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Alumni Update: Sikes wins race to end Georgia Bulldogs swimming regular season

Katie Belle Sikes: On Senior Day for the Georgia Bulldogs swimming team, Sikes won the 50 yard freestyle at the Bauerle Pool at Gabrielsen Natatorium on Saturday. Sikes finished with a B-cut time of 22.28 seconds as Georgia defeated Emory 191-102. Sikes has first place finishes against Florida and UNC Wilmington in the 50 yard freestyle this season. Georgia will focus on the SEC Championships in Athens, Georgia February 17-22.

Ryan Moss: Now a freshman at Division III Waynesburg University in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, Moss recently scored his first points at the college level. Moss scored a field goal against Thiel College on January 18 in Beegly Gymnasium in Greenville, PA. Moss played four season under head coach Derryl Britt at Orange High School.

Mia Davidson-Smith: There’s news in several professional leagues regarding the all-time home run hitter in Orange softball history. Davidson began play in Liga Mexicana de Softbol in Mexico playing for Diablos Rojos Femenil. Davidson hit a two-run homer in just her second at-bat of the season to put Diablos ahead 4-0. It was the first home run by any player in Liga Mexicana de Softbol this year. On Tuesday, Davidson caught the first perfect game history of LMS, thrown by Megan Faraimo in a 6-0 win over El Aguila de Veracruz. On Wednesday, Davidson was selected in the inaugural Athletes Unlimited Softball League draft. She was picked by the Bandits in the fifth round with the #17 draft. Davidson has been with Athletes Unlimited since she graduated from Mississippi State, but the league is shifting to a traditional franchise model for the upcoming summer. She will start a 24-game season in June. That’s in addition to playing in Japan’s Diamond Softball League, where she plays for the Denso Bright Pegasus.

The college softball season is underway for Division II schools, and will formally start for Division I schools on Friday. Here’s some of the Hillsborough products that will be playing at the next level.

Takia Nichols: The all-time home run leader in Cedar Ridge history will start her junior season at North Carolina Central on Thursday. Nichols started 14 games for the Eagles last season and hit .308 with 12 hits and three RBIs. The Eagles will play in the Elon Softball Classic at Elon University against Ohio University on Thursday morning.

Mary Moss Wirt: The former Orange third baseman will start her junior season at Elon. In her sophomore season, Wirt played 33 games and made 19 starts. She scored seven runs. The Phoenix will face Ohio in the Elon Softball Classic. The Phoenix will face North Carolina Central on Saturday.

Carson Bradsher: After one season at South Carolina Upstate, Bradsher transferred to Division III Averett University in Danville, VA. The Cougars will start its season with a doubleheader against Salem College on February 16 at Cougar Field.

Ava Lowry: The former Cedar Ridge Red Wolf will start her junior season at Division III North Carolina Wesleyan on February 20 against Pitt Community College in Rocky Mount. Last season, Lowry started 31 games and hit .349, driving in 15 runs. She was a regular starter at shortstop last season, where she played at Cedar Ridge.

Kelsey Tackett: Tackett will start her sophomore season at North Carolina Wesleyan. Last year, Tackett played in two games.

Brianne Foster: Breezy will start her sophomore season at Wake Technical Community College later this month. Last year, the Eagles went 15-22. Last year, Foster played 33 games as a freshman and frequently played at catcher.

Tori Dalehite: After graduating from UNC Greensboro, Dalehite will come home to start another aspect in her career. Dalehite has joined the staff of Cedar Ridge softball, where she was the leader of the Red Wolves first-ever conference championship in 2018. Dalehite will serve as an assistant on the staff of head coach Allen Byrd. Cedar Ridge starts its season against Wakefield on February 24.

Orange’s Crawford wins 138-pound title at Central Conference championships; Medley, Barbee, Harward earn individual titles

BURLINGTON–Methodically, Orange senior Braden Crawford ended a period of dominance at his final Central Conference Tournament championship meet.

Crawford won his 3rd tournament championship at 138-pounds, pinning Jameer Farmer of Person in the championship match in 1:20. It was more than a championship final for Crawford. In his four years at Orange, he has never lost a conference match.

Crawford likely would have very likely had four tournament championships on his resume. In 2022, the Central Tournament, slated for Eastern Alamance High, was canceled because of winter weather. He won all five of his conference matches he competed in during the 2021-2022 season.

