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CARY–It wasn’t the last lap of her life. Far from it.

But it was Katie Belle Sikes’ last lap as an Orange Panther. As Ainsley Rasinske approached her, Carrboro’s Ellie Hill had just put the Jaguars ahead by .11 of a second in the 200 yard freestyle relay 3A State Championship final. The capacity crowd roared as Rasinske yielded to Sikes one more time.

Sikes final anchor leg would be one to remember.

In lane four, she dove in the water just behind Carrboro’s Avery Shuping. Like a blue streak underneath the aqua water, she surged ahead almost effortlessly and completed 25 yards in just over eleven seconds. Within an instant, Orange went from trailing to leading comfortably.

25 yards later, Sikes touched the wall as a Panther just once more. In her last high school race, she clinched one final state championship.

If there was a way to freeze that moment for just a little longer, Sikes would have.

Orange, comprised of Sikes, Rasinske, Riley and Piper White, won the relay at 1:39.23, three full seconds ahead of Carrboro’s time of 1:42.30.

Sikes had earned individual titles since she was a freshman. She became the first female swimmer from Orange to win a state championship as a sophomore when she captured the 50 yard freestyle in 2022.

When she formally signed with the University of Georgia last November inside Orange High Gymnasium, she said the only thing she had never done was help her teammates (or as she more commonly refers to them, “her friends”) win the 200 yard medley relay state championship.

On Thursday night at the Triangle Aquatic Center in Cary, Sikes erased the only blot on her otherwise spotless record.

Sikes, White, Zoe Jones and White opened the night with a tight victory over Central Cabarrus to take the state championship. Last year, Central Cabarrus edged Orange by .15 seconds for the gold medal.

Piper White completed the freestyle in 24.48 seconds, edging Cabarrus’ Audrey Wolff by six-hundredths-of-a-second to take the crown.

“I think what’s really impressed us about Katie Belle over the four years we’ve known her is what a quality kid she is,” said Orange swimming coach Ron Geib. “Everybody sees her swimming prowess and it’s undeniable how fast she is. But that girl will cheer everyone from the newest member of our team to the most experiences member of our team. She’s just as happy as someone else winning as she is for herself winning.”

With four first place finishes, the Orange women’s team finished 2nd in the team standings, their best-ever showing. The Lady Panthers came away with 187 points. Lake Norman Charter won the state championship with 300 points.

Individually, Sikes was as strong as ever. For the third year in a row, she captured the 50 yard freestyle state title. The only minor quibble would be her time of 22.38 seconds was a tad shy of the 22.17 seconds she completed the race in last year, which set an event record and earned her automatic All-American status.

But her other individual race on Thursday night made up for it.

Sikes earned her second straight 100 freestyle state title at 48.76 seconds, setting a new state championship event record, regardless of classification. It was the 25th fastest time ever recorded by a high school swimmer in American history and earned Sikes automatic All-American status in two separate events.

For the second year in a row, Sikes was named the Most Outstanding Female Swimmer of the 3A State Championships. She’s the fifth woman to repeat as MOFS of the 3A championships dating back to 1992.

Sikes ends her Orange career with five individual state championships, three relay state titles (she was a member of the first Orange relay swim team, regardless of gender, to win a state championship in 2023) and seven individual regional championships.

Cedar Ridge junior Sophia Stinnett finished with her first individual state championship medal. After winning two championships at the Central Regionals on Saturday in Greensboro, Stinnett finished third in the 100 yard backstroke at 1:01.25 Abbey Cronin of Central Cabarrus took the gold. Stinnett also came in fourth in the 500 yard freestyle at 5:15.99. Madison Bowen of Croatan, in a thrilling finish, took first after Kathryn Ford of Fred T. Foard led almost the entire race.

Orange’s Riley White, another senior, also went out in style. She earned the bronze medal in the 100 yard butterfly with a time of 59.06 seconds. Carrboro’s Maya Lambers won the state championship at 55.83. seconds. White also came in fourth in the 200 yard individual medley at 2:11.77. Cedar Ridge junior Quinn McCrimmon finished tenth. Kaylee Eggers of Rocky Mount earned the state title.

Orange sophomore Piper White finished sixth in the 50 yard freestyle. She came in seventh in the 100 yard freestyle.

