One game at a time. That’s the way the #1 seeded Cedar Ridge volleyball team is taking the 3A State Playoffs. On Tuesday night, the Red Wolves easily disposed of South Brunswick in the second round of the 3A State Playoffs 3-0 on scores of 25-4, 25-11 and 25-14. Cedar Ridge stormed out to the first seven points of the match behind three kills from Cameron Lloyd and three aces from junior Julie Altieri. The Trojans never led nor tied the match in the opening two sets. South Johnston made a run to tie the third set 12-12, but junior Melissa Benkowitz came up with two big kills to keep Cedar Ridge in the led for the rest of the match. Benkowitz, a transfer from East Chapel Hill, has provided another finisher for a Cedar Ridge team that badly needed it after last year’s loss to D.H. Conley in the 2nd round of the 3A State Playoffs. Sophomore Addie Reed had three big blocks in the second set to send the Red Wolves’ student section into a frenzy. The Red Wolves improved to 27-2 with the victory and will face 9th-seeded Harnett Central in the Round of 16 on Thursday night at Red Wolves Gymnasium. This will be the first time that Cedar Ridge has hosted a third-round playoff game since 2015. Game time between Harnett Central and Cedar Ridge will be at 6 on Thursday night.

The Cedar Ridge men’s soccer team did what it had to do to on Senior Night. The Red Wolves defeated Eastern Alamance 6-0 in its final home game of the year at Red Wolves Stadium on Tuesday night. Junior Chris Mendez ended the year with a hat trick. He finished the regular season with 13 goals, the leading scorer for the Red Wolves thi season. It was the final home game for midfielder Alex Jackan, a senior co-Captain. Jackan had an assist against the Eagles. Cedar Ridge wrapped up the regular season with a 7-12-1 overall record, 6-5-1 in the Central Carolina Conference. It was also a fitting finale for senior goalkeeper Benjamin Weaver, who is in his first year at Cedar Ridge after moving with his family from Pennsylvania. Senior co-Captain Jorge Salazar started his final home game. Other seniors included Jesus Quirez-Rivera, John Blake Gonzalez-Vazquez and Noah Montoya. The Red Wolves will now wait for Saturday to see whether they will make the 3A State Playoffs.

Men’s Soccer: Cedar Ridge 6, Eastern Alamance 0: The waiting has started for the Cedar Ridge men’s soccer team.

The Red Wolves decisively defeated Eastern Alamance 6-0 in its final home game of the season on Tuesday night at Red Wolves Stadium. Going into the game, the Red Wolves were listed at the top of the “First Four Teams Out” in the latest 3A State Soccer Pairings by HighschoolOT.com. Cedar Ridge did its part to improve its standing on Tuesday.

Cedar Ridge junior forward Chris Mendez scored a hat trick. Mendez ended the year with a team-leading 13 goals.

Freshman Edwin Hernandez-Huerta had two goals and an assist. Hernandez-Huerta had eight goals and an assist.

Another freshman, Melvin Alvarado, scored his first goal for the Red Wolves. Junior Evan Marty assisted on two goals.

The Red Wolves conclude the regular season 7-12-1, 5-5-1 in the Central Carolina Conference. The brackets for the 3A State Soccer Tournament will be released on Saturday.

Orange 9, Eastern Alamance 2: To conclude its season, the Orange men’s soccer team tied a season-high nine goals in a victory over Eastern Alamance on Monday night in Mebane.

Junior Tyler Mann had the first hat trick of his career. Mann doubled his goal output for the season.

In his final game, senior Carter Thompson scored two goals. Thompson, the son of Orange graduates Roger and Cindy Thompson, also had an assist. He wrapped up the year with six goals and two assists.

Juniors Cooper Zinn, Dylan Silverman and Bryan Membreno also had goals for Orange. Freshman Konner Johnson had a goal and an assist.

Senior Jasper Tyll, a co-Captain, had an assist in his Orange farewell. Junior Cayden Cieutat assisted on another goal.

Orange finished the season 7-12-1 overall, 4-7-1 in the CCC.

Women’s Tennis: The Orange women’s tennis team, after winning its first-ever match in the 3A State Dual Team Tennis Tourament, fell in the second round to Cape Fear 5-2 on Tuesday.

