Orange High School

During an interview on New Year’s Day, Katie Belle Sikes said one of her remaining goals in her high school career was to break the state record in the 50-yard freestyle.

Just over a month later, she’s done it.

On Friday afternoon, Sikes finished with a time of 22.88 seconds, winning the 50 meter freestyle and beating the 3A state record of 22.92 seconds held by Nora McCullagh of Charlotte Catholic set in 2013. Sikes also automatically earned All-American status. The National Interscholastic Swimming Coaches Association lists 23.17 seconds as the automatic All-American benchmark. Last year, Sikes earned All-American consideration at the 3A State Championships.

Sikes came away with two individual championships at the 3A Central Regional Swimming Championships, held at the Greensboro AquatIc Center across from the Greensboro Coliseum. For the second straight year, Sikes won the 100 yard freestyle gold medal, finishing at 50.99 seconds. Asheboro’s Megan Becker came in second at 53.87 seconds. Piper White of Orange qualified for the 3A State Championships in the 100 by finishing sixth.

For the first time, Sikes won a regional championship in a relay event. She teamed with Piper White, Riley White and Ainsley Rasinske to finish 1st in the 200 yard freestyle relay at 1:44.50. It was a school record. Sikes, White, White and Rasinske also advanced to the state championships in the 200 yard medley relay with a second place finish. They recorded a time of 1:56.43, just .12-of-a-second behind the Durham School of the Arts’ team of Alexis Krzyzaniak, Claire Ramsey, Jordan Marley and Megan Healey.

Overall, Sikes has now won six regional championships at Orange. Sikes, a junior, won the 50 yard freestyle in her freshman year. Last year, she captured the 50 and 100 yard freestyle.

Sikes, the first female swimmer from Orange High to win a state championship, will look to repeat during the 3A State Championships at the Triangle Aquatic Center in Cary on Saturday.

Sikes committed to swim at the University of Georgia in October. Last week, Sikes was named the Central Carolina Conference Swimmer of the Year after she won four gold medals at the CCC Championships at the Orange County Sportsplex. She now has five individual school records.

Sikes qualified for all eight individual events for regionals, but was only allowed to compete in two of them.

Overall, the Orange women’s squad finished fourth, its best-ever showing in the team standings. Orange came away with 202 points. Carrboro won the team regional championship with 338 points.

The Cedar Ridge women’s team finished 10th with 99 points.

Cedar Ridge sophomore Sophia Stinnett qualified for the state championships in the 200 yard freestyle and the 500 yard freestyle. Stinnett came in fourth at 2:02.84 in the 200. Northwood’s Abigail Emrich, who won the CCC Championship last week, came away with the 200 freestyle regional title at 1:56.58. In the 500 freestyle, Stinnett finished third at 5:26.76 seconds. Avery Shuping of Carrboro took the regional title.

Another Cedar Ridge sophomore, Quinn McCrimmon, earned a spot in the state championships in the 200 yard individual medley. McCrimmon finished third after she touched the wall at 2:23.61. Carrboro’s Maya Lambert took 1st place at 2:09.75.

Cedar Ridge’s 400 yard freestyle relay team also qualified for the State Championships. McCrimmon, Stinnett, Hala Zafar and Abbygale Pearce finished fourth at 4:11.57. Northwood’s Bianca Perez, Holly Thesing, Lauren Emrich and Abigail Emrich took the regional title at 3:53.12.

Orange’s Riley White qualified for the state championships in four events. In addition to the two relay races, she finished second in the 100 yard butterfly at 59.71 seconds. White had the lead after 50 yards, but Labmbert beat her for first place at 58.16 seconds.

In the 100 yard backstroke, White finished with the bronze medal at 1:01.65. Jordan Marley of the Durham School of the Arts finished first at 1:00.29.

PITTSBORO–It is February and by the end of this month, the Northwood men’s basketball team hope to secure a trip 14 miles up the road to play at Carmichael Arena for the 3A State Championship.

