Photo Credit: Amanda Tavares[/caption]Hannah Link was born in Hillsborough, North Carolina and she has a vast family. Link’s family includes her brother, father, and mother along with two horses, two goats and six chickens. She is in her senior year at Orange High School and is the business manager for the Den Echoes newspaper this year.
After graduating, her goal is to major in International Development studies at either Alabama University or NC State. Another one of her goals is to travel to and learn about the culture of Europe.
When Link is not in school, she is often found on the tennis courts because she loves to play tennis. She is also a big fan of the NFL, and specifically enjoys watching the Patriots. She attends Ebenezer Baptist Church in Hillsborough and is frequently involved in activities involving the youth group and serving her community.
Photo Credit: Carley Overman[/caption]"Don't be scared, get involved,” 17-year-old Amanda Tavares wants to say to her freshman self. She was born in New York with one younger brother and one older brother. She moved to Hillsborough when she was five. Tavares is now a senior with many responsibilities and dreams.
She has been playing soccer for four years, and she is also a Link Crew member. Not only is she photo editor for the school newspaper, but she is also the copy editor for the yearbook. Typically, copy editing involves correcting spelling, punctuation, grammar, etc, so she spends a lot of her time editing other people’s words.
Just like the average senior, Tavares is ready to graduate and get out of high school. She hopes to attend the University of South Carolina in June. Her goal is to become a pediatric nurse. Tavares works well with others and makes many new friends in the process.
Photo Credit: Hannah Phillips/MIa Frenduto. All the seniors line up with their parents before the game starts.[/caption]The Orange High School Panther baseball team earned their twentieth win of the season on Friday, May 10, after defeating cross-town rival Cedar Ridge by a score of 10 to 6. The game was just the Panthers third at home all season due to an ice storm on March 6 that left that field severely damaged. With the victory, Orange improved to an overall record of 20-3 and a perfect conference record of 14-0. Prior to the game the teams ten seniors were honored in front of a near capacity crowd.
The Panthers were lead by a strong offense, which was able to score heavily in both the first and third inning, scoring four and six runs respectively. Sophomore catcher Brad Debo was the catalyst for the offensive attack, hitting a towering two-run homerun to right field to give Orange an early 2 to nothing lead. The Panthers also added two more runs on a Red Wolves error that brought in sophomore Bryse Wilson and a sacrifice fly by junior Josh Kiehle that scored senior Matthew Crabtree.
Orange kept their foot on the gas pedal in the third inning as they brought their run total to 10 due to six hits and another Cedar Ridge error. Despite not scoring for the rest of the game, the Panthers pitching was good enough to secure the win. Junior James Cunningham got the start on the mound, pitching four innings and ushering three runs, as only one was earned, while also striking out three. Senior Jonah Neville acted as the set up man in his final regular season home game, as he pitched two innings, while striking out one and allowing two runs to score. Finishing out the game and moving from behind the plate to the mound was Debo, as he struck out the side to get out of a bases loaded game, while allowing one run.
The Panthers will host round one of the 3A East playoffs against Northern Guilford. Neville’s expectations for the playoffs are to, “Win and advance as deep as possible. It’s a completely new season for us, our accomplishments from the regular season no longer matter.” Orange will face the Nighthawks on Wednesday night at 7 pm.
Photo Credit: Brianna Hales[/caption]After finishing the 2013-14 season with a 20-4 record and winning the Big Eight regular season conference championship, the Orange High Varsity men’s basketball team earned the number one seed in the conference tournament. The Panthers defeated Northern Vance in the first round of the tournament by a score of 71 to 63 on Wednesday, February 19.
Leading the Panthers was sophomore guard Eryk Brandon-Dean, who finished with 26 points and 5 assists. Senior forward JD Brooks also had a big game, as he ended the game with 22 points 12 rebounds, to follow up his double-double against Cedar Ridge.
Orange will next face rival Cardinal Gibbons in the semi-finals of the tournament on Thursday, February 19. The game will be in the Orange High School Gym, with tip-off scheduled for 7pm.
Photo Credit: Will Okun. Pettiford runs the ball down the field attempting to get a touchdown.[/caption]Patrick Pettiford has been a constant highlight on Football Friday. He is the winner of the Extra Effort Award this week presented by Tom Suiter.
When asked about the award, Pettiford said, “I am thankful for receiving the award; it was a great accomplishment. I'm just happy I was chosen.” Pettiford's inspiration is his late grandmother. “She passed away a few years ago but her presence is my guidance,” said Pettiford. He tries to be a role model for his team and he considers his team part of his family. “We worked hard together the whole off season and we built a strong chemistry over the years.”
Pettiford hopes to continue on with his football career in high school. “I've had colleges talk to me, but I haven't really talked to any about any scholarships. I think Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina is interested though.” Football has been Pettiford’s main sport for the past two years. Pettiford has a record of 17 touchdowns for the season.
“Pettiford is respected, not just for football, but also around the school,” said Will Okun, assistant principal at OHS. Pettiford also stays focused on his school work and academics because football players have to keep their grades up. “He’s the game changer,” Earnie Price told WRAL.
Besides football, Pettiford is also an artist.Jason Johnson, OHS principal told WRAL ”You wouldn't know that Patrick was a football player or an amazing drawer because he doesn't brag about himself,”. Pat Moser, head football coach at OHS, told WRAL, “There are many football players on the team that would not be as good as they are today had it not been for Pat showing them the way.”
