Cedar Ridge High School

With the Central Conference championships one week away, the Cedar Ridge women’s swimming team finished the regular season undefeated in dual meets on Senior Night.

For the second time this year, Cedar Ridge’s relay team of Sophia Stinnett, Margaret Payton, Quinn McCrimmon and Natalie Kunz broke their own school record in the 200 yard medley relay with a time of 2:03.23. In the opening meet of the year on December 9, Stinnett, Payton, McCrimmon and Kunz broke the record at the Orange County Sportsplex.

The Cedar Ridge women finished the regular season 11-0 in the Central Conference, 12-0 overall. The Red Wolves held off Orange 87-79 and defeated Eastern Alamance 130-24.

It was a special night for Stinnett and McCrimmon, two seniors competing in their final regular season meet at the SportsPlex, which is a year-around home for swimmers. Not only do swimmers compete at the SportsPlex, but they practice there, as well.

Stinnett, who who the Central Regional championships in the 100 yard backstroke and the 500 yard freestyle last year at the Greensboro Aquatic Center, won in both events on Tuesday night and again qualified for regionals.

In the men’s dual meets, it was the final regular season meet for Orange senior Luke Roman, who is only the second male swimmer to win a state championship in school history. Roman, the defending champion in the 500 yard freestyle, won the event once again on Tuesday night touching the wall at 4:47.39. He also won the 200 yard freestyle, touching the wall at 1:49.77. Cedar Ridge freshman J.E. Sandor finished 2nd at 1:55.31 while Orange’s Ayden Twiddy came in third at 2:00.59.

Orange held off Cedar Ridge 172-149 in the men’s dual meet, tying the Red Wolves for first place at the end of the regular season with identical 10-1 conference marks. The Panthers also defeated Eastern Alamance 211-45. Cedar Ridge defeated Eastern Alamance 228-44 The Red Wolves men’s team finished the regular season 10-2 overall.

Roman joined Alex Andre, Nick Bazara and Noah Jones to win the 200 yard medley relay at 1:48.54. Cedar Ridge’s team Christopher Seawell, J.E. Sandor, Phillip Cauwels and Jacob Olmstead also qualified for regionals with a time of 1:55.70.

Orange’s 200 yard freestyle relay team of Baczara, Jason Spey, Colin Wuthrich and Twiddy won the 200 yard freestyle relay. Cedar Ridge’s Cauwels, Seawell, Sandor and Zion Green finished second, earning a spot at regionals.

Baczara won the 200 yard individual medley at 2:20.31. Jones claimed the 50 yard freestyle at 24.21. Cauwels, a senior for Cedar Ridge, finished 2nd.

Andre earned a trip to regionals in the 100 yard butterfly with a time of 57.83 seconds.

Cedar Ridge’s Seawell won two events. He claimed the 100 yard freestyle at 51.18 seconds. Twiddy finished second, also earning a spot at regionals, at 53.65.

Seawell also won the 100 yard backstroke at 1:00.92.

Orange’s Andre, on his senior night, won the 100 yard backstroke (1:07.75). Sandor just trailed finishing second at 1:08.64.

In other women’s individual races, Orange’s Piper White claimed two individual events. She won the 50 yard freestyle at 25.95 seconds. White has won three state championships in relay events with Riley White, Ainsley Rasinske and Katie Belle Sikes (now swimming at the University of Georgia). White also won the 100 yard Butterly.

White teamed with Rasinske, Zoe Jones and Addison Moore to take the 200 yard medley relay at 2:01.77. Cedar Ridge’s relay team of Stinnett, Payton, McCrimmon and Kunz finished second.

Rasinske captured the 200 yard freestyle at 2:15.34. Orange’s Moore finished 2nd at 2:17.97 while Cedar Ridge’s Eden Pollard finished third at 2:18.41. All three earned spots at regionals. Moore also qualified for regionals in the 100 yard backstroke with a runner-up finish (1:09.53).

jones finished first in the 200 yard individual medley at 2:27.44, just beating McCrimmon to the wall by .13 of a second. Payton finished third, also earning a spot in regionals at 2:29.88.

