GREENSBORO–Luke Roman and Alex Andre have finished on the brink of winning state championships for Orange men’s swimming in recent years. This week, they each hope to reach that elusive milestone after breaking through with regional championships for the first time.
On Saturday, Roman and Andre led the way for Orange swimming as its finished runner-up to Carrboro in the 3A Central Regional championships at the Greensboro Aquatic Center on Saturday night. Carrboro claimed its third straight regional title with 353 points. Orange edged Oak Grove for second place with 239 points. Oak Grove came away with 232.
It was the third straight year that Orange finished as regional runner-up behind the Jaguars. Last week, the Panthers claimed its third consecutive Central Conference championship at the Orange County Sportsplex in Hillsborough.
Roman won his first career regional championship in the 500 yard freestyle. He finished at 4:45.59, a new personal best. Andre finished second at 4:50.54 to also qualify for the 3A State Championships at the Triangle Aquatic Center on Thursday.
Last year, Andre finished third in the state in the 500 yard freestyle.
Later in the night, Andre would claim his first regional title in the 200 yard individual medley. In the closest race of the 3A championships, Andre edged Carrboro’s Matt Strada by .22 of a second for the championship. Andre touched the wall at 2:01.50.
This was the first time that Andre had competed in the individual medley during the regional championships. In addition to finishing 4th in the regionals in the 500 freestyle last year, he came in fourth in the 200 yard freestyle.
Roman also qualified for the state championships in the 200 yard freestyle. Andrew Commins of Carrboro, a senior who won the 500 yard freestyle championship last year, claimed the 200 freestyle regional title at 1:43.01. Roman finished runner-up at 1:45.98.
Cedar Ridge’s Nikhil Agans, who won the 100 yard freestyle conference championship last week. came in 3rd in the 200 yard freestyle at 1:49.41. Agans also finished third in the 100 freestyle at 49.82 to qualify for the state championships. Lucca Battaglini of Durham School of the Arts claimed the gold medal in the 100 free.
In 2023, Agans finished fifth in the state in the 200 yard freestyle. It will be his third straight appearance in the state championships.
Orange’s relay team of Andre, Roman, Nicholas Baczara and Ayden Twiddy qualified for the state championships in two events. They finished third in the 200 yard medley at 1:48.86. Durham School of the Arts’ Battaglini, Carson Sheehan, William Gray and Vincent Battaglini claimed first place (1:43.53).
In the final event of the night, Andre, Baczara, Twiddy and Roman finished first in the 400 yard freestyle relay. Baczara, who swam the second leg, held a narrow lead at the end of his run, but Carrboro’s Grey DeWalt and Commins squeezed out a strong finish to propel the Jaguars to the championship with a time of 3:24.87. Orange finished at 3:29.13.
Baczara qualified for the state championships in the 200 yard individual medley and the 100 yard butterfly. In the individual medley, Baczara finished fifth at 2:13.46. In the butterfly, Baczara came in fifth at 57.62 seconds. Commins, who won two individual championships, claimed the butterfly title at 50.69.
Cedar Ridge freshman Christopher Seawell, who won the conference championship in the 50 yard freestyle last week, claimed a spot in the state championships in the 100 yard backstroke. Seawell finished fifth at 1:03.78. Lucca Battaglini won the state title at 49.50 seconds.
In regards to Orange and Cedar Ridge, there has only been one swimmer to ever win a state championship at any level. In 2018, Orange’s Ben Scott won the 3A State Championship in the 100 yard freestyle, finishing at 45.95 seconds. Scott made All-Big 8 Conference his senior year when Orange was coached by Mark Alford.
Ron Geib, the current coach of the Panthers, steered the Panthers to another strong finish on Saturday.