Orange High School

Like lists? You’ll love the start of 2017 on HillsboroughSports.com.

Over the next ten days, we’ll count down the top ten moments from the fall sports season.

To start the list, we journey all the way back to August. The Orange boys soccer team got off to a 4-1-1 start, thanks in part to junior striker Jamar Davis.

To start his junior season, Davis scored nine goals in five games.

He began the year with a hat trick against Northern Durham in a 5-2 victory on August 15. A week later, he notched another goal in a 9-1 win over Graham.

But his best performance came in the Panthers’ third game of the season against Bartlett Yancey in Hillsborough. Davis scored four goals against the Buccaneers in an 8-1 win. Alfredo Rodriguez assisted on two of the goals.

Davis, who has placed four times this year for Orange’s wrestling team at 190 pounds, finished the year with a team-high 20 goals and six assists. He also led the team with 46 points.

Orange finished the year 8-11-1 and was eliminated from playoff contention following a 6-4 loss to Southern Durham on October 25. It was a disappointing finish after a 2015 campaign where Orange went 10-10-2 with a playoff appearance against Cleveland.

Next fall, Davis, Ewan McCallum (five goals), Bryan Torres (7 goals and 1 assist) and goalkeeper Noah Miller are all slated to return to the Panthers in a brand-new conference, which will include the addition of 4-A power East Chapel Hill, along with Northern Durham and Hillside.

In theory, it was possibly the longest road trip for any Orange High sports team in the 53-year history of the school.

In practice, Orange Wrestling Coach Bobby Shriner went home.

Shriner, a native of Roselle Park, New Jersey, returned to his stomping grounds this week after a 10-hour bus trip each way. It was a fulfilling journey, on and off the wrestling mat.

After a tour of Manhattan on Wednesday, the Panthers captured the Roselle Park Invitational team championship, finishing with 224 points in the nine team competition. Passic Valley High, from Little Falls, NJ, finished 2nd with 204 points.

It was another Payton Wilson victory at 220 pounds. Wilson, who won the 220 championship at the Tiger Holiday Classic after beating South View’s Cade Smith 10-3, earned his third tournament championship this year at 220. Wilson is 25-0 on the season and remain #1 in the state at 220.

Just weeks after suffering an injury on his right knee from an ingrown hair on his right knee, junior Bailey Hawkins captured his first individual championship at 132 pounds. Hawkins, ranked 5th in the state at 132, is now 25-6 thus far.

Also claiming his first individual championship was heavyweight Daylen Alson, who learned how delicate winning tournament championships can be at the Tiger last week. Facing Carrboro’s Emanuel Oquaye in the semifinals, a weary Alston got a takedown to go ahead 9-6 with :23 remaining in the third period. Yet Oquaye had the stamina to secure a two-point reversal to force Alston to the mat, then gained a near fall in the dying seconds to win the match 10-9 and advance to the finals. Alston, ten seconds away from facing Southeast Guilford’s Evan Surgeon in the finals, finished the tournament 5th.

His fortunes in New Jersey were better. He captured the championship, improving his record to 21-6.

Five Orange grapplers finished second: Gavin Wiggins (120); Charlie Fitzpatrick (152); Josiah Ramirez (170); Branden Homsey (182) and Jamar Davis (195).

Mitchell Askew, Mitchell Lopeman, Levi Anderson, Avery Jenkins, Noah Davis and Caleb Brimmer all placed for Orange.

That ends the 2016 calendar for the Panthers. Now, Orange enters 2017 the favorites to win the Big 8 Conference Championship after beating Northwood before Christmas break. The Panthers return to Big 8 action with a tri-meet against Northern Vance and J.F. Webb at Webb on Wednesday.

When a wrestling team ventures into a tournament against 44 other squads from five states, there’s an aura of the unknown.

