Orange High School

Is this the time for the Orange volleyball team? They certainly looked like a team ready to make a trip to Reynolds Coliseum in Saturday when they defeated J.H. Rose 3-1 in the state quarterfinals on Saturday. The Lady Panthers earned its first trip to the regional semifinals since 2004 with a victory over the Rampants, the defending 3A Eastern Regional champions. Ella Wimsatt finished with 19 kills, 33 digs, two aces, one assist and one block as the Lady Panthers improved to 26-4, its best mark since they reached the 2004 3A State Championship match. Middle blocker Ava Wilkerson had 14 kills with four blocks, including a crucial point in the fourth set that gave Orange a 21-19 lead. Senior libero Sadye Porter had her usual solid defensive performance with 13 digs, along with two assists. Orange is now one match away from the state championship match. They will host Carrboro tonight (Tuesday) at 6PM inside Orange Gymnasium. The Jaguars, who have won two state championships, defeated Orange 3-1 on August 16 in Jaguars Gymnasium. The Lady Panthers defeated Carrboro 3-1 last year in Hillsborough. The winner will face either North Iredell or Ashe County for the 3A State Championship in Raleigh on Saturday.

Orange volleyball’s Ella Wimsatt, Ava Wilkerson & Sadye Porter discuss playoff win over J.H. Rose

No Description

Reaching a regional championship game means something to Orange volleyball. It has only happened twice before.

When you beat J.H. Rose to do it, it means a little more.

The Rampants have won five Eastern Regional Championships, including last year’s victory over Cedar Ridge in Greenville. They have claimed three state championships.

On Saturday, pressed with playing its best, the unique blend of veterans and underclassmen combined to play its best game of the season and knocked Rose out of the state playoffs in the 3A state quarterfinals.

In possibly her best game in a season full of stellar presentations, senior Ella Wimsatt had 18 kills and 33 digs, while sophomore Aubrey Jordan registered 17 kills as Orange defeated Rose 3-1 at Orange Gymnasium on scores of 25-19, 21-25, 25-15, 25-19.

It was a double dose of good news for Orange on Saturday. In Fayetteville, 4th-seeded Carrboro rallied from two sets down to beat Cape Fear 3-2. That means Orange will host the 3A Eastern Regional Final in Hillsborough on Tuesday night at 6PM.

It is the third time in eight years that the East Final has been played in Hillsborough. In 2021, Cedar Ridge swept Rose. In 2015, Asheboro knocked off Cedar Ridge in four sets.

“We know coming in that they were a very well respected volleyball team,” said Orange coach Hope Heverly. “So we focused that we were tightened up on some of the Xs and Os. The girl respect Rose and knew they had to play their best game. I believe that they did that.”

It’s the first time since 2019 that Rose hasn’t reached the Final Four of the state tournament.

For the fifth straight match, Heverly started freshman Sawyer White with sophomore Rachel Silcott as the two alternated between setter and outside hitter. The arrangement, which started in a loss to Cedar Ridge in the Central Carolina Conference Tournament championship game two weeks ago, started shaky but has improved with every match. White finished with 16 digs, 23 assists and six kills. Silcott came away with 27 assists, nine digs and four kills.

Heverly made the change to increase Orange’s finishing weapons, which paid dividends against Rose. Five different Panthers had kills in the fourth and decisive set.

Senior libero Sadye Porter  had 14 digs.

Orange opened strong with a 10-2 run. Junior Abby Silinski had back-to-back aces while Wimatt registered her first kill of the day to put the Lady Panthers ahead 8-2. The closest the Rampans could get was 22-18 after they racked up five straight points, with a block and a kill by freshman Kate Wallen. Moments later, Wallen was whistled for walking into the net, leading to an Orange side out. Jordan had the final two kills of the frame, including on set point.

Rose used its power at the net to control the second set, which they never trailed. Senior Emily Smith had eight kills and a block for the Rampants in the second frame alone. A kill by Rose senior Shea Jenkins put the Rampants ahead 18-11. Orange mounted a rally when Wimsatt scored a kill, followed by an ace to reduce the Rose lead to 21-17. But Smith scored kills on the final three Rampants points to even the match.

The two teams opened the third set with an 8-8 tie before Wimsatt took control. After White scored off an assist from Silcott to put Orange ahead for good in the set at 9-8, Wimsatt had three straight kills during a 6-1 Orange run to put the lead at 21-13, leading to a Rose timeout. Naturally, Wimsatt’s spike on set point gave Orange a 2-1 lead.