Six years ago, Northwood playing for a state title seemed like it was a million miles away. They were just another team looking up at Orange and Southern Durham slugging it out for first place for the Big 8 Conference Championship.

Now, the Chargers have not only secured its second straight Central Carolina Conference regular season championship, they’ve completely lapped the field.

Northwood (19-2, 10-0 in the CCC) went into Friday night’s game against Orange with the CCC title already intact with three games remaining in the regular season. The #1 ranked team among RPI in the 3A East Region, the Chargers never trailed in a 77-46 blowout of Orange on Senior Night at Chargers Gymnasium.

Junior Drake Powell, who has committed to play at UNC, led the Chargers with 23 points. Frederico Whitaker added 16 points as the Chargers won its 30th consecutive conference game.

Orange played without point guard Kai Wade, who had started the previous 22 games. Freshman Coleman Cloer paced the Panthers with 20 points, his eleventh 20-point game of his rookie season. Sophomore Xandrell Pennix added 12 from four 3-pointers.

Pennix’s three-pointer from the wing in the first quarter cut Northwood’s early lead to 8-6, but the Chargers reeled off eleven straight points to keep the lead in double-figures for the rest of the game. Northwood’s Jack Nicholson, one of three seniors honored on senior night, sank a 3-pointer to push the Chargers ahead 19-6, leading to an Orange timeout.

Without Wade, Orange struggled to generate offense. Their 46 points was the second-lowest total this year and fewest since they were held to 43 against Chapel Hill on November 22, the second game of the year.

This was Orange’s last regular season trip to Northwood as a conference opponent. Next season, the Chargers will drop down to 2A and join the Mid-Carolina Conference, which will have nine teams including the new Southeast Alamance.

Northwood is now guaranteed a bye into the Central Carolina Conference Tournament semifinals, which starts February 13.

The closest any CCC team has come to beating the Chargers this year came on January 13. Northwood defeated Eastern Alamance 47-31 in Pittsboro.

Orange’s next game will be against Eastern Alamance on Senior Night Friday night in Hillsborough. Seniors Darius Corbett, Isaiah Seymour, Thomas Loch and Cale Barreto will be honored. If Orange wins, they will secure third place in the CCC.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: NORTHWOOD 58, ORANGE 42

The Northwood women’s basketball team secured its fourth straight CCC regular season championship as they pulled away from Orange in Pittsboro.

Te’Keyah Bland, on her Senior Night, led the Chargers with 20 points as Northwood (18-4, 10-0) won its 38th conference conference game. The Chargers, the defending 3A State Champions, never trailed against Orange.

After the Chargers ran out to a 12 point lead, the Panthers fought back despite the absence of leading scorer Erin Jordan-Cornell, who missed the entire second quarter after she picked up her second foul. The Lady Panthers fought back to make it a five-point game after a lay-in by sophomore Evelyn George.

Bland helped the Chargers pull away with five straight points down the stretch, plus a three-pointer from Skylar Adams, who finished with 17 points.

Jordan-Cornell had eleven points for Orange to lead the Lady Panthers. Freshman Addie Atkins added eight points, including two 3-pointers in the second half.

The Chargers have beaten the Panthers nine straight times.

Northwood will receive a bye into the semifinals of the Central Carolina Conference Tournament, making another matchup against the Lady Panthers possible.

Orange (12-11, 5-6) will have its senior night game on Friday against Eastern Alamance. Seniors Erin Jordan-Cornell, Jada Reed, Nikayla Whitted and Katelyn Van Mater will be honored.

MEN’S BASKETBALL: NORTHWOOD 77, ORANGE 46

ORA–9    15     10     12-46

NOR–23     11    17   26-77

ORANGE: Xandrell Pennix 12, Coleman Cloer 20, Ryan Honeycutt 2, Malachi Poole 3, Ryan Moss 2, Freddy Sneed 4, Darius Corbett 3.