Different opponents from different schools leads to a wider variety of competition levels. Which is why the end of the first day of the Tigers Holiday Wrestling Classic at Chapel Hill High School had pleasant surprises, and a few disappointements, for Orange.

Overall, the news couldn’t be much better. The Panthers will go into the final day of the event with the overall team lead with 85 points. Southeast Guilford has 80 points, while Newton Conover had 69.5.

Out of 14 wrestlers who started the competition across all weight classes, the Panthers placed eight in the quarterfinals. Southeast Guilford had seven quarterfinalists, while Newton Conover ended up with six.

The quarterfinals begin at 9AM Friday morning at Chapel Hill High School.

The most dramatic Orange win of the night came at 138 pounds, where junior Bailey Hawkins trailed West Brunswick’s Brandon Risen (23-4) 4-2 going into the final minute of the final period. Hawkins edged Risen’s shoulders to the mat for a stunning pin at 5:18, improving his record to 19-2. Hawkins faces senior Sammy Peticos of Chase High in the quarterfinals.

Earlier, Hawkins pinned Northern Pitt’s Andrew Mizell in 1:48.

At 220 pounds, Payton Wilson’s search for a third individual championship this month started with a pinfall over Tyler Onyebbilanma of Greensboro Smith in 1:43. Wilson, who received a bye into the 2nd round, is now 16-0 this season.

At 170, Josiah Ramirez bounced back after a tough loss last weekend at Eastern Alamance with two decisive wins. He needed only :41 to defeat Northwood’s Montgomery Allgood, then finished off Hough High’s Andrew Boykin 13-1.

Avery Jenkins scored two pins to earn a spot in the 145 quarterfinals. He started with a win over Croatan’s Andrew Litz in 1:05. In the 2nd round, he pinned Jacob Holt of Newton Conover in 3:16.

Sophomore Caleb Brimmer continued a strong campaign with two wins to improve to 15-4. He pinned Morehead’s Dilyn Roudesbush in 2:34, then handed Bunn’s Jalen Kelly a 12-7 defeat. It was only the 2nd loss of the year for Kelly. Brimmer faces Purnell Swett’s Ronald McNiel on Friday.

Heavyweight Daylen Alston didn’t work by the hour in his victories. He pinned Greensboro Smith’s John-Rob Brown in 2:28, then rolled into the quarterfinals with a :32 pin over Southern Alamance’s Alex Crawford. Alston will face Heritage’s Joseph Vickers to start Friday.

At 195, junior Jamar Davis pinned Northern Nash’s Jalen Spooner at 4:49. Davis, who received a bye into the second round, led 2-0 going into the final period.

Mitchell Askew was the 1st Orange wrestler to reach the quarterfinals. He earned a major decision over George Wythe (VA)’s Sebastia Lamrouex 11-1. Askew pinned Carrboro’s Gavin Leone in :30 to open the night.

The tournament featured schools from as far away as Kissimmee, Florida, where one of the wrestlers pulled among the bigger surprises of the night. Osceola High’s Blake Fuller defeated Orange’s Charlie Fitzpatrick 11-5. Fuller got two near falls late in the third period to break open a close match. The loss ended Fitzpatrick’s 13-match winning streak.

Fitzpatrick rebounded to win his first consolation match over George Wythe’s Arelon Kapuy via pinfall in 2:54.

At 120, Gavin Wiggins pinned North Pitt’s Dominic Maurizzio in only :25, but lost a rematch to Southern Alamance’s McKray Mundy 5-1. Wiggins won his first consolation match 11-1 over Providence’s Will Nguyen.

44 teams from four states will participate in the Tiger Holiday Wrestling Classic, which starts today at Chapel Hill High School. Orange High, which has already claimed the team championships at the Jim King/Orange Invitational and Eastern Alamance Eagle Invitational, is one of four teams from Orange County participating. The host, Chapel Hill, joins East Chapel Hill and Carrboro.

Orange will have representatives in all 14 weight classes.

