The Orange men’s lacrosse team captured its first conference championship in program history on Thursday night. The Panthers dominated Vance Charter 16-1 at Jaguars Stadium in Henderson to finish Conference 9 play 4-0. Orange accomplished winning the league despite losing some of the top players in program history last season, including Wyatt Jones and Caleb Jones. Freshman Connor Kruse, who played at Stanford last season, finished with two goals and an assist. Cy Horner finished with two goals. Because of the rainiest winter since 1984 in the Triangle, Orange has had numerous postponements and cancellations this season. Next week, the Panthers will play two non conference games to prepare for the 3A/2A/1A State Tournament. They will start with Northwood on Monday. Orange will also face Chapel Hill, and possibly East Forsyth if Mother Nature will cooperate.

She has placed higher in the state championships than any female swimmer from Orange High ever.

She’s the first freshman swimmer in school history, regardless of gender, to be Big 8 Conference Swimmer of the Year.

She competed at the University of Georgia’s Gabrielsen Natatorium while still in middle school.

Katie Belle Sikes did extraordinary things her freshman year at Orange, even without enjoying the ordinary things that athletes at all schools take for granted.

Like consistently practicing with her teammates. Or going to an in-person class.

Sikes, who finished 2nd in the 50 Yard Freestyle in the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 3A State Swimming and Diving Championships on February 11 at Pullen Aquatic Center in Raleigh, was only able to attend a handful of practices this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The unfortunate part of a Covid year, rarely did the year round kids practice with the other swimmers because of reduced lane requirements,” said Orange swimming coach Ron Geib. “Over Christmas, she was the only year rounder that came to an optional practice. Usually they have plenty of swimming without adding.”

To keep the number of athletes practicing down in order to maintain safety guidelines, practice preference was given to those were weren’t year round swimmers, like Sikes is. Thus, she was only allowed to attend a handful of sessions since she swims at the Orange County Sportsplex six times a week, two hours a day.

“The practices I had with Coach Geib were very helpful,” Sikes said. “I look forward to working with him more I the future. He was so instrumental in getting a season organized this year, not just for Orange but also for Cedar Ridge.”

Regardless of sport, once a goal becomes so entrenched inside of an athlete, the facility they compete in often becomes a part of them. Sikes has been a mainstay of the Sportsplex since she was in the third grade.

She can be still found training at the Sportsplex’s pool with the Hillsborough Aquatic Club, her summer travel team.

Though she captured the 3A Central Regional Championship in the 50 Yard Freestyle at the Greensboro Aquatic Center on February 6, Sikes was surprised by her finish at the state championships.

“I went into it open minded because I’m a freshman,” Sikes said. “I was going against people a lot older than I was. Overall, I was really happy with my result.”

While Sikes formally started competing in swimming during elementary school, she was around the water in her earliest years. Her grandparents would treat her to a summer beach trip, usually Hilton Head or Atlantic Beach, every summer.

Sikes had a yearning to go into the deep end of the ocean, despite her parents’ concern. Though she loathed it, she was forced to wear a life jacket until her parents decided to loosen their rules.

“I think her family played to biggest role in helping her with poise,” Geib said. “They are great role models for their daughter. They instilled her work ethic. Swimmers work very hard at their craft. Many hours in a pool for a few second improvement If they are lucky. Katie works hard and holds herself accountable.”

There was one instance when Sikes was three years old that tested her parents’ patience.

“She has always been drawn to the water and fearless,” said Sikes’ mother, Kristin. “We will never forget the time when she marched herself off the diving board at her grandparents’ pool. She hoped right into the deep end by herself.”

The only problem was that Sikes couldn’t swim at the time. While a brief moment of panic set in for her parents, she immediately bobbed up from the water and tried to make it to her brother, who was standing at a nearby latter.

“Before her dad and I could jump in after her, she had made her way to her own safety,” Kristin said. “It’s probably around that time we started joking that she was part fish.”

She continued to swim competitively with the Hillsborough Aquatic Club throughout middle school.

“When she mentioned wanting to try summer swim with her friends we thought it would be good exercise and we could knock out swim lessons at the same time,” Kristin said. “Little did we know it would turn into year round, 6 days a week craziness!

When she was 12, she stepped onto a large stage during a national competition in the 50 yard freestyle at the University of Georgia’s Gabrielsen Natatorium.

“Out of all the pools I’ve been to, that’s my favorite,” Sikes said. “I’ve been to Atlanta, Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, but there’s nothing like that.”

The only female aquatic athlete to win a state championship in Orange High history was Jennifer Rehm, who was a two-time 4A State Champion in 1-meter diving in 1999 and 2000.

As she focuses on a high school life that will hopefully be more ordinary her sophomore season, Sikes’ goals are clear.

“I want to win a state championship,” Sikes said while sitting inside the Sportsplex a week after the state championships. “It’s easier to achieve than the Olympics, but I’m going to have to work really, really hard to get a state championship. Fortunately, the distractions should be much less next winter than it was this year.”