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is women’s basketball forward Kennedi Fearrington. To open 2025, Fearrington scored eleven points as the Red Wolves defeated Southern Alamance 37-29 at Red Wolves Gymnasium. It was Cedar Ridge’s first Central Conference win of the season. Fearrington and fellow freshman Kassidy Tolliver have developed a young core of the Red Wolves women’s basketball team after losing leading scorer Amiyah Ware and starting point guard Sarah Utley from last year’s team. Fearrington and Tolliver have been teammates since their sixth grade season at Gravelly Hill Middle School. Fearrington has played on the varsity since the start of the season. In only her fifth varsity game, Fearrington scored 13 points and grabbed five rebounds in a 55-31 win over the Durham School of the Arts on December 6. Against Eno Rivera Academy, Fearringotn scored ten points as the Red Wolves won its first-ever matchup against the Bobcats 41-25. Fearrington played 13 minutes in the Red Wolves 36-33 win over Chatham Central last week in Hillsborough. Chatham came into the game with an 8-2 record, which gave a boost to Cedar Ridge’s hopes of making the state playoffs for the second straight year. Fearrington figures to be a standout performer in the years ahead for Cedar Ridge women’s basketball.

Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week: Kennedi Fearrington

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is women’s basketball forward Kennedi Fearrington. To open 2025, Fearrington scored eleven points as the Red Wolves defeated Southern Alamance 37-29 at Red Wolves Gymnasium. It was Cedar Ridge’s first Central Conference win of the season.

Against a Chatham Central team that arrived into Hillsborough with an 8-2 record, the Cedar Ridge women’s team had young players came through in the clutch to deliver its biggest win of the season.

Junior Jamee Watson hit two free throws with 54 seconds remaining to put the Red Wolves ahead while sophomore Esther Mwirinzi added two insurance points in the final seconds to lift Cedar Ridge over Chatham Central 36-33 on Wednesday night at Red Wolf Gymnasium. In a time game where neither team led by more than six points, free throws proved to make the difference. Cedar Ridge was 6-of-9 from the stripe in the fourth quarter while the Bears were 4-of-8.

Watson led Cedar Ridge with eight points while freshman Elliott Weisenfeld added seven.

Chatham Central (8-3) was led by Karaleigh Dodson, who finished with 15 points and nine rebounds. With 2:10 remaining in regulation, Dodson hit two free throws to tie the game at 32-32. The Bears, who had 13 offensive rebounds, took the lead with 1:29 remaining after Dodson sank a free throw with 1:29 remaining to conclude a trip where Central grabbed three offensive rebounds.

With 5:54 left in regulation, Dodson tied the game off a strip and steal and scored in transition. Cedar Ridge freshman Kennedi Fearrington drained a short jumper while getting fouled by Central’s Sydney Scott. Dodson found Addison Goldston to tie the game at 30-30.

Cedar Ridge’s Kate Finnegan put the Red Wolves ahead 32-30 on a breakaway layup off a pass from Ava Smith with 3:58 remaining.

Chatham Central led 9-5, then Cedar Ridge went on an 8-0 run in the second quarter. Mwirinizi drained a 3-pointer off a pass from freshman Kassidy Tolliver. Mwirinzi threw to Watson for another 3-pointer to give the Red Wolves its first lead since its was 2-0. Tolliver scored a three-point play to conclude the first half after getting fouled to send the Red Wolves into the locker room with a 16-12 lead.

Orange 62, Person 36: The Lady Panthers outscored the Rockets 21-6 in the second quarter to beat the Rockets for the eighth straight time.

Two day after scoring her 1,000 career point, Orange forward Evelyn George led the Lady Panthers with 19 points and nine rebounds. Orange claimed its third straight win.

Orange senior Shannon Murphy added 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field. She knocked down 3-of-4 from 3-point range.

The Lady Panthers forced 35 turnovers and had 21 steals. George, McMurtry and Kyla Mehl each had four steals each. Orange improved to 8-6 overall.

