Another successful season for the Orange men’s swimming team ended at the 3A State Swimming Championships at the Triangle Aquatic Center in Cary.
After the Panthers captured the Central Carolina Conference championship for the second straight year, Orange finished sixth in the team standing during the state championships on February 11. The Panthers also finished 2nd in the Central Regionals on February 3.
Sophomores Luke Roman and Alex Andre had standout performances for the Panthers during the state championships. Roman, Andre, senior Evan Phillips and senior Andrew Weeks teamed together to finish 7th in the state in the 200 yard medley relay. They finished with a time of 1:45.27. Northwest Cabarrus captured the state title at 1:36.75. Earlier in the day, Roman, Andre, Phillips and Weeks qualified for the finals with a 7th-place finish in the preliminaries.
Roman, Andre, Weeks and Phillips finished 2nd in the Central Regionals in the 200 yard medley relay.
In the final event of the day, Roman, Andre, Phillips and senior Nick Baczara finished eighth in the state in the 400 yard freestyle relay. With Phillips swimming the anchor leg, Orange finished at 3:33.40. Roman opened with a 24.85 opening leg. Carrboro, with Cummins starting the race, won the state championship at 3:13.96. Earlier in the day, Orange finished 7th in the preliminaries at 3:26.48.
Andre was the top individual finisher for Orange on the day. He finished third in the 500 yard freestyle. Andre raced in the second of three heats for the 500 and turned in a personal best time of 4:49.31. Andrew Cummins of Carrboro won the state championship at 4:31.06, which earned him All-American consideration. Roman, who finished 2nd in the regionals in the 500 freestyle, finished seventh in the state championships at 4:52.97.
Roman finished fourth in the 200 yard freestyle. Roman, who finished 2nd at regionals in the same event, came in at 1:46.48, nearly shaving a second off his time at regionals. Andrew Cummins of Carrboro won the state championship at 1:38.24, which earned him automatic All-American status.
In his final meet for Orange, senior Evan Phillips finished seventh in the 200 yard individual medley. Phillips finished at 2:03.12. Northwest Cabarrus swimmers had a 1-2 finish. Harrison Ranier won the state title at 1:51.66, while his teammate, Lane Bradshaw, came in 2nd at 1:53.11.
Later in the day, Phillips finished sixth in the 100 yard breaststroke. After coming in fifth earlier in the day in the preliminaries, Philips came in sixth at 1:02.07. Lane Bradshaw of Northwest Cabarrus finished with the state championship at 59.02 seconds.
Cedar Ridge’s Nikhil Agans, a junior finished fifth in the 100 yard freestyle. Agans’ final time was 49.16 seconds. Last month, Agans won the Central Carolina Conference championship in the 100 yard freestyle at the Orange County Sportsplex. Carrboro’s Will Thompson, who won the regionals title, brought home the state championship at 44.94 seconds.
Agans earned his spot in the finals following a swim-off with Ezra Zapler of J.H. Rose. Both Agans and Zapler finished tied for eighth in the preliminaries on Saturday morning. Only eight swimmers are allowed for the championship final. Agans won the two-man race against Zapler at 48.86 seconds. Zapler finished at 50.28 seconds.