GREENSBORO–As Spencer Hampton prepared to run the biggest race of his life, there was a rainbow overhead.

The threatening clouds that had permeated the afternoon at Truist Stadium inside North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro had yielded to a rare but glorious sight. If someone believed in omens, they may have thought that Orange was about to have its first long-distance running state champion since 1998.

For eight minutes and 3,100 meters, Hampton reinforced that belief.

But it was the 3,200 meters that Hampton was running in. Walter Williams Ryan Motondo passed Hampton about 90 meters from the finish line to overtake the lead and beat Hampton to win the 3A State Championship on Saturday afternoon.

Motondo finished the race at 9:22.50. Hampton earned the second spot on the medal stand at Belk Track at 9:26.07. It is the best finish by any Orange runner, regardless of gender, since Bradsher Wilkins won the 4A Men’s 3,200 meter championship in 1998.

“I kind of knew what was going to happen,” Hampton said. “He (Motondo) has a really phenomenal kick. He’s a really phenomenal runner. I knew from the start I was going to have to take it out from the front if I was going to have to have a chance because a lot of these kids have a lot more of a kick that I do. We came down the stretch and I hoped that he didn’t have in him, but he did. I’m still super happy with how I did.”

At the outset, Hampton established the lead and turned back challenger after challenger through eight laps. Jack Dingman, a senior from Northern Guilford who won the 1,600 meter state championship earlier in the day, stayed just behind Hampton on the opening laps, but faded to the back. Chapel Hill’s Emil Arangala was a few strides back on the third and four laps, but couldn’t continue that pace. Weddington sophomore Caden Townshend also posed a threat before he was passed by Motondo.

Hampton and Motondo are no strangers to one another, and they’ll only get better acquainted as time goes on. Motondo was the 3A State Champion in men’s cross country in January, a race where Spencer finished 24th. In August, Orange and Williams will become league rivals in the brand new Central Conference.

Hampton won the 3A Mideast Regional Championship in the 1,600 meters at Southern Lee High School in Sanford on January 19. He opted not to run in the 1,600 meters state championship race on Saturday in order to focus on the 3,200 meters.

Orange was well-represented throughout the 3A State Track and Field Championships on a warm, but not oppressively hot, Saturday afternoon in Greensboro. Orange’s 4×400 relay team of Devin Goss, Keanu Mims, Jeffrey Faulkner and Elijah Danley finished 7th in the state. The Panthers won the opening heat on the strength of a great anchor run by Faulker, who surged past competitors from A.C. Reynolds and Union Pines at the finish line at 3:31.80. Cuthbertson won the state championship at 3:19.40.

The men’s 4×200 relay team of Faulkner, Mims, Danley and Gasiah Drewery came in 10th in the state at 1:32.82. Cuthbertson won another state championship at 1:26.41.

Orange’s 4×800 relay squad, which included Alden Cathey and Nicholas Pell, finished 11th at 8:39.04. Weddington won the 3A State Championship at 7:58.66

Orange’s Erin Mink was the only female state qualifier. A senior who also competed in the long jump and the triple jump this season, Mink finished eighth in the pole vault when she cleared ten feet. Emma Stone of Marvin Ridge won the 3A State Championship at 12-feet, six-inches.

This was the last official team event for Orange and Cedar Ridge as members of the Big 8 Conference. On August 16, when men’s soccer and women’s tennis officially start, the Panthers and the Red Wolves will become members of the new Central Conference.

If the 3A State Championship meet had been 3,100 meters, Orange’s Spencer Hampton would have won it all. Instead, Walter Williams Ryan Motondo passed Hampton on the backstretch with 80 meters remaining to win the 3,200 meters at the 3A State Track and Field Championships at Truist Stadium inside North Carolina A&T State University on Saturday. Hampton, who won the 1,600 meter regional championship last week at Southern Lee High School, led the entire race, fending off challenges from Jack Dingman of Northern Guilford, Emil Arangala of Chapel Hill and Caden Townsend of Weddington. Hampton concluded a successful season where he claimed ten 1st places finishes, along with being the only individual runner from Hillsborough to qualify for a state championship. Motondo and Hampton will continue their rivalry again in August. Last fall, the two competed in cross country. Next year, Orange will join Williams in the new Central Conference, where Hampton and Motondo will dual on the track in the spring and the cross country courses in the fall.

