Orange Swimming

It was the final swim inside the pool at the Orange County Sportsplex for Orange senior Katie Belle Sikes on Wednesday night. Sikes started swimming at the Sportsplex when she was seven years old. She had no idea at that time what was ahead–three individual state championships, five regional championships and a scholarship to swim at the University of Georgia. On Thursday night, Sikes was named the Central Conference Female Swimmer of the Year after she won three conference championships. She captured the 100 yard freestyle and the 200 yard freestyle. She won the 200 with a time of 1:53.92. In the 100, Sikes touched the wall at 50.81 seconds. Sikes also teamed with Riley White, Ainsley Rasinske and Piper White to win the 200 yard freestyle relay. Sikes, White, Rasinske and White won the state championship in the same event in 2023. Sikes is the defending 3A State Champion in the 50 yard and 100 yard freestyle. She has won the state championship in the 50 yard in 2022 and 2023. The Orange women’s team won the Central Conference championship on Wednesday night with 444 points. Now, Sikes will focus on the Central Regional Championships at the Greensboro Aquatic Center next Saturday. Sikes has won the last three regional championships in the 50 yard freestyle.

Orange senior Katie Belle Sikes discusses final meet at Orange County Sportsplex

It was the final swim inside the pool at the Orange County Sportsplex for Orange senior Katie Belle Sikes on Wednesday night. Sikes started swimming at the Sportsplex when she was seven years old. She had no idea at that time what was ahead–three individual state championships, five regional championships and a scholarship to swim at the University of Georgia.

The Orange High swimming record book now looks really repetitive.

On the women’s side, it just says “Katie Belle Sikes’ over and over. Going into her Senior Night meet at the Orange County Sportsplex on Thursday night, the only school record that Sikes hadn’t broken was the 100 yard breaststroke.

Naturally, that one was the next to fall.

Racing in the pool where she has trained nearly every day and honed the skills that made her the most successful swimmer in Orange High history, Sikes set a new record of 1:06.53 in the breaststroke. Sikes now holds the school record in all eight individual events. Earlier this month, she set a new mark in the 100 yard butterfly.

Sikes also won the 200 yard freestyle (1:59.62) on Thursday.

In addition, it was also Senior Night for Cedar Ridge’s Nikhil Agans and Catherine Latham. Agans, who finished fifth in the 100 yard freestyle in the 3A State Championships last February, won the 100 on Senior Night at 51.61 seconds. His teammate, freshman Chris Seawell, came in second at 54:32. Both automatically qualified for the 3A Central Regional Championships.

Agans also qualified for regionals by winning the 100 yard breaststroke at 1:09.37. Orange’s Benjamin Sirgany came in third at 1:21.21.

Latham teamed with Sophia Stinnett, Hala Zafar and Quinn McCrimmon to finish second in the women’s 200 yard medley relay at 2:15.69, earning consideration for regionals.

In a quad meet that also included Western Alamance and Walter Williams, the Orange men’s and women’s teams each earned three head-to-head wins to close the Central Conference season undefeated. The Orange men defeated Williams 124-19, defeated Cedar Ridge 103-51 and handled Western Alamance 120-24.

The Orange women held off Cedar Ridge 103-63, defeated Williams 104-40, and routed Western Alamance 109-30.

The Cedar Ridge men won over Williams 82-26 and defeated Western Alamance 77-34. The Cedar Ridge women defeated Williams 103-49 and won over Western Alamance 103-45.

For the Orange men, senior Nick Baczara teamed with Luke Roman, Ayden Twiddy and Alex Andre to win two relay events: the 400 yard freestyle and 200 yard medley relay. In both cases, they qualified for regionals

Boczara also won the 200 yard freestyle at 2:04.59.

Orange junior Alex Andre captured two first place finishes individually. He touched the wall first in the 200 yard individual medley at 2:04.69. He also won the 50 yard freestyle at 24.06 seconds, beating out Western Alamance’s Eamon Hipps (24.30). Chris Seawell of Cedar Ridge came in third (24.88), also qualifying for regionals.

Last season, Andre finished third in the 500 yard freestyle in the state championships.

Orange’s Ayden Twiddy won the 500 yard freestyle at 5:49.23.

Orange junior Luke Roman captured the 100 yard backstroke at 58.26. Last year, Roman finished 4th in the 200 yard freestyle in the state championships.

