A season of change for Orange and Cedar Ridge swimming is headed to the home stretch with the Big 7 Conference Championships set for Tuesday.
Over the past six weeks, new stars have developed for the men’s and women’s teams.
The Cedar Ridge women’s team, which won the 2025 Central Conference championship, won a dual meet over Carrboro and Orange in its final regular season tilt at Homestead Aquatic Center on Friday. On January 8, the Red Wolves women celebrated its Senior Night by beating Orange and Woods Charter at the Orange County SportsPlex in Hillsborough.
Orange’s Piper White, who finished third in the 50 meter freestyle during the 3A State Swimming Championships at the Triangle Aquatic Center in Cary last year, won the 100 yard freestyle in Friday’s meet in Chapel Hill. White, who has already qualified for the 5A Central Regionals, touched the wall first at 59.10 seconds, easily beating teammate Claudia Sadgrove, who came in at 1:07.44.
White also teamed with Ainsley Rasinske, Addison Moore and Emma Spey to win the 200 yard medley relay at 2:10.87, also earning a spot at regionals. White and Rasinske are one-half of the first Orange swimming relay team to win a state championship. In 2024, Katie Belle Sikes, Zoe Jones, White and Rasinske won the 200 yard medley individual state championship with White touched the wall ahead of Central Cabbarrus’ Audrey Wolff by eight-hundredths-of-a second on the anchor leg.
Among the new stars to ascend is Cedar Ridge freshman Wren Brand, who qualified for the 50 yard freestyle and the 100 yard breaststroke on Friday. Brand won the 50 yard at 25.85 seconds, well ahead of Carrboro’s Anna Hartsell (28.68). Brand also claimed the breaststroke at 1:17.76, edging out teammate Margaret Payton by two-hundredths-of-a-second.
Cedar Ridge’s Payton also won the 200 yard freestyle at 2:10.23, edging White out for first place. Red Wolf sophomore Natalie Kunz finished third at 2:23.34
Brand also swam the anchor led as the Cedar Ridge women took the 200 yard and 400 yard freestyle events. In the 200, Margaret Payton, Hala Zafar, Natalie Kunz and Brand finished at 1:52.16, beating out Carrboro’s team, which finished at 1:58.90. Cedar Ridge also claimed the 400 yard freestyle with Payton, Eden Pollard, Kunz and Brand finishing at 4:20.34. Orange’s team of Claudia Seagroe, Molly Kruse, Valeria Olguina and Reilly Jermyn finished second at 4:58.94.
Orange’s Emma Spey earned an automatic spot in regionals in the 100 yard butterfly, coming in second at 1:15.97. Carrboro’s Phoebe Loughery finished first at 1:13.44.
The Orange men’s team has won four consecutive conference championships behind the leadership of Luke Roman, who was named the Most Outstanding Swimmer of the 2025 3A State Championships. Roman, who graduated last June, is now at N.C. State.
The Orange men ended the regular season by edging Carrboro 69-64 in the final dual meet. Orange also defeated Cedar Ridge 74-55.
The Panthers took both relay events. Colin Wuthrich, Silas Rowe, Luke McCrary and Jason Spey won the 400 yard freestyle at 3:51.45. Wuthrich, McCrary, Spey and Rowe also teamed to take the 200 yard medley relay at 1:57.78, nearly five seconds ahead of Carrboro.
Cedar Ridge sophomore J.E. Sandor took the 500 yard freestyle, earning a spot in regionals at 5:14.50. Spey finished second at 5:27.12
In the 100 yard backstroke, Cedar Ridge junior Christopher Seawell finished first at 1:01.83. Rowe came in second at 1:07.41.
Last year, Seawell finished 14th in the State Championships in the 100 yard freestyle. He has also qualified for regionals in the 50 yard freestyle.
Cedar Ridge’s Zion Greene qualified for regionals in the 500 yard freestyle earlier this month. Green finished 2nd against Orange at 6:27.97. Orange’s McCrary finished first.
On January 8, Cedar Ridge seniors Zafar, David Golden, Terra Proctor and Simon Salazar-Coronado were honored.
The first Big 7 Conference Championships will be held at the Orange County SportsPlex on Tuesday night.