NORTHWOOD: Frederico Whitaker 16, Jack Nicholson 5, Kenan Parrish 11, Drake Powell 23, Max Frazier 8, Cam Fowler 5, Griffin Hobbs 6, Jake Leighton 3.

3-point goals: Orange 7 (Pennix 4, Cloer, Poole, Corbett) Northwood 4 (Whitaker 2, Nicholson, Powell).

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: NORTHWOOD 58, ORANGE 42

ORA–11    12    10   9-42

NOR–20   17    10   11-58

ORANGE: Jada Reed 6, Erin Jordan-Cornell 11, Addie Atkins 9, Evelyn George 7, Nikayla Whitted 3, Jada Reed 6, Katelyn Van Mater 4, Maura McMurtry 3.

NORTHWOOD: Natalia Whitaker 8, Te’Keyah Bland 20, Skylar Adams 17, Mikaylah Gover 2, Shaylah Glover 3, Alyla Roberts 4, Sarah Barbour 4.

3-point goals: Orange 4 (Atkins 2, Whitted, McMurtry); Northwood 3 (Bland, Adams, Roberts)

Fouled Out: Jordan-Cornell.

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is senior wrestler Acoya Isley. This season, Isley is 34-2 with 23 pins, the highest pin percentage for the Panthers. In December, Isley won the 195-pound championship at the Eastern Alamance Eagle Invitational in Mebane. He followed that up with another win at the Quentin Crosby Invitational at Greensboro Dudley High School. In 2021, Isley won the 195-pound championship at the Jim King/Orange Invitational. He went undefeated against Central Carolina Conference opponents this year as Orange won the CCC regular season championship. In December, Isley finished 2nd at 195-pounds in the Tiger Holiday Classic, the highest finish of any Orange wrestler. Isley also played football the past two years. For reasons he has yet to figure out, Isley was given the name “Alabama’ by his teammates. On Wednesday night in his final two matches inside Panther Gymnasium, Isley scored pins in the State Dual Team wrestling playoffs. He pinned Swansboro’s Marcos Jimenez in 50 seconds. Against Union Pines, Isley pinned Dantrell Williams in 4:46. Isley will look to return to the state championships later this month. Next week, he will compete at the Mideast Regionals at Cedar Ridge High School.

Orange Panther of the Week: Acoya Isley

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is senior wrestler Acoya Isley. This season, Isley is 34-2 with 23 pins, the highest pin percentage for the Panthers. In December, Isley won the 195-pound championship at the Eastern Alamance Eagle Invitational in Mebane.

The hope around the Orange wrestling camp was that things would be different this year.

Last year in Cameron, Union Pines defeated Orange 49-24 to win the Eastern Regional championship in the 3A State Dual Team playoffs. It was no surprise that the two teams would meet again with the same stakes on the line a year later. The Panthers had ten starters back from last year’s team. Union Pines had nine.

But the result was the same. The Vikings depth proved to be too much for the Panthers.

Behind pins from Colton Collins, Nick Mascolino and Brock Sullivan, Union Pines won the 3A Eastern Regional Championship for the second straight year, outlasting Orange 37-30 at Panthers Gymnasium on Wednesday night. For the second straight year, the Vikings (27-1) will face Fred T. Foard for the 3A State Dual Team Championship at the Novant Health Fieldhouse in Greensboro on Saturday.

Orange (23-2) was denied its eleventh regional championship.

The Panthers may have been fazed by its opening match earlier in the night. Orange squeezed out a 38-30 win over Swansboro in the regional semifinals in a back-and-forth affair that come down to the last match. Orange’s Dillon Heffernan, in his final matches inside Panther Gymnasium, pinned Klint Rhude to ensure an Orange victory. Moments earlier, with the Panthers trailing 30-26 and its season on the line, Orange’s Talan Pearly pinned R.J. Caines in 55 seconds to vault the Panthers into the lead. It was the eighth and final lead change of the night.