The Cedar Ridge Men’s 200 yard freestyle relay team qualified for regionals and finished first on the night. Agans, Phillip Cauwels, Jacob Olmstead and Seawell came in at 1:43.25. Orange’s team of Noah Jones, Colin Wuthrich, Andrew Jouannet and Dylan Cowan finished 2nd at 1:46.21.

Orange women’s senior Riley White won two events. She captured the 50 yard freestyle (26:09) and the 200 yard individual medley (2:19.00), earning spots in regional for both events.

Cedar Ridge junior Sophia Stinnett, a junior who finished sixth in the 2023 state championships in the 500 yard freestyle, won the 100 yard freestyle at 57.54 seconds.

Orange junior Piper White won the 100 yard butterfly at 1:04.33. Cedar Ridge’s Quinn McCrimmon finished second at 1:06.11, while Orange’s Zoe Jones finished 3rd.

The Cedar Ridge women’s 200 yard freestyle relay team of Sarah Latham, McCrimmon, Zafar and Stinnett won the event and earned a spot in regionals at 1:55.26. Orange’s Claudia Sadgrove, Ainsley Rasinske, Molly Kruse and Zoe Jones came in 2nd at 1:59.81.

The Orange women’s relay team of Sikes, Ainsley Rasinske, Piper While and Riley White, who won the state championship in the 200 yard freestyle relay last year, won the 400 yard freestyle on Senior Night at 4:04.01. Cedar Ridge’s Catherine Latham, Sarah Latham, Sierra Godfrey and Emily Habib finished seconds.

Though the Orange men’s and women’s swimming teams will celebrate its Senior Night at the Orange County Sportsplex, there won’t be much in the way of finality for the five seniors.

Next Wednesday, the Sportsplex will host the Central Conference Championship meet, which will give Katie Bells Sikes, Riley White, Harper Trost, Dylan Cowan and Ben Sirgany a chance to bid a proper farewell.

Last week, Sikes added another mark to her lengthy resume when she set the school record for the 100 meter butterfly, completing the course in 56.40 seconds. She broke the previous record that had stood since 2011. Sikes won in a meet against Chapel Hill, Jordan and Northern Durham at the Homestead Aquatic Center in Chapel Hill.

In the men’s meets, Chapel Hill edged Orange 123-118. Jordan defeated Orange 159-103. The Panthers won over Northern Durham 155-86.

In the women’s meets, Orange defeated Northern Durham 153-57. Chapel Hill held off Orange 159-98. Jordan defeated Orange 165-100.

Sikes also won the 100 yard backstroke, touching the wall at 1:00.69. For the second year in a row, Sikes has qualified for regionals in all individual events. She will be allowed to compete in only two of them, most likely the 50 yard and 100 yard freestyle. She is the defending 3A State Champion in both events, winning the 50 yard freestyle in 2022 and 2023.

In addition, sophomore Piper White set her best time of the season in the 100 yard freestyle. She qualified for regionals when she touched the wall at 58.90 seconds, good enough for a fourth place finish.

Orange’s women’s relay team of Sikes, White, Riley White and Ainsley Rasinske, who won the 3A State Championship in the 200 freestyle relay last year, finished first once again at 1:54.69. Jordan’s team came in second at 1:57.36.

Sikes, White, White and Rasinske also won the 200 yard medley relay with a time of 1:45.38.

Riley White qualified for regionals in the 500 yard freestyle with a season-best time of 5:39.76, finishing third. She also qualified for regionals in the 100 yard breaststroke at 1:13:04, just finishing behind the winner, Chapel Hill’s Alena Volpe (1:12.45).

Orange junior Alex Andre qualified for regionals in two events. In the 200 yard freestyle, Andre finished at 1:51.05, finishing third overall. Andre also registered a third-place finish in the 100 butterfly at 56.25 seconds, third overall. Northern Durham’s Chris Erickson finished first at 53.84 seconds.

Sirgany also qualified for regionals in the 200 individual medley, finishing third at 2:27.50. Orange junior Luke Roman, who has already qualified for regionals in the 200 IM, came in second.

On January 4, Orange defeated Walter Williams at New Millennium Fitness Center in Mebane. The Orange men won 123-20, while the women won over the Bulldogs 85-36.

