Piper White will leave behind her swimming career later this year, but she will float away continuing a tradition of excellence.
White has been named the Big 7 Conference Female Swimmer of the Year. It’s the fifth year in a row that Orange swimming has had a competitor honored as a conference swimmer of the year.
In 2025, Luke Roman was named Most Outstanding Male Swimmer of the 3A State Championships after winning two individual gold medals. Katie Belle Sikes, now a regular starter at the University of Georgia, was named Most Outstanding Female Swimmer of the Central Conference in 2022, 2023 and 2024.
In her final meet at the Orange County SportsPlex in Hillsborough for Orange, White came away with two individual conference championships. For the third year in a row, White won the 100 yard freestyle crown at 56.11 seconds, edging J.F. Webb’s Addison McHenry, who touched the wall at 57.19.
White also won the 200 yard freestyle, finishing at 2:02.28, finishing just three-tenths-of-a-second ahead of McHenry, who registered a time of 2:02.58.
White, who is the older sister of Orange volleyball player Sawyer White, has won six individual conference championships in her Orange career.
While she still has club swimming meets ahead at the SportsPlex, her final meet for Orange in Hillsborough did have some emotional weight.
“I think states and regionals will be a lot tougher for me,” White said.
This conference championship carried additional competition for White, along with all other competitors. The Carrboro women’s team finished third in the 3A State Championships last year. The Seaforth men finished third in the 2A/1A State Championships.
“I knew my competition so I knew what I was going up against,” White said. “It’s definitely a different atmosphere.”
White, who was a member of two 3A State Championship relay teams for Orange, swam the anchor leg as Orange captured the conference championship in the 200 yard freestyle relay. White, Ainsley Rasinske, Addison Moore and freshman Emma Spey led the pack with a time of 1:51.11. Carrboro’s team of Logan McCauley, Anna Wesley, Anna Harsell and Kyla Conner finished at 1:54.17.
While Orange had an established name at the top of the results sheet, Cedar Ridge had a new one.
Freshman Wren Brand earned her first conference gold medal. Brand took the 50 yard freestyle at 25.54 seconds, a good two seconds ahead of the runner-up, senior teammate Hala Zafar.
Brand, who started swimming competitively just two years ago, also earned the silver medal in the 100 yard butterfly (1:02.40). Carrboro’s Ellie Hill finished first at 1:01.83.
“I was a little bit in awe of this meet,” Brand said. “I’m a year-round swimmer so I expect these high-energy meets. But I feel right into the environment. I swam fast. I did my best.”
Orange sophomore Addison Moore earned her first conference championship in the 100 yard breaststroke. In the tightest race of the night, Moore beat Carrboro’s Kyla Conner by eight-hundredths-of-a-second for first place.
Cedar Ridge finished third in both the men’s and women’s meets.
Carrboro took both the men’s and the women’s championships.
Cedar Ridge sophomore J.E. Sandor finished with two silver medals. He came in second in the 200 yard individual medley at 2:08.32. Seaf0rth freshman Charles Mitler came in first at 2:03.27. Sandor also finished runner-up in the 100 yard butterfly at 57.17 seconds. Carrboro’s Josh Jones finished first with a time of 55.39 seconds.
Cedar Ridge junior Christopher Seawell earned All-Big 7 Conference honors, along with Sandor, after winning two silver medals. Seawell came in 2nd in the 100 yard freestyle at 50.44 seconds. Vincent Battaglini of Durham School of the Arts took the gold medal at 49.38 seconds.
In the 100 yard backstroke, Seawell finished runner-up with a time of 57;84 seconds. Miller earned his second gold medal at 54.40 seconds.
Cedar Ridge’s 400 freestyle relay team of Brand, Margaret Payton, Eden Pollard and Natalie Kunz set the school record at 4:05.36. The previous record was 4:07.29. Carrboro team of Conner, Eva Dziuba, Isla Van Hemert and Ellie Hill finished first at 4:01.65.
In the men’s 100 yard breaststroke, Orange freshman Luke McCrary narrowly missed winning his first gold. Carrboro’s Alex Delgadillo edged McCrary with a time of 1:10.45. McCrary finished at 1:10.87.
Cedar Ridge’s men’s 400 freestyle relay team of Sandor, Davis Golden, Simon Salazar-Coronado and Seawell earned the silver (3:48.84). Carrboro’s team of Zach Maiorana, Aaron Maiorana, Grey DeWalt and Josh Jones finished third.
It was the final conference championship meet for Cedar Ridge head swimming coach Amanda Jones. On the morning of the championship meet, Jones emailed her team that she would step down after the 5A State Championships in February. Jones swam for Orange from 2015-to-2017 and has been the head coach of the Red Wolves for seven years. She led the women’s team to the 2025 Central Conference championship and helped Sophia Stinnett reach the Division I level. Stinnett is currently at freshman at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, NY.
