Orange High School

When the Orange men’s basketball team takes the floor tonight against Western Alamance in Hillsborough, it will have been exactly one month since they played a home game.

Since then, they’ve nearly won the South Granville Holiday Tournament, but wound up finishing fourth. They defeated their crosstown rival, won at Eastern Alamance for the first time since the 1980s and finished the first half of its Central Carolina Conference schedule with a 4-2 record.

Now, as Orange prepares for its final seven games of its regular season, they stand a chance to end several streaks that have dragged on for years.

For starters, the Panthers haven’t hosted a postseason tournament game since 2017, when they faced Northern Guilford in the NCHSAA 3A State Playoff quarterfinals. The Panthers, 72 hours removed from losing star forward Connor Crabtree to a broken ankle when he came down wrong on a rebound against Triton, lost to the Nighthawks and haven’t sniffed the state playoff since.

The last time Orange’s men’s team hosted a game in its conference tournament was also 2017. Southern Durham faced the Panthers in the Big 8 Conference Tournament championship game. Since then, the Panthers have won just once in the postseason, which happened last February when Orange defeated Western Alamance in the opening round of the Central Carolina Conference Tournament.

Orange’s RPI is currently #17 among 3A East Region teams. That puts the Panthers firmly in the playoffs. They’re right on the borderline to host a game in the opening round of the state playoffs.

With seven games remaining in the regular season, it’s already head coach Derryl Britt’s most successful team at Orange. They’re 12-6. Previously, Britt’s best team at Orange won ten games in 2018-2019.

Midway through the CCC slate, the race in the conference appears to be for second place. Northwood, the defending conference champions, is ranked #1 in the 3A East Region and sits atop the CCC with a 6-0 record. The Chargers closest game in the first half of the league schedule was against Eastern Alamance–a 47-31 Chargers win in Pittsboro on January 13.

Orange finds themselves tied for second place with Williams and Person with a 4-2 league record. It comes after the Bulldogs upset the Rockets 59-54 in Burlington on Tuesday night.

For a squad that regularly plays three freshmen, Orange has shown remarkable poise while playing almost exclusively road games thus far in the CCC. In its first trip through the CCC, six of Orange’s seven games were road trips. The most recent, a 67-56 win over Eastern Alamance, featured freshman Coleman Cloer scoring 28 points.

The other end of that coin is the Panthers have six of its final seven games at home. The Panthers start a four-game homestead tonight against the Warriors. Orange’s only remaining road game for the remainder of the regular season is against Northwood.

Orange has had eleven road games, counting its contest at South Granville in the South Granville Holiday Invitational, compared to only five home games.

For the first time in six years, Orange will take the floor tonight for a January game with postseason implications. So are the Panthers exactly where they want to be?

According to Britt, the answer is no.

“We wanted to win the South Granville tournament,” Britt said. “We thought, and still do, that we can compete for a conference championship. That was the mission all along. So we’re still hungry. We’re still striving for something.”

Along with Cloer, freshman Kai Wade has started every game for the Panthers. Wade is Orange’s third-leading scorer with 10.9 points per game. He’s also second with 2.4 assists per game.

Sophomore Xandrell Pennix, who was called up to the varsity as a freshman last January, is second on the squad averaging 11.5 points per game.

Junior Ryan Honeycutt, in his first varsity season, leads the team with seven rebounds per game.

After all this time, Katie Belle Sikes is still surprising herself.

In her second dual meet for the Orange swimming team last month, Sikes competed in the 500 yard freestyle, largely on a whim. She had never done it before in club swimming with the Hillsborough Aquatic Club or her new team, Eastern Carolina Aquatics.

It’s a marathon event compared to her forte, the 50-yard freestyle, where she won the 3A State Championship last year.

“I really like the 500,” Sikes said. “As a club swimmer, that’s not considered one of my prime events.”

Swimming against Cedar Ridge, she got out of the pool at the Orange County Sportsplex and saw a time of 5:19.81 on the digital scoreboard–a new school record.

“I think I’ll do the 500 one more time this year,” Sikes said.

