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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 Cedar Ridge men’s basketball team, fighting for a spot in the state playoffs, defeated Franklin Academy 56-42 at Red Wolves Gymnasium on Thursday night. Without forward Luke Orstad, junior Hayden Kirk earned his first start of the season and had seven points. It was a big night for junior center Harrison Perel, who had a career-high 14 points. Coming off Tuesday’s close loss to Orange, the Red Wolves opened slow from the field, scoring just one field goal in the opening 12 minutes. After Colton Taylor scored on a field goal while being fouled, the Red Wolves went on an 11-0 run down the stretch of the first half to take the lead. Perel had three field goals down the stretch of the first half. Colton Taylor finished with 12 points while Jonovan Wingate had ten points as the Red Wolves earned its first win of the calendar year 2023. Cedar Ridge went into the game ranked #33 in the MaxPreps 3A East region rankings, putting them right on the bubble for the 3A State Playoffs. Cedar Ridge, looking for its first trip to the state playoffs in six years, will continue their pursuit for the postseason when they travel to Eastern Alamance tonight. You can hear that game tonight on Hillsboroughsports.com starting with the women’s game with Jon Franklin at 6PM.

Cedar Ridge’s Harrison Perel & Hayden Kirk discuss win over Franklin Academy

The Cedar Ridge men’s basketball team, fighting for a spot in the state playoffs, defeated Franklin Academy 56-42 at Red Wolves Gymnasium on Thursday night. Without forward Luke Orstad, junior Hayden Kirk earned his first start of the season and had seven points.

The Orange women’s basketball team went home from Gibsonville with hardware. The Lady Panthers captured the championship of the Eastern Guilford Holiday Invitational with a 46-25 win over Northeast Guilford on Wednesday night. Jada Reed had her best game of the tournament with 13 points. Orange senior center Erin Jordan-Cornell also scored 13 points. Jordan-Cornell, Nikayla Whitted and Sophomore Evelyn George were named to the All-Tournament team. Jordan-Cornell was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. Whitted scored five points in the championship game. She scored seven points in the win over Walter Williams. It was the first time since 2017, when they won the Big 8 Conference Championship. It was a well-earned championship for the Lady Panthers, who won three games over three days against The Burlington School and Central Carolina Conference rival Walter Williams. Orange coach B.J. Condron won a tie for the contest as he does whenever the Panthers play in a tournament championship game. It was a title earned for the Orange seniors: Jordan-Cornell, Reed, Whitted and Katelyn Van Mater. Orange will continue its season on January 3 with a home game against Cedar Ridge on Tuesday at 7.

No Title

The Orange women’s basketball team went home from Gibsonville with hardware. The Lady Panthers captured the championship of the Eastern Guilford Holiday Invitational with a 46-25 win over Northeast Guilford on Wednesday night. Jada Reed had her best game of the tournament with 13 points. Orange senior center Erin Jordan-Cornell also scored 13 points.

There is no finish line.

At least not with Gabriel Schmid.

Just 19 months ago, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the 2020-2021 North Carolina High School Cross Country State championships to be held on a frigid January day in Kannapolis. If you scroll down the 97 names who qualified in the 3A Championships that day, Schmid’s is conspicuously missing. He was a freshman then.

Now, he’s a state champion.

On November 5, Schmid won the 3A State Championship at the Ivey Redmon Sports Complex in Kernersville. He captured his first state championship with a time of 15:44.28, a full 16 seconds ahead of runner-up Stephen Fernetti of North Lincoln. Eli Julian of South Rowan finished third at 16:13.79.

Schmid became only the second runner ever from Orange to win a state championship in cross country. Bradsher Wilkins won the 4A State Championship in 1997 and 1998.

Just as Schmid flipped the script on his performance, so did the climate that he competed in. Last November, he ran his first state championship meet with temperatures in the mid-50s. He finished 12th. This year, captured the state title in downright balmy conditions with highs in the low 80s, as warm as many observers could ever recall for the final cross country event of the year.

After crossing the finish line, some runners searched fervently for the table that had dozens of cups of water just beyond the concourse. Schmid, however, actually preferred the warmer weather.

“Last year, it was hard to stay warm,” Schmid said. “This was an amazing time. I’d rather have this 100%.”

Schmid followed in the footsteps of a teammate and mentor who nearly captured his own state championship several times. Spencer Hampton, who graduated in June, finished 2nd in the 3,2000 meters in the 2021 3A Outdoor State Track and Field Championship. A week prior, Hampton won the 1,600 meters Mideast Regional championship at Southern Lee High School in Sanford. Last year, Hampton came in 8th in the state cross country championships.

