Photo Credit: Will Okun[/caption]By: Jason Slaughter
On Friday, February 13, the OHS Panther’s varsity basketball team fell in a tough loss at Cedar Ridge High School and ended an eight-game win streak with a score of 63-69.
The mighty Panthers came out to a great start, led by 1000-point scorer Jawan Chambers. Logan Vosburgh and Garrett Cloer were key on rebounds and offensive boards to take Orange into halftime with a fifteen-point lead.
In the second half, it was a real battle at the Ridge. Cedar Ridge junior Payton Pappas was lighting the three-point line up to bring his team within ten going into the fourth quarter. Sophomore guard Connor Crabtree was quiet in the first half but came up big with his clean passes to a lightning-fast Tay Jones and the wide-open Chambers. Juniors Jace Jordan-Cornell and Demares Drummond were crucial coming off the bench.
Since the two teams were consistently neck and neck, the crowd cheered loudly throughout the game. Cedar Ridge came back to take the lead with one minute to go, and, when Jones fouled out, it looked unpromising for the Panthers, but that didn’t stop them. A quick three by Crabtree brought the score to 63-66 in favor of the Red Wolves.
With 20 seconds to go, Cedar Ridge got a fast break, and Crabtree was in the chase but was a little too late. He had to end up fouling for a chance to add three to their lead with an extra shot at the free-throw line. The score stuck at 63-69 while Pappas started to run the clock out, and the Panthers fell short.
When asked about the game, Brendan Huss said, “I thought the game was real loud and hype. I didn’t think they could come back from our fifteen-point lead.” Crabtree added, “We lost a hard one today, but we got to look forward going into the conference tournament.”
The Orange Panthers will take on Northern Guilford High School in the first round of the state playoffs here at home, so don’t miss it.
Photo Credit: Megan Joyner[/caption]On Tuesday, December 9, the indoor track team at Orange High School attended their first track meet of the season at Eastern Alamance High School. The girls team finished second overall, and the boys team finished in tenth place.
Indoor track is, in fact, not indoors. The meets take place outside on the track at Eastern Alamance. This past meet was rainy and 43 degrees
The girls were strong competitors from the start, finishing second in the 4x800 race. They followed up this success with a first place finish in the 4X200 race. The girls had a second place finish at 6:08.51 by Juliana Lester in the 1600-meter event. Melia Weeks placed second in girls high jump with a height of 4-07.00 feet, just two inches shy of the qualifying height. The womens team had a combined total of 55 points, putting them in second place overall.
The boys participated
The 2014-2015 indoor track season for OHS is serving as a training and preparation season for spring track. The Panthers will continue to train and participate
in the indoor track meets in hopes of getting the athletes qualified for the state championships at the end of the season.
Photo Credit: OHS cross country[/caption]This season, cross country went further than anyone thought it could. Girls cross country went to states, and the boy’s team was very close. This was the first time the girls had gone to states as a team in around three years, so it truly was a victory. There were many other victories throughout the season, but the ones people remember the most are the varsity invitational races. There were four overall that the varsity athletes traveled to this year to compete in.
The varsity teams had seven people each. The girl’s team consisted of Adalyn Fleming, Claire Barger, Juliana Henderson, Isabelle Hartmond, Hannah Phillips, Melia Weeks, and Kathryn Obenshain. The members of the boy’s varsity team were Robert Russell, Daniel Mulligan, Spencer Husen, Jacob Larson, Hunter Spitzer, Danny Archibald, and Ben Wirzba. Both teams did very well, especially with the help of their coaches, Hendrik Joubert and Russell Westbrook. Each of these coaches have different philosophies, but they work together as an unstoppable team.
Westbrook has been coaching for over ten years and so has Joubert. With their combined experience, they are good leaders. They have tried to train their teams to the best of their ability. Joubert said about his coaching strategy, “I try to do the minimum possible for the maximum results.” It must have been working, and it shows in the team.
Both coaches love to run and let others learn about their passion. Westbrook is currently the P.E. teacher at Cameron Park. He is also very involved in a local running club, the Hillsborough Running Club. On the other hand, Joubert has been very involved with running in his community since he began to run in the first place. He has coached many people, teams, and clubs.
Practices for next year start August 1.