While Orange was struggling in a fighting to the finish against the Pirates, Union Pines completed its business against First Flight quickly. The Vikings cruised 42-31 over the Nighthawks and waited about 40 minutes on the adjacent mat for Orange’s match to finish before the Eastern Regional final.

“They’re a great team,” Orange coach Spenser Poteat said as his team rolled up the mats afterwards.”I think they were just deeper than we were. I’ve seen them a couple of times this year and they’ve been stronger than we’ve been in tournaments. Hopefully, we can rebound from this and get ready for individuals.”

There were four individual rematches from last year’s regional Final. To start at 170 pounds, Brock Sullivan pinned Orange’s Andre Hill in 5:27. Last year, Sullivan prevailed via pinfall at 1:46. Sullivan was ahead 11-3 at the end of two periods before the pin.

At 195, Orange senior Acoya Isley pinned Dantrell Williams in 4:46 to cut the Union Pines lead to 12-6. Isley struggled to gain an opening in the match and got a late escape in the second period to even the score 2-2. The head official took about one minute between periods to clarify the score, which gave Isley a rest as he appeared to be winded late in the second period. Isley rode his strength to earn his 32nd win of the year in his final match at Orange High. Last year, Isley pinned Williams in 1:23.

At 220, Union Pines Colton Collins pinned Orange’s Elijah Acosta in 1:26. Collins was the aggressor from the start and kept Acosta backpedaling. In 2022, Collins defeated Acosta in 2:53.

The Vikings’ Keaton Crawford, at 113, got more bonus points when he scored a major decision over Adrian Sierra 12-2. Last year, Crawford pinned Sierra.

Before Isley’s victory, Nick Mascolino of Union Pines pinned Orange’s Jayden Medley in 1:35 to send the Vikings to a 12-0 lead.

At heavyweight, Orange’s Hugo Vazquez went the distance in an 8-2 win over Sincere Bonner. Vazquez led early after a takedown, but the Vikings’ fans loudly applauded Bonner after the loss since he didn’t give up any bonus points.

Union Pines broadened its lead in the lightweight classes. At 106, Aidan Enright defeated Logan Scarantino 8-2. Paired with Crawford’s decision over Sierra, the Vikings led 25-9.

At 120, Jayden Crawford of Union Pines held off Quadir Medley in 5-2. Medley nearly had a takedown in the opening period but the officials ruled he was out of the circle. After a scoreless first period, Crawford escaped and got a takedown with 52 seconds remaining in the 2nd.

In possibly the most thrilling individual match of the evening, Orange’s Braeden Crawford held on to beat Joe Lloyd 6-5. Lloyd clung to 5-4 lead when Crawford escaped and reversed with :12 remaining in the third period to get the two points, then held on for dear life to prevent Lloyd from escaping and earned the win.

Orange’s Jared Hutchins drew the Panthers closer when he pinned J.T. Erle in 1:39. It was Hutchins 26th win of the season.

Finnius McCafferty of Union Pines regained the momentum at 138 when he pinned Ben Musser in 2:38, increasing the Vikings’ lead to 34-18.

At 145, Orange’s Dillon Heffernan pinned Joe Vraback in 3:16. With two matches remaining, Houston Leeah defeated Orange’s Sam Crawford to 6-4, which ensured the Vikings’ 2nd straight regional title. Leeah trailed 2-0 after Crawford scored the opening takedown just 12 second in. Leeah scored a reversal late in the 2nd period to even things at 4-4, then gained a reversal to open the third period and scored two back points to ride out the win.

Orange’s final dual match win of the season over Swansboro to start the night was a memorable one. There were six lead changes in the first seven matches.

As was the case in opening round wins over Southern Nash and C.B. Aycock, Orange had Sam Crawford and Heffernan compete a weight class higher because of a slew of injuries at 160 pounds. The Pirates’ Theo Yager scored a major decision in a 9-0 win over Crawford.

Andre Hill needed only 53 seconds to pin James Smith at 170. Swansboro responded with Jason McEwen beating Medley in 1:50 to take the lead back 10-6. Isley, who won all four of his dual matches in the team playoffs, pinned Marcos Jimenez in 50 seconds.