Sophomore Erin Sollars had a straight sets win in #6 singles for Orange. Sollars won her match against Wilson Fike last Tuesday in the Lady Panthers’ 5-3 win, which sent them to the round of 16 for the first time in school history.

At #6 singles, Tea Jones won in her final match for Orange. Jones won both of her singles matches in the team playoff.

In terms of wins, this was the most successful Orange season in team history. The Lady Panthers finished 16-5. Orange’s doubles team of Jera Hargrove & Erin Sollars will compete in the 3A State Doubles Championship this Friday at the Burlington Tennis Center. Hargrove & Sollars will face Dabney Osbourne & Emily Mitchum of J.H. Rose in the opening round.

Women’s Golf: Samantha Durham completed in the 3A State Women’s Golf Championships for Orange on Monday and Tuesday at the Foxfire Golf and Resort Club in Pinehurst. Durham became the first Lady Panther golfer to compete in the State Golf Championships since Amanda Hill in 2015.

Four months after high school baseball season ended, the honors continue to roll in for Orange’s Ryan Hench and Davis Horton.

The North Carolina Baseball Coaches Association have named Hench and Horton to its 3A All-State team. They were the only players from the Big 8 Conference honored by the NCBCA.

Both Hench and Horton played their first full season with Orange during the abbreviated 2021 campaign, which was paired down to 14 games due to the pandemic. They comprised a battery that led the Panthers to a share of the Big 8 Conference championship with a 6-1 record, tying Northern Durham for 1st place.

Horton, a transfer from Riverside, was named the Big 8 Conference Player of the Year. Hench shared the Big 8 Pitcher of the Year award with Northern Durham’s Matthew Lombard.

Hench, a junior, was on the Orange varsity as a 9th grader. He season was limited to one game on March 4, 2020, against Eastern Alamance. In his first high school pitching appearance, Hench recorded the final five outs in order against the Eagles in a 6-2 Panthers win. His older brother, senior Cooper Hench, started at third base that night. It was the first time the siblings shared the field in an Orange uniform, and neither had any idea it would also be the last. A week later, the season shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which cost Cooper the rest of his Orange career.

Orange entered 2021 with question marks about its pitching rotation, which were answered during a four-day span starting on May 7. Hench threw four shutout innings against Northwood for his first varsity win. Four nights later, Hench was selected by head coach Jason Knapp to start again, likely with a state playoff birth on the line, at Chapel Hill. Hench put on a dazzling performance, throwing a two-hit, complete game shutout with 14 strikeouts. Orange won 5-0, a win that would carry them to the 3A State Playoffs.

Hench threw 18 consecutive shutout innings to start 2021. The first run he surrendered, which came at Northwood on June 1 in Pittsboro, was unearned. Hench ended the season 3-0 with a a 2.22 ERA. He also swung a strong bat, to the point where Knapp would often position him as a pitcher and designated hitter. Hench hit .421 with three home runs, which led the team.

Though it came in a reduced regular season, Horton hit safely in all 14 of Orange’s regular season games. The streak started in a 15-5 win over 2019 Big 8 Conference champion East Chapel Hill on April 27, when Horton went 3-for-5 with two doubles and a home run. He finished with five RBIs against the Wildcats.

Horton, a junior, ended the regular season with a 16-game hitting streak. That extended to his final days at Riverside, where he had hits against Wake County Home Schools and Green Level in 2020, the only games the Pirates played that year.

Last spring/summer, Horton led the Panthers in four offensive categories. He hit .490 with 24 hits and 15 RBIs. He tied with Hench with a team-high six doubles.

Defensively, Horton provided Orange with its most reliable presence behind the plate since the graduation of Brad Deno in 2016. Debo went on to play four seasons at N.C. State.

Though the Big 8 Conference was limited to two automatic state playoff spots, Orange still made the field of 32 as the #2 seed from the Big 8. In the opening round, Asheboro defeated Orange 5-4 at McCrary Park on June 15 in a thrilling game that ended with the Blue Comets’ Tanner Marsh doubling off the left field wall to score Camden Walker. Orange battled back from a 4-0 deficit to tie the game 4-4 at the end of the fifth inning. Hench helped spark the rally with a double and eventually scored off an RBI single by Jaren Sikes. Hench singled in the fifth, which set up Conner Funk knocking in Will Walker for the tying run.