“We were feeling good about the race,” said Orange Men’s Cross Country coach Brian Schneidewind. “It was a nice, relatively calm week of having faith and trust in all the decisions he’s been making throughout the last several years to get to this point. What makes him special is the fact that he’s strong in so many different areas whereas a lot of runners have a lot of obvious strengths, but a lot of weaknesses as well.”

In May, Hampton won another regional championship in the 3,200 meters at Franklinton High School. Schmid finished 2nd. Schmid also finished 3rd in the 1,600 meters, while Hampton came in 2nd.

A week later at the 3A State Championships at North Carolina A&T State University, Schmid came in 2nd in the 3,200 meters.

“Spencer definitely helped me win this championship,” Schmid said. “He pushed me hard my freshman year because he saw potential in me. It’s something he engraved in me early on. It’s definitely something that started it all. From there, my parents, my coaches, my teammates saw that I have something. It motivated me to do that. At the end of the day, the motivation can get you through the days, the years, the months. Waking up every single day and having to do a 8-10 mile run. You can’t just have motivation. You have to have people pushing you.”

After the outdoor state championships, Schmid underwent a rigorous summer training regimen to prepare for cross country. He attended the Brevard Summer Distance training camp where he ran through the craggy terrain in a mountainous region. He also ventured to West Virginia for a Ragnar relay race, described as the “hardest fun you’ll ever love” on its website.

“The Pisgah Forest is definitely the way to train,” Schmid said. “It improved my endurance. One day we ran three miles uphill at an elevation of about 1,500 feet. Brevard started it all for this season. That was the hardest training I’ve ever gone through. I may do it again next year.”

Schmid finished the 2022 cross country season with six wins. In addition to the Central Carolina Conference championship at Lake Cammack Course in Burlington, Schmid won the Mideast Regional championship at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary. That’s also where he opened the season with a victory in the Early Bird Challenge on August 20, outdistancing the field by 40 seconds against the nearest competitor, Cedar Ridge’s Roman Morrell.

In the state championships, Schmid beat out 170 other runners.

Since then, he hasn’t stopped competing. He has already qualified for the state championships in indoor track and field. On November 19, Schmid finished 14th in the New Balance Dash for Doobie 3200 in Pfafftown. His time of 9:20.33 was well under the state qualification standards of 10:00.000.

Last week, Schmid returned to WakeMed Soccer Park and finished fifth in the NXR Southeast Regional Championships. His time of 15:13.30 was good enough to qualify for the Nike Cross Country Nationals in Portland, OR on December 3rd.

The Orange men’s soccer team started its season with a 2-nil loss to Riverside on a mild August night at Linny Wrenn Stadium in Durham.

As indicated by the scoreline, it was a tepid showing offensively for Orange, whose best chance to score came on a penalty kick that was saved in the first half by Riverside goalkeeper John Ballard.

Offensively, that Orange team from two months ago bares little resemblance to the squad that is now in the state playoffs. Along the way, the ride through October has been filled with last minutes heroics that have paced the way for the Panthers’ first appearance in the state playoffs since 2017.

Orange, which finished third in the Central Carolina Conference, received a #21 seed and will face #12 seed J.H. Rose in Greenville on Halloween night. The field of 64 in the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 3A State Tournament was released on Friday afternoon.

Rose, who finished third in the 4A/3A Big East Conference, received a #12 seed. The Rampants ended the regular season on a five-game winning streak, including a victory over D.H. Conley, who tied with Jacksonville for the Big East Championship.

Orange started 1-5 and didn’t score multiple goals in a game until they defeated Cedar Ridge 3-1 on September 14 in the opening leg of the Hillsborough Derby. At that point, the offense picked up and the Panthers won five in a row, its longest winning streak in five years.

The Panthers’ run to the postseason hasn’t lacked for drama. On October 13, Orange stunned Chapel Hill 3-2 at Ron Benson Field. They played the final 20 minutes with only ten men. Junior Emmanuel Mil Cruz scored the game-winning goal with 35 seconds remaining after Cooper Zinn scored the equalizer off an assist from Darius Corbett.

The following game, the Panthers defeated Northwood 3-2 in Pittsboro after scoring two goals in the final 15 minutes. Dylan Silverman notched the game-winning goal with 1:32 remaining with a laser shot from 25 yards away. Tyler Mann, the leading scorer on the team, tied the game. Mil Cruz scored Orange’s opener.