When Sikes started her college recruitment, she wasn’t sure what schools would show interest. Her travel coach, Claudio Battaglini of ECA, told her she would hear from plenty of schools and encouraged her to see as much of the country as she could. She went into the process with her eyes wide open and unsure of what was ahead.

When the University of Georgia reached out, Sikes was pleasantly surprised.

It also caused a flashback of memories, or as much of one as a 16-year-old can have, anyway.

At the age of 12, Sikes competed at the University of Georgia’s Gabrielsen Natatorium for a national competition. It’s still her favorite place to swim.

“I knew back then that my dream was to swim in college,” Sikes said.

Sikes wasn’t sure if she was a Southeastern Conference-caliber swimmer until the recruitment process told her otherwise. She discovered that not only was she someone who could compete at the highest level of college swimming, but she could do it at the very place where her dream of swimming at the next level started.

“Honestly, it took me a really long time,” Sikes said. “I definitely didn’t think I was at that level. I kind of had other people tell me I could do this. I was like ‘OK, I guess?’ I didn’t want to set it as my goal because what if I don’t get there? It was pretty shocking.”

As part of her recruiting trip, Sikes attended Georgia’s football game against Auburn at Sanford Stadium on October 8. Of course, she also returned to Gabrielsen.

Days later, Sikes formally committed to Georgia. She also had recruiting trips to the University of North Carolina, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Virginia and Michigan.

Before deciding on Georgia, Sikes listened to Battaglini and saw the country. She stood inside massive Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor during the change of seasons as the leaves started to change colors.

“It was so cool,” Sikes said. “Honestly, I think it was just a little too cold for me. My parents said ‘I thought you liked the cold.’ I said ‘Not that level of cold.’ Hearing stories from swimmers about how they had to walk in the snow if they didn’t have a ride to the pool made me think I didn’t want to be around that.”

Sikes met one-on-one with Georgia head swimming coach Stefanie Williams-Moreno.

“I feel like there wasn’t a wrong decision at the end of the day,” Sikes said. “They were all such amazing experiences. Georgia was definitely the best option. There wasn’t a wrong answer, but Georgia was definitely the right one.”

Her decision didn’t just come down to swimming. Georgia has a college of veterinary medicine, which Sikes has in mind for a post-swimming career. Having grown up around dogs, her family fosters a pit bull mixed puppy named “Penny” that they got during the pandemic.

“I think she’s the favorite child,” Sikes said.

She also wanted a college town. Growing up next to Chapel Hill, she understood how special a college community can be.

“I wanted my own personal bubble,” Sikes said. “That’s what I like about Chapel Hill. In Athens, it feels like the college is the center of the town. I wasn’t interested in being in a big city where I’m secluded. Georgia is a good balance of all of that.”

Last February, Sikes became the first female swimmer in Orange High history to win a state championship when she captured the gold medal in the 50-yard freestyle in Cary. The only other swimmer to win a state championship in school history was Ben Scott, the 2018 3A 100-meter freestyle champion.

“Kristin and I are just so grateful to her current coaches here in North Carolina,” said Sikes’ father, Tommy. “We’re appreciative of her future coaches in Georgia for supporting her and allowing her to follow her dream of swimming in college. She has worked extremely hard, in and out of the water, and we are both so proud of her accomplishments.”

In her freshman year, Sikes was an immediate sensation amid quirky circumstances.

Starting her high school career in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Sikes couldn’t compete with other swimmers across from her in opposite lanes like a standard dual meet. She was only able to attend a handful of practices. For much of the year, a  meet consisted of Sikes swimming in an empty pool competing only against a clock.

She won the 50-yard Central Regional championship, finished second in the state, and did all of it before she even had her first in-person class at Orange. As a freshman, she was named the Big 8 Conference Swimmer of the Year.

Sikes has plenty to accomplish before she packs the family SUV for Athens. This year, she has already qualified for six events in the Central Regionals, though she can only compete individually in two of them. She wants to set the state record in the 50-yard and 100-yard freestyle.

Perhaps what scariest for her competition is that Battaglini has encouraged Sikes to continue high school swimming, unlike previous travel coaches.

“High school swimming is a lot less stressful than club swimming,” Sikes said. “Claudio really wants me to do well in high school.”