The biggest success story of Orange’s unusual wrestling season became its only placer in the 2021 state championships.

Hayden Horne, who had only five varsity matches entering his senior season, finished fourth at 220-pounds in the North Carolina High School Athletic Association State Wrestling Championships on Saturday at Eastern Guilford High School in Gibsonville.

Horne was one of six Panthers who qualified for the state championships, which ordinarily takes place 20 minutes away at the Greensboro Coliseum. Cedar Ridge’s Daina Pritchard also competed at 145 pounds on Saturday morning.

Horne, who was an all-Big 8 Conference right tackle with the Orange football team, competed in only the second individual tournament of his varsity career. He started the day with a wild win over Dylan Donaldson of South Iredell, who led for most of the match.

Trailing 4-2, Horne nearly wound up getting pinned on a quick cradle to open the third period. Horne scored a quick reversal, but Donaldson escaped to go ahead 9-6 with 36 seconds remaining. With 15 seconds left, Horne tripped Donaldson to send him up his back and immediately got three near fall points, which sent the Orange coaches and reserves seated mat side into a frenzy. Horne nearly forced Donaldson’s shoulder on the mat as the buzzer sounded and Horne advanced with an 11-9 decision.

Horne’s quarterfinal match against Eastern Regional Champion Derek Waiau of Havelock was more tactical. Waiau, who appeared to outweigh Horne by at least 25 pounds, never could score a takedown. Scoreless going into the third period, Horne got an escape point early in the third period. Both men had been assessed stall warnings in the second period, but Horne’s elusiveness kept him from being put on his back and he held on for a 2-1 win.

North Iredell’s Elijah Hurt defeated Horne 12-3 in the semifinals. Eastern Guilford’s Jacob Vickers, who pinned Horne in the Mideast Regionals last week in the same gym, pinned Horne in the 3rd place match.

Horne became the first Panther to place in the state championships since Levi Anderson finished runner-up at 145 pounds in 2019 at the Greensboro Coliseum.

The successful career of Orange senior Kessel Summers ended in crushing fashion in the 132-pound quarterfinals. After Summers defeated Northern Guilford’s Cohen Beane in the opening round, he faced Statesville’s Antonio Caldwell. Summers led 10-3 going into the third period. Caldwell started the final frame from the top. As Caldwell held on to a waist lock, Summers attempted a shoulder roll to escape, but Caldwell caught his foot and put Summers on his back. Summers tried in vain to escape, but Caldwell scored the pin at 5:09.

It was an agonizing loss for Summers, who ended his Orange career with a record of 115-41. If Summers had won, he would have faced Andrew Clark of Union Pines in the semifinals. Last week, Summers defeated Clark 8-6 in the regionals.

Will Lewis of Western Harnett, who captured the Mideast Regional championship, claimed the 3A State Championships at 138-pounds.

Of the six Hillsborough wrestlers who qualified for the state championships, Horne and Summers were the only ones who advanced beyond the first round. Because of COVID protocols, there were no consolation rounds.

At 145 pounds, Pritchard wound up losing to the eventual state champion, Zack Karagias of Stuart Cramer, who finished 26-0 this season. Pritchard was scoreless with Karagias going into the final period of their match, but Karagias escaped from the bottom on a reversal and eventually scored the pin at 5:40. Pritchard ended his season at 24-4. He had a career record of 77-49.

Also at 145 pounds, Eli Foster of Enka pinned Orange’s Matthew Smith-Breeden in 2:51. Smith-Breeden, a senior, was tied 2-2 at the end of the first period before the finish. He ends the season 15-8. For his career, Smith-Breeden was 82-41. In a standard season of individual tournaments with consolation rounds, more team matches and a state dual team tournament, Smith-Breeden likely would have been the 49th wrestler in Orange history with 100 wins. For comparison’s sake, Smith-Breeden wrestled 52 times as a junior.

