead of the night.

It appeared that Clark scored a goal that would put Orange ahead 11-7 in the final two minutes. It had already been registered on the Seaforth scoreboard, but a late crease violation was called against Clark. Seaforth immediately shot up the field, leading to a goal from Yalch

Seaforth won the subsequent face-off but Runkle made another crucial save that helped Ray and Clark run out the clock.

For the fifth year in a row, the Orange lacrosse team has reached the state quarterfinals of the 3A/2A/1A State Playoffs. On Tuesday night, the Panthers held off Seaforth 10-8 in the third and final meeting between the Mid-Carolina Conference rivals. It was the Panthers’ second win against the Hawks in Pittsboro this season. After Seaforth scored four goals in the opening quarter, the Hawks were held to four goals in the final 36 minutes of regulation. Goalkeeper Jackson Runkle made 16 saves and collected four ground balls to earn another win in net. Senior long-stick defensemen Drew Jouannet held Seaforth’s leading scorer, Cameron Exley, to two goals Exley finished the season averaging 3.5 goals per game. Jouannet, who has committed to play at Lincoln Memorial College, and Kale Womble held the Hawks to its lowest amount of goals against a conference rival this year. Aidan Monteith scored a crucial goal on a 45-yard run to the net in the third quarter to put the Panthers ahead 7-5 with 2:49 remaining in the second half. Sophomore Owen Wimsatt scored four goals for his 12th hat trick of the season. The Panthers are headed to Kill Devil Hills to face First Flight in the state quarterfinals on Friday night.

Orange lacrosse’s Drew Jouannet, Aidan Monteith, Jackson Runkle & Owen Wimsatt talk win at Seaforth

For the fifth year in a row, the Orange lacrosse team has reached the state quarterfinals of the 3A/2A/1A State Playoffs. On Tuesday night, the Panthers held off Seaforth 10-8 in the third and final meeting between the Mid-Carolina Conference rivals. It was the Panthers’ second win against the Hawks in Pittsboro this season.

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GREENSBORO–Not only is Ender Buchanan a competitor in pole vaulting.

He’s also a fan.

The name Emmanouil Karalis, a Greek pole vaulter who finished 4th at the Tokyo Summer Games in 2021, rolls right off his tongue in casual conversation. So does Armand Duplantis, the current world record holder who has two Olympic gold medals.

On Friday, Buchanan became the first in his own category in Cedar Ridge sports history and may very well be the last.

Buchanan won the 3A State Championship in the men’s pole vault during the North Carolina High School Athletic Association Track & Field State Championships at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro. He cleared 14 feet, beating out Logan Carlson of Croatan and Levi Maness of West Carteret, both of whom peaked at 13-feet, six inches.

Buchanan became the tenth state champion in men’s track and field in Cedar Ridge history. However, Buchanan became the first  men’s track and field state champion at the 3A level in school history. The other nine state championships were won at the 2A level. It’s likely that Buchanan will be the final 3A State Champion ever since Cedar Ridge is reclassifying to 5A starting in August.

“I knew I was a contender, so I was really striving for that,” Buchanan said. “I was a little sad when it ended because I wanted to jump more. All of the people I jumped against, like Logan and Levi, can jump 14 feet. I wanted to keep going to see if we could clear that.”

There have been three female state track and field champions at the 3A level from Cedar Ridge. Most recently, Caroline Fowlkes won the 2022 pole vault state title. She now competes at Appalachian State.

Coincidently, Fowlkes’ father, Thomas, helped Buchanan get started with pole vaulting in 2023. After competing in long distance running events during middle school, Buchanan started working with Fowlkes.

“Towards the end of my freshman year, I actually started seeing people pole vaulting at my school,” Buchanan said. “I thought that was cool. One day I was supposed to start practicing for the 1,600 and 3,200 meters, I thought ‘Huh? Maybe I should see what they’re up to?'”

He started making some friends. They got Buchanan up on a stick and he’s been there ever since.

Last year, Buchanan qualified for the state championships but failed to clear any bar. Or, as it’s called in pole vaulting, “no height.”

Buchanan came away from his first trip to Truist Stadium in Greensboro determined.

“I got time to learn about the track,” Buchanan said. “I learned more about the pit. I was a little more familiar this time around than some of the other people jumping. I knew I had to go back and do something great.”

Buchanan started training three times a week, 90 minutes per session at Pole Vault Carolina in Durham.

In February, Buchanan finished 2nd in the NCHSAA 3A Indoor State Championships at the JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem. By the time the outdoor season started, he knew he was close to his goal of becoming a state champion.

While Fowlkes has moved on and coaches at crosstown rival Orange, Buchanan still works out with some of the Panther pole vaulters.

“It’s very much a tight community in pole vault,” Buchanan says. “We’re very close.”

James Yesunas of Swanboro, who won the 3A Indoor State championships, failed to qualify for the Outdoor State Championships at the Eastern Regionals in Wilson.

Buchanan’s target for his senior year is to repeat as a state champion and break the school record. Ethan Smith, the 2012 2A State Champion, cleared 15-feet, three inches.

Regardless, Buchanan is now in a category of his own.