Photo Credit: Nick Gentile[/caption]So far in the English Premier League, there have been many upsets and surprises. Chelsea currently leads the league with nine wins this season, with Southampton in close second with eight wins. Manchester City is the heavy favorite this season, in third place, and needs three more wins to tie with Chelsea. Chelsea’s Diego Costa has had nine goals this season, helping Chelsea to stay in the lead.
Chelsea has been in the lead a lot because of Diego Costa, the Spanish striker, and Oscar, the 23-year-old midfielder. The team lineup works well together, and their teamwork has foiled many teams' plans. Diego Costa has been the leading scorer on Chelsea, widening their lead in the league.
Burnley FC is in last place in the league. Being the smallest town in England to have its own Premier League team, it has had trouble recruiting players to combat the upper ranked teams. Obviously, size matters, as larger clubs have more fans, which generates more income, which leads to more players being recruited. Media also plays a role in recruiting, though not as much as leagues here in the United States. Soccer cannot have timeouts like football, so it cannot have as many commercial breaks, as you can miss things during a commercial break.
Fans in Fulham, London are definitely enjoying themselves while their team completely dominates the league. Stamford Bridge stadium is a sea of blue as Chelsea beats teams like Liverpool (2-1) and ties good teams like Manchester United (1-1). Fans are also waiting for the number one and number two teams to play--Chelsea being number one, and Southampton being number two as of November.
Chelsea is also awaiting their new goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who says, “It felt [like] the right moment to go to Chelsea. I was ready.” In the eleven games that he has played in so far this season, he has 25 saves. Two of those games were what soccer fans call clean sheets, meaning he had no shots to save in the games.
The Premier League is always changing though, and players will be traded, kicked, celebrated, and revered. Teams will rise and fall, and Chelsea’s reign may end in a heartbeat. In soccer, there is never a definite score or lead, and the excitement will hopefully continue this season.
Photo Credit: Den Echoes archive[/caption]Most people say they can’t run, won’t run, and will never run, but running girls are the exact opposite! Ask most female runners why they run, however, and they don’t have a good explanation. Orange High School runner Kayla Woodley said that she runs to keep fit. Many runners agree with Woodley--running is a great way to stay healthy.
To run well, you must buy shoes frequently--every six to twelve months. Having shoes that fit well and give you support is important to your health. This is why traveling to the store and being fitted for shoes is important. Buying shoes is a significant event in the life of a runner.
Once you have your shoes, you need to get fit. This doesn’t mean only working your legs--you have to do core too. Remember, good things happen with a good core. The most important thing is running everyday. Run one or two miles to start and then slowly ramp it up to five miles or more. While you are running, find a medium pace. This pace shouldn’t be too hard, but it shouldn’t be effortless either. Make sure you watch your pace, how many miles, and how long you run every time!
While you are racking up miles, try a timed mile. As you dive deeper into the running world, this will become very important. As you wait at the start line of a race for the pop of the gun, other runners will ask you for this. Runners mainly ask this to size themselves up to you and predict their own results. Also, you can use this to estimate race times.
Running isn’t easy. You have to train often to reach your goals, and you need to eat well. Any runner will tell you that they had to work hard to get to where they are now. Your first 5K will be your worst, and that’s okay. Many people start with around a 30-minute 5K. After that, you will continue to improve. As in anything you will do, you must start from the bottom to reach the top!
Photo Credit: Maddie Norwood[/caption]Senior football player Garrett Cloer received the WRAL Extra Effort Award on Tuesday, November 25. The award was presented to him by Football Friday host Tom Suiter at OHS, and Mark Holt, also a senior, nominated Cloer for the award. The segment featuring Cloer’s win aired on November 26 at approximately 6:25 pm on WRAL. Cloer plans to play football for Cornell University in the fall.
Cloer, the number 12 quarterback for the varsity football team, was surprised and excited to win the award because it was “not something I saw coming,” he said. He learned that he had won on Monday when Assistant Principal Will Okun called him out of class to tell him. “He called me out of class, and I didn’t know what about, so I was kind of searching for what it might be about, but it turned out to be something good, which I was happy with,” he stated.
Cloer is ready to play for Cornell. He would like to “start as soon as possible and make an impact on the team.” He first played football when he was 10 as part of an Orange County recreational team. He continued to play in middle school and high school. One of the joys of football is “how close it brings our friendships,” he said. He also loves the intensity of the sport and how difficult it is.