November 8, the Orange High School Panther football team defeated Rocky Mount 31-3 in the first round of the NC 3AA playoffs. The win came one week after the Panthers suffered their first loss of the season against Southern Durham, and moved the team to 12-2.
Tuesday night, September 17, the ladies at Orange High School got a chance to show their skills on the football field. Every year the game takes place with the Freshman class playing the Sophomores, and the Juniors playing the Seniors.
This year the game was dedicated to the late former Orange High School teacher Sue Liner. In the two games the Freshmen were victorious by a score of 16 to 0 and the Seniors won 14 to 2. Scoring for the class of 2016 were Mia Davidson on a long run, and Kaylen Campbell on a pass from Davidson. Scoring for the Seniors was Mackensie Cates.
Sophomore Emily Cunningham says the game was special, “The powder bowl is great because we get the chance to get down on the field and get dirty, while doing it with style... and sparkles!” Cunningham added that the game could have some minor changes, “I'd love to see the guys take the role of being the cheerleaders next year!” She also said she hopes to see more girls compete next year.
In between the two games the school honored the members of the Panther Court then crowned Senior Joe Piscitelli as Mr. Panther.
Brianna Hales and Jared Riley[/caption]During the 2012-2013 school year, the North Carolina Scholastic Media Association held contests for journalism students all over the state. Orange High School won five awards. Jared Riley won third place for a sports column, Brianna Hales was awarded an honorable mention for a sports article, and Sarah Vassello, who graduated last year, also was awarded an honorable mention for an editorial article. The Den Echoes advertising team received an honorable mention.
The NCSMA is an organization that promotes student journalists statewide. On their website they say, “NCSMA serves scholastic journalism and works for its advancement.”
They offer 37 categories of contests open for anyone who wishes to enter.
Jared Riley, sports editor for Den Echoes, is in his second semester of newspaper and is thriving in his writing. He says, ”I think it’s a great honor to finish third as a freshman. I’m just glad that I have the opportunity to learn from my teacher and other students in the class who bring the best out in me.”
Brianna Hales is the senior editor for Den Echoes in 2013 and is highly regarded in her class. She wishes to go to college for journalism. She says, ”I was surprised I won [the award]... because I won [for] the wrestling article I wrote. I don’t know a lot about wrestling... I’m not exactly a sports guru. It made me feel good as a journalist.”
As for Vassello, the journalism class is wishing her the best at college as she continues her journalism career.
Orange High School seniors are wrapping up the last seasons of high school sports. Some seniors will continue to pursue their athletic careers by participating on their college athletic teams.
M.J. Bumgarner, a senior at OHS, was accepted to Lees-McRrae College. Bumgarner participated on the OHS women’s tennis team and was first seed her sophomore and senior year. After the season wrapped up, she went to visit her future teammates at Lees-Mcrae.
“Everything just sort of clicked. I just fell in love with the team,” said Bumgarner, “The camaraderie there was really good. They had really good friendships. It was like all of them were best friends.”
Bumgarner was able to not only meet all the players, but she also practiced with them by “hitting some balls” with the team captain.
One concern Bumgarner has the worry she might not be able to balance her school work, which will include her major in biology, and her sports-related work. This only slightly concerns her though because she has been used to balancing advanced placement and honors courses while still participating on the tennis and soccer teams during her high school career.
Update 4/15: 376 students skipped on Senior Skip Day, which was April 12, 2013. According to Jane Clapp, out of the 376, 282 students were absent all day, 31 for half of the day, and 61 absent for at least one class. She estimates that there were approximately 2 1/2 times as many absent as on a regular school day. A survey was taken of 31 seniors two days before Senior Skip Day, April 12, 2013. Nineteen of those seniors stated that they were not coming to school, eight of those seniors said that they hadn’t decided yet whether or not they would come to school, and four of those seniors said that they were coming to school.
When asked what the “skipping” seniors were going to do on Senior Skip Day, most replied that they were going to get ready for prom, which occurs on the following day. Some other responses included: sleeping, going to the zoo, working on schoolwork, and relaxing at home.
The seniors that have not decided whether or not to skip and the seniors who will not be skipping said that they were worried about attendance problems, had important classes that they couldn’t skip, or were unable to convince parents to allow them to skip.
When asked, Mr. Marsh stated that “[senior skip day] has a negative impact on the student body as a whole because more than seniors skip.” Ms. Lee added that “it is a safety and security concern” for students in bulk to skip on this day. The school must follow the standard attendance policy so any absences will be counted but there are no other punishments for students that do not come.
Ms. Lee suggested that, instead of having a Senior Skip Day, seniors could organize a service activity or have a senior school beautification day, for which they could be excused to do. She said that this idea is something to think about for the following year.
Peckman battled other contestants on the newest D.S. Pokemon game and ranked 34 out of around 250. He will not be advancing to the National level. Competitors who placed high enough received Nintendo video games or Nintento D.S. gaming consoles. Combatants who placed first and second were rewarded with paid trips to the National competition in Indianapolis.
“There were a lot of cool people,” Peckman says. Three-time Pokemon World Champion Ray Rizzo and Aaron Zhang, last year’s Senior Pokemon World Champion, made appearances. Peckman describes the hotel as “packed” with Pokemon enthusiasts. He “had a lot of fun” battling for the right to advance to Nationals.