At 220, Acosta led Brayden Cline 1-0 going into the third period. Acosta held on until the very end when Cline scored an escape with three seconds remaining to claim a stunning 2-1 win, sending the Pirates back into the lead 13-12.

At heavyweight, Vazquez won the only overtime match of the night when he gained the back of Hyuga Doreus of Swansboro with 3 seconds left, winning 5-3. That put Orange ahead 15-13.

Paul Vaught of Swansboro defeated Scarantino 7-2 at 106 pounds. Sierra pinned Seamus Sullivan in 1:26 to put Orange back ahead 21-16.

At 120, Ayden Goodman pinned Medley in 2:50. Swansboro’s Tyer Cowell defeated Braeden Crawford 12-3, sending Swansboro to a 26-21 lead with four matches left.

The emotional peak of the night was at 126 when Hutchins faced Aiden Russel. Early on, Russel got back points after a reversal to take a 7-1 lead. Russel led 9-2 when Hutchins started his comeback with a quick reversal in the second period. Russel was penalized a point for an illegal move in the third, Hutchins got an escape to even the match, then scored the pin to send the building into a frenzy. Orange was penalized a team point for excessive celebration, which kept the match tied 29-29.

Mason Cooper defeated Musser 10-0. With Swansboro leading 30-26, Pearly quickly pinned Caines in 55 seconds, followed by Heffernan’s victory at 152 over Rhode.

The return to relevance for the Orange men’s basketball team has been a long time coming, yet it’s practically happened overnight.

Behind three freshmen and a sophomore, the Panthers have gone from winning 20 games in the previous three years to 15 wins this season alone.

But there’s a downside. Orange has lost three games on shots in the last second this year. All of them have been painful. The latest was easily the most excruciating.

Person’s Isaiah Smith hit a bank shot with :1.5 remaining as the Rockets rallied from a 58-51 deficit with 3:22 remaining to defeat Orange 63-61 on Tuesday night in Hillsborough. The Rockets (16-4, 6-3 in the Central Carolina Conference) swept the season series from the Panthers.

Coleman Cloer led Orange with 21 points.

There was more than just bragging rights on the line between the two longtime rivals. Person now has the inside track towards hosting a potential semifinal game in the Central Carolina Conference tournament later this month. Plus, Person came into Tuesday night ranked #14 in the 3A East region RPI rankings—one spot ahead of Orange. According to the latest RPI rankings, Person would face Orange in the 1st round of the state playoffs in Roxboro.

It was such a painful loss, Orange coach Derryl Britt completed the handshake lane, then sat on the front row of bleachers behind the scorer’s table with a despondent look on his face for five minutes before finally leaving to talk to his team. His mood grew more inconsolable as the ramifications of the loss sank in as he sat inside his office.

If Orange had held on to a late lead and prevailed, there’s a chance they could have hosted an opening round game in the state playoffs, something that hasn’t happened since 2017.

It felt like Tuesday night was the night for Orange to beat Person for the first time in eight years. The Panthers led a majority of the second half and had Rockets’ forward Lance Clarke, who scored 30 points in the first matchup between the two teams, plagued with foul trouble. Clarke came away with only seven points.

Cloer scored with 4:17 remaining as he glided down the lane and completed a right-hand finger rolll to put the Panthers ahead 56-51. It was Orange’s final field goal of the game, but they still built their lead to 58-51 after Cloer made two free throws with 3:22 remaining.

In a game of runs, Person had the final one–a 12-5 spree down the final minutes. Most of it came from Julian Crawley, who finished with a game-high 24 points. Crawley started the comeback with a lay-in off a pass from Hodge on an Orange defensive breakdown that left Britt furious. After Orange’s Freddy Sneed missed a one-hand runner, Crawley hit a turnaround jumper to cut Orange’s lead to 58-55. Orange immediately threw the ball away on its next possession.