For the first time since 2015, the Orange volleyball team has advanced to the 2nd round of the 3A State Playoffs.

On a busy Saturday afternoon across Hillsborough, the Lady Panthers defeated West Johnston 3-0 in the opening round of the NCHSAA State Playoffs at Panther Gymnasium. Orange (11-9), hosting its first state playoff match in nine years, prevailed over the Wildcats on scores of 25-23, 25-17 and 25-19.

Across town, the top-seeded Cedar Ridge Red Wolves had no problem with the 32nd-seeded South Brunswick Cougars 3-0. The Red Wolves (26-2), who have already set the school record for wins in a season, prevailed on scores of 25-8, 25-8 and 25-12.

Orange will travel to face Wilson Hunt on Tuesday night. The Warriors (22-4), seeded #3, won the Quad County Conference championship with a 14-0 record. Hunt swept Triton in the opening round on Saturday.

Cedar Ridge will return home on Tuesday to face #17 South Johnston on Tuesday night at Red Wolves Gymnasium. The Trojans defeated West Carteret 3-1 in Morehead City on Saturday.

Against West Johnston, Orange trailed 15-11 until Emma Wimsatt scored a kill off an assist from Caitlin Carden. Then junior Allie Wilkerson took over the match. She served 12 consecutive points for the Lady Panthers, including three aces. Wimsatt had four kills during the run, while Avery Miller had another. All five kills were assisted by Carden, who had 14 assists in the second and third sets. In a frame that had six ties and four lead changes, Miller scored set point on a spike that caught the center of the floor.

In the second and third sets, Miller had eight kills and eleven digs. Wimsatt recorded seven kills, seven assists and seven digs. Senior Ella Van Tiem had six kills and six digs.

West Johnston jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the third set. Orange went on a 8-3 run to take an 11-10 lead off three kills by Miller. Kinzy Rowney and Wilkerson also had finishes.

Orange would take the lead with three straight points off kills by Wimsatt and Van Tiem. Wilkerson served the final three points for Orange, including an ace on match point.

It was Orange’s first home win in a state playoff match since they defeated McMichael 3-0 on October 20, 2012.

Cedar Ridge didn’t face a deficit against South Brunswick (4-14) until the third set. The Red Wolves scored the opening five points of the first set and led 6-0 in the second set. Cameron Lloyd finished with eleven kills, ten aces and nine digs, coming one dig short of a triple-double. Cameron Lanier had eight kills. Junior setter Julie Altieri finished with five aces and 13 assists. Rachel Alverson, who replaced Altieri as setter in the third set, had eight kills.

Junior libero Grace Young led the Red Wolves with 15 digs.

Lloyd racked up the opening three kills of the match. Altieri followed with consecutive aces. Cedar Ridge finished the opening set with eight of the last nine points, including a block by Lanier, followed by a kill by Lanier.

Altieri opened the second set with three aces. Lloyd had two kills, both assisted by Altieri, while Lanier scored another. Midway through the second, Cedar Ridge went on a 13-0 run, which included six assists by Lloyd, who finished with 10 aces.

Melissa Benkowitz, who had five kills and eight digs, notched a finish to wrap up the second set.

South Brunswick had a 3-2 lead in the third set, its only advantage the entire day. The Red Wolves quickly erased that with a 10-1 run.

It’s not everyday that the Orange women’s tennis team wins in the 3A State Dual Team Tournament.

In fact, it may not have happened at all in school history—until last Wednesday.

Orange, who qualified as a wildcard from the Central Carolina Conference, stunned Fike in Wilson 5-3 in the opening round of the state tournament. The Demons entered the match with a 17-1 record and won the Quad County Conference championship with a 14-0 mark. They were ranked #4 in 3A, according to North Carolina High School Tennis Coaches Association.

Orange became the first team from Hillsborough since the 2016 Cedar Ridge squad to win a match in the state tournament. The 2016 Red Wolves won the Big 8 Conference Championship with a 12-0 conference record and advanced to the state quarterfinals.

