Cedar Ridge High School

Just three days removed from competing in the oldest Track & Field event in the United States, Orange’s Jamar Davis began to get healthy.

The back heel that plagued him during the Penn Relays on Saturday began to get better by the time the Big 8 Track and Field Championships started on Tuesday.

And. It showed.

Davis captured the Big 8 Long Jump and Triple Jump Championships for the second consecutive year at Southern Durham High School. Davis won the Long Jump championship with a leap of 22-feet-four inches, two inches longer than runner-up Terry Green of Chapel Hill.

In the triple jump, Davis beat the field by a full six feet with a jump of 49-feet, six inches. Jordan Purvis was the next closet at 43-feet, four inches.

Last season, Davis also won the long jump and triple jump championships, along with being a member of the 4×400 meter relay team that won a conference championship.

Davis advanced to the 3A Mideast Regionals on May 12th at Southern Guilford in Greensboro in three events. Davis finished 2nd in the 300 meter hurdles, just behind Dominick Green of Southern Durham.

Davis was the only conference champion from the Hillsborough schools,  but several others qualified for regionals. In the 400 meter dash, Cameron Michalski of Orange finished 3rd with a time of 52.06. Cedar Ridge junior Eli Tilley came in fourth with a time of 52.64.

Cedar Ridge senior Brian Finch qualified for two events. He finished 4th in the 800 meters at 2:04.03. In the 1,600 meters, Finch finished 5th at 4:48.28.

Keyshawn Crisp of Cedar Ridge qualified for the regionals in the 110 meter hurdles with a time of 16.40 seconds.

The Cedar Ridge boys team had three relay teams qualify for regionals. The 4×100 team had a photo finish, finishing 2nd to Hillside by .06 of a second.

Cedar Ridge’s sophomore finished 2nd in the boys pole vault at 12-feet.

Orange freshman Cory McKoy finished 5th in the discus with a distance of 102-feet, 11 inches.

In the 3,200 meters, Orange’s Kyle Van Tubbergh came in fifth with a time of 10:26.81.

In the women’s events, Orange freshman Sasha Godfrey came in 2nd  in the 800 meters, running at 2:25.60, coming in just three-tenths-of-a-second behind Chapel Hill senior Anna Stouffer for 1st place. Cedar Ridge sophomore Allison Musty finished sixth.

Godfrey also qualified for regionals in the 1,600 meters by finishing 3rd at 5:25.94.

In the 3,200 meters, Cedar Ridge freshman Anne Morrell crossed the finish line 3rd at 12:10.75 to advance to Greensboro.

In the 300 meter hurdles, Orange’s Kate Burgess came in third at 48.89 seconds.

Orange’s 4×200 meter relay team finished 3rd with a time of 1:49.06.

In the high jump, Orange freshman Erin Mink had a runner-up finish with a leap of 5-feet, actually tying her with Hillside’s Gabrielle Ryan.

Cedar Ridge captured its first conference softball championship in school history on Tuesday with a 22-0 win over Southern Durham. Left fielder Amy Stutzer scored two runs after walking twice. Going into the regular season finale on Thursday, Stutzer is hitting .250. On top of winning the conference championship on Tuesday, Stutzer celebrated her birthday on Wednesday. Her mother made sure the occasion was equipped with the right refreshments.

There wasn’t a sense of finality for the Cedar Ridge Baseball team on its senior night. They will likely be playing at home again next week in the state playoffs.

But Adam Chnupa picked a poetic time for his first grand slam.

The senior, who attended Elon University’s spring football game on Saturday, drove in five runs as Cedar Ridge routed Southern Durham 23-1 on Tuesday night at Red Wolves Stadium. Chnupa blasted the grand slam during a nine-run 3rd inning.  He also tripled in the fourth.

Cedar Ridge is guaranteed to finish no lower than second place in the Big 8. They can still tie for the Big 8 Championship if they beat Southern Durham on Thursday and if East Chapel Hill wins at Chapel Hill. On Tuesday night, Chapel Hill clinched a share of the Big 8 regular season championship by edging East Chapel Hill 2-1.

