Cedar Ridge Cross Country

Cedar Ridge’s Ruby Lapham talks winning the Wendy’s Invitational

There were high expectations for the Cedar Ridge women’s cross country team entering this year, and so far they’ve delivered. On Saturday, Cedar Ridge finished 1st in the Wendy’s Invitational at McAlpine Park in Charlotte. Junior Anne Morrell was the top Red Wolf finished in 7th place, and her teammates weren’t far behind. Sophomore Zoe Wade finished tenth, while junior Ruby Lapham came in 19th. Right behind Lapham was junior classmate Jill Myler in 20th. On September 28, Cedar Ridge came in first in the Greensboro Cross Country Invitational. Now, Cedar Ridge is preparing for Orange later this week with a chance to continue momentum for the Big 8 Championships later this month at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary. 

The Magnificent 7: week 6. Where to begin?

Last week, the Orange women’s tennis team defeated Cedar Ridge for the first time since 2013. The Cedar Ridge volleyball team maintained its share of first place in the Big 8 with a five-set victory over Vance County, then rolled past Southern Durham on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the Orange volleyball team showed its depth. They started the week with a convincing 3-1 disposal of East Chapel Hill, the Wildcats’ first Big 8 Conference loss of the season. Orange, despite missing senior Emma Clements and sophomore Avery Miller, still swept Northern Durham on Thursday for its third win in four days.

Yet Cedar Ridge and Orange will hardly get a chance to enjoy their victories. Both teams have monster road games this week.

Cedar Ridge starts the week tied with Chapel Hill for 1st place in the Big 8. The Red Wolves travel to CHHS on Thursday.

Orange has a rematch against East Chapel Hill, this time at Wildcat Gymnasium on Tuesday.

In football, it’s Orange-Southern Durham week. From 2012-2017, the winner of Orange-Southern dictated the Big 8 Conference Champion. After Southern’s 13-0 shutout of Northern Durham on Friday night, the Spartans appear poised to win its first conference title since 2015, when current Wake Forest wide receiver Kendall Hinton was the quarterback for Southern.

On top of all that, the Cedar Ridge women’s cross country team won the women’s invitational race at the Greensboro Cross Country Invitational on Saturday afternoon. Cedar Ridge finished with 55 points, beating East Chapel Hill, who wound up with 63.

And the Orange football team won its Big 8 opener over East Chapel Hill on Friday 40-7.

Think the candidates’ list for the Magnificent 7 was long this week? Well, it was. As always, two of the following seven athletes will be named the Orange Panther of the Week and the Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week on Tuesday.

Here is the Magnificent 7 for Week 6 of the Fall Sports season.

  1. Anne Morrell: The Cedar Ridge junior was the top finisher at Saturday’s Greensboro Cross Country Invitational at Hagan Stone Park. Among 106 runners, Morrell finished 7th with a time of 20:52.34. Last season, the Cedar Ridge women finished 2nd in the Greensboro Invitational.
  2. Emma Vosburg: In the Orange volleyball team’s 3-1 win over East Chapel Hill, Vosburg had eight kills, one ace, nine blocks, three digs and an assist. Orange would go on to defeat Southern Durham and Northern Durham over the subsequent three days.
  3. Cameron Lanier: Another one of the power Cedar Ridge volleyball freshmen with Cameron Lloyd and Julie Altieri. Lanier had ten kills, one ace, one block and five digs in the Red Wolves victory over Bartlett Yancey. Cedar Ridge is guaranteed its first winning season since 2015.
  4. James McAdoo: The Orange defensive end helped the Panther defense hold East Chapel Hill to 173 yards total offense. McAdoo caused a fumble for the third game in a row. McAdoo had two sacks as the Panthers secured back-to-back home wins for the first time since 2016.
  5. Elliott Woods: The junior Orange wingback had a career-high 58 rushing yards and scored the first two touchdowns of his varsity career. Woods also leads the team in tackles at the end of five games. Woods added two receptions for 37 yards.
  6. Lindsey Jouannet: The Orange junior tennis player won her match at #5 singles against Cedar Ridge 6-2, 6-1 on Monday. Jouannet teamed with Sydney Allison to win at #3 doubles 8-2 to sew up Orange’s first win over Cedar Ridge in women’s tennis since 2013.
  7. Isaiah McCambry: Gave the Cedar Ridge football team its first lead of the season against Northwood by scoring a first quarter touchdown. McCambry also had Cedar Ridge’s first 100-yard rushing game since 2016 against the Chargers. Though Northwood won 24-8, McCambry showed more promise as a running back as the Red Wolves return home to face Northern Durham on Friday night at Red Wolves Stadium.

Friday night wrapup: Cedar Ridge volleyball ends six-match losing streak to Northwood

After winning seven, eight and seven matches over the past three years, respectively, the Cedar Ridge volleyball team has started 2019 red hot.

