Orange High School

Not only will the Orange women’s basketball team be in the 3A State Playoffs for the fourth time in five years, but head coach B.J. Condron will get to go home again.

On Saturday night, the North Carolina High School Athletic Association released its field of 64 for the 3A State Tournament. Orange received the #20 seed and will face #13 Southern Wayne in Dudley on Tuesday night.

Condron is a graduate of Southern Wayne High School and has joked he would wear his old basketball jersey on the sidelines if the Panthers faced the Saints in the state playoffs.

The winner of Orange-Southern Wayne will face the winner of #4 Cape Fear vs. #29 West Brunswick.

Last week, it appeared Orange was in position to play conference rival Walter Williams in the opening round of the state playoffs. It would have been the fourth matchup between the Lady Panthers and the Bulldogs this season. Southern Wayne, however, was one of several teams to shake up the playoff picture by winning its conference tournament.

The Saints captured the Quad County Conference Tournament on Friday night when they upset Fike 61-51 in the championship game. Fike captured the Quad County regular season championship after they went 13-1 in league play, which included wins over Southern Wayne by five and 21 points, respectively, during the regular season.

Southern Wayne (19-7) opened the year with four straight wins. They finished second in the Quad County Conference with a 12-4 mark.

Orange (14-12) is coming off one of its best halves of the season against Northwood in the semifinals of the Central Carolina Conference Tournament last Wednesday in Pittsboro. The Lady Panthers led CCC regular season champion Northwood 27-26 at halftime. The Chargers came back to win 63-53 behind Te’Keyah Bland, who scored 23 points. Guard Skylar Adams added 17 points.

On Friday night, Northwood completed its stint in the CCC (they will move to 2A next season) by beating Western Alamance 61-49 to take the CCC Tournament championship. Northwood ended its run in the conference by winning 42 consecutive league games, dating back to the Big 8 Conference. Northwood’s last conference loss came on January 7, 2020, when they fell to Chapel Hill.

Last Wednesday, Orange shot 8-of-10 from the field in the first quarter against the Chargers. That included 3-of-8 from 3-point range. Senior Nikayla Whitted finished with 13 points, including nine in the first quarter. Orange had only one turnover in the first quarter and led 19-13 at the end of the opening eight minutes.

Of course, Orange won’t travel to Dudley looking to just make the playoffs. In its last three playoff appearances, the Lady Panthers have been eliminated in the first round. Last season, the Lady Panthers had a excruciating loss to Fayetteville 71st where they played without center Erin Jordan-Cornell. Yet Orange dominated the Falcons early with dynamic 3-point shooting from senior Samantha George and freshman Evelyn George. The Lady Panthers led 40-23 at halftime.

Then Orange couldn’t buy a shot after halftime. 71st stormed back to outscore the Lady Panthers 45-13 in the second half to win 68-53.

Orange’s last win in the state playoffs came in 2017, when they defeated Havelock to reach the third round of the 3A State Playoffs.

Overall, five teams from the Central Carolina Conference reached the state playoffs.

Northwood, the defending 3A State Champions, received the #7 seed and will face nearby rival Lee County on Tuesday night in Pittsboro. Western Alamance will host a playoff game after they finished runner-up in the conference tournament. The Warriors received a #12 seed and will face #21 Wilson Hunt in Elon.

Walter Williams also will face a home game. The Bulldogs will host C.B. Aycock in the opening round in Burlington. Eastern Alamance, seeded #22, will travel to Fayetteville and take on Terry Sanford on Tuesday night. Orange defeated Eastern Alamance twice over the course of three days last week, which led to Orange getting a higher seed for the state playoffs.

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is junior swimmer Katie Belle Sikes. Last week, Sikes turned in one of the greatest athletic performances in Orange High history. She won three Gold Medals at the 3A State Swimming Championships. Overall for her career, she has four state titles and is the only female swimmer in Orange High history to win an individual state championship. Sikes was named the Most Outstanding Female Swimmer of the 3A State Championships at the Triangle Aquatic Center in Cary. She took 1st place in the 50 yard freestyle setting a new state record, regardless of classification, at 22.17 seconds. The time was the 10th fastest ever recorded during a high school meet in American history. It also earned Sikes automatic All-American status. For the first time, Sikes won the state championship in the 100 yard freestyle at 49.45 seconds, setting a 3A State Championship record. Sikes later teamed with Riley White , Piper White and Ainsley Rasinske to win the 200 yard freestyle relay state championship. Sikes swam the anchor leg at 22.65 seconds. Sikes has also won five regional championships in her Orange career. This year, she qualified for regionals in all eight individual events. Last October, Sikes announced her commitment to swim at the University of Georgia. Her name will go down as the greatest swimmer in the history of Orange High School. 