Among the highlights for the men was Alex Andre automatically qualifying for the 200 individual medley. Andre also teamed with Roman, Nick Baczara and Noah Jones to win the 200 yard medley relay at 1:57.98, which earned them a trip to regionals at the Greensboro Aquatic Center.

Roman, who finished in the top eight in the state championships in the 500 yard freestyle last year, won the 50 yard freestyle at 24.39 seconds. It was the first time that Roman earned a spot in regionals for the 50 freestyle. Roman also won the 100 yard breaststroke.

In the women’s meet, Zoe Jones won the 200 yard freestyle at 2:18.34. Jones also earned a spot in regionals in the 100 yard butterfly with a time of 1:11.66, finishing only behind Sikes.

Piper White also qualified for regionals in the 50 yard freestyle, winning the event at 27.15 seconds.

In the 500 yard freestyle, Nick Baczara won the event, touching the wall at 5:52.59. Ayden Twiddy of Orange finished second.

Following the conference championships on January 24, the Central Regional Championships will be held on February 3 at the Greensboro Aquatic Center, where Orange raced last month during the Robert Sawyer Invitational. The State Championships will be held on Thursday, February 8 at the Triangle Aquatic Center in Cary.

Last year, Sikes was named the Most Outstanding Swimmer of the 3A State Championships after winning two individual state championships, along with a relay state title with White, Rasinske and White.

Two weeks ago, I was on vacation in Boone to visit my old stomping grounds at Appalachian State. Every time I talk to my old college friends, I have to fight the urge to say “Boone has changed so much” because I hate being repetitive.

But it has. Most of the restaurants and bars that I frequented in the late 1990s are something else now.

It was the 25th anniversary of my college graduation. I texted that to Amanda Smith, a friend who watched me finally walk across that stage at Varsity Gymnasium in December 1998. She simply replied with a gif of a clock with wings, flapping by with nothing limiting its headlong flight.

That’s how 2023 felt. From last winter, when Orange and Cedar Ridge wrestling each won conference championships. To the spring where Orange baseball pulled off an epic comeback in the state playoffs. To the fall when Orange and Cedar Ridge volleyball had memorable wins and Gabriel Schmid ended a legacy. It flew by.

It’s an unofficial list, but here are the top 10 Hillsborough sports moments from 2023.

10. Salomon Hernandez scores game-winning goal for Cedar Ridge men’s soccer against Western Alamance, September 20: The game against Cedar Ridge and Western Alamance at Red Wolves Stadium had been a fierce scoreless contest entering the final minutes. It appeared that the Warriors would break the scoreless draw with 27:36 remaining when Konnor Johnson lined up for a penalty kick. As Cedar Ridge goalkeeper Erik Galunas lined up, Johnson sent the shot wide right. With 4:36 left, Cedar Ridge Captain Iliah Babchenko stepped back for a corner kick. The corner was deflected by to Babchenko, who returned a cross into the penalty box. Hernandez timed his jump perfectly and made enough contact to knock it into the lower left corner of the net, setting off a wild celebration and leading to Cedar Ridge men’s soccer earning its first home game in the state playoffs since 2015.

9. Orange’s Acoya Isley wins 195-pound Mideast Regional championship, February 16: Going into the Mideast Regional championships at Cedar Ridge High last winter, Isley was the #2 seed in the 195-pound tournament with a 28-2 record. He faced the #1 seed Karin Sein of Eastern Guilford, in the championship match. It took only 41 seconds for Isley to score the match’s only takedown. To start the second period, Isley sunk in a half-nelson and scored back points when Sein suffered an injury and couldn’t continue. Isley became the first regional champion from Orange since Levi Anderson in 2019. Isley would eventually reach the 3A State Championship match at 195 pounds.

8. Cedar Ridge wrestling wins Central Conference Tournament championship:, January 21: 2023 will be remembered as the year where Cedar Ridge wrestling stepped out of Orange’s shadow. In December, Cedar Ridge defeated Orange in a dual match for the first time ever. The Red Wolves finished with 185.5 points behind individual championships from Fernando Martinez, Kaden Tatro, and Pierce Prescod. The success carried over into the following academic year. Cedar Ridge is one win away from taking its first regular season championship at the 3A level.