Orange’s senior night against Eastern Alamance last Monday may have been the most memorable of all. In a 4-2 overtime win, Corbett scored two goals in his final game at Orange Soccer Field. Zinn and Mann also scored.

Corbett, a centerback, scored Orange’s first goals of the year on penalty kicks, including the game-winner in a 1-0 victory over Knightdale, their first win of the season. Mann leads Orange with eleven goals. Cooper Zinn has seven goals.

Corbett is paired as a centerback with senior Tucker Gaddy, who were instrumental in four shutout wins this season, along with goalkeeper Connor McMurtry.

The winner of J.H. Rose-Orange will face the winner of #5 Southern Nash vs. #28 Southern Wayne in the second round.

Orange’s inclusion in the field of 64 continued a strong showing for the Central Carolina Conference, home to the defending 3A State Champions Western Alamance. Five CCC teams made the state playoffs. Walter Williams, who defeated Orange 3-0 in the regular season finale on Wednesday, is the top-overall seed in the 3A East Region.

Western Alamance (#13 seed) will host Northern Nash in the opening round. Northwood (#22) will travel to Swansboro on Monday. Eastern Alamance will go to Croatan.

The most successful season in the history of the Orange women’s tennis team is over. But for Erinn and Shannon Sollars, it will continue on Friday in the 3A state doubles tournament.

Last week, the Sollars sisters finished runner-up in doubles play at the 3A Mideast Regionals at the Burlington Tennis Center. In the 16-team tournament, only the tandems that reach the semifinals quality for the 3A State Tournament. In the opening round, Erinn and Shannon Sollars defeated Sophie McLean and Andrea Romero of Harnett Central 6-0, 6-3. In the second round, which a trip to the state championships on the line, the Sollars defeated Destyn Rader and Ryan Tinervin 2-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 to advance to the semifinals.

On Saturday, the Sollars advanced to the regional championship match with a straight sets victory over Sophie Blankenship and Hannah Johnson of Terry Sanford 6-3, 6-2. With the victory, the Sollars became the first Orange doubles team to play for a 3A Regionals championship.

Cape Fear’s Brooke Bieniek and Anna Poland, the defending 3A State Champions, defeated the Sollars for the Mideast Regional championship. Earlier in the tournament, Bieniek and Poland defeated Orange’s other team to qualify for the regional championships, Sydney Rogers and Makayla Davis.

The Sollars became the first duo from Hillsborough to quality for the 3A State Championships since Cedar Ridge’s Olivia Ward and Alana Lutz in 2018.

In the opening round of the 3A State Tournament on Friday morning, the Sollars will face Ellie Holtzman and Berkley Geyer of Hickory High. It is another 16-team tournament.

This season, the Sollars are 17-4 as a team. They helped Orange win a share of its first conference championship in school history. The Lady Panthers tied Walter Williams for first place in the Central Carolina Conference with an 11-1 mark. In Orange’s 5-4 win over Williams on September 26, the Sollars earned the victory that essentially clinched the dual match, beating Abigail Brown and Jaden Wilson 9-7 at #1 doubles.

This season, Orange won a school-record 19 matches and reached the second round of the 3A State Dual Team Tournament. On Tuesday, Fike defeated Orange 6-0 in Wilson to advance to the second round. The Golden Demons, the champions of the Quad County Conference, avenged its loss to Orange in the opening round of the 2021 Dual Tournament. Rogers, who was undefeated in singles play this year for Orange, didn’t play on Tuesday due to an injury.

The loss ended Orange’s 15-match winning streak, a school record.

This season was the first time where the Sollars exclusively teamed together during doubles action. While they did team up at times during the 2021 campaign, they spent the majority of matches with other players.

They started playing doubles together in middle school at the downtown Mebane clinics on Saturday afternoons. After taking a few years off, they returned to the game when they started at Orange High. Last season, they helped Orange to a 16-5 record. Up to that point, it was the most successful season in team history. In the 2021 Mideast Regionals, Erinn Sollars teamed with Jera Hargrove, who is now a freshman at Tuskegee University. Shannon Sollars teamed with Tea Jones, who has also graduated.

Erinn Sollars, a junior, was Orange’s top singles players this season. She had 28 overall wins in 2022, including eleven singles victories. Shannon Sollars, a sophomore, was Orange’s #2 singles player and finished with an 13-6 singles record. She has 30 overall victories.

In other action in the 3A State Dual Tournament, Cape Fear defeated Walter Williams 5-1 in the second round on Tuesday.