Because Chapel Hill High has classes in session today, the action won’t start until 4 o’clock this afternoon.

The brackets for today’s opening round have been released. Four grapplers who have earned individual championships in Orange’s previous tournaments will all be in action today.

Payton Wilson, who claimed championships at the JKO and Eastern Alamance, puts his undefeated record on the line against Carrboro’s Jesean Barkley.

At 120, Gavin Wiggins, who won an individual championship in Mebane last weekend, takes on Dominic Maurizzio of North Pitt.

Josiah Ramirez (21-1), coming off his first loss of the season last weekend after winning the 170 pound championship at the JKO, takes on Bryan Osorio Suare of East Chapel Hill.

Charlie Fitzpatrick will wrestle at 152 after winning the Eagle Invitational. He opposed hasn’t been announced.

The only Orange wrestler to receive a bye into the 2nd round is Jamar Davis at 195. He awaits the winner of Jalen Spooner of Northern Nash (5-2) vs. Providence Grove’s John Young (15-9)

Heavyweight Daylen Alston (13-2) is opposed by John-Rob Brown of Greensboro Smith.

At 106, Orange’s Mitchell Askew (19-3) faces Carrboro’s Gavin Leone.

At 113, Noah Davis (9-9) faces Chapel Hill’s Zin Muang (16-7).

Orange’s Bailey Hawkins (15-2), who finished as a runner-up at Eastern Alamance, goes against North Pitt’s Andrew Mizell (15-11).

At 138, Levi Anderson (15-5) will wrestle senior Sam Russ (15-8) of Hough High.

At 145, Orange sophomore Avery Jenkins (17-4) takes on Riley Chambers of James Brynes High (S.C.).

In the 182 weight class, Braden Homsey (15-6) faces Hough’s Collin Paradis.

Follow along on Twitter at @Hboroughsports for match-by-match results.

The Big 8 conference has 12 regular season games, and Orange is 2-0 in league play.

Clearly, it’s too early to say that Orange’s victory at Southern Durham on Tuesday night puts the Panthers in the driver’s seat in the chase for the conference regular season championship.

But winning at Spartans Gymnasium for the first time since 1990 is quite the stocking stuffer.

Connor Crabtree scored 29 points while classmate Logan Vosburg added 12 points and 18 rebounds as Orange defeated the Spartans 66-60 on Tuesday night at Spartans Gymnasium.

Orange’s previous win at Southern Durham was when Southern High was at its old location on Moore Drive in the 1990-91 season. The Panthers, under first-year head coach and future Durham Schools Superintendent Pat Rhodes, defeated Southern 68-63 in the season opener.

Southern was hampered when its leading scorer, Antonio Daye, was forced to leave the game intermittently because of cramps. Daye stretched behind the bench while junior Jomaru Brown took over the game for the Spartans, leading the team with 24 points.

Vosburg gave Orange a 48-46 lead off a quick transition feed from Mitch Portman with :16 remaining in the third quarter. It was the Panthers’ first advantage of the game.

Southern held the Panthers scoreless in the opening 4:52 of the fourth quarter, which included five missed free throws. During that time frame, the Spartans reeled off ten straight points after three field goals from Brown and another from Tyriq Burris to take a 56-48 lead with 3:22 remaining.

Crabtree started the rally with a 3-pointer, followed by a lay-in by Ryan Sellers off transition. Burris missed a dunk off a no-look pass from Daye, but a foul was called on Eli Haithcock. Burris missed the two free throws.

Vosburg scored off his own miss on an entry pass from Mitch Portman to narrow the Southern lead to 56-55 with 1:08 left.

On the ensuing Southern possession, Vosburg rebounded a Daye miss, which led to Portman breaking free for an errant shot. Vosburg rebounded and fed to Eli Haithcock for a lay-up that gave Orange a 57-56 lead with :57 remaining.