At 170 pounds, Henry Joubert-Stanzel of Orange was pinned in the opening round by Stuart Cramer’s Jonathon O’Shea in 4:28. Joubert-Stanzel got the opening takedown, but O’Shea gained a quick reversal, scored near fall points and didn’t trail again. Joubert-Stanzel ends the year 17-3 and ends his Orange career with a mark of 62-49.

Orange junior Brendon Worsham, at 182 pounds, was pinned by Samuel Cowher of Cox Mill in 2:58. Worsham led 2-0 at the end of the first period, but Cowher notched a takedown early in the second period. Worsham, a junior making his second appearance in the state championships, ends the season 16-4.

At 113 pounds, Cox Mill freshman Cooper Davis pinned Orange sophomore Dillon Heffernan in 1:13. Heffernan ends the year 18-4.

With the conclusion of the 2021 season, Orange ends its eight-year association in the Big 8 Conference. Through eight years, Orange had a dual match record of 52-1 with seven conference titles.

A 15-game hitting streak and being the most reliable presence behind the plate for Orange baseball since Brad Debo has to count for something.

For Davis Horton, it has led to being named the Big 8 Conference Player of the Year.

The junior was officially honored after a vote of the Big 8’s coaches at the conclusion of the regular season last Friday. Horton, who transferred to Orange from Riverside last summer, led the Panthers in three offensive categories in 2021. He had a .490 batting average with 24 hits and 15 RBIs. Horton also tied for the team lead with six doubles.

Horton had a base hit in every regular season game. It started with a three-run homer in his second at-bat as a Panther against East Chapel Hill on April 27, an 15-5 Orange win in six innings. In his first game with Orange, Horton went 3-for-5 with 5 RBIs with two doubles and the home run.

Horton’s hitting streak, which ended in last week’s opening round loss in the 3A State Playoffs at Asheboro, actually extended all the way back to his freshman year at Riverside. In the final game of the 2019 season, Horton went 2-for-3 as the Pirates defeated Southern Nash 18-0. In 2020, Horton played in two games before the season shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He had hits against Wake County Home School and Green Level.

This season was Horton’s first full season as a catcher at the varsity high school level. He proved to be a steady presence for Orange pitchers Ryan Hench, Pierson Kenney, Jordan Underwood, and Joey Pounds. Horton didn’t concede a passed ball all year and only committed one error.

Horton supplied consistent offense throughout the season for the Panthers, who stormed out to a 5-0 start to secure a birth in the state playoffs for the 19th consecutive year. In a 19-9 win over Cedar Ridge on May 5, Horton reached in each of his first three plate appearances. In the first inning, he singled to left field to score Jackson Berini. Usually, senior Jacob Jones was the courtesy runner for Horton, which limited Horton’s total output to four runs. Horton went 2-for-4 against Cedar Ridge.

In Orange’s 10-1 win over Northwood in Hillsborough on May 7, Horton went 3-for-4 with 4 RBIs. The Panthers immediately took control with five runs in the first inning, which included Horton knocking in Conner Funk with a single down the left field line. In the second, Horton lined to right field to bring in Jackson Berini. Horton finished the night with a two-run single in the fourth.

Against Chapel Hill on June 4, Horton had a single in the first inning, which led to Jackson Berini scoring off a throwing error. Horton rounded the bases off another throwing error to put Orange ahead 2-0. They would go on to win 3-2.

There were three games where the hitting streak was in jeopardy with Horton was down to his final at-bat. In Chapel Hill on June 23, Horton was 0-for-3 when he had a two-out single, which later led to Jones scoring off a hit by Hench. Against Northwood on June 1, Horton was 0-for-2, but reached on an infield single to lead off the 7th inning. In the regular season finale against Northern Durham, Horton singled to right field in the sixth inning against the Knights’ Matthew Lombard, the co-Big 8 Pitcher of the Year.