7. Orange lacrosse defeats First Flight to reach 3A/2A/1A East Region Final, May 9: Orange lacrosse hosted its first regional championship match in 2022 against First Flight. The Nighthawks drove over six hours from Kill Devil Hills and frustrated the Panthers with superior defense and a fabulous transition game that led to a 13-7 win. Last spring in the 3rd round of the state playoffs, Orange welcomed First Flight back to Hillsborough and had more offensive weapons. Tigh Metheny scored Orange’s first three goals while the Panthers held the Nighthawks scoreless for 18:56. The Panthers would host the regional championship game for the second straight year.

6. Cedar Ridge volleyball upsets Orange to win Central Conference Tournament, October 18: Possibly the biggest upset of the year locally in any sport. Orange had dominated the Red Wolves in its two previous matchups during the regular season. In the conference tournament title match, Cedar Ridge sophomore Claire Hargett had a career-high 24 kills. Senior Graylinn Serge finished with 12 kills and a season-high 24 digs. Cedar Ridge’s defense found a way to contain Orange’s taller outside hitters. Senior libero Natasha Buchler-Fosado had a career-best 25 digs as the Red Wolves won a conference championship for the fourth straight year.

5. Amiyah Ware scores 54 points, breaks Orange County basketball scoring record, February 3: Chances are Amiyah Ware would have set records late in 2022, but she was still recovering from a torn ACL that required her to miss the opening games. Once she got healthy, she etched her name in the record books permanently.  Ware scored 54 points against Western Alamance in Elon. She beat the county record set by Orange High’s Ronnie McAdoo set in 1978 when he scored 53 points against Southern Durham. Five days later, Ware scored 51 points in a win at Durham School of the Arts, becoming the first player, regardless of gender, in Orange County history to score 50 points in a game twice in the same season.

4. Orange baseball comes back from five runs down in the bottom of the tenth inning to beat Triton, May 12: Things looked bleak for Orange in the 10th inning against Triton in the 2nd round of the 3A State Playoffs. The Hawks got a three-run triple from Kenneth McCoy, then added an RBI single from Wyatt Avery to go ahead 8-3. Orange made its comeback 90 feet at a time in wildly random fashion. In the bottom of the 10th, Orange got five walks, three hits and a hit batter to make the greatest comeback in team history. Among the highlights was Garrett Sawyer, who had not had a plate appearance all year, somehow batting in the cleanup spot and drawing a walk with one out to score Jackson Berini and cut the lead to 8-7. After Neo Best, who was 0-for-5, tied the game with another bases-loaded walk, Wyatt Hedrick grounded a single up the middle to score Cameron Guentensberger to complete the comeback and send Orange to the round of 16.

3. Orange volleyball defeats Carrboro, wins 3A Eastern Regional championship, October 31: The 2023 Orange volleyball team never had the state championship as a goal. Since 2020, they hadn’t even been the best team in its own town, much less the state. Under first-year head coach Hope Heverly, Orange played ten straight matches away from home in late August and September. They won seven of them, setting up a undefeated run to the Central Conference championship. They avenged a loss to Carrboro in the Eastern Regional championship match on Halloween. Trailing two-sets-to-one, Orange won the fourth set 25-19. In the fifth, Katie Silcott scored the 14th point. Aubrey Jordan spiked home match point to carry Orange to a 15-9 win. Ella Wimsatt, the 2023 Central Conference Player of the Year, finished with 19 kills and 19 digs. Libero Sadye Porter, whose return to the team after sitting out her junior season can’t be underestimated, had 34 digs. Aubrey Jordan finished with 15 kills while Ava Wilkerson had 13 kills as Orange reached the state championship match for only the second time ever.

2. Gabriel Schmid repeats at 3A State Cross Country champion, November 4: Gabriel Schmid doesn’t live in his comfort zone. That’s how he went from not qualifying for the 3A State Cross Country Championships as a freshman to becoming just the second Orange High runner to win a state championship in cross country. On November 4, Schmid won his second 3A State Championship at the Ivey Redmond Sports Complex in Kernersville. He finished with a time of 15:14.75, a good 34 seconds ahead of the closest competitor. Last month, Schmid announced his commitment to run at N.C. State. Schmid improved on his time from the 2022 state championship that he won, also in Kernersville.