If Cedar Ridge clinches a share of the Big 8 Championship, they will receive the top seed from the Big 8 for the 3A State Tournament, which begins Tuesday.

Chnupa was one of six Cedar Ridge seniors playing their final regular season home game at Red Wolves Stadium. Centerfielder Sailor Ramos, 1st baseman Chris Cox, right fielder Erik Zehnder, designated hitter Landon Badger and 3rd baseman Nicholas Starr were the other seniors honored before the game. All six started.

Ramos hit two doubles and finished 4-for-4, improving his batting average to .417, which leads the team. Ramos also leads the team with 25 hits and 18 RBI. He has hit safely in five consecutive games, which is tied with Dante DeFranco for the longest streak on the team.

Cox went 2-for-2 with a double and scored three runs, driving in two. Erik Zehnder went 2-for-3 with 4 RBI and three runs scored. Badger went 2-for-3 with an RBI. Cedar Ridge finished with a season-high 19 hits.

Cedar Ridge has now won 11 straight games, the longest winning streak of any team from the Big 8 Conference this year.

Mattthew Kahn earned the win, striking out ten in four innings. Starr came on in the final inning for mop-up duty.

Kahn is now 6-2  with a 3.26 ERA. He has struck out 37 while walking 17.

Cedar Ridge (16-5, 10-3 in the Big 8) will conclude the regular season on Thursday when they face Southern Durham at Pete Shankle Field in the Bull City.

In a battle for 3rd place in the Big 8 on Tuesday night, the Cedar Ridge Women’s soccer team tied Northern Durham 1-1 at Red Wolves Stadium. Cedar Ridge nearly got the game-winner with 5:42 remaining in the 2nd overtime after Emerson Talley’s diagonal pass on a counter found freshman Ivy Garner, who was ruled offside on a borderline call. Junior Grace Davies was in net for the Red Wolves. It was her eighth game of the season. Davies has four shutouts this season for a Cedar Ridge team that has clinched a spot in the state playoffs for the third straight season. After the game, she discussed sharing time in net with senior Taylin Jean, and producing music that you can find on Spotify. 

Cedar Ridge RF had a walkoff single last Friday when the Red Wolves defeated East Chapel Hill 5-4. Last week, the Red Wolves ensured a spot in the 3A state playoffs for the second straight year by sweeping Hillside in a two-game series. On Thursday, Zehnder hit two doubles as the Red Wolves won 10-0. On Friday in a 11-1 win over the Hornets, Zehnder went 1-for-3. On Saturday, Cedar Ridge defeated Eastern Guilford 8-2 in Gibsonville. Zehnder earned the win on the mound, striking out seven in five-and-two-thirds innings. He gave up just three hits as Cedar Ridge won its eighth straight game. 

Orange Baseball Coach Dean Dease is already in exclusive company solely from remaining as the head of the Panther baseball program since 1988.

On Friday, he goes for his 500th career victory when Orange hosts Southern Durham for a doubleheader starting at 5. Once Dease earned his next win, he will move into even more exclusive company.

How exclusive?

According to the North Carolina High School Athletic Association, there are only seven members of the 500-win club among North Carolina high school baseball coaches.

The most recent totals were updates to the NCHSAA in 2013, according to spokesman James Alverson. At the time, three coaches had reached the 500 win plateau. Since them, four more have joined the club. The most recent was Charles Davis, who retired from C.B. Aycock in 2016 with 512 career wins.

The all-time leader is Ronald Vincent of J.H. Rose, who won his 900th game last season.

What are the playoff implications going into the final week of the regular season?

Of greater importance for Dease is Orange’s standing for the state playoffs. After Cedar Ridge’s 10-0 win over Hillside on Thursday night, the Red Wolves are in sole possession of 2nd place in the Big 8 Conference with a 8-3 record, one game behind first-place Chapel Hill. The Red Wolves travel to Durham on Friday.