Crawford, who won the championship of the Eagle Invitational in Mebane on December 21, will go into the Mideast Regionals with an overall record of 27-7 on the season. He has 124 career wins. Crawford won his 100th career match during the Wolverine Challenge at Wakefield High School in November. He has qualified for the state championships three times. As a sophomore, he finished 2nd in the Mideast Regionals at 126 pounds.

“I feel, great, excited and happy,” Crawford said as he held the completed tournament bracket in his hands following the awards ceremony last Saturday.

Overall, Orange had its best showing as a team in the Central Conference Tournament since 2023. Bolstered by four individual championships, the Panthers finished 2nd in the team standings with 178 points. Person, which completed the regular season 17-0 under the direction of former Orange High wrestler Chase Kernodle, captured the team championship with 211 points. It’s the first time since 1976 that Person won a regular season and conference tournament championship in the same season.

Senior Jayden Medley captured his first tournament championship at 215 pounds. Medley earned a technical fall over Alfonzo Gonzalez of Eastern Alamance 15-0 in the semifinals, then pinned Western Alamance’s Esaiah Slade in 4:56 to earn the title. Medley, who is 27-8 this season, earned his second individual title of the year. He also won the Eagle Invitational in December. Medley earned All-Conference honors in football, finishing with 104 tackles, second on the team.

Freshman Jordan Barbee continued a strong season by winning the 190 pound tournament. Barbee scored a major decision over Sawyer Marshall of Walter Williams 17-8 in the championship match. Barbee, who was the top seed, pinned Christian Burwell of Person in 2:25 in the semifinals. Barbee improved to 22-9. In December, Barbee won all five of his matches at the Rumble in the Jungle event at Carrboro High School.

The surprise of the day came at 175 pounds. Sophomore Connor Harward captured the championship for the Panthers, his first individual title. The top-seed, Gage Latta of Person, came into the tournament with a 34-7 record. Walter Williams’ Gavin McMahon pinned Latta in the semifinals in 3:57. Harward, who was the sixth-seed, trailed Cedar Ridge’s Will Meyer 6-2 going into the final period of the second semifinal match.  Harward scored four near fall points in the final period and wound up with a 8-7 victory. Harward held on to defeat McMahon 8-5 in the championship match, outscoring McMahon 7-2 in the second period on the strength of four nearfall points.

In the women’s tournaments, Orange senior Ava Lytle and junior Rose Brady both finished second in their respective weight divisions. Lytle pinned Laura Blanchard of Walter Williams in 1:05. Toriana Murphy of Western Alamance defeated Lytle 7-0 to win the 126-pound championship.

At 235 pounds, Brady pinned Cedar Ridge’s Caroline DonJuan in 2:54. Eastern Alamance’s Jazmine Smith took the 235-pound title in the first women’s tournament in conference history.

On January 24, Orange defeated Eastern Alamance 60-20 at Tal Jobe Gymnasium in Mebane in its final dual match of the season. The Panthers scored seven pins to finish the regular season 10-3 overall, 4-2 in the Central Conference. Harward, Medley, Barbee, Logan Scarantino, Adrian Sierra, Markus Thomas and Renn Van Hoose all earned pins for the Panthers. Crabtree and Sebastian Guardia picked up forfeit victories.

Thrice as Nice; Van Mater, Jermyn push Orange men’s cross country to 3rd regional title in four years; Alexander helps Red Wolves to runner-up finish

For the first time ever, Hillsborough’s two 3A high schools finished in the top two spots in the Mideast Regional Men’s Cross Country championships.

Orange continued its dominance, winning its third regional championship in four years at Owens Recreation Park in Louisburg last Saturday. Buoyed by a 2nd place finish from junior Myles Jermyn and a third place finish from Lucas Van Mater, the Panthers finished with 42 points.

Cedar Ridge, which came in seventh last year, rocketed to a runner-up finish behind strong performances from juniors Henry Alexander and John Ngunjiri. Last year, the only Red Wolf to qualify for the state championships was Ryan Matthews. This year, they qualified as a team.

Orange won four Central Conference championships and three regional titles under head coach Brian Schneidewind. The Panthers earned their latest title despite the graduation of Gabriel Schmid, a two-time 3A Individual State champion who led the Panthers to a runner-up finish in the 3A State Championships last November in Kernersville. Orange also lost Alden Cathey, an All-Regional defenseman on Orange’s lacrosse team.