Crawley missed a 15-footer, which was rebounded by Cloer. Smith stole the ball away from Cloer to force a turnover. With 1:43 remaining, Crawley missed a three-pointer, but Honeycutt was called for a foul on Hodge, who knocked down his only free throws of the game to whittle the Orange lead to 58-57.

Malachi Poole missed a 3-pointer, which was rebounded by Crawley, who fed Hodge for a breakaway lay-in to put the Rockets’ ahead 59-58 with :56 left. Honeycutt put Orange back ahead with two free throws after he was fouled by Hodge. Smith drove down the lane and fed it to Crawley, who laid it in to put the Rockets ahead with 22 seconds remaining.

After Kai Wade split two free throws to even the game, Smith banked in the game-winning basket over Poole. It was Smith’s only field goal of the second half.

Earlier in the third quarter, Person built a seven-point lead that was erased after Cloer drained a 25-foot 3-pointer, followed by two lay-ins by Wade, who finished with 14 points.

In the second quarter, Orange had an eight-point lead that was erased by Person reserve guard Quante Bowman, who went on a personal 8-0 run, concluding with a 3-pointer that evened the contest at 24-24.

Orange will travel to Northwood on Friday night. The Panthers will host Eastern Alamance for its regular season finale on February 10 in Hillsborough. It will be senior night for Darius Corbett, Isaiah Seymour, Thomas Loch and Caleb Barreto.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: ORANGE 60, PERSON 29

After a sluggish first half, the Orange women’s basketball team sued a 26-0 run in the second half to pull away from Person and win 60-29, completing a sweep of the regular season series.

After Person’s Paige Jay knocked down a free throw to pull the Rockets within two points early in the third quarter, the Panthers held the Rockets scoreless for over eight minutes. Lady Panthers senior Erin Jordan-Cornell led all scorers with 16 points. Senior Jada Reed finished with 13 points, while sophomore Evelyn George added eleven.

Orange went to a full-court press to shut down the Person offense. In turn, that kick-started the Panthers transition game, which led to the Panthers fourth straight win over Person.

Orange (12-10, 5-5 in the Central Carolina Conference) will travel to Northwood, the defending 3A State Champions, on Friday night in Pittsboro.

MEN’S BASKETBALL: PERSON 63, ORANGE 61

PERSON: 15   15   15   18-63

ORANGE: 15   12   18   16-61

PERSON: (Isaiah Smith 9, Julian Crawley 28, Lance Clarke 7, Jordan Lunsford 3, Romeo Snow 2, Quante Bowman 8, DaeJon Hodge 6)

ORANGE: (Mason Robinson 5, Kai Wade 14, Coleman Cloer 21, Ryan Honeycutt 8, Malachi Poole 5, Xandrell Pennix 6, Isaiah Seymour 2)

3-pointers: Person 2 (Bowman 2) Orange 8 (Pennix 2, Wade, Cloer 4, Poole).

Fouled out-none.

Women’s Basketball: Orange 60, Person 29

PERSON: 10    9    1    9–29

ORANGE: 10   12  22   16–60

PERSON: (Kayla Brown 10, McKayla Bradsher 5, Naveah Coleman 4, Paige Jay 3, Macey Bowes 5, Kelsey Jackson 2).

ORANGE: (Addie Atkins 8, Erin Jordan-Cornell 16, Evelyn George 11, Jada Reed 13, Nikayla Whitted 4, Maura McMurtry 2, Marshea Byrd 6)

3-pointers: Person 2 (Bradsher, Bowes) Orange 3 (Atkins 2, Reed)