Horton is the second consecutive Orange player to earn Big 8 Player of the Year honors. In 2019, shortstop Joey Berini earned the honor after he hit .541 with 33 hits, 26 RBIs and 12 doubles. Berini, whose younger brother Jackson starts at shortstop for the Panthers, now plays for the East Carolina Pirates.

The last Orange catcher to be named Big 8 Conference Player of the Year was Brad Debo in 2016. Debo, who would go on to play at N.C. State for four seasons, hit .446 with 29 hits and 24 RBIs in his senior season.

Phillip Berger: The Elizabethton River Riders of the Appalachian League, now a summer, wooden-bat collegiate league, faced the Burlington Sock Puppets on Tuesday night at Burlington Athletic Stadium. It was a near-homecoming for former Cedar Ridge pitcher Phil Berger, who now pitches for Elizabethton, as well as with William Peace University in Raleigh. The Rivers Riders defeated the Sock Puppets 4-3 on Tuesday. The two teams will play again tonight. Elizabethton is 7-9 and Berger currently is 3-0. Last Tuesday, Berger picked up his team-leading third win of the year when the River Riders cruised past the Kingsport Axmen 6-1 at Hunter Wright Stadium in Kingsport, TN. Berger relieved starter Drew Gillespie and threw two innings. He gave up one run on three hits with two strikeouts and one walk. On Saturday, the Bristol State Liners defeated the River Riders 9-4. Once again, Berger relieved the starter, Andy Quintana, in the bottom of the second inning. In two-and-one-thirds-innings, Berger gave up two hits and one run with one walk and one strikeout. In five appearances this season, Berger has a 3.00 ERA in nine innings pitched. He has eight strikeouts and three walks. After leaving Burlington on Wednesday, the River Riders will continue its six-game road trip against the Pulaski River Turtles on Thursday.

Bryse Wilson: On Sunday, Wilson made his first start for the Atlanta Braves since May 22. He struggled in a 9-1 loss against the St. Louis Cardinals at Truist Park in Atlanta. In four inning, Wilson surrendered five runs on eight hits. He had four strikeouts. This season in Atlanta, Wilson is 2-3 with a 5.35 ERA. After the game, Wilson was reassigned back to Gwinnett of Triple-A East. On June 15, Wilson earned the win for Gwinnett in a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Sounds at Coolray Field in Gwinnett, GA. Wilson struck out nine batters in six innings. He gave up just one runs on five hits with one walk. Wilson threw 86 pitchers, with 57 of them strikes. This season with the Stripers, Wilson is 4-1 with a 4.36 ERA with 29 strikeouts and ten walks. Wilson could return to action this weekend for Gwinnett’s road trip to Norfolk.

Joey Berini: After East Carolina’s season ended in the Super Regionals of the NCAA Baseball Tournament against #4 Vanderbilt, Berini ventured into the Coastal Plain League, another summer collegiate, wooden-bat league. Berini will spend the summer with the Asheboro Copperheads, which call McCrary Park home. Ironically, McCrary Park is where Berini’s high school team, the Orange Panthers, has its season end against the Asheboro Blue Comets last week. Berini has come out of the gates strong for the Copperheads with hits in each of his first four games. He’s hitting .615. On Tuesday, Asheboro defeated the High Point-Thomasville HiToms 4-2. Berini had an RBI single in the second inning. Berini opened the season in a doubleheader against the Martinsville Mustangs at Hooker Field in Martinsville, VA. In the opening 4-2 loss, Berini went 2-for-3 with a stolen base. In the nightcap, the Copperheads won 6-5. Berini started at second base and went 3-for-4 with a double. On Monday, Asheboro defeated Martinsville 16-7. Berini went 3-for-6 with a double and four RBIs. After hitting 9th against the Mustangs on Sunday in the closing game of the doubleheader, Berini led off on Monday. Asheboro will return home to face the Forest City Owls at McCrary Park Thursday night.