“Even though they graduated, I don’t think all of our great runners have left,”  Schneidewind. “I try to remind the runners today that it was specifically the class of 2022 with Nick Pell and Ethan Horton and Spencer Hampton that had took that big step in terms of work ethic. They instilled the mindset that running outside of practice needs to become the norm, which has continued to be embraced by this group. That’s a huge part about any success that we have.”

Jermyn, who won the individual conference championship, finished 2nd individually in the regional with a time of 15:46.06. Van Mater came in third at 16:04.66.

“Both our guys and girls teams have phenomenal human beings,” Schneidewind said. “One of the ways that they’re great individuals is their work ethic and willingness to go after a goal for intrinsic reasons rather than all the hoopla that’s probably not going to come with running. So their desire to set goals, academically or athletically, is another huge part of what’s been happening.”

Ethan Rich of Western Harnett, who finished 2nd in the region last year behind Jermyn, wound up winning the individual regional championship at 15:25.56.

“Myles and Lucas are the gym rats, so to speak,” Schneidewind said. “They’re not only getting in the miles outside of practice, but doing all the supplemental stuff. The little things to avoid injury.”

Orange finished with four of the top nine runners. Sophomore Grant Schmid, Gabrier’s younger brother, finished seventh (17:05.78). Senior Cyrus Neal, who was voted a co-Captain, came in ninth at 17:10.38. Another senior co-Captain for Orange, Peter Musser, finished 22nd at 18:20.88.

Van Mater, whose sister Katelyn was a three-sport athlete at Orange before graduating in 2023, is in his third year on the varsity cross country team. He also runs track & field in the spring.

“Another area where I’m crazy lucky in what I do is that these families set a great foundation of hard work,” Schneidewind said. “They set a balance of academic, athletics and helping the community. Lucas’ sister played a large part in his development and his older brother (Josh) ran cross country, as well. That’s the case of many of the parents of many of our athletes.”

In the women’s regionals, Orange freshman Reilly Jermyn finished fourth overall, which propelled the Lady Panthers to a third-place finish. Myles and Reilly Jermyn are the children of Duke University  cross country coach Kevin Jermyn.

“I’ve never been around someone who knows as much about running as Kevin does,” said Schneidewind. “I told Reilly this last week. As good of a coach as Kevin is, and he’s a very good collegiate coach, but he’s even better as a father. I’m incredibly impressed with his ability to put being a father over being a coach. He think of his children as people before he thinks of them as athletes.”

Orange freshman Ava Bishop finished 10th in the women’s race as Orange qualified as a team for the state championships, which will be contested today (Saturday) at the Ivey Redmon Sports Complex in Kernersville.

Cedar Ridge had four runners finish in the top 17 out of a field of 117 participants. Alexander came in 8th overall at 17:07. 53. Ngunjiri finished 10th at 17:11.22. Senior Nathan Walters crossed the finish line 14th at 17:18.53. Ryan Matthews came in 17th at 17:44.59.

“Our top four have all made huge jumps in terms of fitness,” said Cedar Ridge cross country coach Jared Buddington. “Especially with John.”

Last year, Ngunjiri struggled with shin pain most of the year and raced just once. After a strong indoor track & field season, his shin problems returned last spring, sidelining him from the outdoor track season.

“He really hasn’t had the opportunity to race since last winter,” Buddington said. “This year, he ran a personal best of 18:15 in his first race. He’s run 16:48 this year, which is the top time on the team. He’s stepped up.”

Last year, Walters started the season running around the 22-minute range in the 5K. By the end of the year, he brought that down to the 18:57. This year, he’s gotten the time down to 16:58 in just his second year of running.

“He wasn’t a runner coming into the program,” Buddington said. “He’s just stuck with it. He really likes the community and being around like-minded people. He really be his true self when he’s around the team. It brings out his true personality.”

