Orange High wins Eagle Invitational team title with family flourish

Orange High climbed to the top of the standings at the Eagle Invitational in Mebane, finishing with 176 points to take the team championship and break a yearlong lull since the program's last notable title run. Southeast Alamance trailed with 162 points and Northwest Guilford finished third with 131.

The meet at the Mebane Arts and Community Center was notable both for Orange’s depth and for personal stories that resonated across Alamance County. Spenser Poteat, in his eighth season as Orange head coach, watched his Panthers produce three individual champions even as his daughter Kaleigh captured the 100-pound crown for Southeast Alamance. Kaleigh, a sophomore, recorded two wins over London Herglotz to claim her first individual championship.

Orange’s scoring was anchored by repeat and breakthrough performances. Sophomore Jordan Barbee, the top seed at 190 pounds, repeated as champion and secured the team title with a 39-second pin of Eastern Alamance’s Christopher Schlid in the final. Barbee is 25-6 this season and recorded pins in all four matches, including a 42-second semifinal pin of Jamison Brown and an opening-round 48-second pin of Jose Alva. Barbee leads the team in wins.

Sophomore Markus Thomas, who led the school’s football team with 979 rushing yards this fall, added a first career wrestling title at 165 pounds. The top seed, Thomas pinned Randleman’s David Pugh in 1:22 in the final and improved to 17-5 on the season after a string of decisive victories, including a 1:07 pin of Cummings’ Jaden Jones and a 26-second pin of Northwood’s Griffin Dallesandro.

Junior Conner Harward delivered Orange’s third individual championship, pinning Chatham Central’s Jorge Gomez in 1:02 to capture his first title after finishing runner-up in the 175-pound bracket last year. Harward is 17-8 this season.

Senior Logan Scarantino reached a personal milestone, recording his 100th career victory with a 59-second pin of Overhills’ Lucas Nicolay in the consolation bracket before losing the 120-pound final to Northwest Guilford’s John Belcher, 8-1. Sophomore Renn Van Hoose nearly added another title for the Panthers at 132 pounds but fell in a dramatic 9-8 final to Bartlett Yancey’s Yurem Torres after leading 8-6 late.

Coach Poteat summed up the team effort succinctly: “I’m excited for the guys. We’ve gradually been getting better all year. It’s exciting for these guys to come together as a team.”

For Orange High, the Eagle Invitational victory reinforces a rebuilding trajectory that could matter for conference standings and postseason seeding later in the winter. The combination of returning champions, emerging underclassmen and the competitive depth shown at multiple weight classes suggests the Panthers could be a consistent contender across the county and region as the season progresses.