It is unusual for a team member to nominate an athlete. Usually, coaches or teachers nominate students. Suiter said that it is “very seldom” this occurs and it “shows class.”
Holt met Cloer in 4th grade when they joined the same baseball team. After playing sports with Cloer for so long, he thought that Cloer should win the award in his senior year. Like Cloer, he didn’t know who had been chosen for the award until Monday. He is “happy [that Cloer won] cause he deserved it.”
Students are nominated using a form on the WRAL.com website. Suiter estimated that he received 150 nominations last year and chose 35 students. The award is given out weekly. Previous students from OHS that have received the award include Madison Chandler, Patrick Pettiford, and Jamie Lea.
Photo Credit: Den Echoes archive[/caption]This year is the first season in college football where there will be playoffs, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Instead of having two teams play a championship game, there will be a four team playoff along with the regular bowl games.
With only four playoff slots, it looks like it is going to be very competitive to get in. Chances are, if a team loses two games, they will not get in. Five teams in the top 25 are in the same division (SEC West.)
The front runners right now are Mississippi State, Florida State, Ole Miss, and Baylor. Two of those teams (Mississippi State and Ole Miss) are in the SEC West and they play each other in the final regular season game. At the pace the season is going, it will be a battle of the undefeated in the final regular season game to decide who gets to play in the SEC championship game.
The SEC champion is most likely going to win the playoffs. After seven weeks, the SEC West is undefeated against any non-divisional opponents. The western side of the division is dominating halfway through the season. So, as always, strength of schedule will be a deciding factor as to who makes the playoffs, but two extra teams will be included this year.
Photo Credit: Brianna Hales[/caption]Wednesday, October 8, the OHS varsity women's tennis team competed against the other six schools in the Big Eight Conference in the 2014 conference tournament held at Orange High School. The team took only a few players, including Beth Bryan, Leila Andrews, Laura Hegemann, Brooke Asbury, Ezra Tennant, Michaela Shriner, and Hannah Link. The players competed individually or as a doubles team against the other schools in the conference in randomly decided brackets.
Doubles team Tennant and Asbury and singles player Leila Andrews, all sophomores, lost their first matches against Cedar Ridge and Northern Vance, respectively, knocking them out of conference play and ending their 2014 season for Orange. However, Laura Hegemann won her first round of singles in a very close tie-breaker game with a score of 8-6 over Chapel Hill to advance into the quarter-finals where she lost 5-10 to Jenna Proctor from Cedar Ridge. Doubles team Bryan and Shriner won their first and second matches over Northern Vance and Northwood to advance to the semi-finals in conference and to secure a spot in the regional tournament.
Photo Credit: Will Okun[/caption]To someone reading the stats, the Orange Panthers would have seemed to struggle mightily against cross town rival and fellow Big Eight conference member Cedar Ridge on Friday night. The Panthers managed to just get two first downs and run only 13 offensive games before lightning and rain forced the game to be called with 5:20 remaining in the second quarter.
However, it was the exact opposite, as the Panthers' explosive offense raced out to a 35 to 13 lead over the Red Wolves, which is where the score ended.
Orange was led by senior running back Tay Jones, who scored three touchdowns, including two rushing from eight and 73 yards, while also taking a 97-yard kickoff return to the end zone.
Jones would finish the game with 89 yards on just five carries, while the other Orange scores came on runs of 72 and 15 yards from Eryk Brandon-Dean and Mike Bolden respectively.
Jones' kickoff return fired up the Panthers following a Cedar Ridge opening drive that went 73 yards on five plays and was capped by a Peyton Pappas scramper from 12 yards out.
Following a Cedar Ridge three-and-out on the next possession, Jones followed his blocking around the right edge all the way to the end zone on his 73-yard run.
Cedar Ridge would answer on the following possession and again sustain a long drive as they went 77 yards on 10 plays, this time culminating with a five-yard strike from Pappas to a wide open Marquez Hunter.
Those would be the last points put on the board by Cedar Ridge; following a failed extra point, Orange took the first play from scrimmage to the end zone on Brandon-Dean's quick steps and elusive moves. This led to a 72-yard run to put the Panthers up 21 to 13.
After the Bolden touchdown and a fumble on the ensuing kickoff by the Red Wolves at the 24-yard line, the Panthers were looking to again score quickly. However, a pair of sacks, a penalty, and an incomplete pass led to 4th and 25 for the Panthers.