“I told the team it’s a huge accomplishment,” said Orange coach Justin Webb, who took his team to Chipotle for a celebratory dinner on the bus ride back to Hillsborough. “There’s 109 3A teams. Of those 109, only 32 make the playoffs. No one is going to be super easy. Now, we’re in the top 16 and that’s a huge honor.”

Against Fike, Orange won four of the six singles matches. Senior Jinkie Andrews won the most pivotal mach of the day when she defeated Mary Thomas Watkins in a three-set affair, 3-6, 6-0 and 10-7 (10-point tiebreaker). At #4 singles, senior Tea Jones continued a strong season with a 6-2, 6-0 victory. Erin Sollars, a sophomore, defeated Zoe Mitchell at #5 singles 6-2, 6-3. Sollars’ younger sister, Shannon, defeated Kaden Biamby 6-0, 6-2.

On Tuesday, Orange will travel to Fayetteville to face Cape Fear in the 2nd round. The Lady Panthers are 16-4, reaching what is widely believed to be a school record for wins in a season.

Orange’s #2 doubles team of Jera Hargrove and Erin Sollars sewed up the milestone win for the Lady Panthers with an 8-1 victory.

The victory also served as a homecoming for Webb, a Wilson native for graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill.

The big week for Orange tennis didn’t end there.

On Friday, Hargrove and Sollars qualified for the 3A State Doubles Tournament. On Friday at the 3A Mideast Regionals at the Burlington Tennis Center, Hargrove and Sollars defeated Evelyn Lippers and Julia Earnshaw 7-5, 3-6, 6-1 to earn a spot in the state tournament.

Hargrove and Sollars will be the #3 seed in the Mideast. On Saturday, Hargrove and Sollars defeated a team from the Durham School of the Arts in the consolation round 7-5, 7-5. Hargrove qualified for regions as Orange’s top singles player during her freshman and sophomore years, but feel just short of reaching the state championships.

“Jera has made a big difference, particularly towards the end of the season,” Webb said. “She has a ton of experience. I think the girls look up to her and her being in the lineup gives the team more confidence. It also makes us much deeper than we were at the start of the season.”

One of the many reasons why this season has been so successful for Orange is depth. Webb started the season with 23 players, the most during his tenure. Fike, despite winning its conference championship, had just seven.

“It’s makes a big difference when you have that much depth,” Webb said. “I think some of it is just word of mouth. The girls have done a great job in promoting the team and promoting the sport. People come out and see how much fun it is. That makes them want to come out and play it. I think COVID has helped in some ways. Tennis is definitely a low contact sport, so I think a lot of people feel safer playing this.”

Cedar Ridge singles players Cameron Mayhew and Chloe Patz competed during the Mideast Regionals on Friday. So did Orange sophomore Finley White, who qualified for regionals for the second straight year, and sophomore Grace Pell.

Photo by Angie Carden Hurdle

The Orange Couty Parks and Rec Department gym got quiet.

Jamey Hall was about to shoot two free throws for his pee wee recreation team, the Celtics, that could tie a game.

As he took the ball, a voice yelled out “Jamey! Remember the Alamo!”

It was his mom, Janice.

Jamey proceeded to miss the free throws, possibly because all that was going through his head was “Remember the Alamo?!”

But that was Janice. If you were family, one of her students, or a friend of her children, she was always in your corner. She was more than a friend. She provided a safe home.

Janice Hall was the mother of my best friend, Jamey. Some of my earliest memories harken back to when Jamey, his sister Gwen and I would ride in the backseat of Janice’s green station wagon. She would sing Ronnie Milsap’s “What a Difference You’ve Made in my Life” in a falsetto tone that was impossible to forget.

Rides with the Hall family would be the theme of my youth. I didn’t know it at the time, but it would also shape a large part of my professional life. As Jamey got into high school, I became a manager for the Orange junior varsity basketball team, where I was the video operator. When the Panthers, coached by Mark Holbrook at the time, hit the road, Janice and her husband, Russell, would take me home in their burgundy van. Gwen, who finished among the top of the class at Orange en route to graduating from Duke University, played three years for the Orange women’s basketball team.

The road trips to Chapel Hill, Person, Northern Durham, and Jordan were new for a sheltered young man like me.