Person led 14-13 at the end of the first quarter because of 7-of-15 shooting from the field. Ava Mandizha opened the game with a field goal and Nayahana Marner added all six of her points in the first quarter. The Lady Panthers took its first lead of the game when Evelyn George scored on a short jumper off a pass from Mehl.

Orange outscored Person 21-6 in the second quarter and didn’t look back. The Lady Panthers shot 9-of-11 from the field in the second quarter and forced 12 turnovers to turn the game into a rout. After Marshea Byrd’s lay-in assisted by Mehl, Orange kept its lead in double-figures for the rest of the game.

Orange’s lead grew to 31 points in the second half. Midway through the third quarter, Murphy and George combined to hit three straight 3-pointers as the lead stayed about 20 points for the rest of the game.

Bryce Jones scored a late field goal for Orange

Nayahana Marner and Destyni Harris each had seven points to lead the Rockets. Person falls to 7-7, 2-1 in the Central Conference.

Person’s last win over the Lady Panthers was on December 17, 2013.

Orange will travel to Durham Academy for a game that will tipoff at 6PM. Orange returns to Central Conference play against Southern Alamance on Tuesday night in Graham.

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This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is freshman women’s basketball center Kassidy Tolliver. In December, Tolliver scored 12 points to lead the Red Wolves over Durham School of the Arts 54-31 at Sykes Gymnasium in Durham. On a young Cedar Ridge team that lost its top two scorers from last season, Tolliver has taken the reigns right away this season. Just eight games into her high school career, Tolliver is Cedar Ridge’s leading scorer. Tolliver has been playing basketball since her sixth grade year at Gravelly Hill Middle School, where she played alongside her current teammate Kennedi Fearrington. Against Eno River Academy, Tolliver scored 15 points as the Red Wolves defeated the Bobcats 41-25 in the first-ever game between the Hillsborough schools. Against Person on December 20, Tolliver grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds. Cedar Ridge won its first Central Conference game of the season on Friday night over Southern Alamance. Tolliver scored nine points, grabbed seven rebounds and forced eight steals. Tolliver has become a regular starter for the Red Wolves in her freshman season. She aims to keep improving as Cedar Ridge aims to reach the state playoffs for the second straight year. This week, Cedar Ridge will play three games over four days. They will host Orange on Tuesday, then host Chatham Central. On Friday night, the Red Wolves will travel to Mebane to face Eastern Alamance at Tal Jobe Gymnasium.

Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week: Kassidy Tolliver

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is freshman women’s basketball center Kassidy Tolliver. In December, Tolliver scored 12 points to lead the Red Wolves over Durham School of the Arts 54-31 at Sykes Gymnasium in Durham.

In a Central Conference women’s basketball chase filled with experienced teams, Cedar Ridge is playing more freshmen in its regular rotation than seniors.

On Friday night, two rookies paved the way for the Red Wolves first conference win of the season.

Kennedi Fearrington tied her career-high with eleven points while Kassidy Tolliver added nine points as the Red Wolves held off Southern Alamance 37-29 at Red Wolves Gymnasium on Friday night. Junior James Watson added nine points for the Red Wolves (4-5, 1-1 in the Central Conference).

Tolliver and Fearrington were teammates with the Gravelly Hill Middle School team the past three years, as well as several travel teams.

Southern Alamance outrebounded the Red Wolves 38-23. Sarah Kathryn Maness led all scorers with 15 points.

With the Patriots leading 14-12 at halftime, the Red Wolves scored eleven consecutive points starting with back-to-back 3-pointers from Watson and Elliott Wisenfeld. After Fearrington scored on a lay-in after a feed from Ava Smith, Watson drained another 3-pointer off a skip pass from Fearrington. In the final seconds of the quarter, Tolliver scored off a pass from Fearrington to give Cedar Ridge a 25-18 lead going into the final stanza.

Cedar Ridge forced eight Southern Alamance turnovers in the third quarter.