Battaglini has gone as far to design a training plan for Sikes right up to the state championships next month. This season, in addition to the 500 yard freestyle, she has broken her own school record for the 50 yard freestyle, the 100 yard freestyle, the 200 yard freestyle and the 100 yard backstroke.

With one more year ahead of her and a 4.4 grade-point average, there’s still new ground that Sikes is trying to break for herself.

Her story is far from complete, but Sikes can rest assured that all the times that Sikes trained at the Sportsplex six days a week has paid off. Not just with a state championship and whatever else may come in the future, but also in how her dream as a 12-year-old came true.

The Orange men’s swimming team continues to have a strong season. Last week, the Panthers defeated Western Alamance and Northwood in a dual match at the Orange County Sportsplex. Sophomore Luke Roman, who broke the school record in the 200 yard freestyle to begin the year, wound up winning the 500 yard freestyle at a time of 5:00.28. Senior Evan Phillips captured the 100 yard breaststroke with a time of 1:07.67. Phillips has now qualified for regionals in five different events this year. His senior night is coming up tonight at the Orange County Sportsplex when Orange faces Cedar Ridge. In addition, Phillips, Roman, Nick Baczara and Andrew Weeks qualified for regionals in the 400 yard freestyle relay. They had a time of 3:41.36, well ahead of the regional qualifying standard of 4:00.99. Last year, Roman, Phillips, Alex Andre and Baczara finished 9th in the 3A State Championships. Orange will conclude the regular season tonight against Cedar Ridge, then prepare for the Central Carolina Conference championships.

Orange’s Evan Phillips & Luke Roman discuss qualifying for Central Regionals

The Orange men’s swimming team continues to have a strong season. Last week, the Panthers defeated Western Alamance and Northwood in a dual match at the Orange County Sportsplex. Sophomore Luke Roman, who broke the school record in the 200 yard freestyle to begin the year, wound up winning the 500 yard freestyle at a time of 5:00.28.

Men’s swimming: Senior Evan Phillips and sophomore Luke Roman each continued their strong seasons as the Orange men’s swimming team swept Western Alamance and Northwood in a dual meet at the Orange County Sportsplex on January 11.

Phillips has now qualified for five separate events in the 3A Central Regionals. Roman, who finished 8th in the 2022 3A State Championships in the 200 yard freestyle, also has qualified for five separate events for regionals.

Orange won over Northwood 102-49. The Panthers also defeated Western Alamance, who hosted the meet, 110-41.

In addition, Roman, Phillips, senior Andrew Weeks and sophomore Nick Baczara won the 400 yard freestyle relay, earning a trip to Greensboro with a time of 3:41.36, well ahead of the automatic qualifying regional time of 4:00.99.

Last year, Roman, Phillips, Baczara and Alex Andre finished 9th in the 3A State Championships in Cary.

Phillips won the 100 yard breaststroke, touching the wall at 1:07.67.

Weeks won the 100 yard backstroke at 1:02.24.

Roman, Phillips, Alex Andre and Andrew Weeks won the 200 yard medley relay.

Andre, a sophomore, has qualified for five different events, as well. Andre reached regionals in the 200 yard freestyle last Thursday, coming in first at 1:57.51.

Roman, who opened the year by breaking the school record in the 200 yard freestyle last month, won the 500 yard freestyle at 5:00.28.

Orange will host senior night in a dual meet against Cedar Ridge on Thursday night at the Orange County Sportsplex.

Once a swimmer qualifies for regionals, they can only choose two individual events to participate in.

Women’s swimming: Orange 82, Western Alamance 55; Northwood 80, Orange 74

Another big night from 2022 3A State Champion Katie Belle Sikes for Orange carried the Lady Panthers swimming team past Western Alamance last Thursday at the Orange County Sportsplex. Sikes, who became the first female to win a state swimming championship in school history last February, has qualified for another six events for regionals.

Sikes swam and qualified in the 200 yard individual medley. She has a goal of qualifying for regionals in every individual event. Sikes also won the 100 yard backstroke.

Junior Riley White qualified for the 500 yard freestyle, winning the race at 5:39.93. White also qualified for regionals in the 100 yard butterfly, finishing second behind Northwood’s Abigail Emrich.