I was once a church league softball catcher, which is funny in several ways, for Walnut Grove in 1989. All I did was kneel behind the plate. During one game as I got it position in front of the umpire, I could hear Janice asking Peggy Carden “Can’t they give Jeff a mask? Don’t they have any shin guards.”

Walnut Grove may not have been successful, but we had fun at the Schley Softball Field. One day, we played Abundant Life Church. I noticed that Abundant Life’s right centerfielder (teams could have four outfielders) had an odd defensive stance. Every other player sort of squatted as the pitch went to the plate. This guy in the outfielder had his arms thrust out like he was a professional wrestler ready to strangle unsuspecting prey.

“Jamey, who’s that guy?” I asked.

“That’s Coach Shriner, man,” Jamey said. “He just joined the school.”

“He sure looks mean,” I said.

Coach Shriner was Bobby Shriner, and he would go on to win over 500 matches as Orange’s wresting coach, as well as five state championships.

When Janice asked how you were, she truly meant it. She did that as a teacher at Hillsborough Elementary and the school formerly known as Cameron Park.

And most of all, she was a mother.

Janice and Jamey’s back-and-forth always made for a good chuckle. In 1994, the New York Knicks were about to imbound against the Houston Rockets in game 6 of the NBA Finals, with the entire WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP on the line. Janice, who wasn’t watching the game and largely oblivious to the NBA, walked through and said “Oh, is this an important game?”Jamey replied: “Naw, Mama. It’s preseason.”

This world could always use more care, more warmth, and more ways to make us laugh. And that’s what we have lost now.

As Jim Valvano once said, “If you laugh, you think and you cry, that’s a full day.”

I’ve done that a lot since Tuesday. After covering Cedar Ridge vs. Orange volleyball on Tuesday night, I drove to Boone for a brief getaway. As I got into Wilkesboro, word came that Janice had succumbed to cancer.

It led to a lot of mourning as I walked around my old college campus at Appalachian State Wednesday afternoon. There were a trip to a mountain, a quiet area that feels your own personal spot atop the world when you don’t feel like coming down.

I also walked inside Varsity Gymnasium, where Janice watched me graduate from Appalachian State in December 1998.

She was always in my corner.

And you better believe that when Appalachian State’s kicker, Chandler Staton, lined up for that 27-yard field goal to beat Coastal Carolina on Wednesday night at Kidd Brewer Stadium, I was thinking “Chandler, Remember the Alamo.”

I love you, Janice. Thanks for always believing in me.

Cedar Ridge looked every bit the #1 seed in the Eastern Region in its volleyball playoff opener on Saturday. The Red Wolves defeated #32 South Brunswick 3-0 on scores of 25-8, 25-8 and 25-12 on Saturday afternoon at Red Wolves Gymnasium. Cedar Ridge scored the opening five points of the first set, then started the second set on a 6-0 run. Junior libero Grace Young led the Red Wolves with 15 digs. Melissa Benkowitz had five kills, eight digs and two aces as the Red Wolves improved to 26-2 on the season. It was Cedar Ridge’s second state playoff win in nine months. Last January, Cedar Ridge defeated Union Pines in an 32-team state playoff. This year, with pandemic precautions relaxed, the Red Wolves are in a 64-team tournament. Cedar Ridge has advanced to the round of 32 and will face South Johnston on Tuesday at Red Wolves Gymnasium.

Photo by Marc Reidel:

Bailey Lucas: The Division III Meredith College volleyball team honored senior and former Orange star Bailey Lucas during a tri-match at Weatherspoon Gym in Raleigh on Saturday. The Avenging Angels won both matches to extend its winning streak to nine, a season-long. Meredith defeated Pfeiffer 3-0 on scores of 25-16, 25-20 and 25-15. Lucas started and had a game-high 17 assists along with two digs and one ace. Meredith also swept Greensboro 3-0 on scores of 25-21, 25-17 and 25-21. Lucas had 19 assists with seven digs and an ace. Meredith also won two matches over Salem last week. On Tuesday, Meredith defeated the Spirits 3-0 on scores of 25-13, 25-18 and 25-16 at Varsity Gym in Winston-Salem. Lucas led the Angels with 17 assists, one ace and six digs. On Thursday, Meredith swept Salem again in Raleigh. Lucas finished with eleven assists and seven digs. The Angels are 18-6 overall, 12-2 in the USA South Athletic Conference.