Grace Andrews: The Catawba Valley Community College softball team announced its year-end awards after the completion of its first full season. Andrews, a freshman who played second base for Orange, was presented with the Silver Slugger Award. This season, Andrews finished with a .442 batting average, a .750 slugging percentage, 53 hits and 41 RBIs.

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is junior runner Spencer Hampton. On Saturday, Hampton captured the 3A Mideast Regional Championship in the 1,600 meters at Southern Lee High School. Hampton finished at 4:22.10, a full six seconds ahead of the second-place finisher. He became Orange’s first regional champion in outdoor track and field, regardless of gender, since 2018. Hampton also qualified for the 3A State Championships in the 3,200 meters after a 4th place finish at Southern Lee. This season, Hampton has ten 1st place finishes in the 1,600 and 3,200 meters as a individual runner. He also has finished first as a member of various Orange relay teams. The 3A State Track and Field Championships will be held on Saturday at North Carolina A&T University in Greensboro on the Belk Track. Hampton will look to become Orange’s first state champion since Jamar Davis in 2018 and only the second in the past decade.

For someone who has run commonly over the past year, the Mideast Regionals at Southern Lee High School stood out for Spencer Hampton.

Not just because it was the hottest weather he’s ever competed in. But also because he claimed his first regional championship.

Hampton, a junior, finished first in the 1,600 meters to take the regional title in Sanford. He crossed the finish line with a time of 4:22.10, a full six seconds ahead of the runner-up, Northern Guilford’s Jack Dingman. Going into the race, Dingman was the only runner in the Mideast region to have a better time than Hampton during the regular season.

Instead, Hampton will go into Saturday’s 3A State Championships at Belk Track inside North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro with the top time regional time in North Carolina. Mount Tabor junior Will Soule captured the Midwest Regional Championship at 4:23.17.

“It was a bit of a surprise,” Hampton said. “Jack Dingman is a great runner, but he had an off day in the 1,600 meters. It was about 93-degrees when it was finally my turn to run. I tried to stay in the shade as long as I could until I had to run.”

Hampton is Orange’s first regional outdoor track and field champion since Jamar Davis, who captured three regional titles (in the 300 meter hurdles, the long jump and the triple jump) in 2018.

“The first half of the race, I was just trying to stay relaxed,” Hampton said. “As I got to around 700 meters remaining, everyone else just kind of dropped off and I managed to maintain energy on to the finish line.”

In addition to the 1,600 meters, Hampton also qualified for the 3A State Championships in the 3,200 meters. He finished 4th in the regionals at 9:54.16. Dingman captured the regional title at 9:35.52.

After Orange only had four representatives in one relay event during the 3A State Track & Field Championships in 2019, they will have ten different representatives in six events for the state championships this Saturday. That includes three separate relay teams.

Orange’s 4×200, 4×400 and 4×800 men’s relay teams all advanced to the state championships. The 4×400 team, consisting of senior Keanu Mims, junior Elijah Danley, senior Jeffrey Faulkner and junior Devin Goss, came in second at 3:32.77. Only Chapel Hill, at 3:29.46, was faster.

The 4×200 team, formed by Mims, Danley, Faulkner and Gesiah Drewery, finished 3rd at 1:32.55 in a close finish at the line. Chapel Hill beat out Orange by .13 seconds for second place. Southern Lee won the regional title at 1:30.98.

Orange finished fourth in the 4×800 men’s relay. The team of Hampton, junior Ethan Horton, junior Nicholas Pell and freshman Alden Cathey finished at 8:37.97.

The sole women’s state qualifier was Orange’s Erin Mink, who came in second in the pole vault as she cleared ten-feet. Northern Durham’s Bailey Tart finished first at 10-feet, six-inches. Cedar Ridge’s Phoenix Smith narrowly missed qualifying for the state championship after she cleared eight-feet, six inches, good enough for a fifth-place finish. Mink, who has competed at Orange since she was a freshman, will make her first state championship appearance.

