For the second year in a row, the Orange men’s swimming team has followed a Central Carolina Conference championship with a runner-up finish in the Central Regionals.
On Friday at the Greensboro AquatIc Center, the Panthers has two Silver Medals from Sophomore Luke Roman and two bronze medals from senior Evan Phillips to finish with 252 points. Carrboro claimed its second straight 3A Central Regional title with 376 points.
Roman, who captured three gold medals at the CCC Championships on January 25 at the Orange County Sportsplex, finished 2nd in the 200 yard freestyle. He set a new school record at 1:47.43. Carrboro junior Andrew Commins took the gold medal at 1:44.00. Orange’s Alex Andre finished fourth, also qualifying for the 3A State Championships, with a time of 1:51.54.
In the 500 yard freestyle, Roman had another school record at 4:52.23, good enough for second place. Commins took the gold medal at 4:41.69. Andre finished fourth, earning another spot in the state championships, at 5:05.20.
Roman also teamed with Phillips, Alexander Andre and Andrew Weeks to finished 2nd in the 200 yard medley relay. The quartet, with Roman swimming the anchor leg, finished at 1:46.96. They finished less than a second behind the Durham School of the Arts team of William Gray, Dreizin Ginsberg, Lucca Battaglini and Carson Sheehan, who finished at 1:46.07.
Roman, Phillips, Alexander and Weeks also qualified for the state championships in the 400 yard freestyle relay. They finished third with a time of 3:28.23. Carrrboro’s team of Commins, Matt Strada, Will Thompson and Sam McCallion finished first at 3:18.84.
Phillips, who also won three conference championships in Hillsborough, came in third in the 200 yard individual medley. He set a new personal best time of 2:07.25. William Sikes of Northwood captured the regional title at 2:01.23.
In the 100 yard breaststroke, Phillips finished third at 1:03.40, another personal best to advance to the state championships.
Orange senior Andrew Weeks qualified for the 100 yard backstroke. Weeks finished fourth after he touched the wall at 1:00.29. Carrrboro’s Will Thompson finished first at 50.23 seconds.
The State Championships will be held on Saturday at the Cary Aquatic Center.
Cedar Ridge’s junior Nikhil Agans, who won the CCC Championship in the 200 yard freestyle, earned the bronze medal in the same event at regionals. Agans touched the wall at 1:47.77, but a fraction of a second behind Roman. Agans also qualified for the state championships in the 100 yard free. Agans came in fourth at 49.92 seconds. Carrboro’s Thompson captured the regional title at 46.44 seconds.
Cedar Ridge finished 11th in the men’s team standings with 95 points.
The Panthers, who won the Central Carolina Conference championship for the second year in a row, had six male swimmers earn a spot on the podium at regionals. Last year there were five.
In 2022, Roman finished 2nd in the 200 yard freestyle.
This year, the Panthers were without diver Stanz Zitko, a diver who won four consecutive 3A/2A/1A Central Regional Championships during his stint at Orange. Zitko, who graduated last summer, finished 2nd in the State Championships last February.
Orange has only had one male swimmer win a state championship in school history. In 2018, Ben Scott won the 3A State title in the 100 yard freestyle with a time of 45.95 seconds.