CARY–It was a chance to do something unprecedented in Orange High history.
It was also their last chance.
As the Orange men’s 4×400 freestyle relay team walked to the blocks amid a parade of swimmers amid fireworks and the sound of Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song” blaring over the speakers, this was more than just the last race of the 3A State Championships on Friday night.
This was the end of the golden era of Orange men’s swimming.
Yet the Panthers had never won a state championship in a relay event.
As Noah Jones completed the third leg of the race, he trailed Lake Norman Charter’s Jack Rodgers by .53 seconds. Luke Roman, in the final two laps of his career, would determine if his teammates would become the first of their kind.
Squared up against Neil Hart, Roman put the Panthers back in the lead roughly 25 yards after diving from the blocks. Roman completed his first lap at 22.45 seconds, putting Orange ahead by .47 seconds. Roman’s second lap would turn a narrow Orange victory into a comfortable one, but dramatic nonetheless. He touched the wall for the final time at 3:18.18, beating Lake Norman Charter’s time of 3:20.69.
With that, Alexander Andre, Ayden Twiddy, Noah Jones and Luke Roman would be the first state championship relay team in Orange men’s swimming history.
It was the perfect end for Roman as he laid claim to being the greatest male swimmer in Orange men’s history. He claimed the 500 yard and 200 yard freestyle state championships on Friday night, ending his career with three individual and one relay state championships.
Roman was named the Most Outstanding Male Swimmer of the 3A State Championships, the first Panther ever to earn the honor.
“I don’t even know if I can explain how I felt,” Roman said about his final 100 yards as a Panther. “It was a full circle moment. It was so exciting. All I wanted to do was win so badly for my teammates, for my parents, for my loved ones, my coaches. That last 100 yards was electric.”
It also marked the end of the golden era of Orange swimming. Roman, Andre, Twiddy, Jones and Nick Baczara are five seniors who joined the program during the pandemic. Together, they won four Central Conference championships and the first 3A Central Regional title in program history.
Andre, who finished third in the 200 yard individual medley, put Orange ahead in the relay race with an opening lap of 50.46 seconds.
“This is a special championship because we’re all seniors,” Andre said. “They have been my dogs since my freshman year. It was really special to win our last race together.”
While Katie Belle Sikes won Most Outstanding Female Swimmer last year to culminate a career that included five individual state championships, she went into last February knowing her college career would take her to waters at the University of Georgia.
In Roman’s case, there was a sense of finality.
Several colleges have inquired about Roman’s availability, but first and foremost on his mind is medical school.
“I feel like I went through that wall when I touched it,” Roman said. “It was really special this being my last state championship. On our senior day, we talked and poured my heart out to them. I told my teammates and coaches how special they’ve been to me. I couldn’t do anything without them.”
In regards to organized swimming, the relay race may have been the last lap of his life.
After beating out Carrboro to win the Central Regional championship last week, the Panthers finished 3rd as a team in the state championships. Lake Norman Charter captured the state championship with 256.5 points. Carrboro edged Orange for State runner-up with 170 points, compared to the Panthers with 164.
In his first individual race of the night, Roman won the 200 yard freestyle state championship. Starting with an opening lap of 23.67 seconds, Roman held off Rider Warner of East Lincoln at 1:41.55. Warner finished 2nd at 1:42.20.
For the second year in a row, Roman and Andre finished 1-2 in the 500 yard freestyle. Roman repeated as 500 state champion, leading every lap and closing at 4:40.20. Andre earned the silver medal at 4:44.45. Grey DeWalt of Carrboro took the bronze in 4:46.99.
Roman won the 500 state championship last year. He won the 500 regional championship twice and the conference title four times.
Orange’s 200 yard medley relay team of Roman, Andre, Baczara and Jones finished 4th at 1:40.76. Forestview captured the state championship at 1:39.91.
Twiddy finished 9th in the state in the 100 yard freestyle. Twiddy also won the consolation race in the 200 freestyle at 1:51.66. Cedar Ridge senior Philip Cauwels came in 11th in the 200 free at 1:52.94.
Jones finished 16th in the 50 yard freestyle.
Cedar Ridge freshman J.E. Sandor finished 11th in the 100 yard butterfly at 55.30 seconds. Red Wolf sophomore Christopher Seawell finished 14th in the 100 yard freestyle.