Sikes, White, Piper White and Ainsley Rasinske won the 400 yard freestyle relay. They came in at 3:56.12, well under the automatic regional qualifying time of 4:50.99. They also qualified for the 200 yard freestyle relay, winning the event at 1:58.47.

Indoor track: Thus far in the season, three Orange Panthers have qualified for the 3A State Indoor Track and Field Championships.

In November, Orange junior Gabriel Schmid qualified in the 3,200 meters in the New Balance Dash for Doobie 3,200 at Ronald Reagan High School in Pfafftown. Schmid, the 2022 3A State Champion in men’s cross country, finished 12th at 9:20.33. The qualifying benchmark for the 3,200 meters is 10:00.

Since then, Issac Seymour, a senior who played on Orange’s men’s basketball team last year, has qualified twice in the high jump. On December 10 at Dave Thaden Stadium at East Chapel Hill Polar Bear event, Seymour cleared the bar at 5-feet, 10 inches, two inches above the minimum qualifying jump.

In the women’s high jump, Grace Pell also qualified. Pell finished first with a jump of 4’10”. Pell was also the top runner for the Orange women’s cross country team last fall.

In the Eastern Alamance Polar Bear at Fred Brady Stadium in Mebane, Orange junior Aedan Sampey qualified for the state championships in the pole vault. Sampey cleared 11-feet and finished second behind Eastern Alamance’s Gabe Ocampo. The minimum qualifying height is 10-feet.

Also at the Eastern Alamance Polar Bear, Seymour won the high jump by clearing 5’8″.

The 3A State Indoor Track & Field Championships will be held February 10 at the JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem.

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is senior women’s basketball senior Erin Jordan-Cornell. On December 28, Jordan-Cornell was named the Most Valuable Player of the Eastern Guilford Holiday Invitational Tournament in Gibsonville. During the championship game against Northeast Guilford, Jordan-Cornell scored 13 points and grabbed nine rebounds as the Lady Panthers took the championship 46-25. Jordan-Cornell also had 14 points and 14 rebounds in a 53-47 win over Walter Williams in the semifinals. Jordan-Cornell has had two double-doubles this season. She also had 22 points and ten rebounds in a 72-34 win over Durham School of the Arts on December 9. This fall, Jordan-Cornell was named All-Central Carolina Conference in volleyball as Orange reached the second round of the 3A State Playoffs. She helped Orange to its most successful season in 14 years. Orange won 19 games. Jordan-Cornell is also a student advisor for the North Carolina High School Athletic Association, where she helps advocate for student-athlete awareness. Jordan-Cornell has been an advocate for all of Hillsborough sports during her time at Orange. She will try to help Orange’s women’s basketball team reach the state playoffs for the third time in four years starting on Friday night when the Lady Panthers host Western Alamance.

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This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is senior women’s basketball senior Erin Jordan-Cornell. On December 28, Jordan-Cornell was named the Most Valuable Player of the Eastern Guilford Holiday Invitational Tournament in Gibsonville. During the championship game against Northeast Guilford, Jordan-Cornell scored 13 points and grabbed nine rebounds as the Lady Panthers took the championship 46-25.

The championship banners inside Orange High School’s gymnasium honors every sport that has captured a title.

A stranger doesn’t have to look long to figure out which sport has been the most successful in terms of conference championships. The banner for the wrestling team is adorned with emblems of two wrestlers grappling position. Beneath each emblem is the year of the championship. They stretch up towards the roof and all the way down the floor.

The Orange wrestling team has just added another title to its banner.

Last Wednesday, the Panthers defeated Person 43-25 inside Rocket Gymnasium in Roxboro to complete an undefeated Central Carolina Conference season. The Panthers were 16-0 coming out of the match going into the Havelock Duals over the weekend. They finished 6-0 in the CCC.

For a squad with seniors Sam Crawford, Dillon Heffernan, Elijah Acosta, and Hugo Vazquez, it would have been an upset for the Panthers to fall short of a conference championship this year. Orange reached the Eastern Regional championship match in the 3A State Dual Team Playoffs in 2022, where they fell to Croatan in the finals.