Maness keyed a late Southern Alamance charge. With 1:37 remaining, she made two free throws to cut the Red Wolf lead to 33-27. Maness stole the ball off an inbounds pass and scored on a lay-in with 1:321 remaining. Fearrington put the game away on a breakaway lay-in off a pass from Fearrington.

Cedar Ridge didn’t trail in the first quarter after Wisenfeld scored on a 3-pointer on Cedar Ridge’s first possession. Tolliver scored off a steal by Fearrington to cap a 7-2 Red Wolf run to start the game. Southern Alamance’s Emory Gilley scored a jumper off a pass from Maness to give the Patriots its first lead at 11-10. Maness drained a 3-pointer just before halftime to give Southern Alamance the lead going into the locker room.

Men’s Basketball: Southern Alamance 51, Cedar Ridge 49: In a game with 16 lead changes, Southern Alamance built a 48-39 lead and held on for dear life to beat the Red Wolves on Friday night.

Drayden Brewer paced a balanced Patriot attack with 12 points as Southern Alamance won despite shooting 29% from the field. The Patriots grabbed 18 offensive rebounds.

Cedar Ridge sophomore Jordan Jacobson led all scorers with 17 points, shooting 3-of-8 from 3-point range. Red Wolf senior Braeden Wilbourn added 13 points.

Jacobson knocked down a 3-pointer with four seconds remaining in the first half to tie the game 27-27 at halftime. Cedar Ridge center Jack Kelsey, who finished with six blocks, scored off a pass from Jacobson to give the Red Wolves a 31-29 lead, but that would be the home team’s last lead. Southern Alamance went on a 12-2 run keyed by Brewer, who sank consecutive 3-pointers. Southern Alamance’s Riley Warren, who finished with ten points and eleven rebounds, assisted on Brewer’s second three-pointer that put the Patriots ahead 41-32.

Cedar Ridge (5-8, 0-2) chipped away at the Patriot lead in the final five minutes. Southern Alamance was held without a field goal for 4:46 as Jacobson drained back-to-back 3-pointers which reduced the Patriots lead to 48-45 with 1:56 remaining. Warren scored a crucial lay-in off a pass from Brewer with 1:01 remaining. Cedar Ridge’s Tripp Beasley got free on the wing, took a skip pass from Jacobson and scored another 3-pointer to cut the Red Wolf deficit to 50-48.

Brewer split two free throws with 20 seconds remaining. With Cedar Ridge trailing 51-48, Kelsey grabbed an offensive rebound off a missed shot, which led to Wilbourn hitting one free throw. On the subsequent inbounds pass, Beasley stole the ball from Brewer. In a wild scramble at the finish, Wilbourn got free for a 3-point attempt which bounced off the rim as the buzzer sounded.

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MEBANE–Saturdays in the winter can be generic for high school wrestlers.

Almost every weekend, they’re at a tournament inside a gym with bleachers. Aside from the school colors, the surroundings look almost the same each week.

The Eagle Invitational in Mebane offers a respite. It’s held at the Mebane Arts Center, where wrestlers walk past paintings and portraits on their way into the center to compete. Fans watch from portable seating that’s set up and removed by organizers from Eastern Alamance High School before and after the tournament. There also isn’t the usual hardwood gym floor under the mats.

It was the first time in years that Cedar Ridge competed in the Eagle Invitational. On the Saturday before Christmas, three Red Wolves won individual championships as Cedar Ridge won the team championship, their second tournament title of the year.

Freshman Juan Jaramillo won his first tournament championship while his older brother Favio Jaramillo captured his first individual title at 113 pounds as the Red Wolves won the team championship with 215 points. Cedar Ridge, despite losing seven starters from last year, has won two tournaments this year. They opened the 2024-25 campaign by taking the Atkins Invitational in Winston-Salem on November 16.

Cedar Ridge sophomore Alejandro Briones won the championship at 150 pounds, his first individual championship of the season. Briones scored technical falls in both of his matches. He defeated Northwood’s Cole Shambley 21-6 in a bout that last three minutes. In the final, Briones defeated top-seeded Sincere Savage 19-4. Briones came away from the Eagle Invitational 30-4 with 15 pins on the season.