After Brown tied the game with a free throw, Vosburg tossed a kick-out pass to Sellers, who canned a three-pointer. Vosburg blocked a shot at the other end, giving the Panthers the lead for good.

The Panthers six of its last eight free throws to salt the game away.

Orange will travel to Eastern Guilford for the Eastern Guilford Holiday Tournament on Wednesday.

Before the Cedar Ridge and Orange boys and girls basketball teams go thinking about opening presents, getting much-needed rest during Christmas break and enjoying the NBA’s smorgasbord of games next Sunday, they have their business to take care of on the hardwood.

On Friday, the Cedar Ridge boys and girls were supposed to play on Friday against Southern Durham. The Orange squads were slated to face Northern Vance. None of those games took place. They Orange County School System cancelled after school activities on Friday afternoon due to the threat of freezing rain. That despite the fact that Northern Vance’s boys and girls team had already made the 75-minute trip from near the Virginia border to Hillsborough by bus, only to be told there would be no games that night (The doubleheaders are slated to be rescheduled for January, though a date hasn’t been determined by school).

Now, CRHS and Orange have vital games this week before going into their holiday tournament. Cedar Ridge will play two games in two days, starting with its first road trip of the season tonight against Granville Central in Stem. (It will be another tripleheader, with the girls playing at 6, the boys at 7:30). Then on Tuesday night, the boys travel to Chapel Hill, while the girls will host the Red Wolves.

Cedar Ridge is 4-3, 1-1 in the Big 8 Conference. They will enter tonight’s game against the Panthers will five days off after its thrilling 39-36 victory over Northern Vance last Wednesday, a game where Dmonte Kinney hit the game-winning 3-pointer with :18 remaining.

For Cedar Ridge, the layoff between games was welcomed with open arms. Center Colby Cashaw has been hampered with a knee injury since the Orange game on December 10. He was held to two points against the Vikings.

The Orange boys have only one game this week, but it will play a huge role in the Big 8 Championship race. They travel to Southern Durham on Tuesday night for at 7:00 tipoff.

The Panthers lost to East Chapel Hill on Wednesday 67-58 to fall to 5-4. They shot 36% from the field, but only 5-of-24 from 3-point range. Connor Crabtree scored a season-high 35 points, but Logan Vosburg was held to a season-low four points.

The Orange girls will get a chance to go into Christmas undefeated when they host Soutnern Durham on Tuesday at 7:00. Orange held off East Chapel Hill 46-39 on Tuesday at Wildcat Gymnasium. Kaylen Campbell scored 13 points while Jazlyn Watson registered 12. Icez Barnett had 12 rebounds, though East Chapel Hill outrebounded the Panthers 38-34. The Panthers’ defense stifled the Wildcats, limiting them to 22% shooting from the field.

The local schools will split in different directions for their respective holiday tournaments.

The Orange boys travel to Greensboro for the Eastern Guilford Holiday Tournament, starting Wednesday, December 28. It will be an eight-team field with the championship slated for December 30.

The Orange Girls and Cedar Ridge girls will both play in Mebane at the Eastern Alamance Holiday Tournament starting December 29th. It’s also an eight-team field with the championship set for New Year’s Eve.

As for the Cedar Ridge boys, they head to Southern Pines for the Holiday in the Pines tournament. The Red Wolves will open against Pinecrest on December 28th.

For the second time in three weeks, Orange wrestling captured a team championship at a multi squad tournament.

After winning the Jim King/Orange Invitational two weeks ago, the Panthers finished first in the Eastern Alamance Eagle Classic on Saturday. Behind 1st place finishes from Gavin Wiggins (120), Charlie Fitzpatrick (152) and Payton Wilson (220), the Panthers finished with 286 points, outdistancing Southeast Guilford’s 259. Cedar Ridge finished with 65.