The matchup with Person was a battle of teams undefeated in conference action. The Rockets (9-4)went in with a 5-0 conference record after beating Eastern Alamance 79-0 on January 4.

Sam Crawford started the night on a strong note with a pin in the third period against Davis Garrett. Crawford, who finished fourth in the Tiger Holiday Classic in December at Chapel Hill High, was 23-7 for the season after his 17th pin of the year.

Orange junior Andre Hill, who is 29-6, scored his 19th pin of the year over Patrick Anderson at 170 pounds to put the Panthers ahead 12-3. Hill, an offensive tackle in football, finished third at the Eastern Alamance Eagle Invitational in Mebane on December 17.

After Malaki Newton preserved a decision victory for the Rockets at 182 pounds, Orange’s lead was reduced to 12-6. Acoya Isley, who is 25-2 on the season, earned a decision at 195. Elijah Acosta scored a pin over Gavin Jones at 220 pounds to increase Orange’s lead to 21-6.

That advantage was reduced to 21-12 after Person wins by Fabian Rivera (106 pounds) and Najonii Aguilar (113). Orange’s Quadir Medley took a victory at 126 pounds to start a string of four straight Orange individual wins that paved the way for a team championship.

Orange notched three consecutive pins. At 126 pounds, Braden Crawford earned his 14th pin of the season when he defeated Person’s Taveon Moss. Junior Jared Hutchins got a pin at 132 pounds, which secured the Panther victory. Dillon Heffernan, who won at the Quentin Crosby Invitational at Dudley High School on January 7, ended the night with another pin. Heffernan went into last weekend with a 26-3 record on the season.

The conference championship is Orange’s 19th conference title in the last 20 years. That stretches across three classifications dating back to Orange’s days as a 4A team. The Chapel Hill Tigers ended Orange’s run of 16 consecutive conference championships in 2020, a month before the pandemic hit.

Orange is now guaranteed to be the #1 seed from the Central Carolina Conference going into the 3A State Dual Team Championships, which will start on January 28. The field for the tournament will be announced on January 26.

Before Orange focuses on the State Dual Tournament, there will be the first Central Carolina Conference individual tournament set for this Saturday at Orange High. Last year was supposed to be the first CCC Tournament at Eastern Alamance, but the event was canceled because of winter weather.

The conference championship is the fifth for head coach Spenser Poteat, who took over for Bobby Shriner in 2017. Shriner now works with the University of North Carolina wrestling team. Poteat wrestled for Shriner as a Panther student in the 1990s.

Over the weekend, Orange dropped its first dual match of the year in the Havelock Duals against Currituck County is what was reportedly a controversial result on several levels.

MEBANE–“Even if I didn’t have my son on the team, I’d still pay $8 to watch Orange play.”

Those words from an Orange High parent after the Panthers 67-56 win at Eastern Alamance on Wednesday night sum up the attitude around the program right now. It’s not a state championship team, but for the first time in years, Orange basketball is doing more than just winning consistently.

They’re a lot of fun to watch.

Against the Eagles, freshman Coleman Cloer had a drive down the lane for a one-hand slam in the opening minutes, the video of which went viral across social media before midnight. It instantly snapped a malaise inside the small gymnasium to a sudden and startled roar from the spectators. Even the Eastern Alamance substitutes exchanged shocked glances on the bench.

In the second half, Cloer flushed down an off-the-backboard ally-oop from classmate Kai Wade, while junior Ryan Honeycutt and freshman Ryan Honeycutt both had dunks as the Panthers pulled away late.

With seven games remaining in the regular season, it’s already the most successful team at Orange (12-6, 4-2 in the Central Carolina Conference) in the five-year tenure of head coach Derryl Britt.

The game marked a signature point in Orange’s season. For starters, it was their last contest before exam break. It also marked the halfway point of the Central Carolina Conference schedule. Going 4-2 into the turn, as they say after completing the front nine holes in golf, felt a lot better than going 3-3. Especially when all of Orange’s wins came on the road.

Cloer, coming off a 35-point game against Person, finished with 28 points against the Eagles. Junior center Ryan Honeycutt had 13 points.

Michael Reaves paced Eastern Alamance (9-7, 2-4) with 15 points.