Orange would be able to convert though, as senior quarterback Garrett Cloer found Bryse Wilson across the middle for a 32-yard gain. Jones would take it in for a score on the next play, before the game would be stopped and eventually called.
Photo Credit: Will Okun[/caption]The crowd at Auman Stadium watched with anticipation as the time was winding down until the homecoming announcement was made on October 24. By the time it was halftime and Megan Joyner was crowned the 2014 Homecoming Queen, the Orange Panthers had mounted a 35 to 0 lead over J.F. Webb.
The Panthers' first quarter scores came on a touchdown pass from Garrett Cloer to Eryk Brandon-Dean, a 2-yard run by Michael Bolden, a 15-yard run by Brandon-Dean and an 11-yard run by Cloer.
The Panthers' final score of the half would come on a 2-yard Bolden run, following a 45-yard pass from Cloer to a diving Austin Wood.
Orange dominated the entire contest in route to a 49 to 0 win that moved them to 9-0 overall and 5-0 in conference this season.
The Panthers travel to Raleigh to take on 6-2 Cardinal Gibbons on October 31 at 7 pm.
Joey Ricca kicks the ball.[/caption]The varsity men’s soccer team had their senior night on Monday, October 20. They played at home against JF Webb. The team came away with a 6-0 win over Webb. This was a great celebration for the seniors, who played their last home game as Orange High School Panthers.
It was a bittersweet game for the Panthers. They came out with an astonishing victory over the Warriors, but they had to say goodbye to eight strong players--Morgan Collins, Bowen Collins, Jonathan McLamb, Joey Ricca, Gerardo Figueroa, Luis DeLara, Caleb Anderson, and Eli Lockwood.
The ceremony started at 6:00 p.m. and each senior was recognized for their contributions to the team. After the senior celebrations, the game began. From the start, the Panthers possessed the ball and had many two player combinations around the opposing team. They came up with three goals in the first half, one scored by Lockwood, and the other two scored by junior Lionel Reid-Shaw. After an intense start, the Panthers concluded the first half with a 3-0 lead.
The second half started out at a fast pace, and the Panthers were able to keep possession for the entire game. Orange scored three more goals, and the game concluded with a Panther victory, 6-0.
The Panthers came out with a big win and an even bigger victory for the seniors. They had a great season, and the seniors will definitely be missed. Chandler Compton, a junior on the team, said, “I made really good friendships with some of the senior guys on the team. I’m going to miss sharing the field with them day in and day out.”
Photo Credit: Tammy Mack Adalyn Fleming finishes her race at Orange.[/caption]At the Wendy’s Invitational on October 2, the girl’s team got great times. This race is one of the most important ones of the year, and Wendy’s is a highly competitive race in Charlotte where the best battle it out.
On Saturday, September 27, Orange placed third overall at the Greensboro invitational. They were very close to being champions, but still did fantastic. Everyone ran well, and lots of girls got personal records (PR’s) on the course.
Tuesday, September 23, Adalyn Fleming came in third at Orange’s first home cross country meet, with a time of 21 minutes and 7 seconds. She and many other OHS runners made great leaps to make the first meet a great one.
Fleming was followed closely by sophomores Juliana Lester and Claire Barger, and freshmen Isabelle Hartmond and Melia Weeks. Junior Hannah Phillips finished 6th, and Sophomore Kathryn Obenshain finished seventh on the team.
The team’s success was surprising considering the team just acquired a new coach, Hendrik Joubert. Joubert is a highly recognized runner. He has run many marathons, ultra marathons, and 55 mile runs.
Photo Credit: Gary Boyce[/caption]Braden Weber, a senior at Orange High School, was crowned Mr. Panther on Wednesday, September 17 at the annual Liner Panther Prowl Powder Bowl.
All eyes were on Weber as the announcer called his name for the 2014 Mr. Panther award. He was escorted to the front of the field by Kentcie Robbins, the 2013 Homecoming Queen, to to be awarded with a crown. He was crowned by Paige Fox and was presented with a football by Carli Whitted. Fox is the granddaughter of Keith and Sue Liner, the founders of the Panther Powder Bowl. The Powder Bowl is a football game in which the lady Panthers are given the opportunity to play. The freshmen play the sophomore class and the juniors play the senior class. This event was created 30 years ago in order to raise money for prom, reducing the cost of prom tickets and ensuring that all students have the opportunity to go. This year’s game had a large turnout, with over 100 attendees.