1. Katie Belle Sikes named Most Outstanding Swimmer of 3A State Championships, February 16:  In 2022, Sikes changed travel teams to a coach that encouraged swimming in high school competitions. Mind you, Sikes became the first Orange swimmer to win a state championship as a sophomore. Last February, Sikes won the 50 yard freestyle and the 100 yard freestyle state championships at the Triangle Aquatic Center in Cary. She set a new state record in the 50 yard freestyle (regardless of classification) at 22.17 seconds. It was the 10th fastest time ever recorded in a high school meet in American history. She won the 100 meters championship at 49.45, another automatic All-American time. She took the anchor leg in the 200 yard freestyle relay with Riley White, Ainsley Rasinske and Piper White, becoming the first relay team to win a state championship in Orange history. Sikes officially signed with the University of Georgia last month. She’s already qualified for five regional events this winter.

GREENSBORO–Taking a step away from Central Conference meets, Orange High swimmers Katie Belle Sikes and Luke Roman set school records during one of the largest regular season competitions just before Christmas.

Sikes set two school records at the event inside the Greensboro Aquatic Center that included 547 other swimmers from 25 schools, most of which were private schools and 4A institutions. Sikes won the championship of the 200 yard individual medley, setting the new event record of 2:06.43. Sikes also shattered the school record, which had been on the books since 2011.

Sikes shattered the meet record by a full three seconds. It was previously held by Mckenzie Campbell of Greensboro Page, who completed the event in 2:09.76. Campbell would go on to swim at Georgia Tech, where she qualified for the NCAA Championships twice in the 200 butterfly, along with the 200 individual medley and the 400 individual medley.

Sikes also set the school record for the 500 yard freestyle, an event she only occasionally competes in during the regular season. She finished at 5:11.02, breaking her own mark set last year at the Orange County Sportsplex. Overall, Sikes finished second behind Clarke Neace of Charlotte Providence Day, which competes in the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association. Neace touched the wall at 5:02.06. Like Sikes, Neace has committed to swim with the Georgia Bulldogs starting next August.

In the men’s ranks, junior Luke Roman established a new school record in the 500 yard freestyle. Roman won the event at 4:47.39. Vaughn Muir of Southwest Guilford finished second at 4:51.52. Roman has qualified for the 3A state championships in each of his first two years. Last February, Roman finished 7th in the 500 at the 3A State Championships. Roman also finished 4th in the NCHSAA Championships in the 200 yard freestyle.

Roman automatically qualified for the Central Regionals in the 500 freestyle, which will be held at the Greensboro Aquatic Center on February 3. In addition, Orange junior Alex Andre also qualified for regionals in the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:08.49. The benchmark for the 500 yard freestyle by the NCHSAA is 6:15.99. Last year, Andre finished 3rd in the state in the 500 at 5:05.20.

Orange freshman Jason Spey also earned a trip to regionals at 5:45.47.

Roman also earned a trip to regionals in the 200 individual medley at 2:05.21, a personal best. Bence Burton of Ronald Reagan High School won the event at 1:52.42. Nick Baczara of Orange qualified for regionals at 2:16.42.

Baczara earned a trip to regionals in the 100 yard butterfly at 1:00.54.

Andre also qualified for regionals in the 200 yard freestyle when he touched the wall at 1:54.54, good enough for seventh place. Muir finished first at 1:46.73.

Once again, the Orange women’s swimming 200 yard freestyle relay team of Sikes, Riley White, Piper White and Ainsley Rasinske qualified for the regional championships. They finished at 1:44.63, good enough for second place. Grimsley’s Gracie Hunt, Maeren McGonigal, Anna Davidson and Ellie Hunt finished first for the event at 1:42.76.

Last year, Sikes, White Rasinske and White won the 3A 200 freestyle state championship. They became the first Orange swimming relay team to ever win a state crown.

Piper White and Riley White each qualified individually for the 200 freestyle. Riley finished 5th (2:03.01) while Piper came in 17th (2:13.00).

Riley White also earned a trip to regionals in the 100 butterfly with a new personal best of 1:02.69, good enough for fifth overall. Brooke Bourn of Northern Guilford came in first.

Piper White qualified in the 500 yard freestyle at 6:01.82, 14th overall. It was a new personal best.