Cedar Ridge junior Quinn McCrimmon finished 10th in the 200 yard individual medley. McCrimmon also came in 13th in the 100 yard butterfly.

Cedar Ridge’s 400 yard freestyle relay team of Stinnett, McCrimmon, Sierra Godfrey and Hala Zafar finished 14th.

CARY–It turns out the two best 3A 500 yard freestyle swimmers in the state have been practicing together for years.

And they’re on the same team.

Just like the fierce inner-team competition between Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen drove the Chicago Bulls to six NBA championships in the 1990s, Luke Roman and Alex Andre were the dynamic that steered Orange men’s swimming to the Central Conference championship for the third straight year this winter.

Often, the best swimmer that Roman and Andre would face in a given week wouldn’t be from an opposing team in a dual meet.

It would be in practice against each other at the Orange County Sportsplex on many a weekday morning.

The ultimate proof came in the 3A State Championships at the Triangle Aquatic Center in Cary on Thursday night, when Roman and Andre were paired alongside each other in the 500 yard freestyle finals.

Roman would walk away with the 3A State Championship at 4:41.62.

Andre, situated one lane to the left of Roman, beat Carrboro’s Matt Strada to the wall for second place with a time of 4:44.45. Strada took the bronze at 4;47.37.

Roman, in lane four, led after completing the first lap in 24.94 seconds. Strada would briefly take the lead after lap three, but Roman came back and reassumed command by .15 of a second following the fourth turn. Andre would surpass Strada on lap five, but Roman delivered his best moments in the final stages. He lengthened his lead to 2.1 seconds going into the bell lap.

Roman becomes just the second male swimmer in Hillsborough history to win a state championship. The only other champion was Orange’s Ben Scott, who won the 2018 3A 100 yard freestyle title.

“It’s means so much to me,” Roman said. “I got so emotional when I saw the first place on that scoreboard. Swimming is kind of like a life cycle. I go to school, I swim and I feel like that’s all I do. In the end, I’ve wanted this for such a long time. I’ve been praying so long for this.”

It was a twist of fate from the 2023 3A State Championships. In the sane pool, Andre finished third in the 500 while Roman came in seventh. Facing Andre on a daily basis helped make him a state champion.

“It definitely gets a little competitive,” Roman said. “But we’ve been swimming all of our lives with each other. So it’s something that we’re used to. I love it in the end.”

Earlier in the day, Andre finished fifth in the 200 yard individual medley at 2:00.82. Strada won the gold with a time of 1:55.95.

“By constantly pushing each other in practice, we make each other better,” Andre said.

Roman wound up with two medals on the day. He captured the bronze in the 200 yard freestyle. Andrew Commins of Carrboro took the gold with a time of 1:3.96. Owen Lin of J.H. Rose earned the silver.

“I couldn’t be happier for Luke,” said Orange Swimming coach Ron Geib. “Luke has battled his own mindset sometime and he’s defeating himself when he can win. He’s now proved to himself that he can win at this level. It’s always been there. It’s just a matter of getting over that mental hurdle.”

The elusive state championship completes a dominant year for Roman. Two weeks ago, he lapped the field to win the 500 yard freestyle in the Central Conference Championship in Hillsborough. On Saturday, he took the gold medal in the Central Regionals in the 500, swimming’s marathon race. It’s so lengthy, teammates are stationed at the end of the pool to hold up placards signaling how many laps a swimmer has remaining.

“When you’re doing a 500 yard race, that’s tough,” Geib said. “To be down in the pool and not relent, it’s huge.”

Cedar Ridge’s Nikhil Agans, a senior, finished seventh in the 200 yard freestyle. In the 100 yard freestyle, Agans reached the finals and came in 8th.

In the opening event of the men’s finals, Andre, Roman, Nicholas Baczara and Ayden Twiddy finished 9th in the 200 yard medley relay. After finishing 9th in prelims on Thursday morning, the quartet won the consolation race at 1:46.21.

To close the night, Andre, Baczara, Twiddy and Roman came in 5th in the 400 yard freestyle relay. Carrboro, which claimed the team state championship, won the 400 relay state title.

ROXBORO–In a best-case scenario, the Orange men’s basketball team could have wrapped up the Central Conference regular season championship in Roxboro on Tuesday night.