She’s already accomplished more than almost any Orange female swimmer in history. But Sikes still has miles to travel before she finds what she’s looking for.

The Cedar Ridge men’s lacrosse team actually got to play on Monday night, which is news in and of itself. Amid the rainiest North Carolina winter in 37 years, the Red Wolves have played only five games in six weeks. At Durham County Stadium on Monday, Cedar Ridge made quick work of Northern Durham 14-0. Junior Roman Oguntoyinbo finished with a goal and three assists. Oguntoyinbo is the leading scorer for Cedar Ridge and has a history of the game that goes back to his adolescence. Last Wednesday, Oguntoyinbo factored in on all six goals in Cedar Ridge’s game against Orange, scoring three goals and three assists. In the opening minutes against Northern, Oguntoyinbo assisted on goals by James Clayton, Ty Corbin and Harrison Neal. The Red Wolves now have won three of its last four. Barring any more rain, they will be back in action on Thursday at Roxboro Community School.

Phillip Berger: Berger, who won 21 games in his Cedar Ridge pitching career, captured the victory in relief as Division III William Peace defeated the University of Lynchburg 4-3 at the USA Baseball Complex in Cary on Saturday. Berger threw two-and-a-half innings of perfect baseball with three strikeouts. It was his first win of the season. It helped the Pacers sweep the doubleheader from the Hornets.

On February 21, Berger made his season debut against Roanoke College. Berger started and threw five innings in a no decision. He struck out three while conceding six hits, two runs and four walks. The Maroons defeated the Pacers 6-5. Peace is 5-1 and travels to Averett University on Tuesday.

Landon Riley: #10 TCU swept the Liberty Flames baseball team at Lupton Stadium in Fort Worth, TX over the weekend. On Sunday, Riley finished the game on the hill for the Flames. Riley threw one shutout inning with two strikeouts and one walk. Liberty, 2-5, returns home to host Radford in Lynchburg, VA on Tuesday.

Mia Davidson: The Mississippi State softball team competed in the Lone Star State Invitational across three different cities over the weekend. On Friday, the Bulldogs split a doubleheader against Texas State at Bobcat Stadium in San Marcos, TX. They dropped the opener to the Bobcats 4-3, but captured the nightcap 6-2. Mia Davidson, a 2016 Orange High graduate, combined to go 3-for-6 in the doubleheader. In the second game, she hit a three-run homer to left center in the 4th inning. In the opener, she singled for the first hit of the game and scored off a double from Fa Leilua. On Saturday at the University of Texas in Austin, TX, Mississippi State defeated Houston 3-0, but lost to Texas 8-7. Against the Longhorns, Davidson went 3-for-4 with a double and a home run, scoring twice. At that point in the Invitational, Davidson was 7-for-13. In the win over the Cougars, Davidson went 1-for-3 with a double.

On Sunday, Baylor defeated Mississippi State 10-6. Davidson hit her 57th career home run, extending her hitting streak to seven games. She recorded a hit in all of the Bulldogs’ games last week and hit .471 in the Invitational, including three home runs.

Montana Davidson: In her senior season, Montana Davidson leads Mississippi State with a .421 batting average through 12 games. Montana went 2-for-4 against Texas, her fifth multi-hit game of the year. She also went 2-for-4 against Baylor. Mississippi State is 8-4. They will start Southeastern Conference action against Alabama on Wednesday in Tuscaloosa.

Tori Dalehite: The 2018 Big 8 Conference Hitter of the Year at Cedar Ridge made her college debut for UNC Greensboro over the weekend. Dalehite entered the game as a pinch runner as the Spartans defeated North Carolina A&T 11-2 in the second game of a doubleheader. Dalehite scored off a home run hit by Jordan Gontram. UNCG swept the three games against the Aggies to improve to 4-4.

Grace Andrews: Another series, another home run for the 2020 Orange High graduate. On Thursday against the Montreat JV team, Catawba Valley Community College swept a doubleheader on scores of 3-0 and 6-2 at the Highland Park Community Center in Hickory. In the opener, Andrews went 1-for-3. In the nightcap, Andrews hit a solo homer in the 3rd inning, her second of the season. Andrews finished 2-for-2 with 3 RBIs. She added a double in the bottom of the fifth inning. Catawba Valley had doubleheaders scheduled against Camp Community College and Bryant & Stratton College in Virginia over the weekend, but they were all rained out.

Catawba Valley is 7-3. Andrews has played in all ten games. She’s the top hitter on the team with a .533 batting average and a team-high 16 hits. Andrews is tied for the team lead with ten runs scored. She also has nine RBIs.

Adam Chnupa: The #24 Elon football team fell to Gardner-Webb 42-20 at Spangler Stadium in Boiling Springs on Saturday. Chnupa played linebacker and recorded two tackles for the Phoenix, including one-half tackle for loss. Elon opens its Colonial Athletic Association schedule against James Madison next Saturday at Rhodes Stadium.