In the 100 freestyle, Rasinske earned a trip to regionals with a time of 1:02.41. It’s the first time that Rasinske has qualified for regionals in the event.

In addition to Sikes, Orange junior Zoe Jones also earned a spot in regionals in the 200 individual medley. She established a new personal best of 2:34.82.

The Orange men’s 400 yard freestyle relay team of Roman, Andre, Baczara and Ayden Twiddy qualified for regionals with a time of 3:46.59, finishing 13th.

In the overall men’s team standings, Orange finished 13th overall, which was highest among any other 3A school. Reagan High won the men’s team championship.

The Orange women’s team finished 10th overall at 169 points. Grimsley finished first with 407 points.

It doesn’t do enough justice to Katie Belle Sikes career to say she is the greatest swimmer in the history of Orange High School. She has accomplished many things that swimmers from neighboring schools with deeper pedigrees never reached individually. She is the only swimmer in school history to win a state swimming championship. In fact, she has won three individual state titles and a relay state championship with Riley White, Ainsley Rasinske and Piper White. Last year, she was named the Most Outstanding Swimmer of the 3A State Championships. In her freshman year, Sikes immediately served notice that she would be a force at the high school level when she won the Central Regional championship in the 50 yard freestyle. She finished second in the state. As a sophomore, she claimed her first state championship in the 50. Last year, she won the state championship in the 50 and 100 yard freestyle and earned automatic All-American status. In Orange’s first meet this season against Southern Alamance and Southeast Alamance, Sikes qualified for regionals in four different events. Last month, Sikes formally signed her letter of intent to swim at the University of Georgia, which has won seven NCAA Championships in women’s swimming. Sikes will continue her senior season at Orange in the Robert Sawyer Invitational  on Thursday at the Greensboro Aquatic Center, where she won her first regional title.

Orange state champion swimmer Katie Belle Sikes discusses signing with Georgia Bulldogs

It doesn’t do enough justice to Katie Belle Sikes career to say she is the greatest swimmer in the history of Orange High School. She has accomplished many things that swimmers from neighboring schools with deeper pedigrees never reached individually. She is the only swimmer in school history to win a state swimming championship.

It’s just the second week of high school swimming season and it’s already been a busy one for Katie Belle Sikes.

Last week, in her opening meet of her senior season at Orange at the Orange County Sportsplex, Sikes qualified for regionals in the 50 yard freestyle, where she is the two-time defending 3A State Champion. She also qualified in the 100 yard freestyle, a state championship she won last year, as well. She also qualified for regionals with Riley White, Piper White and Ainsley Rasinske in the 4×50 medley relay and the 4×100 yard medley relay. Sikes, White, Rasinske and White won the 4×50 state championship last year, the first relay team in Orange High history to win a state championship.

Orange defeated Southeast Alamance and Southern Alamance to win their opening dual meets of the year.

This weekend, Sikes took her considerable talents to the Speedo World Junior Championships. Competing at McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion on the campus of Ohio State University, Sikes finished second in the 50 yard freestyle among the East Region at 21.95 seconds. Sikes competed for her club team, East Carolina Aquatics, coached by Claudio Battaglini.

Only Julie Mishler of Syracuse, Indiana, who has committed to swim at the University of Louisville, finished ahead of Sikes at 21.87 seconds.

Sikes time in the 50 freestyle was also faster than everyone in the West Region except one swimmer. The West Region championships were held in Westmont, Illinois, just outside of Chicago, over the weekend.

In addition to her silver medal, Sikes also competed in the 100 freestyle at the World Junior Championships. She finished fifth in the 100 freestyle at 48.93 seconds. Sikes was one of only two competitors to finish in the top five in both the 50 and 100 yard freestyle. Jillian Crooks of North Carolina won the 100 meters after finishing 4th in the 50 yard.

Sikes also competed in the 100 yard butterfly, where she finished 21st.

Last month, Sikes formally committed to compete at the University of Georgia, a school that has won seven national championships in women’s swimming. She is the first female swimmer to win a state championship in Orange High history.

As a freshman, she won the Central Regional championship in the 50 yard freestyle and finished second in the 2021 state championships, which were contested in the midst of a pandemic. She has won the 2022 and 2023 3A State Championship in the 50 yard freestyle.

