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Now this is a dynasty.

Orange Wrestling has been dominant across Orange and Durham Counties since Bobby Shriner took over the program in 1991. When Shriner retired last May, assistant Spencer Poteat was the only true choice to replace him. Poteat grew up in the Orange program, not just wrestling under Shriner, but learning about life lessons from him.

Now, whenever someone speaks of high school sports dynasties, one can include Northern Durham’s 18 consecutive PAC-6 football championship from 1984-2000, East Chapel Hill’s twenty girls and boys state tennis championships under Coach Lindsay Linker during the 90s and 00s…and Orange wrestling winning 16 consecutive conference championship across three different classifications.

And counting.

On Thursday night,  the Panthers defeated Southern Durham 70-8 in Hillsborough. Orange will be the #1 seed from the Big 8 and host a quad meet in the first round of the state dual tournament on Tuesday night. The field of 32 will be annnounced on Monday.

Orange finishes the regular season 18-0, 7-0 in the Big 8. Returning to the state championship dual meet has been a mission for the Panthers since a heartbreaking loss to Piedmont in the 3A State Dual Championship match last February. Orange led 27-17 with three matches remaining, but Piedmont rallied to win 29-27. Orange was one takedown away from its sixth state title, but instead fell two points short in what turned out to be Bobby Shriner’s final dual match as Orange head coach.

The closest match the Panthers have had all season was against Souteast Guilford during the Thanksgiving Duals on November 21, a 41-31 Orange win. However, Southeast Guilford had three wrestlers out that day, all leading to Panther forfeit victories. Chances are Orange won’t be as fortunate if there’s a rematch in the state playoffs.

Orange’s victory over Southern started with senior Bailey Hawkins pinning Anincoo Nyaangoro in 6:00. Hawkins finishes the regular season 28-4 after also pinning Marcus De La Rosa of Northern Durham in 3:10 on Wednesday.

Junior Levi Anderson pinned Demetrius Moore in :23. Anderson, who placed 2nd in the King of Kings Tournament at Olympic High School in Charlotte two weeks ago, is now 22-5 this season.

Senior Malcolm Phillips pinned Juddah Hardville in :50 at 145. At 152, senior Mario Manduiano pinned Tyshawn Watson in 1:20 and the Panthers led 24-0 in the opening four matches.

After Avery Jenkins earned a forfeit victory, senior Trey Jones pinned A’Cire Collins in 1:17. At 182, senior Josiah Ramirez concluded the regular season with a major decision win over Zatay Lindensy 13-3.

Senior Braden Homsey remained undefeated by pinning William Torain in :31.

At 113, Mitchell Askew pinned Tyree Hunter in 1:06. Justin Hutchins scored a pin at 1:20 in 3:23. Junior Gavin Wiggins earned a pin in the final match of the night over Zion Mcare in 2:48.

Southern Durham’s Xavier McGhee got a 6-1 victory over Donald Hicks at 220. Shaheed Davis of Southern earned the Spartans only pinfall victory of the night in 3:34.

The Orange Wrestling Team captured its 16th consecutive conference championship on Thursday night, defeating Southern Durham 70-9 at Jim King Gymnasium. It was the final regular season home match for Bailey Hawkins, who pinned Anincoo Nyanngoro in 6:00 to improve to 27-4. At 126, Gavin Wiggins pinned Zion Mcare in 2:48. Wiggins, coming off winning his first individual championship of the season in the King of Kings Tournament in Charlotte, is now 28-4.

Orange Junior Gavin Wiggins and Senior Bailey Hawkins Talk Conference Championship

The Orange Wrestling Team captured its 16th consecutive conference championship on Thursday night, defeating Southern Durham 70-9 at Jim King Gymnasium. It was the final regular season home match for Bailey Hawkins, who pinned Anincoo Nyanngoro in 6:00 to improve to 27-4. At 126, Gavin Wiggins pinned Zion Mcare in 2:48.

In his final regular season match at Orange High, senior Trey Jones pinned A’Cire Collins in :17 to help the Panthers win the Big 8 Championship, its 16th consecutive league title. Jones is now 27-6 after winning his second conference match in two night. On Tuesday, Jones pinned Northern Durham’s Christian Dixon in 1:49. Unlike last year when he was injured during Orange’s run to the Eastern Regional Championship, Jones will be healthy win the Panthers start play in the dual state playoffs on Tuesday.

Orange Senior Trey Jones Discusses Senior Night Victory

In his final regular season match at Orange High, senior Trey Jones pinned A’Cire Collins in :17 to help the Panthers win the Big 8 Championship, its 16th consecutive league title. Jones is now 27-6 after winning his second conference match in two night. On Tuesday, Jones pinned Northern Durham’s Christian Dixon in 1:49.