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This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is junior swimmer Katie Belle Sikes. Last week, Sikes turned in one of the greatest athletic performances in Orange High history. She won three Gold Medals at the 3A State Swimming Championships.

From the beginning of this season, the goal of the Orange  men’s basketball team has been to make the State Playoffs. Now, the Panthers have achieved their goal after a 17-win regular season, its best total since 2017. Two of the seniors on this Orange squad have helped immeasurably. Thomas Loch has been a member of the varsity team since his freshman year. He played well off the bench as Orange mounted a comeback against Person in the Central Carolina Conference semifinals in Roxboro on Wednesday night. Caleb Barreto joined Orange last fall after transferring from Wake Forest. He scored eleven points in Orange’s win over Eastern Alamance on February 10. Barreto and his brother Jackson have helped coach Derryl Britt develop the deepest team in his five-year tenure at Orange. The Panthers nearly reached the Central Carolina Conference Tournament championship game after rallying from 19-points down against Person on Wednesday. Now, they will venture into the 3A State Tournament, which starts on Tuesday. The Panthers will be on the road for the opening round. 

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From the beginning of this season, the goal of the Orange men’s basketball team has been to make the State Playoffs. Now, the Panthers have achieved their goal after a 17-win regular season, its best total since 2017. Two of the seniors on this Orange squad have helped immeasurably.

ROXBORO–The most unlikely comeback started with the most unlikely players for Orange against their neighboring rival.

It was a move so unexpected, so unorthodox and so surprising, it nearly led to the Panthers reaching its first conference tournament final since 2017.

Yet once again, Person found a way to foil Orange, this time in the Central Carolina Conference Tournament semifinal.

Senior Julian Crawley and reserve guard Quante Bowman each scored 15 points as the Rockets (21-4) defeated Orange 59-54 at Rockets Gymnasium. It was the Rockets third win over the Panthers this season.

For the second year in a row, Person advanced to the Central Carolina Conference Tournament championship game, where they will face Northwood on Friday night in Pittsboro. The Chargers easily disposed of Walter Williams 62-45 in Wednesday’s other semifinal.

Person led by as many as 18 points in the first half with a relentless 3-point attack. The Rockets drained eight shots from downtown, including 13 points from Bowman in the second quarter.

Person coach Charles Dacus employed and box-and-one defense focused solely on limiting Orange’s Coleman Cloer, who had three different Rockets defending him on the night. Cloer was held to five points in the first half and Person opened up a 39-20 lead at halftime.

Midway through the third quarter, Orange coach Derryl Britt inserted Jackson Barreto, a guard who spent most of this season on the junior varsity team. Ask anyone who knows Orange basketball who would be the best player off the bench to jump start a comeback, Barreto probably wouldn’t exactly be the first player to come to mind. Heck, he wouldn’t be the first Barreto to come to mind. Jackson’s brother, Caleb, scored eight points against Eastern Alamance last Friday on Senior Night while Jackson finished out JV season.

Yet Jackson, and later senior Thomas Locke, were chosen by Britt to replace two starters in the third quarter and they clearly made a difference. Barreto scored a career-high 12 points, while Locke came up with several crucial steals and drew a charge against Person’s Isaiah Smith in the fourth quarter, who would eventually foul out with only five points.

“At that time, we needed offense,” Britt said. “We needed to make a comeback. I needed shooting. I knew that Thomas could help space the floor. Jackson is one of the best shooters and heady players we have in the program. Jackson went in and served multiple purposes, to guard Crawley. That might seem like a weird matchup to some people, but we know how smart Jackson is. What he lacks in physical stature, he makes up for in heady play.”

Person was so dominant in the first half, the normally raucous Rockets fans emotionally checked out to start the third quarter. Cloer got Orange out of the doldrums with a 3-pointer to open the second half, then a tip-in off a miss by Xandrell Pennix. Then he drained another 3-pointer to make it 41-28. Barreto came in with 5:12 remaining in the third quarter and didn’t leave, then knocked down a 3-pointer to cut the Rockets’ lead to 43-31.