Weber was very pleased to receive the award and represent his fellow Panthers in the school. He said, “It was really neat being out there with all of the other guys. There was a great group of guys standing and waiting for their names to be announced. I was very honored to be crowned Mr. Panther.”
Weber has attended Orange High School for four years and has been an active participant in the student body. He is the president of the school’s Student Government Association and was the vice president last year. As the president, he advocates for the students and their opinions. So far this year, he has gotten the students into the first home football game for free and has organized the themes for each game. He was president for FBLA, Future Business Leaders of America, as a junior and a senior leader for FCA, Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Aside from these academic and social accolades, Weber plays baseball at Orange. He is a pitcher and third basemen, and has played for the varsity team for his entire high school career. Outside of school, Weber plays travel baseball for the Carolina Ravens.
In the future, Weber has aspirations of attending the University of North Carolina Charlotte, where he plans to major in business. With all of the leadership roles he has had at Orange, he is certainly headed in the right direction for the future.
He has many responsibilities at school. As Mr. Panther, Weber will play an active role at the 2014 Homecoming football game. He will escort previous Homecoming Queen Kentcie Robbins onto the field to crown the 2014 Queen. In December, he will ride on a float with the 2014 Homecoming Queen in the Hillsborough parade. Aside from these obligations, he will continue to be a leader throughout the community. As student body president and Mr. Panther, Weber will lead the students of Orange High School and be a role model for the future leaders of OHS.
Senior tennis players Michaela Shriner, Hannah Link, and Beth Bryan pose on their senior night. Photo Credit: Brooke Asbury[/caption]By Hannah Link
It was a sad night for the Orange High School women’s tennis team on Wednesday, October 1 as the three seniors played on their home court for the last time during the regular season. The season may have been coming to an end, but the underclassmen on the team weren’t about to let the seniors leave without a bang.
Festivities kicked off Wednesday morning during school as the team joined together in wearing tie-dye T-shirts made in honor of Senior Night by some underclassmen on the team. “We love our seniors,” said sophomore Brooke Asbury. “We couldn’t bear the thought of not doing something special for them.” The seniors are having a hard time coping with the occasion. “It’ll be really hard to leave our team,” said senior Michaela Shriner. “We’re all so close; we’re basically a family.” The love for the seniors this year could be seen all over the court. Posters and signs hung from the fence and every player wore their tie-dyed T-shirts during the match.
The efforts made by the underclassmen weren’t the only thing that was sweet--the victory was too. Orange took a big 7-2 win over Oxford Webb in their last home match of the season, something the players and the coach were proud of. “We worked really hard tonight and, despite all of the food and candy the girls ate, we still worked hard and played really well,” said coach Andy Brown.
The team will go to Cedar Ridge High School on Monday, October 6 to take on the rival Red Wolves in their last regular season match before the Big Eight Conference tournament Wednesday, October 8.
Photo credit: Ann Stanmore-ThurstonKatie Baity gets lifted into the air by her bases, Christa Walls, Robyn Woodall and Alexis Prebula.[/caption]
There has always been a debate between athletes on whether cheerleading is actually a sport, but, for junior Katelyn Baity, there is no debate. Cheerleading is life. When asked why cheerleading is her favorite sport, Baity replied, “Cheer helps me stay in shape and it's a lot of fun to be with the team. Everyone is crazy, but we can get stuff done.” This year will be Baity’s third year of OHS varsity cheerleading.
Baity was a dedicated cheerleader even before high school began. She participated in cheer when she attended CW Stanford Middle School, in seventh and eighth grades. Baity has also continued her cheerleading career by participating in OHS cheerleading since her freshman year. Baity made the junior varsity team when she was in ninth grade, but this was not enough for her. She practiced her routines and kicked up her workout schedule to make sure that her form was perfect, and she made the varsity team in sophomore year of high school.
When asked about how she deals with cheering through a bad game, Baity replied, “Even when we're losing a game, we have to keep up the spirit. It is hard trying to stay positive when we get behind, but you kind of have to think optimistic.” Baity also shared that she likes to get pumped up to keep her spirit alive before games. “I listen to a random shuffle of music while I get ready for a game. I usually get ready with Christa Walls, and we kind of help each other get warmed up and pumped up.”