The Orange wrestling squad has reached the state quarterfinals of the 3A Dual Team Playoffs. On Saturday afternoon, the Panthers defeated Southern Nash 62-16 in the opening round at Panther Gymnasium. In the second round, Orange came back from an early deficit to defeat C.B. Aycock 40-24. Orange sophomore Adrian Sierra may have had the biggest clutch win of the day against C.B. Aycock. Facing Carvin McMahon in the 113-pound match, Sierra was on the verge of getting pinned before he scored a dramatic sweep. Sierra wound up on top of McMahon and scored the pin at 1:58. It evened the dual match at 9-9 and the Panthers didn’t trail the Golden Falcons again. Earlier in the day, Sierra defeated Trevon Baker of Southern Nash 6-2. At 132 pounds, Orange’s Jared Hutchins had a dominant day. Hutchins pinned Jeremy Johnson of Aycock in 1:11. Earlier, Hutchins defeated Jaden Edwards of Southern Nash via technical fall 16-0. Orange will host the regional semifinal matches tonight. The Panthers will face Swansboro. Meanwhile on the opposite match, Union Pines, the #1 seed in the East, will face First Flight. Orange will go for its 11th regional championship.

Orange wrestling’s Adrian Sierra & Jared Hutchins discuss reaching the state quarterfinals

The Orange wrestling squad has reached the state quarterfinals of the 3A Dual Team Playoffs. On Saturday afternoon, the Panthers defeated Southern Nash 62-16 in the opening round at Panther Gymnasium. In the second round, Orange came back from an early deficit to defeat C.B. Aycock 40-24.

The Orange women’s basketball team is all but assured of its fourth appearance in the 3A state playoffs in the last five years. On Friday night, the Lady Panthers defeated Cedar Ridge 46-37 at Red Wolves Arena. Freshman Addie Atkins had a career-high 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting from 3-point range. Senior center Erin Jordan-Cornell finished with nine points and eight rebounds. On Tuesday night, Orange used a 26-0 run in the second half to pull away from Person 60-29. Jordan-Cornell finished with 16 points, a game-high. Atkins finished with eight points, including two 3-pointers. Orange is now 12-10 on the season. Orange senior Jada Reed had a big night against both Person and Cedar Ridge. Against the Rockets, she scored 13 points. On Friday, Reed scored nine points against the Red Wolves, all from 3-point range. Orange will look to ensure a home game in the upcoming Central Carolina Conference Tournament. They will face Northwood, the defending 3A State Champions, on Friday in Pittsboro. On February 10, Orange will commemorate Senior Night against Eastern Alamance. It will be the final regular season home game for seniors Jordan-Cornell, Reed, Nikayla Whitted, and Katelyn Van Mater.

Orange’s Erin Jordan-Cornell & Addie Atkins talk with Jon Franklin about win vs. Cedar Ridge

The Orange women’s basketball team is all but assured of its fourth appearance in the 3A state playoffs in the last five years. On Friday night, the Lady Panthers defeated Cedar Ridge 46-37 at Red Wolves Arena. Freshman Addie Atkins had a career-high 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting from 3-point range.

Photo by Jennifer Freeland

For a fleeting moment, it appeared that the Orange wrestling team’s chances of reaching the state quarterfinals were in grave jeopardy.

With C.B. Aycock leading the Panthers 9-3 in a 2nd round dual match, the Golden Falcons’ Carvin McMahon was ahead of Orange’s Aidan Sierra 4-0. With less than 20 seconds remaining in the first period, McMahon looked to have Sierra’s shoulders on the mat.

That’s when Sierra scored a reversal out of nowhere along the outer edge of the circle to send the Orange fans inside Panther gymnasium into a frenzy. Just before the clock expired, Sierra got the pin at 1:58, his second pin of the day and his 16h of the season.

It squared the dual match at 9-9, but Sierra’s sudden reversal all but ensured the Panthers would return to the state quarterfinals of the 3A State Dual Team Wrestling Tournament for the second straight year.

Sierra’s victory started a string of four straight Panther wins, three of which were pins. Orange would go on to win the dual match 40-24 against C.B. Aycock on Saturday afternoon in front of a enthusiastic crowd at Orange High Gymnasium.

The Panthers will host the State Quarterfinals and the 3A Eastern Regional Championship match on Wednesday night in Hillsborough. Orange will open with Swansboro. On the other mat with be the top seed, Union Pines, who will face First Flight.