Orange claimed two individual champions. At 138 pounds, senior Braden Crawford won the Eagle Invitational for the third time. Crawford scored three pins on his way to the championship. In the final, he pinned East Chapel Hill’s Cole Shuster in 2:42. He opened with a quarterfinal victory over Chase Johnson of Bartlett Yancey in 1:36. Crawford, a senior Co-Captain, is 16-4 with 12 pins this season.

Graylon Collins of Cedar Ridge finished 3rd at 138 pounds. Collins defeated Ali Alissa of Northwest Guilford 16-5 in the consolation final.

Orange’s Jayden Medley earned his first championship of the year at 215 pounds. Medley, seeded seconds, pinned four straight opponents to improve to 17-7 on the year. Medley defeated top-seeded Stephen Silhan of Chatham Center in 4:22 in the final. Medley scored three takedowns before he gained a reversal in the final period leading up to the finish. In the semifinals, Medley pinned Kennedy Woods of Southeast Alamance in 29 seconds.

Juan Jaramillo captured the 106 pound title for Cedar Ridge when he pinned Roland Owen of East Chapel Hill in the final. Jaramillo, who walked away from the Eagle Invitational with a 22-8 record, pinned Junior McKay of Overhills in the semifinal. Juan defeated Max Molinar of Orange in 1:18 to open the event.

Favio Jaramillo won the 113 pound championship by beating Alex Raymundo of Randleman in the final. In a tight match, Jaramillo trailed 3-2 in the second period before he got Raymundo on the bottom and scored the pin. Favio earned technical fall wins over Wyatt Collins of Northwood and Devin Rathburn of Chatham Central leading up to the final.

In the women’s tournament, Cedar Ridge freshman Thalia Paterno earned her third championship of the season by winning the 100 pound championship. In a round robin tournament, Paterno wasn’t working by the hour. She pinned all three of her opponents in less than 30 seconds. In the final match, Paterno pinned Kyra Mattis of Overhills in 28 seconds. She opened with a victory over Kaleigh Poteat of Southern Alamance in 15 seconds. In the sandwich match, Paterno pinned Kailey Cabrera of Bartlett Yancey in 15 seconds.

Cedar Ridge senior Pierce Prescod, just days after securing his 100th career pinfall win, finished 2nd at 126 pounds. Prescod dominated Hezekyan Matson of Randleman 24-2 in the semifinals. Brandon Mann of South Granville defeated Prescod 18-14 in a wild final where the lead changed twice in the opening three minutes.

The Red Wolves were buoyed to the team championship by several competitors who had their best tournament showings. Mikey O’Melia finished 2nd at 150 pounds, pinning second-seeded Shane Shuster of East Chapel Hill in the semifinals. Caden Rancer of Northern Guilford took the championship.

Cedar Ridge senior Ryan Rakouskas came in third at 157 pounds. Anthony Bradley of Overhills, the eventual champion, upset Rakouskas via pinfall in the quarterfinals. Rakouskas actually competed against his own teammate, Isaiah Craig, in the consolation final. Rakouskas won a 17-0 technical fall.

At 215 pounds, Cedar Ridge’s Oscar Najera finished third. He scored a 9-1 major decision over Aric Lipscomb of Bartlett Yancey in the consolation final.

Cedar Ridge senior Jordin Blue finished third at 165 pounds. Blue, who finished the tournament with an overall record of 21-8, defeated Angel Berlanga of Bartlett Yancey via pinfall in 3:15 in the consolation final.

Orange freshman Jordan Barbee reached the finals for the first time in a high school tournament at 190 pounds. Barbee pinned Jadyn Bryant of Northwest Guilford in 3:47. Jack Harty of Northern Guilford won the 190 pound title by pinfall in 2:16.

Orange’s Lucas Carrasco finished third at 120 pounds. Carrasco, a freshman, defeated Jaxton Strickland of Randleman 7-3 in the consolation final.