Sports figures normally get recognition for being role models, even when they don’t want to be, but Baity has taken this as a part of the sport. When asked why she thinks she is a good role model for other students, Baity replied, “I'm a good role model for other students because I'm proud of who I am without having to do things I'll regret later in life.” She shared who her role model was when she was growing up: “I had a coach in the past that really pushed me to succeed when I was in gymnastics. Because of what she taught me, I'm able to work through pain in any sport or activity I decide to do and I can keep up my tumbling!”
Even though sports is Baity’s life, she participates in many other things as well. Baity is a dedicated leader at Ebenezer Baptist Church, and she participates in dance to keep up her fitness. “I perform at Dance Expressions and it's so much fun. I used to dance and do gymnastics from when I was four all the way up to seventh grade. It's nice being back onto a team like that! I'm a student leader at the church, so youth group is always fun! I get to talk to the younger girls and lead a small group on Sunday.”
Photo Credit: Jared Riley[/caption]Friday, September 26, the Orange High Panther football team faced their toughest challenge of the season in the 4-0 Northwood Chargers. It took all the effort the Panthers could muster to fend off the Chargers, but Orange was able to prevail with their fifth consecutive win by a score of 14 to 7. The packed house at Aumond Stadium saw the Panthers move to 5-0 overall and earn their first Big Eight conference win of the year, while Northwood dropped to 4-1 and 0-1 respectively.
The Panthers offense opened the game on fire, scoring 14 points in the first seven minutes with Eryk Brandon Dean taking it in from 10 yard out, and a Garrett Cloer one yard plunge into the endzone. The game appeared to be on the same track as Orange’s previous 54 to 14 thrashing of Graham, however Northwood ensured that would not be the case. The Chargers defense was able to keep the Panthers out of the endzone for the rest of the contest and forced the Panthers to become one dimensional as the passing game was ineffective for most of the night. Cloer finished the night with only 5 completions on 10 attempts and 91 yards. The senior quarterback was on the move for most of the night, as Northwood’s impressive front seven kept the pressure on.
Orange was not the only team having trouble on offense, as Northwood was unable to move the ball for most of the game except for a 39 yard touchdown pass from Ti Pinnix to Jared Worley on a blown assignment by the Orange secondary. Worley, a senior captain for the Chargers, was all over the field, racking in 4 catches for 91 yards on offense, while making several tackles from the linebacker position. Worley and the Charger defense gave a valiant effort in trying to stop the Panthers' two headed monster at the running back position in Brandon-Dean and senior Tay Jones. The two combined for a nice 127 yards on 23 carries, but were unable to break free for the long runs the Panther faithful have become accustomed to seeing. Brandon-Dean was also the Panthers’ leading pass catcher, hauling in three catches for 70 yards.
Northwood struggled extremely in the running game as the Panthers’ front seven were in the back field the entire game, causing many long third downs for the Chargers and Pinnix. The senior signal caller was able to complete 14 of 29 passes for 194 while also rushing 15 times for 33 yards, most of which were scampers out of a collapsing pocket.
The Panthers defense, known as the ‘Orange Crush,’ stood strong on two different goal line stands, as they stopped the Chargers at the 2 yard line shortly before halftime after a false start negated a Northwood touchdown. Northwood was also looking for a tying score as the fourth quarter winded down, as the Chargers were able to get as close as the 8 yard line, before a Pinnix pass on fourth down was batted down by senior defensive lineman Byron Stephenson.
The Panthers travel to Henderson this Friday to take on the 1-4 Vikings of Northern Vance.
Photo Credit: ohsrunning.com[/caption]The boys cross country team has improved greatly throughout the season. Their record stands at a solid 4-6. That may not look good on paper, but everyone's times have improved tremendously. Jamison Askew’s first 5k of the season was around 21 minutes, but this past weekend at the return to Hagan Stone Park, he ran an 18:56 5k, far exceeding his goal of 20:05. Askew is not the only runner improving. Over 10 Orange runners set a PR (personal record) at the race.
Their most recent race was at Chapel Hill High on September 30, 2014. They raced against Chapel Hill, Oxford Webb, and Northern Vance. The results of the race were not in at press time. The top runners for the teams were not racing as fast as they normally would, because they were saving their legs for the “Wendy's Invitational” this weekend.