It was another Cedar Ridge sweep, but it name only.

Anyone sitting within the tension filled environment at Cedar Ridge gymnasium on Tuesday night understood why so many of the Orange volleyball players were battling the defending 3A State Champions like it was the last game they would ever play.

It’s because, in most cases, they really did.

There’s a bond that intersects the Orange-Cedar Ridge volleyball rivalry in many ways. Orange middle blocker Erin Jordan-Cornell and setter Caitlin Carden won an Orange-Person Athletic Conference championship with the Stanford Chargers (now Orange Chargers) in middle school with Cameron Lloyd as a teammate when they were in 8th grade. Lloyd, Jordan-Cornell and Carden played on travel teams together in their pre-teen years.

Their allegiances drifted apart after middle school. Lloyd joined Cameron Lanier, Julie Altieri, Anaya Carter and Grace Young at Cedar Ridge. Jordan-Cornell and Carden opted for Orange. Though they played on different teams, their friendships remained intact. When Cedar Ridge won the 3A State Championship last year at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh, Jordan-Cornell was outside the locker room waiting with Cedar Ridge parents and relatives to congratulate them. On October 11, when Jordan-Cornell and Carden defeated Eastern Alamance in their senior night game at Panther Gymnasium, Lloyd and Altieri were there.

Lloyd, Carden and Jordan-Cornell won a championship together in 8th grade. The cruel irony surrounding Tuesday night, unspoken but understood, was not simply that somebody’s high school career would end. It was that someone’s close friend would play a big part in ending it.

After Lloyd spiked him match point to complete a 3-0 Cedar Ridge win, it appeared that both teams would be content with just waving to each other, a practice that replaced a postgame handshake during the sensitive times of the COVID-19 pandemic. Then, perhaps realizing the magnitude of the moment, they thought better of it. Jordan-Cornell, whose jovial nature almost always leads to her entering games with a smile on her face, didn’t even lose her grin as the handshake line started as her Orange volleyball career ended.

Then reality set in. After slapping hands with some of Cedar Ridge’s players, she wiped a tear from under her right eye with her jersey. Carden began getting emotional, as well.

As the two teams went to their respective benches, Cedar Ridge public address announcer Jon Franklin paid tribute to the Orange seniors by reading their names over the public address system while the fans, parents and students from both schools applauded. Jordan-Cornell, Carden, Lillie Smith, Cameryn Stewart, Ashlyn Davis and Ashlyn Hoffman stayed around long after the final point to talk to parents from both teams.

Cedar Ridge (23-1) advanced to the round of 16 of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 3A State Playoffs with its fourth win over Orange this year. The Red Wolves will face First Flight on Thursday night at Red Wolves Gymnasium. First Flight survived a five-set battle with Lee County in Kill Devil Hills on Tuesday.

Lloyd finished with ten kills for Cedar Ridge. Senior Cameron Lanier, second behind only Lloyd on Cedar Ridge’s all-time killslist, finished with nine kills and two blocks. Junior setter Rachel Alverson, replacing senior Julie Altieri in the lineup, had a career-high 33 assists.

Orange junior Ella Wimsatt had seven kills to lead the Lady Panthers. Jordan-Cornell, replacing Allie Wilkerson, had five kills and three aces.

For Orange, the loss was filled with more of the standard finality that comes with the conclusion of a season. In addition to the seven seniors, coach Kelly Young plans to step down at the end of the year.

All of which may have played a part in Orange’s emotional start that knocked the Red Wolves back in the opening minutes. Jordan-Cornell served up two aces to put the Lady Panthers ahead 8-3 in the first set, leading to an early timeout from Cedar Ridge coach Fiona Cunningham.

“Orange gave it everything they got,” Cunningham said. “Orange played out of their minds. That was some of the best volleyball I’ve seen this year from anybody. We came out really timid. They came out really aggressive. Emotions really controlled most of the match.”

Orange, who ended Cedar Ridge’s 62-set winning streak last week in the Central Carolina Conference Tournament championship game, won long rallies early. Wimsatt slammed home a spike off an assist from freshman Katie Silcott to put the Lady Panthers ahead 11-7. Cedar Ridge freshman Claire Hargett scored off an assist from Alverson to lead to a Red Wolf side out, leading to 6-2 Cedar Ridge run to tie the set.