Orange struggled to take the lead in the fourth set. Rose wouldn’t allow the Lady Panthers to score off serves, building a 10-8 lead off kills from Smith and Jenkins. Sophomore Ava Wilkerson, who finished with 14 kills and five blocks, evened the set at 13 with a rejection of an attack by Jenkins. Jordan inserted her influence with her best finishing sequence of the day down the stretch. After Wimsatt scored an ace to give Orange a 17-16 lead, Wimsatt scored two crucial digs on a point that ended when Jordan scored off a feed from White. Silcott followed with another kill.

Rose came back with three straight point to even the set at 19-19, ending with a kill from Wallen. That’s when the Orange sophomores came through with their biggest plays. Jordan earned a side out with an overhand blast from the near post. With Porter serving, Wilkerson scored her third block of the set off an attack by Shea.

Jordan and Wilkerson each had kills to set up match point at 24-19. Rose failed to return Porter’s serve, leading to the Orange student section rushing the floor in jubilation.

On Tuesday, Orange will face Carrboro for the second time this year. On August 16, the Jaguars started its season with a 3-1 win over the Lady Panthers at Carrboro Gymnasium. They will arrive in Hillsborough on a 24-match winning streak.

Orange will go for its second-ever appearance in a state championship match. They reached the 2004 final, where they lost to Mooresville.

tr

There’s no need to ask Gabriel Schmid what his goal is for his final cross country race at Orange High this Saturdfay.

Ever since he crossed the finish line first to win the 3A State Cross Country championship last November, his goal has been to repeat.

The only thing he would like to change in his final trip to the Ivey Redmon Sports Complex in Kernersville would be for his teammates to join him on stage as team state champions.

For the second time in three years, the Orange men’s cross country team won the Mideast Regional Championship on Saturday at Franklinton High School. Running on the grassy terrain in Louisburg, Schmid won the individual championship, crossing the finish line at  16:19.50, beating out Ethan Rich of Western Harnett by seven seconds.

A week after the Panthers won the Central Carolina Conference championship, Orange’s top four runners all finished in the top eight. Sophomore Lucas Van Mater finished fourth overall at 16:39.69, while senior Alden Cathey came in sixth (16:59.41). Sophomore Myles Jermyn crossed the finish line eighth (17:06.22)

It was a full circle experience for Schmid. In 2021, Orange won the Mideast Championship behind the leadership of then-senior Spencer Hampton, who came in second overall. Schmid, then a sophomore, finished fourth overall.

“The course was amazing,” Schmid said. “It was like a golf course. The grass was perfect and our team was phenomenal”

Orange’s Nolan Hufner came in 19th to help the Panthers hold off Northern Nash for the team championship. The Panthers finished with 38 points, while the Knights had 60.

The Orange men have now won three straight conference championships, as well as two of the last three Mideast Conference titles.

For the second year in a row, Cedar Ridge sophomore Ryan Matthews qualified for the state championships individually. Matthews finished 21 at 18:27.03. Edgar Ibarra finished 26th for the Red Wolves at 18:35.53.

Last year, Schmid became just the second runner in Orange history to win a state cross country championship. In 1997, Bradsher Wilkins won the 4A State Championship as a junior. The following year, Wilkins repeated as state champion.

As a team, Orange is the second seed going into Saturday’s state championships. Croatan, who edged Orange during the North Carolina Runners Elite Invitational in Kernersville on October 14, will be the top seed. Croatan had 69 points during the event while Orange finished with 78.

Cedar Ridge has had one individual men’s cross country champion in school history. A.J. Tucker won a pair of 2A State Championships, the first in 2011. He repeated in 2012.

The Cedar Ridge women’s team qualified for the state championships with a fourth place finish in the Mideast Regionals. Led by junior Naomi Dyreng, who won the Central Carolina Conference individual championship last week at Lake Cammack Course in Burlington, the Red Wolves finished third as a team with 123 points. Carrboro won the team regional championship with 56 points. Walter Williams, who edged Cedar Ridge to take the CCC team title, finished second at 111 points.

Dyreng finished third overall with a time of 20:10.56. It will be Dyreng’s second trip to the state championships.

Freshman Brinkley Robinson of Franklinton won the state championship, pacing the field at 19:35.34. Robinson finished thirty seconds ahead of runner-up Addison Barlett of Durham School of the Arts, who came in at 20:05.06.