Orange senior Kayla Brooks, in her final meet for the Lady Panthers, finished sixth in the region in the shot put. Brooks’ best throw was 28 feet, three-inches, one foot behind fourth place finisher Madison Ludlum of Gray’s Creek. Brooks, who is also a cheerleader for the Orange football team, plans to attend Baylor University in Waco, Texas later this summer. She is the daughter of former Orange football player Rod Jones.

Orange junior Samatha George finished 9th in the 300-meter hurdles at 55.33 seconds. Ava New qualified for regionals in the long jump. New and Mink both qualified for regionals in the triple jump.

The power of Cedar Ridge’s baseball lineup have been named to the All-Big 8 Conference first-team.

Junior first baseman Aidan McAllister and senior shortstop Bryce Clark were honored as All-Conference selections on Friday. The official year-end honors were released after Northern Durham, the only Big 8 team to win a game in the 3A State Playoffs, was eliminated by D.H. Conley.

McAllister, in his first year as a varsity starter, looked like an All-Conference player from his very first at-bat of the season when he roped a double against Northwood in Pittsboro. He would eventually score off a single by Christian Macias as Cedar Ridge won 8-2. It was the Red Wolves first win in Pittsboro since 2014. A week later against Orange at Panther Field, McAllister led off the game with a solo homer, then followed with a two-run homer in the second inning to bring in B.J. Thornton.

McAllister led Cedar Ridge in multi-hit games. He went 2-for-3 against East Chapel Hill on June 4, 2-for-4 at Chapel Hill on May 25, 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs against Northern Durham on May 7 in Hillsborough. In the first game against Chapel Hill, McAllister scored three runs as the Red Wolves rallied from a 9-2 deficit to get within two runs at 9-7 before falling short.

On May 18, in a 7-6 loss to Bethany Community School in Summerfield, McAllister went 1-for-3 and scored after a single by Thornton in the top of the sixth inning to put the Red Wolves ahead 5-4.

This was McAllister’s first year as a varsity player. During Cedar Ridge’s three games in 2020, he was on the junior varsity team.

Clark was the Red Wolves’ starting shortstop after transferring from Orange last summer. Earlier this month, he signed with Lenoir Community College in Kinston to continue his baseball career.

Against Orange on June 8 (the game officially started on May 4 but was suspended after two innings because of rain), Clark became the first player to hit a home run off Orange’s top starter, Ryan Hench, this season. Clark reached base in every plate appearance against the Panthers and scored three runs. In the fifth inning, he came in off a balk to put the Red Wolves ahead 6-2.

In the first game against Orange on May 4, Clark went 3-for-3 with two doubles and 2 RBIs. That included a two-out double in the sixth inning, which led to Garrett Ray driving him in with a single. In the fourth inning, Clark knocked in Braedyn Jacobson with an infield single.

Three nights later against Northern Durham, Clark had an RBI double to plate Jacobson to start a Red Wolves comeback after Northern jumped out to an 8-1 lead. Later in the inning, Ray scored Clark with a single to centerfield.

In Cedar Ridge’s 6-1 win over Northwood on May 21, Clark opened the game with an infield single and scored off a double by Ray as the Red Wolves bolted out to a 3-0 lead. In the third inning against the Chargers, Clark had a two-run single to scored Thornton.

Clark had a sacrifice fly against Northwood on April 27, which scored Thornton and put the Red Wolves ahead 4-0 and well on track for a win in its season opener.

In 2020, Clark was the starting second baseman for Orange. In four games, Clark hit .625, going 5-for-9 with three runs scored before the season abruptly ended because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Against East Chapel Hill on May 11, Clark went 2-for-5 with an RBI double.

It was a season of near-misses for Cedar Ridge, who officially ended the year 6-9 (including four forfeit wins, two each against Southern Durham and Vance County). In six of its losses, Cedar Ridge either had the lead going into the seventh inning or trailed with the game-tying run on base when the final out was recorded.