But the terms “best-case scenario” and “Roxboro” never belong in a sentence together for Orange.

Certainly not on Tuesday night.

As Person defeated Orange 74-68 in Rockets Gymnasium, the race for the conference championship suddenly got more interesting on several fronts.

Orange (11-11, 9-1 in the Central Conference) now leads Eastern Alamance by one game in the loss column for first place with nine days remaining in the regular season. The Eagles defeated Cedar Ridge 72-50 in Mebane on Tuesday to improve to 7-2 in the Central Conference.

Following its Senior Night contest against Southern Alamance this Friday, Orange will travel to face Eastern Alamance on the final night of the regular season February 16.

It was Orange’s fourth straight loss inside Rockets Gymnasium. The Panthers haven’t won in Roxboro since December 15, 2015.

Orange center Ryan Honeycutt, the only senior to regularly start for the Panthers, will miss the rest of the season after suffering a broken thumb following a hard foul against Cedar Ridge in the third quarter on Friday night. Honeycutt’s thumb was in a cast as he watched the game from the bench and won’t be removed for another six weeks, which will cut into baseball season, his top sport.

Losing Honeycutt removed a top finisher and a valuable, experienced rebounder for an Orange team that was fully healthy for the past 12 games, a stretch where the Panthers had gone 9-3 and had won eight straight. Without him, Orange’s offense looked off kilter against the Rockets early.

Then Orange’s leading scorer, Coleman Cloer, was hit with three fouls in the opening quarter, two of which came off the ball. It forced Cloer, who wasn’t called for a foul in either of Orange’s two games last week, to the bench for the entire second quarter.

Not that Cloer was alone in getting in foul trouble. Person’s top two scorers, Lance Clarke and DaeJon Hodge, each picked up two fouls in the first half. Clarke didn’t play in the second quarter, either.

But Person still had finishers. Orange’s last lead in the game came at 4-2 following a drive by sophomore Kai Wade. Without Honeycutt there to close out on him, Hodge drained a series of short, baseline jumpers to put Person ahead 6-4. When Cloer picked up his third foul on an offensive foul on the weak side trying to gain position against Clarke, the Panthers went into a tailspin.

Person went on a 14-2 run that included two more jumpers from Hodge and a three-pointer from Quante Bowman that gave Person its largest lead at 20-8. The only period Orange’s offense was in a rhythm came in the final 4:30 of the second quarter when its three-quarters court press began creating turnovers. Junior Xandrell Pennix led the charge with eleven points in the second quarter, including two three-pointers. Orange finished the half on a 9-2 run behind two 3-pointers from Pennix and got within a point following a lay-in from Freddy Sneed.

In Orange’s 63-58 win over Person in Hillsborough last month, they hit ten 3-pointers. On Tuesday night, they were limited to four.

Cloer, limited to three points in the first half, came out like a hungry animal in the second half. He tied the game at 39-39 following a three-pointer from the corner where Orange got a rare fortunate bounce off a Person rim. The Rockets quickly summoned the lead for good when Clarke scored on a baseline jumper from 15-feet. Person’s Romello Snow, who didn’t score in the first meeting with Orange, dropped a quickly finger roll, the last of his eight points. After Sneed responded for Orange, Clarke drained a 3-pointer to put Person ahead 46-41.

The Rockets got balanced scoring in the fourth quarter to pull away. Reserve center Lamont Johnson opened with back-to-back field goals, the first of five different Person players to score in the final eight minutes. After Cloer was called for his fourth foul for using his off arm to shield a Person defender, Hodge hit a wing jumper to give the Rockets a 58-50 lad with 4:00 remaining. Clarke rebounded a miss by Johnson for a lay-in to increase Person’s lead to 60-50.

Cloer scored 19 of Orange’s 21 points in the fourth quarter, but the only other Panther to get on the scoring ledger late was Mason Robinson off a dunk set up by Cloer.

Orange made a late charge behind Cloer and actually got the lead down to 70-68 after he hit three free throws, but Clarke and Bowman each hit two free throws to put the game away.

As Orange left the floor following its first conference loss, the Rockets students showered them with “overrated” chants.