 

Orange volleyball’s Ava Wilkerson, Katie Silcott & Aubrey Jordan discuss win over South Central

The Orange volleyball team is moving on to the round of 16 in the 3A State Playoffs. The Lady Panthers defeated South Central 3-1 in the 2nd round at Panther Gymnasium on Thursday night. Junior Ava Wilkerson finished with 17 kills as Orange won its seventh playoff game over the past two years. Orange trailed 23-20 in the first set before Wilkerson scored three straight points. In overtime, Wilkerson slammed down set point. Junior setter Katie Silcott finished with eight kills, 16 digs and 23 assists. Last week against Western Alamance, Silcott had her first career triple-double as the Lady Panthers advanced to the Central Conference Tournament championship match. Junior outside hitter Aubrey Jordan finished with eight kills. Orange will face crosstown rival Cedar Ridge in the round of 16 later today (Saturday). It will be the 13th matchup between the two teams since 2021 and their fourth meeting this year. Last week, Orange defeated Cedar Ridge in five sets to win the Central Conference Tournament, which led to Orange hosting this afternoon’s state playoff match. Cedar Ridge has won in their last two trips to Orange High School, including a sweep of the Lady Panthers on September 3. The Red Wolves also defeated Orange to win the 2023 Central Conference Tournament championship.

Orange volleyball’s Ava Wilkerson, Aubrey Jordan & Katie Silcott discuss win over South Central

The Orange volleyball team is moving on to the round of 16 in the 3A State Playoffs. The Lady Panthers defeated South Central 3-1 in the 2nd round at Panther Gymnasium on Thursday night. Junior Ava Wilkerson finished with 17 kills as Orange won its seventh playoff game over the past two years.

Orange men’s soccer’s Joseph Lopez and Hector Garrido discuss Williams win

The Orange men’s soccer team is another step closer to tying the school record for most wins in a season. Earlier this week, the Panthers survived a tight match at Southern Alamance to win 2-1 at Hanford Stadium in Graham. The following night, Orange rolled past the Patriots 6-0 in Hillsborough, putting the Panthers at 14 goals for the season. Orange senior Joseph Lopez scored a goal for Orange. Lopez scored Orange’s game-winning goal against Walter Williams on October 9, which clinched a season sweep of the Bulldogs. Daniel Toledo scored two goals for Orange, putting him at 7 goals for the season. Panthers goalkeeper Hector Garrido earned his sixth clean sheet of the season. Garrido is in his first season as Orange goalkeeper. He never played organized soccer before this season, but he hit the ground running when he earned a shutout against Carrboro in the season opener. The Panthers have clinched an automatic spot to the 3A State Playoffs. Now, they’re trying to become the first team in the 37-year history of the program to host a state playoff game. The Panthers will face Eastern Alamance in Hillsborough on Monday night. With the extension of the fall sports season, Orange will travel to Haw River to face Southeast Alamance on November 6 for the regular season finale.

Orange men’s soccer’s Joseph Lopez and Hector Garrido discuss Williams win

The Orange men’s soccer team is another step closer to tying the school record for most wins in a season. Earlier this week, the Panthers survived a tight match at Southern Alamance to win 2-1 at Hanford Stadium in Graham. The following night, Orange rolled past the Patriots 6-0 in Hillsborough, putting the Panthers at 14 goals for the season.

Orange Panther of the Week: Katie Silcott

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is junior setter Katie Silcott. Last week, Silcott had a triple-double as the Lady Panthers won the Central Conference Tournament. In the semifinals against Western Alamance, Silcott finished with 12 kills, eleven digs and 32 assists. The following night in the championship match against Cedar Ridge, Silcott missed a triple-double by one dig. She finished with ten kills, 22 assists and nine digs. Orange won two five-set matches on back-to-back nights in order to secure its first conference tournament championship since 2005. Orange also won its third straight match at Cedar Ridge. Silcott has been Orange’s setter since her freshman year. She has a total of 1,769 assists. In her sophomore season, Silcott put up a school-record 1,037 assists as Orange won the Eastern Regional championship, facing Kings Mountain for the state championship at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh. Silcott had a double-double with 22 assists and eleven digs in the state championship match. Silcott has been a regular starter for an Orange team that has won back-to-back regular season conference championship for the first time since 2004-2005. With the addition of Sawyer White to the lineup, Silcott has become a lethal attacker and a blocker at the net. Orange will face Triton in the opening round of the state playoffs tonight in Hillsborough.

Orange Panther of the Week: Katie Silcott

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is junior setter Katie Silcott. Last week, Silcott had a triple-double as the Lady Panthers won the Central Conference Tournament. In the semifinals against Western Alamance, Silcott finished with 12 kills, eleven digs and 32 assists.