Entering its Big 8 Conference opener against Northwood, the Red Wolves had to face several tests. First of all, they hadn’t defeated the Chargers since 2015, Cedar Ridge’s glory year when they won the Big 8 Championship with a 14-0 record. Since then, Northwood had won six straight matches against the Red Wolves, dropping only three sets out of a possible 18.

Then there was the weather. Hurricane Dorian was a crisis for the Outer Banks, but it was a grey matter in the Triangle. Despite bringing slightly heavy winds and some rain, it was enough to postpone the Northwood-Cedar Ridge from Thursday to Friday.

Once they got started inside Chargers Gymnasium, the Red Wolves had some jitters. They dropped the first set 25-20. But many of the players that have stood out thus far during Cedar Ridge’s 5-0 start are too young to even know about the Red Wolves’ recent struggles, and they didn’t blink despite an early setback.

Cedar Ridge won the final three sets on scores of 25-17, 25-17 and 25-20 to win its Big 8 opener and improve to 6-0.

Freshman Cameron Lloyd led Cedar Ridge with 16 kills and 12 digs. Another freshman, Cameron Lanier, had eleven kills. Julie Altieri continued her strong freshman year with six kills, two aces, six digs, one block and 24 assists.

This week will serve as a litmus test to see how far this young team has come in such a short amount of time. They’ll start with a road trip to 4-A Jordan, who swept Orange last month. Then they face three-time defending Big 8 Champion Chapel Hill. On Thursday, the first matchup against crosstown rival Orange, who has beaten the Red Wolves five straight times.

Men’s Soccer: The Orange men’s soccer team had its two-game winning streak come to an end on Friday night. Riverside defeated the Panthers 4-2 at Linny Wrenn Stadium in Durham. Jose Beltran, who had a hat trick against Eastern Alamance earlier this year, and Rohan Kasthuri scored for the Panthers. Orange will look to bounce back when they start its Big 8 Conference schedule at East Chapel Hill on Tuesday night.

Cedar Ridge Cross Country: The Cedar Ridge men’s and women’s cross country teams continued its season on Friday night at the aptly named Friday Night Lights Cross Country Festival at the Ivey Redmond Sports Complex in Kernersville. It was another strong performance by the Red Wolves’ women’s team, which finished 12th among 26 teams. They also finished 2nd among the Big 8 team that participated, behind only Chapel Hill and ahead of East Chapel Hill (who finished 15th). Anne Morrell was the top Red Wolf runner, finishing 65th with a time of 20:59.28. 215 runners participated. Zoe Wade, a sophomore, came in 68th at 21:06.33. Sophomore Ruby Lapham crossed the finish line 75th at 21:12.95. Junior Ariadna Solis came in 78th at 21:16.87.

The Cedar Ridge men’s team finished 27 among 29 teams. Zachary Garus, a junior, was the top Red Wolf finisher with a time of 18:59.80.

The Magnificent 7 for Week 3: Hargrove, Garcia, Lloyd honored

The third week of the fall sports season faced interruptions from Hurricane Dorian, which led to a unusually busy Friday night. Here are the best individual performances from Week 3 of the fall sports season, including Cedar Ridge volleyball winning its sixth straight match and an Orange sophomore running back who made an immediate impact in his varsity debut. If any coach has a nomination, please email hamlin37@hotmail.com to get your athlete included (looking at you women’s golf and cross country coaches!)

Cameron Lloyd: The first two-time inductee into the Hall of Awesome, Lloyd statistical line in Cedar Ridge’s 3-1 win over Northwood on Friday night was too much to ignore. Lloyd, a freshman, had 16 kills as the Red Wolves won its Big 8 opener in Pittsboro, beating the Chargers for the first time since 2015. Northwood had beaten Cedar Ridge six straight times. Even though she just started high school, Lloyd has quickly established herself as the Red Wolves top finisher. She has led the Red Wolves in kills in three straight matches and four of its last six.

Erin Jordan-Cornell: In its only game of the week, the Orange volleyball team defeated Roxboro Community School 3-0 in Hillsborough. Jordan-Cornell, a 6-1 freshman, had seven kills, tying for the team lead. Through Orange’s 5-3 start, Jordan-Cornell leads the team with 28 kills and 13 blocks. Orange will open Big 8 Conference play on Tuesday against the newest member of the league, Vance County, in Hillsborough.

Brandon Garcia: The game of the week was Wednesday night in Durham, where Cedar Ridge’s men soccer team had a wild 6-6 draw against the Durham School of the Arts. Garcia, a senior midfielder, notched a hat trick to continue his scoring streak to start the year. In addition to the goal, Garcia assisted on a goal by Dean Allen. Garcia started the year with the game-winning goal in Cedar Ridge’s 1-0 win over Hobbton. He also scored. a goal in a 5-1 victory over Eastern Alamance, and assisted on a marker by Reese Weaver in a 4-2 loss to Carrboro. Garcia has a five-game scoring streak going into Monday night’s tilt against Bartlett Yancey in Yanceyville.