Joey McMullin: The Sandhills Community College men’s basketball team was named the preseason #1 team in Division III of the National Junior College Athletic Association media poll. The Flyers continued to prepare for the upcoming season with a 105-64 win over Blue Light College in a scrimmage in Pinehurst on Wednesday. McMullin lead the Flyers with 14 points. He also tied for the team lead with nine rebounds. Sandhills will start the regular season against Lenoir Community College in Kinston on November 3.

Trenton Gill: Miami defeated #18 N.C. State 31-30 at Hard Rock Stadium in Coral Gables, FL on Saturday night. Gill had six punts for an average of 49.2 yards per boot for the Wolfpack. His longest was 59 yards, one of three punts that went over 50 yards. Three punts were downed inside the 20-yard line. Of Gill’s seven kickoffs, six were touchbacks.

Keshawn Thompson: For the third time this year, former Orange High linebacker Keshawn Thompson led Campbell in tackles in a game. Thompson registered 12 tackles, but #11 Kennesaw State routed the Camels 30-7 at Barker-Lane Stadium in Buies Creek. Thompson leads Campbell in tackles with 41 on the season. The Camels are 3-4 overall, 2-2 in the Big South Conference. They will travel to Charleston Southern next Saturday. Thompson has started all seven Campbell games.

Adam Chnupa: The Elon football team defeated New Hampshire 24-10 at Rhodes Stadium on Saturday. Chnupa entered the game as a reserve defensive back and assisted on a tackle. Elon has now won three in a row and is 4-3 overall, 3-1 in the Colonial Athletic Association. The Phoenix will travel to James Madison next Saturday.

Kayla Hodges: Hodges made two more starts for the Elon women’s soccer team in a couple of marathon games last week. On Sunday, Elon defeated Northeastern 2-1 in overtime at Parson Field in Brookline, MA. Hodges played all 93 minutes before Kenney Jones scored the golden goal in overtime. On Thursday, the Phoenix played to a scoreless tie against William & Mary at Albert-Daly Field in Williamsburg, VA. Hodges fired one shot and played all 110 minutes. Elon is 7-5-2, 2-2-2 in the Colonial Athletic Association. Elon will host #23 Hofstra on Sunday at Rudd Field.

Emerson Talley: Talley started Lenoir-Rhyne’s game against Newberry at the Smith Road Complex on Saturday. Newberry came away with a 1-0 win in double overtime. Talley played 36 minutes. Last Sunday, Lenoir-Rhyne defeated Tusculum 5-0 at Pioneer Field in Greenville, TN. Talley came off the bench and played 13 minutes. The Bears, in the Division II South Atlantic Conference, are 9-3-2, 7-2-1 in the SAC.

Taylin Jean: The Division II Limestone women’s soccer team shut out Tusculum 4-0 at Saints Field in Gaffney, SC on Wednesday. Former Cedar Ridge goalkeeper Taylin Jean entered the game in the second half and preserved the clean sheet for the Saints, making one save. Limestone is 9-3-1, 5-3-1 in the SAC.

Brittany Daley: The Division III Greensboro College women’s soccer team played to a 1-1 tie against Mary Baldwin University at Pride Field in Greensboro on Wednesday. Daley played all 110 minutes for the Pride. Greensboro is 4-9-3 overall, 2-4-2 in the USA South Athletic Conference. Daley will be honored on Senior Day on Sunday when Greensboro hosts North Carolina Wesleyan.

Jordan Rogers: The Division III William Peace women’s soccer team lost in heartbreaking fashion on Saturday. Salem College scored in the final minute of the second overtime to defeat the Pacers 3-2 at Varsity Field in Winston-Salem. Rogers, a former Orange Panthers, started for the Pacers and played all 110 minutes. She fired one shot. On Wednesday, Peace played Pfeiffer to a 1-1 tie in Misenheimer. Once again, Rogers started and played all 110 minutes. Peace is now 4-6-3 overall, 2-4-2 in the USA South Athletic Conference.