The opening frame had five lead changes and nine ties. Orange won another lengthy rally when Wimsatt tapped the ball over the outstretched arms of Melissa Benkowitz to give the Lady Panthers a 19-18 lead. The Red Wolves would deliver another patented run when it mattered the most, finishing with seven consecutive points with junior Graylinn Serge serving. During the run, Lanier had three kills and Serge had an ace. An errant attack by Orange led to the Red Wolves taking the frame 25-19.

“We had a lot of talk about staying confident,” Cunningham said. “We made sure that we stuck to what we’re good at and our game plan. We came out and all of the work we had done on scouting and a game plan just kind of went out the door. He just had to refocus.”

The second set was just as tight. Orange freshman Ava Wilkerson evened things at 13 with a block. The Red Wolves array of weapons proved too much again late. They scored seven of the next eight points, including four kills from Benkowitz. A block by Lanier led to an Orange timeout. Cedar Ridge would take the set 25-20.

The early emotion appeared to catch up with Orange in the final set. Cedar Ridge opened with a 6-2 run and never trailed. Red Wolf senior Anaya Carter and Lanier each had two early kills. Orange freshman Aubrey Jordan finished with five kills, including four in the final set, but Lloyd got match point to end things.

It was Cedar Ridge’s 40th straight win over a Central Carolina Conference opponent.

Orange ends the year 19-11, its most wins since 2008.

The joyride that has been the Class of 2023 Cedar Ridge volleyball team is entering its final days.

Regardless of whether the end comes on Tuesday in the second round of the state playoffs against Orange, on November 8 in the 3A State Championship match at Reynolds Coliseum or somewhere in between, there’s no disputing the numbers continue to add up for the most accomplished group of Cedar Ridge athletes in the 20-year history of the school.

On Saturday, Cedar Ridge rolled past Richlands 3-0 in the opening round of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 3A State Playoffs. The Red Wolves (22-1), the defending 3A State Champions, are the #2 seed in the east region. They advanced to face crosstown rival Orange in the second round on Tuesday night in Red Wolves Gymnasium.

It was the 80th win for Cedar RIdge’s senior class of Cameron Lloyd, Cameron Lanier, Julie Altieri, Anaya Carter, Grace Young, Melissa Benkowitz, Lauren Cecil and Isabelle Sheppard. Lloyd, Lanier, Altieri and Carter all played for the Red Wolves on the varsity as freshman. Young, Benkowitz, Sheppard and Cecil joined the varsity as sophomores (Benkowitz transferred from East Chapel Hill).

The Red Wolves used superior serving to easily take the victory. In the opening set, Young had eight aces and eight digs. Lloyd, who is second in school history for most career aces behind only Altieri, finished with five aces and nine digs, which led the team.

For the third straight game, Altieri was out. The Red Wolves went with freshman Mia Marty as setter in the opening two sets. Marty finished with eight assists, a lower total than usual simply because there weren’t many rallies.

Freshman Claire Hargett led the Red Wolves with five kills. Benkowitz added four while Lanier had three kills and three blocks.

Cedar Ridge has now won 22 consecutive matches and 66 of its last 67 sets. Its only loss of the season came against J.H. Rose, who is the #1 seed in the east region. On Saturday, the Rampants rolled past South Brunswick in the opening round to set up a matchup against C.B. Aycock on Tuesday night.

After winning all six of its state playoff matches last year, Cedar Ridge’s senior class has won nine state playoff matches. Asha Barnes, who graduated from Cedar Ridge in 2016, was a member of teams that won 13 sate playoff matches during her four years. In her senior year, the Red Wolves hosted the 2015 3A Eastern Regional championship match, which Asheboro captured 3-1.

Altieri holds the school record in assists and aces. She is the only player in Cedar Ridge history with over 200 aces. She also has 1,921 assists.

The remarkable thing about Cedar Ridge’s various record holders is they all were robbed of 10-15 games in the 2020-2021, which was limited to ten games because of the pandemic. The Red Wolves had 24 matches in 2019-2020 and 33 last year. With a standard length regular season, Lloyd could have become the first player in school history with 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs.

Going into Saturday, Lloyd’s listed statistics on MaxPreps was 990 kills and 728 digs. Based on records kept on MaxPreps, the all-time digs record in Cedar Ridge history belongs to Lindsay Thompson, who finished with 745.

When they face Orange on Tuesday, the Red Wolves will go for its 40th consecutive win over a conference opponent. In what may be a good omen for Orange, the Lady Panthers were the last team from the Central Carolina Conference to defeat the Red Wolves. They won 3-2 on October 18, 2019.

Cedar Ridge has won 25 consecutive home matches.