If Orange sweeps Southern Durham, they will be 8-4 in conference play, placing them in no worse than a tie for 3rd place. On Friday afternoon, Northwood travels to East Chapel Hill. The Wildcats, were started last week tied for 1st with Chapel Hill, have lost three in a row and are tied with the Chargers for 4th at 7-4. Next week, Chapel Hill will face East to wrap up the regular season.

What are Cedar Ridge’s chances of trying for the Big 8 Championship? 

Average. As mentioned before, Cedar Ridge played the toughest part of its schedule in the opening five weeks of the season when they faced Northwood, Chapel Hill, Orange, East Chapel Hill and Northern Durham. If the Red Wolves win its final three conference games, they have to hope Chapel Hill loses two of its final three league games. Chapel Hill will face Northern Durham on Friday before starting the East Chapel Hill next week. Cedar Ridge and Chapel Hill split its season series, with Cedar Ridge winning 3-1 on March 19. Chapel Hill took the rematch four days later. If the Red Wolves and Tigers finish tied, the tiebreaker would greatly depend on where Northwood and East Chapel Hill finish in the league standings, which won’t be determined until the regular season ends next Thursday.

Despite a disappointing loss to East Chapel Hill on Wednesday afternoon, the Cedar Ridge Women’s Soccer team has officially qualified for the 3A State Playoffs for the third year in a row. The Red Wolves’ back line has been anchored by centerback Brittany Daley, who has committed to play at Greensboro College. Daley, who has played on the varsity level for four years,  has scored four goals this season while helping goalkeepers Taylin Jean and Grace Davies. Cedar Ridge is 8-3-4 overall and 6-3-2 in the Big 8. Next week, the Red Wolves wrap up the regular season with two home games. They host Hillside on Monday and Southern Durham on Wednesday.  

Adam Chnupa has signed his letter of intent to play college football at Elon University of the Colonial Athletic Association. The Phoenix will host its spring game this Saturday, and Chnupa will miss Cedar Ridge’s baseball game against Eastern Guilford to be in attendance. Last season as a linebacker, Chnupa had 36 tackles and a fumble recovery. Before he leaves for Elon, Chnupa has some business to finish with the Cedar Ridge baseball team, which is only one game behind first-place Chapel Hill in the Big 8 Conference with four league games remaining. Cedar Ridge will host Hillside on Thursday, then travel to Durham to face the Hornets on Friday. This season, Chnupa has been a regular starter in right field while hitting two home runs.

Cedar Ridge junior Natalia Garay has set two personal bests this season for the Red Wolves Women’s Track & Field team. In Cedar Ridge’s 5th home meet of the season against Hillside, Garay ran a personal best time of 13.34 seconds in the 100 meters. In the Orange County Championships at Orange High on April 14th, she ran the 200 meters in 28.54. Garay is also part of the 100 and 200 meter relay teams for Cedar Ridge, along with Yolanda Simpson, Madison Wardlow and Katrina Watkins. The relay team finished third in the Orange County Championships in the 200 meters with a time of 1:57.5. In the 4×100 meter relay, Cedar Ridge finished 2nd with a time of 53.6. In the winter, Garay is a starting guard for the Cedar Ridge girls’ basketball team, who finished 14-12 last season.

The Cedar Ridge softball team was supposed to play Hillside on Tuesday, but they were rained out. Rain has been the only thing that has stopped the Red Wolves this season. After sweeping the two-game series against East Chapel Hill last week, the Red Wolves are 10-1 overall, 9-0 in the Big 8. In Friday’s 8-1 win, sophomore 1st baseman Tori Dalehite went 2-for-4 with 3 RBIs, including a triple. Dalehite, playing her first varsity season, leads the team with a .529 batting average. She leads the team in hits (18), runs scored (17), RBIs (16), triples (5) and on-base percentage (.579).