After coming in as the runner-up at the JKO, Wiggins won the 120 pound championship with two major decisions and a pin. He defeated Graham’s Isiah Smith 11-1 on Friday to advance to the semifinals. On Saturday, he easily put away Bishop McGuiness’ Jared Russell 15-1 before pinning Southeast Guilford’s Turner Garrison in 2:32. Wiggins is now 17-3.

Fitzpatrick’s path to the championship was so dominant, he was only extended into the 2nd period once in four matches. He pinned Raleigh Sanderson’s Arsalan Momand in :17, followed by a 1:04 pin of Bartlett Yancey’s Tristan Winn. In the semifinals, he pinned Eastern Alamance’s Jordan Carr-Daye in 1:12. Fitzpatrick earned the championship by pinning Cole Wellington of Dan River (out of Danville, VA) in 2:55. Fitzpatrick is 19-1 with 16 pins.

Wilson’s three matches might as well have been timed with a stopwatch. He pinned Southeast Guilford’s Levi West in :56 for the 220 championship—his longest match of the weekend. He finished off Cedar Ridge’s Izaac Rivera in :51 on Friday, then defeated Bishop McGuiness’ Nick Ackerman in :16, the second-fastest pin of the weekend (East Chapel Hill’s Micah Baker pulled off a :15 pin in the 285 consolation round).

After missing the final two dual matches in last weekend’s Jim Coggins Classic at Southwest Guilford and Wednesday’s dual match against Northwood because of an ingrown hair on his right leg, Bailey Hawkins returned to action for a runner-up finish at 132 pounds. Hawking scored two pins (over Bartlett Yancey’s Talyn Graes in 1:24 and Northwest Guilford’s Finn Queen in 1:14), then claimed a major decision over Jose Chahulz of Burlington Williams 16-0. Southeast Guilford’s Austin Robinson captured the championship by beating Hawkins 15-6.

Also finishing second was Mitchel Askew at 106 and Daylan Alston at heavyweight. Askew rolled into the finals after a 9-4 victory over Bartlett Yancey’s Jacob Wright in the semfinals. He fell to Northern Guilford’s Heath Ginger 11-3. Askew scored two pins on Thursday over Dan River’s Jalon Scales (1:30) and Northwest Guilford’s Duncan McGuire (:56). Askew, who had a ten-match winning streak going into the Ginger bout, is now 18-2.

Alston pinned Northern Guilford’s Paul Klutz in 1:22 to make the semifinals. On Saturday, he pinned Dakota McLendon of Eastern Alamance in :46 before falling to Southeast Guilford’s Evan Surgeon 11-3.

At 170, Josiah Ramirez suffered his first loss of the season after opening the campaign with 19 straight win. He fell in the semfinals to Northwest Guilford’s Chris Garrison 3-2. Ramirez rebounded to earn third place by pinning Cedar Ridge’s Seth McKee in 2:20, followed by another pin of Western Alamance’s Devin Daniels in 3:49.

Also earning third place was Levi Anderson (138); Avery Jenkins (145); Caleb Brimmer (160); and Braden Homsey (182).

Jamar Davis finished fourth at 195. Mitchell Lopeman came in 5th at 126.

Among Cedar Ridge grapplers, Seth McKee  finishing 5th at 170 pounds. He pinned Walker Stewart of Williams in :18 before falling to Southeast Guilford’s Ben Bolcavage in :30. In the consolation rounds, McKee pinned Alex Credle of Northern Guilford in :50 and Bartlett Yancey’s Zack Riccihini in 1:49.

The Red Wolves’ DeMarcus Smith finished 5th at 170. He pinned Cummings’ Jacob Boggs in 2:13 to place in the tournament. Smith earned wins over Williams’ Charlie Sartin, Sanderson’s Kim Blythe and Bishop McGuinness’ Garrett Hope.

Orange and Cedar Ridge will partcipate in the Tiger Holiday Wrestling Classic, a two-day tournament that begins Thursday at Chapel Hill High School. The finals will be Friday.