Pennix scored on a strip and steal lay-in at the end of the third quarter to move Orange within ten at 49-39. After Smith opened the fourth quarter with a free throw, Barreto knocked down another 3-pointer. Barreto scored on a transition lay-in off a feed from Kai Wade to make it 50-44, then Cloer drove into the lane and scored off a finger-roll, which forced a Person timeout and the Orange players got a standing ovation from the Panther fans in the visitor’s section.

Suddenly, the relaxation in the Person fan section ended and virtually all of the students watched the final minutes standing in nervous anticipation.

Person struck back with two free throws from Bowman and a stickleback basket from Romello Snow to build its lead to 54-46. Yet Barreto came back with another 3-pointer with 3:23 remaining. Crawley missed a 10-footer, which was rebounded by Cloer, who was fouled by Crawley. Cloer drained both free throws.

Cloer got a steal on the next possession and wound up back at the line after another foul by Crawley. Cloer split a pair to whittle the Rockets’ lead to 54-52 with 2:38 left.

The Panthers had no less than five chances to tie the game in the final minutes. Three finger roll attempts by various Orange players missed. Person’s C.J. Hunt, who didn’t play in the second game against the two teams in Hillsborough two weeks ago, cashed in three big free throws late to put the game away. The Rockets won despite not getting a field goal in the final four minutes. Sophomore Lance Clarke’s 13 points all came in the first half.

Orange will wait for its destination for the 3A State Playoffs. The field of 64 will be released on Saturday. It will be Orange’s first state playoff appearance since 2017.

PERSON 59, ORANGE 54

ORANGE: 9   11   19    15-54

PERSON: 17   22  10   10-59

ORANGE: Xandrell Pennix 4, Kai Wade 11, Coleman Cloer 17, Ryan Honeycutt 6, Malachi Poole 3, Jackson Barreto 11, Thomas Locke 2.

PERSON: Isaiah Smith 5, Lance Clarke 13, Julian Crawley 15, Julian Lunsford 2, Romello Snow 4. Quante Bowman 15, DaeJon Hodge 2, C.J. Hunt 3.

3-Point goals: Orange 7 (Wade, Cloer 2, Poole, Barreto 3) Person 8 (Clarke 3, Crawley Bowman 4)

Fouled out: Person (Smith) Orange-none.

Acoya Isley’s nickname on the Orange wrestling team is “Alabama.”

It’s a natural nickname for somebody born around the time Nick Saban started his revival of the Alabama football program and molded it into the most successful dynasty in modern college sports. Crimson Tide fans have a noticeable population around Orange County, even if the main attraction is based simply on winning rather than geography.

Except Isley isn’t an Alabama fan. In fact, he has no idea how he got the nickname “Alabama.”

“It’s an old football nickname I got my freshman year,” Isley said. “It’s kinda just stuck ever since. They just say it because I’m crazy. I don’t know how I got it. It’s just ‘Bama Isley.’ You learn not to question it. I don’t even watch Alabama play football.”

As of last week, Isley has a new moniker: a regional wrestling champion.

At Cedar Ridge High School last Saturday, Isley defeated top-seeded Karin Sain of Eastern Guilford via injury stoppage at 2:53 to win the 195-pound championship. Isley, who is 32-2 on the season, became the first Orange wrestler to win a regional championship since Levi Anderson captured the 145-pound title in 2019.

Isley, who finished 3rd in the 2022 regionals, faced top-seeded Karin Sein of Eastern Guilford in the championship match. It took Isley 41 seconds to gain the match’s only takedown with a single-leg where Sein conceded his back. With 12 seconds remaining in the first period, Sein escaped to reduce Isley’s lead to 2-1. Sein attempted to take Isley’s legs out from under him, but couldn’t gain a change in position as the buzzer sounded on the opening period.

Isley started the second period on top and grabbed a waist lock takedown. With Sein facing the mat, Isley sank in a half-nelson and attempted to score back points when the official stopped the match to check on an injury to Sein. Following several minutes, Sein couldn’t continue as he favored his right shoulder. Isley was declared the winner for the 54th time in his Orange career.