Despite trailing for most of the game, the Cedar Ridge girls basketball team handed Southern Durham its first league loss and made the Big 8 race all the more interesting in one night.

Madison Wardlow scored 16 points while Yolanda Simpson added 13 points and eleven rebounds as the Red Wolves defeated the Spartans 49-43 on Wednesday night at Red Wolves Gymnasium. The game, which was originally scheduled for three weeks ago, was the second game in two nights for the Red Wolves, who won at Chapel Hill Tuesday.

Southern led 38-27, its largest of the game, after a stip steal by Jonisha McDaniel with 6:12 remaining in the fourth quarter. Wardlow started the comeback with by hitting three free throws on consecutive possessions. Wardlow played the final 5:30 with four fouls.

Logan Woody scored on a driving layup to narrow Southern’s lead to 38-32. Woody sank two free throws on the next CRHS possession with 4:00 left.

Wardlow took a transition pass from Woody to score on a layup, shrinking Southern’s lead to 38-36. Ephraim sank a 15-foot jumper to end the Cedar Ridge rally with 3:12 left.

That’s when the Red Wolves played three of its best minutes of the season. Taylin Jean started by splitting a pair from the foul line, but Simpson grabbed the rebound and was fouled, leading to two more free throws to make it a 40-39 game.

Wardlow stripped the ball from J-Naya Ephraim on the next possession and was fouled hard in transition with 2:18 left. The referees called an intentional foul on Ephraim, and a technical foul was called on Southern’s Amiyah Ingram.

Wardlow sank one of the two free throws to tie the game, and Simpson knocked down both of the technical free throws to give Cedar Ridge its first lead of the game at 42-40 with 2:18 remaining.

Tori Dalehite rebound an airball and threw it the lengthy of the floor to Wardlow, who scored on a layup to give CRHS a 44-40 lead with 1:50 left.

Simpson scored on a layup to extend CRHS’ lead to 46-40, but Saeeda Muhammad scored on a three-point play after she was fouled by Jean, who fouled out. Muhammad’s free throw cut the Red Wolves’ lead in half. Tori Dalehite sank a crucial free throw down the salt the game away.

Even more impressively, Cedar Ridge won despite the return of Southern’s best player, Ephraim, who had missed the past month because of a sprained ankle suffered against Northwood on December 15th. Ephraim has committed to play college basketball at the University of Illinois.

Southern and Hillside are now tied for first place in the Big 8 at 6-1. Cedar Ridge, who will face Hillside next week, is 3rd at 5-2, tied in the loss column with Northwood, who is 3-2. Hillside defeated Chapel Hill on Wednesday

Midway through the third quarter, Southern led 29-23 before Wardlow scored seven consecutive Red Wolves points. McDaniel’s 3-pointer with 3:45 remaining in the third quarter put the Spartans ahead 31-27 going into the fourth quarter.

CEDAR RIDGE 49, SOUTHERN DURHAM 43

CEDAR RIDGE: Grace Davies 4, Logan Woody 11, Madison Wardlow 16, Yolanda Simpson 13, Taylin Jean 3, Catherine Coyle 2, Tori Dalehite 2.

Yolanda Simpson and Maddy Wardlow fueled a comeback win for the Cedar Ridge girls basketball team that has them on the verge of a return visit to the state playoffs.

Simpson posted a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds as the Red Wolves bounced back from an early deficit to defeat Chapel Hill 56-42 at Tiger Gymnasium on Tuesday night.

Playing the first of three games in four nights, the Red Wolves scorers came up huge down the stretch. Simpson’s 16 points led CRHS, but Logan Woody and Madison Wardlow each scored 14 points. Sophomore Tori Dalehite, playing a day after her father Danny celebrated a birthday, added six points, five rebounds and four assists.

Chapel Hill falls to 7-10, 4-3 in the Big 8.

Trailing 24-17 at the half, Cedar Ridge scored 39 points in the second half to improve to 10-6, 4-2 in the Big 8. The Red Wolves are now in third place in the Big 8 with a short turnaround. They host Southern Durham on Wednesday night at 6. The Spartans sit atop the Big 8 with a 6-0 record. Southern easily disposed of Northern Durham 64-29 on Monday night at Spartans Gymnasium.

In the boys game, Chapel Hill continued to thrive even without star guard Elijah Haynes. The Tigers maintained its undefeated record in Big 8 Conference play by trouncing Cedar Ridge 71-40. A.J. Thompson scored 12 points to lead the Tigers, who held Cedar Ridge to five points in the second AND fourth quarters. Khalil Hill added ten for the Tigers, who are now 7-0 in the Big 8, 12-5 overall.

Terrence Crawford paced Cedar Ridge with eleven points, the only Red Wolf in double figures. Khalil Barnett was held to six.

Cedar Ridge is now 3-12, 1-5 in the Big 8. They host Southern Durham in the second half of the doubleheader tonight. The girls play at 6, the boys at 7:30. The game can be heard here on HillsboroughSports.com.

