Last Thursday, Luke Roman became just the second men’s swimmer in Orange history to win a state championship. If Roman had not won, then his teammate Alex Andre would have. Roman and Andre finished in the top two in the 500 yard freestyle at the 3A State Championships inside the Triangle Aquatic Center in Cary….
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Over the seven years of this website, we’ve covered elite athletes at Cedar Ridge and Orange High Schools. Each one that carved out a unique place in history had distinct physical characteristics. It became their trademark, a symbol that became theirs alone, accomplishing feats so special that finding a duplicate in the future would be…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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….
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In the final days of January, the Orange men’s swimming team is in a familiar position. This Saturday, they will head to the Greensboro Aquatic Center with hopes of winning the 3A Central Regional Championship. Last year, they finished runner-up in regionals to Carrboro. Following that, it will be the 3A State Championships at the…
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It was the final swim inside the pool at the Orange County Sportsplex for Orange senior Katie Belle Sikes on Wednesday night. Sikes started swimming at the Sportsplex when she was seven years old. She had no idea at that time what was ahead–three individual state championships, five regional championships and a scholarship to swim…
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The Orange High swimming record book now looks really repetitive. On the women’s side, it just says “Katie Belle Sikes’ over and over. Going into her Senior Night meet at the Orange County Sportsplex on Thursday night, the only school record that Sikes hadn’t broken was the 100 yard breaststroke. Naturally, that one was the…
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