Omarion Lewis: A sophomore running back for the Orange football team, Lewis sat out the season-opener against R.j. Reynolds. He didn’t play in the first half against South Granville, but he certainly jolted life into a lethargic Orange offense in the 2nd half. Lewis ran for 119 yards with a touchdown in his first varsity game. Lewis, who had been slated to play on the junior varsity before Friday, was the first Orange player to rush for 100 yards since Hunter Pettiford ran for 199 yards against Southern Durham on September 28, 2018.

Anne Morrell: The Cedar Ridge women’s cross country team participated in the Friday Night Lights Cross Country Festival at the Ivey Redmon Sports Complex in Kernersville on Friday night. In a 26 team field, Cedar Ridge finished 12th. Morrell led the way for the Red Wolves with a time of 20:59.28, good enough for 65th place in a field of 215 runners. Cedar Ridge sophomore Zoe Wade finished right behind Morrell in 68th. Last season, Morrell helped the Red Wolves finished 2nd in the Mideast Regionals and qualified for the state championships. Cedar Ridge returns the bulk of last year’s team and is aiming for big things this fall.

Jera Hargrove: The sophomore, who was the Orange women’s tennis squad’s top singles player last season as a freshman, started the week with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Northwood’s #1 singles player. The Chargers held off the Lady Panthers 5-4. On Wednesday, Hargrove extended Chapel Hill’s top singles player, Lauren Bolzan, to three sets. After dropping the opening set 6-4, Hargrove won the second set 6-4, leading to a 10-point tiebreaker to determine the match. Bolzan captured that 10-8. Hargrove defeated Person’s Kaitlyn Wrenn in straight sets on August 29.

Elliott Sikes: On Tuesday night, the Orange men’s soccer team defeated Hillside 7-1. Elliott Sikes produced two goals and two assists against the Hornets. Orange improved to 3-1 before falling to Riverside on Friday night 4-2.

The Magnificent Seven for Week 2

As a new feature on Hillsboroughsports.com, we’ll honor the seven best performances from the previous week in fall sports. Last week was a solid one for Cedar Ridge and Orange volleyball. Cedar Ridge women’s tennis defeated Orange for the 11th straight time.

  1. Olivia Ward: Won three matches for the Cedar Ridge women’s tennis team last week. She started with a thrilling three-set victory over Chapel Hill’s top singles player, Lauren Bolzan, 4-6, 6-4, and won 10-8 in a ten-point tiebreaker. The following day, Ward defeated Orange’s Jera Hargraves 6-1, 6-4, then teamed with Nora Sauers to win at #1 doubles and capture the dual match for the Red Wolves. The following day, Cedar Ridge edged Bartlett Yancey 5-4 at Red Wolves Tennis Courts. Ward captured her third win in four days, winning a match shortened to one set 8-5.
  2. Cameron Lloyd The Cedar Ridge volleyball team won three road matches last week. On Wednesday, they defeated Durham School of the Arts 3-1 at Sykes Gymnasium in Durham. Lloyd, a freshman, finished with 18 kills and 18 digs. The previous week against the Durham School of the Arts in a 3-1 Cedar Ridge win, Lloyd had 15 kills, 18 digs and two aces.
  3. Jose Beltran: On Wednesday, the Orange men’s soccer team scored three goals in a 13-minute span during the second half to rally and defeat Eastern Alamance 5-3. Beltran scored the first hat trick of his career, including the game-tying goal in the 62nd minute. Beltran also scored the opener for the Panthers in the 6th minute, and added another tally later in the 1st half as Orange won its home opener. The Panthers are 2-1 going into Tuesday night’s match at Hillside.
  4. Kaitlyn Werden: In Orange’s stunning 3-1 volleyball victory over previously unbeaten Person, Werden had ten kills, ten digs two aces, two blocks and 21 assists. On Monday, night, Werden had five kills, two aces, three blocks, and ten digs in a 3-0 win over South Granville in Creedmoor. Orange defeated the Vikings again on Thursday night in Hillsborough.
  5. Machai Holt: Though the Orange football team lost to R.J. Reynolds 47-24 in its season opener at Auman Stadium on Friday night, Holt was tremendous in the season-opener. He made an interception on the first play from scrimmage of the season. Holt finished the drive with a five-yard touchdown run. Holt also blocked an extra point, blocked a field goal, and led Orange players with 83 yards from scrimmage.
  6. and #7 Anne Morrell and Zoe Wade: The Cedar Ridge women’s cross country team started its season at the Grizzly Grade-Level Growler at the Ivey Redmon Sports Complex on Kernersville on August 24. It was the first of what could be a series of strong performances from the Cedar Ridge women. The event was divided into grade classes for each runner. Morrell won the race featuring exclusively juniors with a time of 13:02.00. She beat her nearest competitor by 27 seconds. Wade won the sophomore race, crossing the finish line at 13:20. Her teammate, Ruby Lapham, finished second in the sophomore race at 13:29. An honorable mention goes to Cedar Ridge freshman Sarah Fenwick, who won the two-mile freshman race at 13:20.