Sikes made the move to East Carolina Aquatics, where Battaglini put more of an emphasis on high school swimming. It led to Sikes being named the Most Outstanding Female Swimmer of the 2023 3A State Championships, where she won two individual state championships, along with the relay state title.

Before she could even form coherent thoughts, Katie Belle Sikes seemed to know she was born to be a swimmer before everyone else did.

When she was three years old, Sikes somehow eluded her parents attention and jumped off the diving board at her grandparents swimming pool. With no hesitation, she plopped herself into the deep end while she tried to reach a nearby ladder, where her brother was stationed.

The fact she had not learned how to swim yet didn’t stop her, though it did leave her parents horrified.

Yet before they could jump in the water, Katie Belle popped up from underneath and reached the wall much to everyone’s relief.

It was a harbinger of things to come.

On Wednesday afternoon, hundreds of workouts at the Orange County Sportsplex, dozens of trips with travel teams and high school competitions all led to a ceremony at Orange High School’s Gymnasium. It’s where Sikes formally signed with the Georgia Bulldogs, where she verbally committed last fall.

Georgia, a seven-time NCAA National Champion in women’s swimming, is home to Gabrielsen Natatorium, where Sikes first competed in middle school.

Katie Belle was accompanied in the signing ceremony by her parents Kristin and Thomas Sikes, along with her coaches Rob and Kristie Geib.

“I have so many emotions right now,” Sikes said. “I’m extremely excited. I have so many emotions for so many people. Swimming in Garbielsen Natatorium was very intimidating when I was in eighth grade, but also super exciting to be swimming in a poll where so many national titles had been won.”

Sikes quickly established herself during a freshman year that was anything but typical. In the pandemic year of 2021, she found herself practicing in reduced lanes due to COVID restrictions. She didn’t have one in-person class as a freshman. Sikes won the first of her six regional championships in the 50 yard freestyle at the Greensboro Aquatic Center and finished second in the 3A State Championships behind Olivia Rhodes of Charlotte Catholic.

As a freshman, she was named the Big 8 Conference Female Swimmer of the Year.

In 2022, she became the first female swimmer in Orange High history to win a state championship when she finished 1st with a time of 23.24 seconds.

The 2023 State Championships at the Cary Aquatic Center may have been the greatest singular athletic performance in the history of Orange High School. Sikes won two individual state championships. She set a new state record, regardless of classification, in the 50 yard freestyle at 22.17 seconds. It was the tenth-fastest time ever recorded by a high school athlete nationally, earning her automatic All-American status. She also set the 3A State Record in the 100 yard freestyle at 49.45 seconds, her first state title in the event.

Sikes swam the anchor leg for the 200 yard freestyle team with Riley White, Piper White and Ainsley Rasinske, which became the first relay team to win a state championship in Hillsborough history.

As a junior, she was named the Most Outstanding Female Swimmer of the 3A State Championships.

Of course, Sikes still has a senior year starting later this month. It wouldn’t be a campaign without new goals to aim for to complete a career that’s already firmly entrenched into the Orange High Hall of Fame.

“Last year, our freestyle medley relay was just shy of a state championship,” Sikes said. “I would really like to close out the season bringing both of our relay teams to state championships. I also would like to set another record in the 50 yard freestyle and another record in the 100-yard freestyle.”

Last summer, Sikes was named the HighSchoolOT. com Female Swimmer of the Year. She is a three-time USA Swimming Scholastic All-American. She has a 4.0 grade point average.

Three of Hillsborough’s most successful athletes have been nominated for the HighSchoolOT.com Honors, which will be held at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in downtown Raleigh on June 17.

Cedar Ridge senior Josh Mayhew will look to repeat as the Best Men’s Tennis Player after being nominated once again. He won the award in 2022.  In addition, Orange’s Gabriel Schmid was nominated for Best Men’s Cross Country Runner. Orange junior Katie Belle Sikes is a finalist for Best Female Swimmer despite being conspicuously missing from the list for Female Athlete of the Year.

Voting is taking place here.  

Anyone can vote once a day until the deadline on May 14.

Mayhew is the first Cedar Ridge men’s tennis player to reach the finals in the 3A State singles championship. Last week, he was named the Central Carolina Conference men’s tennis player of the year for the second straight season. As a sophomore in 2021, Mayhew reached the 3A NCHSAA State Singles title final, where he faced Chapel Hill’s Dennis Perumov. Mayhew defeated Soham Pradhan of Marvin Ridge in the semifinals 6-2, 6-4.