Orange junior Jared Hutchins reached the finals of the 132-pound tournament. Hutchins scored a 10-5 decision over Eastern Guilford’s Malachi Hamilton in the semifinals. Hutchins, who is 25-5, pinned Emil Shaji of Carrboro in 41 seconds during the opening round. Douglas Byrd’s Cristian Rothrock won a thrilling final match against Hutchins 10-8. After Hutchins escaped to even the match 8-8, Rothrock earned a double-leg takedown with five seconds remaining to take the match.

At 126 pounds, Orange’s Braden Crawford finished 2nd. Crawford opened the tournament with a pin of Carrboro’s Jackson Brooks. For the second time in as many weeks, Crawford faced Union Pines Joseph Lloyd. Previously, the two had met in the 3A Eastern Regional championship match in the 3A State Dual Team Tournament at Orange High, where Crawford won 6-5. This time, Crawford scored a late reversal to win 9-8. Crawford opened the match with four points in the first period, including a takedown just 22 seconds in. Crawford would advance to the championship match over Ethan Croom via forfeit. Southern Durham’s Demarion Garner claimed the regional tile when Crawford was injured in the championship match.

Cedar Ridge junior Kaden Tatro was the fourth finalist from a Hillsborough school on the day. Tatro, the second-seed at 182-pounds, reached the finals after he defeated Solomon Howell of Eastern Guilford 9-0 in the semifinals. Union Pines’ Nicholas Mascolino, the #1 seed, improved to 46-3 on the season when he pinned Tatro in 1:57 in the championship match.

Tatro, 52-5 on the year, opened the tournament with consecutive pinfall wins on the opening day, February 10. He defeated Scotland County’s Wyatt Locklear in 59 seconds. In the quarterfinals, Tatro finished off Chevelle Cade of Westover in 3:16.

Orange finished third in the team standings with 139.5 points. Cedar Ridge came in fourth at 115.5 points. Eastern Guilford captured the regional team championship with 206 points. Union Pines, the 3A Eastern Regional Dual Team Champions, came in second at 175.5 points.

Cedar Ridge and Orange each had four wrestlers qualify for the 3A State Championships at the Greensboro Coliseum. Red Wolves senior Fernando Martinez, the defending 113-pound Mideast Regional Champion, had a frustrating second day en route to a fourth-place finish. In the semifinals, Keaton Crawford of Union Pines defeated Martinez 10-7. Martinez led 5-4 at the end of a spirited first period where he got two back points after he notched a reversal. It was 6-6 at the end of the second period. Crawford scored a reversal to go ahead 8-6 with 1:12 remaining, then scored a near fall for two more points.

Martinez ensured a trip to the state championships after he dominated Sunday Oo of Northwood 16-1 in the consolation semifinals. In the 3rd place match, Martinez faced old rival Christian Lemaire of Person for the fourth time this year. Lemaire, who lost to Martinez last month in the Central Carolina Conference championship match at Orange High, defeated Martinez 4-2 in a match where all points were scored in the third period. After Martinez got the opening takedown, Lemaire escaped and got a double-leg with 44 seconds remaining.

Red Wolf sophomore Ryan Rakouskas advanced to the state championships for the first time in his career after he finished third at 145-pounds. Rakouskas pinned Jose Ortiz of Westover in the consolation semifinals in 4:54. He took the 3rd place match when Eastern Guilford’s Nasir Grant forfeited. Rakouskas, who is 36-18, opened the tournament with a pin over Joseph Vraback of Union Pines in 3:32. In the consolation round, Rakouskas pinned Daniel Edmonds of Fayetteville 71st in 1:48. He pinned John Mewborn of Harnett Central in 48 seconds.

At 195 pounds, Cedar Ridge’s James Este-Wittinger, seeded eighth, came in fourth at 195-pounds. Este-Wittinger defeated Rodriguez via pinfall in 4:44 in the consolation semifinals. Este-Wittinger opened with a pinfall win over Alex Parrilla of Triton in 3:53. In the consolation round, Este-Wittinger edged Western Alamance’s Cameron Pettigrew 3-2, then went to overtime to defeat Adaris McBride of West Johnston 10-8 to secure the match with Rodriguez. This is Este-Wittinger’s first trip to the 3A State Championships.