It was Orange’s seventh road win of the season. In the previous three years, Orange won eight road games.

“We call Cloer our closer,” Britt said. “Down the stretch of games, we tell him to use any move he can to get us across the finish line. Dribble drives. Pivot. Drop steps. Up and unders. We call him ‘Stat’ too, because he can fill up the stat sheet.”

Orange led 47-39 with 2:09 remaining in the third quarter when the Eagles reeled off six in a row. Reaves had a chance to tie the game but was called for a charge just before the end of the frame after he ran into guard Jackson Barretto.

To open the fourth quarter, Eastern’s Antoine Pugh was called for an illegal screen as the Eagles were set to inbound. Honeycutt dumped an offensive rebound off to Cloer for a two-hand dunk.

Reaves came back with a one-handed runner while drawing a foul on Mason Robinson. Reaves’ free throw cut the Panthers’ lead to 49-48. The Eagles had a chance to take the lead after a steal by Pugh, but the Eagles missed. After Robinson, who played a season-high 21 minutes, grabbed the offensive rebound, Cloer found Honeycutt at the other end for another two-handed dunk.

Cloer extended Orange’s lead with a duck and fade move in the lane where he tossed it in from ten feet with the left hand. Following two free throws by Reaves, the Panthers used a three-way passing play where Robinson found Kaleb Barnhardt, who dropped it off to Isaiah Seymour for a lay-in.

Later, Barnhardt knocked the ball away from Pugh and found Wade for a transition basket put Orange ahead 58-50, equaling the Panthers largest lead of the game.

Orange will get six of its last seven games of the regular season at home, starting with Western Alamance next Friday night. Currently, the Panthers are tied with Walter Williams for third place in the loss column in the Central Carolina Conference with a 4-2 record. Orange currently holds the tiebreaker over Williams. If the Panthers host a game in the Central Carolina Tournament, it will be the first time they’ve hosted a postseason game since 2017, when they faced Northern Guilford in the 3A State Quarterfinals.

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is senior wrestler Sam Crawford. This season, Crawford is 23-7 with 16 pins. On Wednesday night, Crawford was in the first match for Orange in their dual match against Person. Crawford scored a pin in the third period to get the Panthers off to a strong start. Orange went on to win 43-25 and claim the Central Carolina Conference championship for the third straight season. It’s Orange’s 19th conference championship in wrestling in the last 20 years. This season, Crawford finished second in the Eastern Alamance Eagle Invitational in Mebane. Just before Christmas, Crawford finished fourth in the 152-pound tournament at the Tiger Holiday Classic at Chapel Hill High School. Next Saturday, Crawford will compete in the 152-pound tournament in the 1st annual Central Carolina Conference individual tournament at Orange High School. Crawford will aim for a high finish to prepare for the 3A Mideast Regionals. This weekend, Crawford and the rest of the Panthers will journey out east to compete in the Havelock Duals.

Orange Panther of the Week: Sam Crawford

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Win or lose on Wednesday night, the Orange men’s basketball team would arrive at the halfway point of its conference schedule once they finished its game against Eastern Alamance. They would either leave Mebane with a 4-2 record or go 3-3 into the second half of the Central Carolina Conference schedule. Once again, Coleman Cloer proved to be the closer as Orange defeated Eastern Alamance 67-56 at Tal Jobe Gymnasium in Mebane. It was Orange’s first win over the Eagles in Mebane in over 20 years. Xandrell Pennis finished with 10 points, including three 3-pointers in the first half. Freshman center Mason Robinson played almost the entire second half and had key offensive rebounds. Robinson stuck in the final field goal of the first half to keep Orange within two points at the break. He finished with five of the Panthers’ seven bench points. The Panthers will get the rest of the week off with a 4-2 record in the Central Carolina Conference. All four of the victories were on the road. They’re only one game behind Person for second place. The Panthers will resume its season on Tuesday when they face Western Alamance in Hillsborough.

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Win or lose on Wednesday night, the Orange men’s basketball team would arrive at the halfway point of its conference schedule once they finished its game against Eastern Alamance. They would either leave Mebane with a 4-2 record or go 3-3 into the second half of the Central Carolina Conference schedule.