Cedar Ridge junior Abigail Klaitman finished seventh at 21:13.84. Red Wolf freshman Kate Finnegan finished 24th in her first regional meet at 23:47.44. Anna Peterson of the Red Wolves came in 42nd. Red Wolf freshman Safiyya Frej (52nd at 26:30.09), Samantha Quade (54th at 26:42.72) and Gracie Whitaker also finished for the Red Wolves.

Orange’s top female finisher was senior Channing Mahaney, who came in 57th. Grace Pell came in 58th for the Lady Panthers. Arely Cabarera also competed for Orange.

If there was ever a sign of how deep the Central Carolina Conference was in football, it came Saturday morning.

Despite finishing 3-7, the Orange football team is in the 3A State Playoffs for the first time since 2017, when current N.C. State linebacker Payton Wilson did almost everything to get the Panthers to the Big 8 Conference championship.

Despite losing to Eastern Alamance 41-27 in its home finale at Auman Stadium on Friday night, the Panthers actually improved on its RPI rating and drew a #29 seed in the 3A East Region. The Panthers will travel to Hanford Stadium in Graham to face Southern Alamance, the CCC Champions.

On Friday night, the Patriots wrapped up an undefeated run through the league with a 16-14 win over Western Alamance, clinching its first outright conference championship in over 20 years.

Southern Alamance defeated Orange 49-0 on October 13, a night where Patriots running back Jackson Parrish rushed for three touchdowns. Senior Logan Faust ran for 153 yards and two scores.

The Patriots (9-1) moved to 3A over the summer after spending two years as a 4A team in the DAC-VII Conference, where they opposed teams like Chapel Hill, Jordan, Riverside and Hillside.

While Orange hasn’t had a victory since they defeated Cedar Ridge on September 29, they are being rewarded for playing a difficult schedule. Of the Panthers ten opponents, eight made the state playoffs. That includes first-year school Southeast Alamance, who Orange defeated 33-20 on August 18 in the season opener. Vance County, who pulled out a 28-19 win over the Panthers in Henderson on September 1, finished undefeated and won the Northern Lakes Conference.

“I don’t care who we play,” said Orange coach DeVante Pettiford after Orange’s . “I just want to make the playoffs. It’s something that this program needs. I know it’s going to be tough sledding. I know we gotta play teams that are at the top, but we see that every week. The program needs that. Guys around here need to know that we’re good enough to make the playoffs. It’s part of taking steps forward.”

On Friday night, the Eagles prevailed in a penalty-marred matchup more reminiscent of a preseason jamboree than the regular season finale. The two teams combined for 27 penalties amassing 233 yards. The Eagles won despite committing three turnovers, plus a turnover on downs at midfield in the third quarter when a 4th-down conversion was botched because of a fumbled snap.

In his final game at Auman Stadium, senior Tyler Narold caught a touchdown and threw a touchdown pass. The Panthers took a 61-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Hank Nunnery with 6:05 remaining in the first quarter.

The Eagles quickly responded when quarterback Jason Ball threw a 44-yards pass to Charlie Deacon. Running back Joshua Murray carried the ball into the red zone off a 15-yard gain, then scored the Eagles opening touchdown off a six-yard run. Reagan Sawyer’s extra point put the Eagles ahead 7-6.

The Eagles drove to the Orange 16-yard line late in the first quarter, but senior Jayden Medley recovered a fumble. On the next play from scrimmage, Eastern’s Jamari Gibbs picked off a pass from Nunnery.

Murray, who rushed for 104 yards, scored a touchdown from seven yards out early in the second quarter to go ahead 14-6. On the subsequent kickoff, Orange freshman Kayden Bradsher ran it back 85 yards. Only Gibbs stopped Bradsher from scoring.

Brandon Cummings caught a 21-yard touchdown pass from Nunnery to put the Panthers within two points. Late in the first half, Eagles junior running back Tyrek Samuels, who finished with 110 yards to go over 1,000 on the season, notched his first touchdown off an 11-yard run.

Samuels would add another touchdown in the fourth quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Orange sophomore linebacker Jaylen Starks picked off a pass from Ball and returned it 36 yards. Nate Sorrells, in his final game in Hillsborough, scored a touchdown from three yards out.