The Eastern Regional Championship match will immediately follow the semifinals.

Orange’s Elijah Acosta, a senior with a 30-5 record this season, opened the dual match against Aycock against Dallas Bailey at 220 pounds. It appeared that Acosta scored a pin in the first period, but one of the two referees called time because Bailey suffered a wrist injury. After Orange trainer Emily Gaddy taped Bailey’s wrist, the match continued with Acosta holding on to win 7-5, despite being penalized two points for stalling. Acosta got a late takedown in the waning seconds to secure the win.

Aycock took the lead behind a pin from Jason Best, who defeated Orange heavyweight Hugo Vazquez in 3:46. At 106 pounds, Aycock’s Jaiden Moses decisioned Logan Scarantino 11-6 to put the Falcons ahead 9-3.

Following Sierra’s win, Orange’s Quadir Medley immediately grabbed a 5-0 lead against Kiare Sewell at 120 pounds. Medley nearly scored the pin late in the first period as Sewell used up almost all of his energy keeping his left shoulder off the mat. Medley immediately attacked a gassed Sewell to start the second period and earned the pin at 2:14 to put Orange’s lead at 15-9.

Orange’s Braeden Crawford scored a 4-2 decision over Jaden Bevell at 126 pounds. It took only 26 seconds for Crawford to get the opening takedown. Bevell could only muster escape points and required work on his left arm from Gaddy in the second period.

At 132 pounds, Orange’s Jared Hutchins needed only 1:11 to dispose of Jeremy Johnson. It improved Hutchins’ record to 24-4 with 16 pins. and increased Orange’s lead to 21-9.

The Falcons responded with consecutive victories. Russell Davis defeated Ben Musser 11-7 at 138 pounds. Axl Perry, a wrestling name if there ever was one, pinned Orange’s Colton Jones at 4:45. Due to injuries with competitors at 160 pounds, Orange coach Spenser Poteat opted to have Dillon Heffernan and Sam Crawford each wrestle a weight class higher than usual.

With Orange’s lead down to 21-18, Heffernan took the mat at 152 pounds (he usually competes at 145) and controlled the match against Samad Wooten. The two had several lengthy whizzer tie-ups that Heffernan got the upper-hand in. With Wooten leading 2-0 at the end of the first period, Heffernan started the second with a quick escape to take a 3-2 advantage. To open the third, Heffernan flattened out Wotten and got his back for the reversal. Leading 5-2, Heffernan maintained the dominant position to win despite giving up a few pounds.

At 160 pounds, Crawford defeated Chance Sauls 8-7 in a tight match. Crawford got an escape point just as the second period ended for the margin of victory. At 170 pounds, Orange’s Andre Hill defeated Dawson Sauls 13-4 via major decision to ensure an Orange win.

Orange senior Acoya Isley quickly pinned Jaylen Coley in 17 seconds at 195 pounds. Isley is 32-2 with 21 pins this season.

Orange opened the day with a 62-16 win over Southern Nash. Isley opened the day with a forfeit win. Acosta pinned the Firebirds’ John Tolleson in 2:55 following a takedown late in the second period.

Vazquez defeated Leo Robiero via pinfall in 3:01. Southern Nash’s Jose Salazar earned a major decision to put the Firebirds on the board. Sierra responded with a 6-2 decision over Nash’s Trevon Baker. Medley pinned Colton Brisbee at 3:03 to increase Orange’s lead to 27-4.

Crawford pinned Chris Navigate in 1:35 at 126 pounds. Hutchins earned his fifth technical fall of the season, beating Jaden Edwards 16-0. Musser pinned Jason Edawards at 4:47 in the 145 pound match.

C.B. Aycock defeated Carrboro 77-6 in the opening round.

Orange’s state quarterfinal match against Swansboro will start Wednesday afternoon at 5:30, as will Union Pines’ match against First Flight.