Also going to Greensboro for the first time will be Cedar Ridge senior Jalen Williams, who finished 4th at 126-pounds. Williams claimed a forfeit win over Ethan Croom of West Johnston in the consolation semifinals. Williams, who was a #10 seed, won four matches in the consolation round. He pinned Carrboro’s Jackson Brooks in 2:52 and also pinned Rylee Motten of 71st in 4:52.

Orange senior Ben Musser finished third at 138-pounds and earned his first trip to the state championships. Musser dominated Western Harnett’s Ben Rich, the #2 seed, in the consolation semifinals 11-1. Musser opened with a pin of Andrew Gross of 71st in 48 seconds. Musser scored wins over conference rivals Justin Hartsell of Cedar Ridge and Rodney Lyons of Person. He defeated William Sullivan of Douglas Byrd via forfeit in the 3rd place match.

There were also disappointments. The most controversial came at 120-pounds where Cedar Ridge sophomore Pierce Prescod, who was 2nd on the team with 44 wins this season, was disqualified in his consolation semifinal match against South Johnston’s Carson Cori. Just seconds into the first period, Prescod was penalized a point when he slammed Cori, who started favoring his back. Cori claimed an injury and said he couldn’t continue, which disqualified Prescod and led to Cori taking a spot in the state championships. A furious Prescod bolted the gym after he shook hands with Cori and darted into the school lobby after his season, which included two individual tournament championships, suddenly ended shy of his goal of getting to Greensboro.

The Orange swimming relay team of Katie Belle Sikes, Riley White, Ainsley Rasinske and Piper White made history during the 3A State Swimming Championships on Saturday at the Triangle Aquatic Center. They became the first relay team in Orange County history to win a state championship. In one of the tightest races of the event, Orange held off Northwest Cabarrus to win the 200 yard freestyle relay. Riley White opened and put the Lady Panthers in the lead with a lap of 24.90 seconds. Piper White followed with a 26-second lap. Rasinske, a freshman, kept Orange near the lead. Sikes swam the anchor leg in 22.65 seconds. Orange finished with a time of 1:41.04, edging Northwest Cabarrus’ time of 1:42.42. White, Rasinske, White and Sikes also won the 3A Central Regional championship and the Central Carolina Conference championship together. The group nearly won a second state championship at the beginning of the event. White, Rasinske, White and Sikes finished 2nd in the 200 yard medley relay. Central Cabarrus finished first. White, Rasinske, White and Sikes will all return next season for their senior year looking to repeat as State Champions, but their mark in Orange swimming history is permanently marked in stone. 

Orange’s Riley White, Piper White, Ainsley Rasinske & Katie Belle Sikes talk winning state title

The Orange swimming relay team of Katie Belle Sikes, Riley White, Ainsley Rasinske and Piper White made history during the 3A State Swimming Championships on Saturday at the Triangle Aquatic Center. They became the first relay team in Orange County history to win a state championship.

The Orange men’s basketball team has advanced to the semifinals  of the Central Carolina Conference Tournament. On Monday night, the Panthers pulled away from Cedar Ridge 83-61 at Orange High Gymnasium for its first home postseason win since 2017. The last time the Panthers captured a postseason victory, it was in the third round of the 3A State Playoffs when they defeated Triton. Orange seniors Darius Corbett, Kaleb Barnhardt, Isaiah Seymour, Thomas Locke and Caleb Barreto started on Friday night for their victory over Eastern Alamance that ended the regular season. Against the Eagles, all five of the Orange seniors scored, including Barreto getting five points. Barnhardt was crowned the Homecoming King last November at halftime of the Panthers’ football game against Cedar Ridge. Corbett was named All-Conference for the Orange soccer team last fall. A Captain, Corbett helped the Panthers reach the state playoffs for the first time since 2017. Isiah Seymour has started at center for portions of the last two years and scored seven points against Cedar Ridge on Monday night. The five Orange seniors will be on the bench on Wednesday night when the Panthers face Person in the CCC Tournament semifinals in Roxboro.

Orange’s Kaleb Bernhardt, Darius Corbett & Isaiah Seymour discuss win over Eastern Alamance

The Orange men’s basketball team has advanced to the semifinals of the Central Carolina Conference Tournament. On Monday night, the Panthers pulled away from Cedar Ridge 83-61 at Orange High Gymnasium for its first home postseason win since 2017.