When asked about this upcoming weekend, Coach Russell Westbrook said, “I am very excited. We have a lot of fast juniors and seniors, and I am looking forward to see what they can accomplish.” Only the varsity runners will be running this weekend, as the team is only allowed to run seven runners.
So far this season, both teams have been steadily improving and getting closer and closer as teammates. There is more communication on the field, and teammates are collaborating and figuring out clever plays for certain teams. The synopsis for the season and the lists of team members can be found below.
Aug. 18 Home v Riverside (Rained-out)
Aug. 20 Home v Graham (Both team Loss)
Aug. 25 Away @ Bartlett Yancey (Varsity Win)
Aug. 27 Home v Eastern Alamance (Both team Loss)
Sept. 3 Home v Bartlett Yancey (Varsity Win)
Sept. 4 Away @ Eastern Alamance (Varsity Loss)
Sept. 8 Away @ Cardinal Gibbons (Both team loss)
Varsity Game
Both Team Game
JV Roster
# Name Grade
3 Cameron Krogstad Freshman
4 Ewan McCallum Freshman
5 Luke Wirzba Freshman
6 Hector Rodriguez Freshman
7 Owen Downes Sophomore
8 Ali Rezk Sophomore
9 Juan Jaime Junior
10 Cyrus Rainey Junior
11 Omar Landeros Freshman
13 Jamar Davis Freshman
14 Omar Medina Freshman
16 Noah Miller (GK) Freshman
17 Jesus Chavez Freshman
18 Michael Dubis Freshman
19 Thomas Sikes Freshman
20 Bryan Torres Freshman
23 Olivier Dauverd Freshman
24 Isaiah Dupre (GK) Freshman
25 Caleb Gray Junior
Varsity Roster
# Name Grade
1 Jonathan McLamb Senior
2 Rowan Nygard Junior
3 Davis Dixon Sophomore
4 Robin Walz Junior
5 Daniel Gallardo Junior
6 Morgan Collins Senior
7 Joey Ricca (GK) Senior
8 Gerardo Figueroa Senior
9 Adam Medina Junior
10 Luis DeLara Senior
11 Alfredo Rodriguez (GK) Sophomore
12 Lionel Reid-Shaw Junior
14 Zack Matthews Junior
16 Malcolm Phillips Freshman
17 Eli Lockwood Senior
20 Chandler Compton Junior
22 Bowen Collins Senior
Cross Country
On September 3, the Orange High cross country team traveled to Jordan High School for the first race of the season. The race consisted of four schools, Orange, Jordan, Research Triangle High School, and Hillside. The girls team did very well, beating all three of the other teams and starting the season 3-0. Orange’s own Adalynn Fleming, Claire Barger, and Julianna Lester were the top three runners in the girls race. The boys team did decently well for the first meet of the season. They were 1-2, winning a close race against Hillside. This was the first race for many of Orange’s runners, and they have been working hard.
The next meet will be on Saturday, September 13 at Hagan Stone Park in Greensboro. They will race at that course twice this year, so it will be a good measure of how fast they have gotten over the course of the year. The team has been running hard all year long and this is just the beginning, they can only get faster from here.
Photo Credit: Amanda Tavares[/caption]Jared Riley was born a sports fan. He grew up a sports fan and he still is one today. He enjoys all sports, but his favorite is football. Riley is the sports editor for the Orange High School newspaper Den Echoes. He is a 16 year old, three-time-award-winning journalist, but these accolades do not matter to him yet as his goal is to one day be a journalist for ESPN. He wants to be the next Adam Schefter.
Riley has played football since he was eight, and he wants to continue to be around football even when he grows up. He is an offensive lineman on the Orange High football team.
Riley has a life outside of football as well. He is in multiple clubs. Some of these include the Society of Saint Andrews (SOSA) and Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA). Riley enjoys hanging out with his friends. They like playing basketball and other sports outside. His favorite television shows are Sports Center and the news. Watching shows like this will definitely prepare him to work on ESPN.
Riley hopes to go to the School of Journalism and Mass Communication in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has an advantage over other students, as he attended a journalism camp at UNC this past summer. He sure has set the bar high and should be an example to others about having high hopes for their education.