After eleven days off created by last week’s snowstorm, Orange Boys Basketball Coach Greg Motley wanted to see an effort from his team that would solidify its standing in the state playoffs.

Instead, Orange’s future is more up in the air than ever.

Hillside defeated Orange 57-43 on Tuesday night at Jim King Gymnasium, dropping the Panthers to 8-9, 3-4 in the Big 8. Trey Crews led a balanced Hillside attack with eleven points, while Drake Thompson added ten.

Orange was only 8-24 from the foul line and shot 35% from the field. Point guard Mitch Portman led the Panthers with 12 points, while Ryan Sellers came off the bench for ten points.

Hillside has now passed Orange in the Big 8 standings with a 3-3 league mark, 7-7 overall.

At a time when the Panthers are struggling on offense, they lost starting sophomore guard Mechai Holt in the 2nd quarter with an injured left foot. Holt was injured early in the first quarter, then returned later in the first half after Portman was kneed in the head on a shot fake by Crews, who tumbled over him. Holt didn’t return after halftime.

“When you’re down, sometimes you just keeping going that way,” said Motley. “Losing Mekai hurts because he’s a ball handler that does some things for us. He puts pressure on the floor for us.”

The two teams traded the lead six times in a low-scoring first quarter, but Hillside bridged a 13-0 run between the opening quarters to control the rest of the game. Damon Sanders scored off a steal to give the Hornets an 8-7 lead, and Crews responded off a Sanders steal moments later with a 3-pointer.

Hillside forced 13 steals and pressed Orange into 18 turnovers. Trailing 28-17 at the half, Orange never got within single digits in the second half as the absence of Holt took away any spark in the Panther offense.

With makeup games coming against Northern Durham and East Chapel Hill, Orange will play seven games over the next 14 days to finish the regular season, followed by the Big 8 Tournament.

Next up is a road game at Chapel Hill.

“It’s been a rough couple of weeks,” said Motley. “If you watch us play, we play pretty good defense. It’s not like teams are scoring a million points against us. We just can’t score the ball. It’s something that we’ve struggled with all year.”

In the opening game of the doubleheader, Hillside easily put away the Orange girls team to complete a season sweep. The Lady Panthers fall to 5-12, 1-6 in the Big 8.

HILLSIDE 57, ORANGE 43

H: 12    16     11     18-57

O: 7       8       12   16-43

HILLSIDE: Traylen Warren 9, Xavier Young 3, Rod Bailey 6, Brain Bullock 2, Drake Thompson 10, Damon Sanders 4, Trey Crews 11, Treyvion Graham 3, Ja’Lyn McIntosh 3, Deontrae Brown 6.

ORANGE: Mitch Portman 12, Mechai Holt 3, Kendall Whitted 4, Joey McMullin 5, Zyon Pettiford 4, Morgan Paschall 2, Ryan Sellers 10, Marvante Beasley 3.

The King of Kings Invitational wasn’t just Orange’s fourth tournament team championship this season. It also gave a possibly preview of what several Panthers could face in the individual state championships next month.

Last Saturday, Orange captured the King of Kings Championship with 209.5 point at Olympic High School in Charlotte. Northwestern High, out of Rock Hill (SC), finished 2nd with 139.5. Dixon High came in 3rd with 124.5.

Braden Homsey earned his fifth championship of the season at 195 pounds in dominant fashion. In three matches, Homsey earned a pin and two technical falls, including the championship match against Zatay Lindsey of Southern Durham 17-1. In the quarterfinals, Homsey pinned Joshua Vickers of Rutherfordton-Spindale Central in 1:55. Homsey punched his ticket to the semifinals with a 19-4 technical fall over Malcolm Grandison of Hopewell. Homsey is now 26-0 on the season.

After a runner-up finish at Eastern Alamance and third-place finishes in the Jim King Invitational and the Tiger Invitational, senior Gavin Wiggins earned his first championship of the season at the King of Kings. Taking the championship at 126, Wiggins squeezed out a 10-8 decision over Ethan Workman of Charlotte Latin School. Wiggins defeated Preston Scarborough of Central Academy of Technology and Arts 6-5 in the semifinals. Wiggins improved to 24-4.

The tournament also marked the first loss of the season for senior Josiah Ramirez, who fell in the championship match to John Carmella of Marvin Ridge 5-2. Ramirez scored two pins leading to the championship match, putting away Austin Brown of Central Cabarrus in 1:07 and Chase Hamlin of Northwestern in 2:00. Carmella and Ramirez are the two top-ranked wrestlers at 182 in the state, according to Kombatready.com. It was Ramirez’s first loss after 27 consecutive wins to start the season.