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is junior women’s tennis player Shannon Sollars. This season, Orange had its fifth straight winning season and Sollars had the most overall wins of any player on the team. Sollars played at #2 singles  and had a record of 12-1. She also qualified for the Mideast Regionals as a doubles player with her sister, Erinn. Shannon and Erinn finished with a 14-3 record. Last year, Erinn and Shannon qualified for the 3A State Doubles championship. Orange also qualified for the 3A State Dual Team Playoffs this year. Last week, in its opening round match against Cedar Ridge, Erinn and Shannon Sollars defeated Cameron Mayhew and Adeline Cummings 9-8, winning the tiebreaker 7-5  as the Lady Panthers were narrowly defeated by the Red Wolves. In the 3A Mideast Regionals, the Sollars sisters defeated a team from Harnett Central to advance to the second round. Shannon has been a member of the varsity team since her freshman year. During that time, Orange advanced to the second round of the State Team Tournament in 2021 and 2022. As a sophomore, she was a starter on the 2022 team that won the Central Carolina Conference Championship, the first tennis team in Orange High history to win a conference title.

Orange Panther of the Week: Shannon Sollars

No Description

It’s not just that the Orange volleyball team is winning state playoff matches. It’s that they’re dominating them.

Now, for the first time in 17 years, the Lady Panthers are in the state quarterfinals behind another strong performance from its finishers.

Senior Ella Wimsatt piled up 18 kills and 15 digs, her 18th double-double of the season, as the Lady Panthers defeated Union Pines 3-0 on scores of 25-9, 25-14, 25-16 in the third round of the 3A State Playoffs. Orange will face J.H. Rose, the defending 3A Eastern Regional champions, on Saturday (today) inside Panther Gymnasium at 3PM.

Facing the top 3A seed from the 4A/3A Sandhills Conference, Orange only trailed once when the Vikings scored the opening point. Orange racked up eight aces against the Vikings, including five in the opening set.

Orange’s new tandem setter combination of freshman Sawyer White and sophomore Katie Silcott produced its best game yet since head coach Hope Heverly shifted to the new alignment. Silcott had 20 assists, nine digs, three kills and two aces. White registered 17 assists, seven digs, two kills and an ace on match point.

“I think they’re starting to enjoy making it a little further than they have in the playoffs before,” Heverly said. “They’re pushing themselves and really holding themselves accountable. They definitely had more of a drive tonight.”

Unlike the second round win over Northern Nash, the Lady Panthers didn’t have a hiccup early, mainly because of better serving. Wimsatt, senior libero Sadye Porter, Josie Crawford, Silcott and Abby Silinski all had aces in the opening set. Orange opened with a 5-1 run, capped by an ace from Porter and a spike from Wilkerson, who wound up with seven kills and a block.

Leading 16-7, Orange ran off eight straight points with Wimatt serving late in the set. Sophomore Aubrey Jordan, who finished with eight kills, scored on set point with a crosscourt spike that stayed inside the right sideline to put Orange up a frame.

“I think our seniors know that at any moment, this could be their last game,” Heverly said. “I noticed an increased sense of urgency. No matter when the end may come, we want to go out with our heads high.”

Orange took control of the second set with a 9-2 run that started when Wimsatt earned a side out with a light palm thrust at the net. Wimsatt scored off another kill to make it 9-5, which turned into five straight Orange points, ending with a point from sophomore Mariah Poole. The Lady Panthers built a 21-12 lead following another kill from Wimsatt. White’s first kill of the match came on set point, assisted by Wimsatt.

The Vikings managed to tie the third set three times early, but Orange’s outside hitters took control to build a 7-1 run. Wilkerson had consecutive kills and a block during the run. After the Vikings were called for a double hit, Orange took a 12-6 lead..

Union Pines best run of the match came when they scored five of six points to reduce Orange’s lead to 15-14, but Orange immediately reeled off five straight points. Senior Josie Crawford had an ace, followed by a kill from Wimsatt, which led to the Vikings calling a timeout. Afterwards, Wimsatt put up two more points before White’s ace ended the match.

Now, Orange prepares to face one of the most established named in North Carolina volleyball. J.H. Rose last journeyed to Hillsborough in 2021, where they lost to Cedar Ridge 3-0 in the 3A Eastern Regional Championship match. Last year, the Rampants turned the tables, beating the Red Wolves to advance to the state championship match.

Though Orange will be the home team on Saturday, there is a sense that the Lady Panthers may be an underdog to a Rose team that has been to the Final Four each of the past three years.

Though Heverly has been with Orange as head coach just five months, she isn’t surprised that her team is playing for a spot in the regional championship game on Saturday.

“I could always see the potential in them,” Heverly said. “I told them several times that we’re a whole different team than we were at the beginning of this season. I’m hoping that by the time our season ends, we’re still stronger than the way we’ve been going. It will be a great matchup with Rose. I know our girls will come out ready.”