Cedar Ridge Cross Country

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.

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.