At 120, Justin Hutchins finished 2nd, his best performance yet in a tournament. Hutchins was pinned by Corey Smith of Dixon in the championship match. Hutchins earned his way to the title match by defeating Dylan Kelly of Marvin Ridge 7-5 in the semifinals. Hutchins pinned Aman Ellis of Olympic in 1:15.

Senior Bailey Hawkins finished runner-up at 132. Hawkins pinned Hunter Padgett of Dixon in :55 in the quarterfinals, then defeated Jordan McKinney of Northwest Cabarrus 6-2. Ethan Workman of Central Cabarrus claimed a 13-4 major decision over Hawkins in the finals. Hawkins is currently ranked 5th in 3A at 132 with a 26-4 record by Kombatready.com.

Daylan Alston claimed 2nd at heavyweight, boosting his record to 28-4. Alston pinned Michelle Elguero of Central Cabarrus in :11, then pinned DeAnthony Barnhardt of Northwest Cabarrus in 4:39. Thomas Hudson of Dixon pinned Alston in 5:10 for the championship.

Levi Anderson also finished 2nd at 138. He was narrowly defeated in the championship match by Nathan Buchanan of Central Cabarrus 2-1. Anderson had the longest road of any Panther to reach the finals. In the opening round, he pinned Southern Durham’s Demetrius Moore in :21, followed by another pinfall victory over Marvin Ridge’s Dheeraj Pannem in 1:10. In the semifinals, Anderson earned a major decision over Shemar Washington of Northwestern 13-4.

Mitchell Askew (113), Luke Riley (145) and Trey Jones (170) finished third in their respective weight classes.

Now, Orange enters the final week of the regular season looking to close out another Big 8 Conference Championship. After being inactive last week because of 11 inches of snow in Hillsborough, the Panthers senior night meet against Southern Durham was postponed. On Wednesday, Orange travels to Northern Durham for its first conference match against the Knights since 2001. Orange Wrestling Coach Spencer Poteat is trying to arrange the Southern Durham match to be contested at Carmichael Arena at UNC on Friday, but that won’t be finalized until Monday at the earliest. Orange is 16-0 overall, 5-0 in the Big 8.

Cedar Ridge boys basketball coach Clay Jones joked last week that, if his team defeated Hillside, he would have to beg his players to practice again for the rest of the season.

Perhaps he wasn’t joking. The Red Wolves, who have practiced one time since December 21st, came into the Hillside game on a two-game winning streak, its longest of the year. Then they nearly knocked off the Hornets, falling 60-59. Khalil Barnett led the Red Wolves with 19 points, while Mekai Collins added 15..

Damon Sanders paced Hillside with 20.

Trying to find a rhythm has been a struggle for both of Hillsborough’s basketball teams since the holidays.

For Orange, the Panthers started 2018 with a loss to Pinecrest on January 2nd, then didn’t play for a week because of winter weather. A game against Northwood was rescheduled for this past Saturday, forcing Orange to play three games in four days last week. Chapel Hill defeated the Panthers 59-55 at Tiger Gymnasium, despite the fact that Chapel Hill guard Elijah Haynes missed the game because of an ankle injury suffered during the South Granville Holiday Tournament. Mitch Portman led Orange with 17 points. The Tigers, who started the game on a 10-3 run, fended off a late Orange run with clutch free throws from Max Connelly, who finished with 16 points. A.J. Thompson added 15.

Chapel Hill defeated East Chapel Hill 59-45 on Tuesday night to remain atop the Big 8 at 8-0. Connolly paced CHHS with 18 points. Once again, Haynes didn’t play.

On Friday, Southern Durham handed Orange its fourth straight loss, 77-56. The Spartans, who led by 38 at one point, received 18 points from Jayvis Harvey. Orange was held to six points in the second quarter, was led by 18 points from sophomore Machai Holt, a career-high.

It was Orange’s first four-game losing streak since the 2012-13 season, a streak that ended on Saturday with a 43-37 victory over Northwood.

Orange is now 7-9, 3-3 in the Big 8. In the new look Big 8 Conference, the panthers are 4th in the league behind three teams that could be dangerous in the state tournament. Chapel Hill is undefeated, while Southern Durham is 4-1 and Northern Durham is 3-1.

With another winter storm anticipated Wednesday, the Panthers’ game scheduled at Northern Durham has already been postponed. Orange is slated to play at East Chapel Hill on Friday.

Cedar Ridge is supposed to host Northwood on Friday, but that game is at risk with the pending snowstorm. The Red Wolves already have had to postpone a game against Northern Durham from the first week fo 2018 that still hasn’t been rescheduled.

Whenever the Red Wolves resume its season, its clear for the most consistent offensive performers have been. On top of his 15 points against Hillside, Collins scored 20 in a 66-61 victory over Warren County, preceded by 17 points in the Red Wolves win over East Chapel Hill, which ended a nine-game losing streak.