Dylan Boyer: The former Orange High men’s lacrosse star assisted on a goal as Queens University of Charlotte defeated Newberry 12-10 at Setzler Field in Newberry, S.C. on Saturday. Boyer assisted on the Royals’ final goal of the first half, scored by Tyler Ewen that put Queens ahead 6-3 with 4:00 remaining in the second quarter. Boyer also had two shots, one of which was on net. It was the first win of the year for Queen’s.

Josh Mauer: Mauer, who took the drive-thru graduated from Orange last June, is now a midfielder for the Division II Mount Olive men’s lacrosse team, which is ranked #9 in the country. On February 16, Mauer made his college debut for the Trojans in a 10-8 victory over Coker. Mauer had two ground balls against the Cobras. He also played in a 12-3 win over Catawba on February 16.

Jaylin Jones: Southern Virginia defeated the Division III Pfeiffer men’s lacrosse team 22-19 at Knight Stadium in Buena Vista, VA on Wednesday. Jalin Jones, a former Orange High star, scooper up two ground balls for the Falcons in the loss. Pfeiffer (1-1) travels to Ferrum on Sunday.

Whenever the Orange lacrosse team holds team reunions years from now, there will always be a certain amount of mystery surrounding the 2020 team.

On paper, it was the most talented team in Orange history with plenty of firepower. In practice, it sure looked that way, too.

The Panthers had senior midfielder Wyatt Jones, the first Orange player in school history to end up playing lacrosse at a Division I school at Mercer. There was also senior attacker Dylan Boyer, now at Division II Queen’s University.

Orange started 2020 with a 6-0 record with wins over 4A teams J.H. Rose and Heritage. Of course, the ending to this story is all too familiar by now. Last March, the pandemic hit, ending the spring sports season two weeks after it started. On March 13, the Orange lacrosse team defeated Roxboro Community School 15-0, but there was a sense of finality apparent when the players dosed Coach Chandler Zirkle with a Gatorade bath after a anticlimactic win at Bulldog Stadium.

It was the last time that Orange team took the field. They never got the chance to see if they were the squad that could beat one of the Chapel Hill superpowers. Or see if a deep run in the 3A/2A/1A State Playoffs was possible.

It was also the last high school sports event for any Hillsborough high school team for eight months.

Jones, Boyer and the rest of the 2020 Orange seniors now hang their hats elsewhere, leaving behind a group of younger Panthers learning on the job.

But Orange’s Ryan Merrill isn’t letting the past get in the way of his senior year.

In likely his final game against crosstown rival Cedar Ridge, Merrill scored six goals as the Panthers defeated Cedar Ridge 10-6 at Auman Stadium on Wednesday night. Merrill opened the game with three goals as he completed the hat trick off an assist from Connor Kruse with 1:14 remaining in the first quarter.

Cedar Ridge junior Roman Oguntoyinbo turned in a six-point night, factoring in on every Red Wolf goal. Oguntoyinbo finished with three goals and three assists to keep Cedar Ridge competitive until Orange ran out the clock in the final minutes.

It was the Panthers (2-1, 1-0 in Conference 9) fourth straight win over the Red Wolves. Cedar Ridge (2-2, 2-1) had its two-game winning streak snapped.

While some players may have spent the interminable hours after the pandemic wondering what might have been in 2020, Zirkle has chosen to let the mystery be.

“Actually, I didn’t think about it at all,” Zirkle said. “It would have been really cool to finish the season, but the thing I really appreciated about the team last year was we did everything we wanted to do the way we wanted to do it. Obviously, I wished we could have finished the season, but I feel proud of what that team did.”

After Merrill’s three goals, Oguntoyinbo broke free in front of the net to score Cedar Ridge’s first goal just 56 seconds into the second quarter. Orange freshman Connor Kruse scored off an assist from sophomore Joe Cady to extend the Panther lead to 4-1, but Cedar Ridge held the Panthers scoreless in the final eight minutes of the first half. Oguntoyinbo scored his second goal with 3:04 remaining in the first half, then assisted on a Holden Neal’s only goal to cut Orange’s lead to 4-3 going to halftime.

Merrill started the second half with two unassisted goals in the opening minute. Kruse added another tally to increase Orange’s lead to 7-3. After Oguntoyinbo completed his hat trick with 8:24 remaining in the third quarter, Merrill registered his sixth goal on a feed from Kruse. Orange’s Duncan Grant widened the Panther advantage to 9-4 off an assist from senior Leif Mahaney.

With regular goalkeeper Ethan Fortner working out for the Panther football team, Malachi Bolton started in net for Orange. Katie Wolter, the younger sister of former Orange goalkeeper Tyson Wolter, played between the pipes in the second and third quarters.

Cedar Ridge’s Alex Castro notched the Red Wolves final goal of the third period. Neal provided the final Cedar Ridge tally in the fourth quarter, his second goal of the night.

The Red Wolves started senior Aiden Kehoe at goalkeeper, but also used junior Joshua Taylor intermittently in the second half.

Orange will travel to Northern Durham on Thursday. Cedar Ridge will travel to Northern Durham on Monday.