CARY–It was one last trip to Cary and the final pages of the greatest chapter in Orange women’s swimming history.
Together, Piper White and Ainsley Rasinske won three relay state championships. In 2023, when they were freshman, White and Rasinske teamed with Katie Belle Sikes (now swimming at the University of Georgia) and Riley White to win the 200 yard freestyle relay at the 3A State Championships, holding off a team from Northwest Cabarrus. It was the first swimming relay state championship, men’s or women’s, in school history.
A year later, Piper White and Rasinske won two more relay state championships. The first, the 200 yard medley, ended in storybook fashion when Piper White touched the wall ahead of Central Cabarrus’ Audrey Wolff by eight-hundredths-of-a-second to end the anchor leg. Later that night, Sikes swam a memorable final anchor leg, her swan song as a Lady Panther, to repeat as 200 free champions.
In 2024, the Orange women won the Central Conference championship at the Orange County Sportsplex and finished 2nd in the 3A State Championships.
White and Rasinske ended their swimming careers on Friday at the 5A State Championships at the Triangle Aquatic Center.
White had the best individual finish of her career, a runner-up in the 200 yard freestyle, to earn a silver medal. After leading following the first 50 yards, White finished at 1:57.18, behind only Peyton Stegman of South Brunswick at 1:55.99.
White earned her second individual medal of the day, and the third of her career, with a bronze in the 50 yard freestyle. She turned in a time of 24.52 seconds. Lily Hermans of Concord captured the gold at 23.69 seconds.
“It’s definitely bittersweet,” White said. “I’m happy and excited for the next chapter of my life. I’ve swam my whole life so I’m going to miss it a lot. I wanted to win the gold in the 200 free, but I dropped time so I’m happy with my performance.”
Not surprisingly, White highlights winning the relay championships as the highlight of her career.
“That was so awesome with Katie Belle, Ainsley and Riley,” White said. “I knew when I dove in for that anchor leg, I wasn’t sure if I could beat her (Wolff).”
White’s performance helped the Orange women finish fifth overall in the state championships with 129 points. South Brunswick ran away with the 5A Women’s State title, registering 232 points. Atkins High out of Winston-Salem came in 2nd with 170.
White and Rasinske narrowly missed out on one more relay medal together. Teaming with sophomore Addison Moore and freshman Emma Spay, they finished 4th in the 200 yard freestyle at 1:48.57. The bronze medal team from Concord came in at 1:48.51. White, Rasinske, Moore and Spay also came in 5th in the 200 yard medley at 2:02.03.
Orange sophomore Addison Moore came in sixth in the 200 individual medley at 2:25.63.
Another Panther sophomore Reilly Jermyn, a four-sport athlete who won the 5A East Regional cross country championship last fall, finished 13th the 200 IM (2:38.79). Jermyn also came in 15th in the 200 freestyle. Freshman Emma Spey came in 20th (2:17.31) in the 200 free.
Emma Spey also finished 11th in the 100 freestyle (1:00.24)
In the men’s championships, Orange junior Jason Spey finished 4th in the 500 yard freestyle at 5:16.43. Freshman Silas Rowe came in 14th in the 500 free (5:49.51).
Orange freshman Luke McCrary, who will start tennis practice on Monday afternoon under Orange coach Justin Webb, came in 13th at the 100 yard breaststroke at 1:11.84. McCrary also finished 14th in the 100 yard butterfly at 1:02.44.
The Panthers 200 yard medley relay team of Spey, McCrary, Colin Wuthrich and Rowe came in 13th at 1:54.81.
The Orange men finished 18th in the team standings with 47 points.
It was the first meet for Orange and Cedar Ridge swimmers since the Big 7 Conference Championships on January 16. Because of various winer storms, the 5A East Regionals were canceled.