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is senior basketball guard Amiyah Ware. In her first year at Cedar Ridge, Ware grabbed the scene unlike any women’s basketball player in Hillsborough since possibly Tere Williams at Orange High in the mid-1990s, putting up scoring numbers never seen in town history. A transfer from The Burlington School, Ware set the county record by scoring 54 points in a game against Western Alamance on January 10, 2023. She broke a record that had stood since 1978. The following month in a win over Durham School of the Arts, Ware scored 51 points in a win at Sikes Gymnasium. She became the first player, regardless of gender, to ever score 50 points in a season in Orange County history. This year, Ware has been the leading scorer for a Cedar Ridge team that’s on track to make the state playoffs for the first time since 2018. The Red Wolves swept the season series from Orange for the first time since 2014. She scored 15 points in a victory over the Lady Panthers. Last month, Ware had a season-high 35 points in an overtime win over the Panthers. In November, Ware signed with Division II North Greenville to play college basketball.. While her career at Cedar Ridge will only be two years, she will leave a legacy in the record books that won’t be forgotten.

Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week: Amiyah Ware

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is senior basketball guard Amiyah Ware. In her first year at Cedar Ridge, Ware grabbed the scene unlike any women’s basketball player in Hillsborough since possibly Tere Williams at Orange High in the mid-1990s, putting up scoring numbers never seen in town history.

It is the final week of swimming season and several Orange Panthers are going for state championships. In the case of Orange senior Katie Belle Sikes, she will complete her legacy as the most accomplished swimmer in the history of Hillsborough. On Saturday, Sikes claimed two more individual regional championships at the Central Regional Championships at the Greensboro Aquatic Center. Sikes won the 50 yard freestyle regional championship for the fourth year in a row, ending with a time of 23.11 seconds. For the third consecutive year, Sikes captured the 100 yard freestyle title at 51.17 seconds. In both races, Orange sophomore Piper White finished runner-up behind Sikes. It helped the Orange women finish second in the Central Regional championships, its best-ever showing. On the men’s side, Orange had the top two finishers in the 500 yard freestyle. Junior Luke Roman won his first regional championship  at 4:45.59. His teammate, Alex Andre, finished 2nd at 4:50.54. Later that night, Andre won his first regional championship in the 200 yard individual medley. He touched the wall at 2:01.50 in the tightest race of the night. Carrboro’s Matt Strada finished second at 2:01.72. Sikes, Roman and Andre will join their teammates in the 3A State Swimming Championships on Thursday at the Triangle Aquatic Center in Cary. It will be Sikes final meet as an Orange Panther. She has three individual state championships in her career, as well as a relay championship with Riley White, Ainsley Rasinske and Piper White. In 2023, Sikes was named the Most Outstanding Swimmer of the 3A State Championships. 

Orange swimming’s Katie Belle Sikes, Luke Roman & Alex Andre talk winning regional championships

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If last week felt odd around wrestling circles, it was. For only the second time since the State Dual Team Wrestling tournament was instituted by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association in 1990, Orange wasn’t in the field of 32. Orange, Cary, Davie County and St. Stephens shared the record for most appearances in the state dual team tournament with 33 appearances each. Nonetheless, the seniors for Orange wrestling celebrated Senior Night in style with a 57-24 win over Eastern Alamance on January 18. Andre Hill and Jared Hutchins were honored for 100 career victories. Also honored were Colton Jones, a starter at 144 pounds who has 13 wins this year; Rylan Brummer, a starter at 215 pounds; Talan Pearley, who was injured last month after starting the season with seven pinfall wins, Canaan Graphics, a starter at 165 pounds, and Chris Winstead, who is 20-15 at 106 pounds this season. Orange will venture to Cameron this weekend to the 3A Mideast Regionals at Union Pines High School. The opening round starts on Friday. The top four wrestlers from each weight class will qualify for the 3A State Championships at the Greensboro Coliseum, starting on February 15. The championship rounds will be held on February 17. Last year, Orange’s Acoya Isley wrestled for the state championship at 195 pounds. 

Orange wrestling seniors discuss Senior night win over Eastern Alamance

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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.

GREENSBORO–The Katie Belle Sikes farewell tour made its latest stop in Greensboro, where she achieved her first individual success.