As a junior, Mayhew led Cedar Ridge to the CCC Men’s Tennis Team Championship. They reached the state dual team playoffs. In the 2022 3A State Singles Tournament, Mayhew defeated J.J. Woerner of First Flight 6-0, 6-2 in the opening round. In the quarterfinals, Mayhew rolled past Shiv Patel of South Point 6-0, 6-2.Mayhew defeated Ajay Swisher of St. Stephens 6-0, 6-1 in the semifinals. He faced Terry Sanford’s Drew Hedgecoe in the finals.

Mayhew will try to qualify for the state championships for the third year in a row this Friday and Saturday during the Mideast Regional Championships at the Burlington Tennis Center. He was the only player from Hillsborough to qualify for regionals this year.

In February, Sikes completed a season of domination with possibly the greatest athletic performance in school history at the NCHSAA 3A State Swimming Championships. She was named the Most Outstanding Female of the 3A State Championships. Sikes won three state championships. She won the 50-meter freestyle state title for the second straight year, setting a new state record at 22.17 seconds. It was the tenth-fastest time in American history in a high school meet.

Sikes also won the 100-meter freestyle state title at 49.45 seconds. Both the 50-meter freestyle and the 100-meter freestyle earned her automatic All-American status.

Sikes is the first female swimmer in Orange High history to win a state swimming championship. She also swam the anchor leg with Riley White, Piper White and Ainsley Rasinske to win the women’s 200 yard freestyle relay state championship. They are the first state championship relay team in Orange County Schools history.

Overall, Sikes qualified for regionals in all individual events this year. She was only allowed to compete in two of them.

In November, Schmid won the 3A State Men’s Cross Country Cross Championship on a humid day at the Ivey Redmon Sports Complex in Kernersville. Schmid became just the second runner from Orange to win a state cross country state title with a time of 15:44.289, 16 seconds ahead of Stephen Fernetti of North Lincoln.

Schmid continued to achieve big things after the state championship. Last week, he qualified for the 3A Mideast Outdoor Track & Field Regionals in the 1,600 meters and the 3,200 meters during a tri-meet at the John Kirby Sports Complex in Mebane. Schmid finished first in the 1,600 at 4:33.69. In the 3,200 meters, Schmid took first place at 10:04.72.

Last spring, Schmid finished 2nd in the 3,200 meters in the Mideast Regionals at Southern Lee High School. His teammate, Spencer Hampton, came in first. A week later at the 3A State Championships, Schmid finished 2nd in the 3,200 meters at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro.

Orange’s last individual state champion in men’s outdoor track and field was Jamar Davis, who was named the Most Outstanding Performer of the event in 2018. Davis, who was also a wrestler and soccer player, is now at N.C. State.

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is sophomore swimmer Luke Roman. It was another successful season for the Orange men’s swimming team, which captured the Central Carolina Conference championship and finished 2nd in the Central Region. Roman won the CCC Championship in the 200 yard freestyle and the 500 yard freestyle. At the 3A State Championships, Roman finished 4th in the 200 yard freestyle with a time of 1:46.48, a new school record. At the Central Regionals, Roman finished second in the 200 yard freestyle. He also finished 2nd in the 500 yard freestyle, again setting a new school record. Roman also teamed with Evan Phillips, Alex Andre and Andrew Weeks to finish 2nd in the 200 yard medley relay with a new season-best time in the regionals and advanced to the state championships. Roman, Andre Phillips and Nick Baczara finished 3rd in the 400 freestyle relay in the regionals, also advancing to the state championships. In 2022, Roman was named the CCC Male Swimmer of the Year. As a freshman, he won two CCC Championshipis: in the 200 yard freestyle and the 500 yard freestyle. Roman will spend the spring with his travel team before embarking on his junior year at Orange.

Orange Panther of the Week: Luke Roman

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is sophomore swimmer Luke Roman. It was another successful season for the Orange men’s swimming team, which captured the Central Carolina Conference championship and finished 2nd in the Central Region. Roman won the CCC Championship in the 200 yard freestyle and the 500 yard freestyle.