On Saturday, she helped Orange women’s swimming reach its greatest achievement as a team.

Orange came in second in the 3A Central Regional championships at the Greensboro Aquatic Center, its best-ever finish in the team standings. Orange came away with 239 points. Carrboro rode four first-place finishes to take the regional championship with 353 points.

Sikes won her sixth and seventh career individual regional championships on Saturday. For the fourth year in a row, she won the 50 yard freestyle at 23.11. Her own teammate, sophomore Piper White, earned the silver medal at 25.41.

As a freshman in 2021, Sikes won her first regional championship in the 50 yard freestyle. Sikes will go into the 3A State Championships at the Triangle Aquatic Center in Cary as the two-time defending state champion in the 50 free. Last year, Sikes broke the state championship record, regardless of classification, with a time of 22.17 seconds.

Sikes also repeated as the 100 yard freestyle regional champion for the third year in a row. She touched the wall at 51.17 seconds. Once again, White claimed the runner-up spot at 55.82 second. Alexis Krzyzaniak of Durham School of the Arts finished third at 56.94.

In 2023, Sikes won the 100 yard freestyle at 50.99 seconds. She is the defending 100 freestyle state champion, as well.

On the day, Sikes claimed four gold medals, two individual and two relay titles. While she has won individually since her freshman year, Sikes said helping Orange to its best-ever showing as a team meant a lot to her.

“I’ll remember the team culture and getting to be here with all my friends,” Sikes said. “I’ll remember making some fond memories with them and making my coaches proud.”

Cedar Ridge junior Sophia Stinnett, coming off winning the 500 yard freestyle in the Central Conference championships last week at the Orange County Sportsplex, won the first two regional titles in her career. Stinnett claimed the regional championship in the 500 yard freestyle by over seven seconds. Stinnett touched the wall at 5:15.59, beating Carrboro’s Avery Shuping, who finished at 5:22.86.

Stinnett surprised herself with the individual championships.

“I just wanted to have fun and race the people around me,” Stinnett said. “I really didn’t expect to win either of my races. I just had fun and had a good time with my friends.”

Last week, Stinnett won the conference title in the 500 at 5:31.96. She will go into the state championships in the third and final heat. She will look to become Cedar Ridge’s first female state swimming champion since Becca Churchill, who won the 2014 3A title in the 100 backstroke.

Stinnett also won the 100 yard backstroke  at 1:01.17. Last week, Stinnett didn’t participate in the 100 backstroke in the conference championships. She qualified for regionals in the 100 backstroke on January 4 during a quad meet with Northern Durham, Chapel Hill, Riverside and Woods Charter.

Orange’s 200 yard freestyle relay team of Sikes, White, Ainsley Rasinske and Riley White captured its second straight regional championship. They finished at 1:41.63. Carrboro’s team of Maya Lambert, Anna Wesley, Frances Reed and Avery Shuping came in second at 1:47.90.

Cedar Ridge’s 200 freestyle team of Stinnett, Hala Zafar, Quinn McCrimmon and Sarah Latham qualified for the state championships with a fourth place finish. Stinnett swam the anchor leg and completed the race at 1:53.06.

Sikes, White, Rasinske and White are the defending 3A State Champions in the 200 yard freestyle. They are the only relay team in school history to win a state championship.

Orange also claimed the 200 yard medley relay regional title. Zoe Jones, White, Sikes and White finished at 1:53.45. Carrboro’s team of Wesley, Reed, Kyla Conner, and Ellie Hill came in second at 2:01.87.

Orange’s Riley White and Cedar Ridge’s Quinn McCrimmon both qualified for the state championships in the 200 yard individual medley. White came in second (2:13.07), behind Carrboro’s Lambert. McCrimmon finished third (2:22.17).

Riley White also finished runner-up in the 100 yard butterfly at 1:00.21. Carrboro’s Lambert took the gold at 58.83. McCrimmon also qualified for the state championships in the butterfly with a fourth place finish (1:03.32).

Orange’s Jones finished 5th in the 500 yard freestyle.

Cedar Ridge also finished 2nd in the 400 yard freestyle relay. McCrimmon, Zafar, Godfrey and Stinnett completed the race at 4:08.14. Carrboro earned the gold medal at 3:52.44.