Orange Swimming

Men’s swimming: Senior Evan Phillips and sophomore Luke Roman each continued their strong seasons as the Orange men’s swimming team swept Western Alamance and Northwood in a dual meet at the Orange County Sportsplex on January 11. Phillips has now qualified for five separate events in the 3A Central Regionals. Roman, who finished 8th in the…

A year after he qualified for five different events in the 3A State Swimming championships, Luke Roman has already printed his name in the record book to start his sophomore season. In the opening dual match of the season, Roman set the Orange High record in the 200 yard freestyle at the Orange County Sportsplex…

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is Sandra McCouch. In June, McCouch graduated from Orange after a successful season on the swimming team. McCouch qualified for the 3A Central Regionals at the Greensboro Aquatic Center. McCouch teamed with Katie Belle Sikes, Melissa Campbell and Ellie Wileman to finish second in the 200 yard medley…

After becoming the first female Orange swimmer in school history to win an individual state championship, Katie Belle Sikes earned two spots on the All-Central Carolina Conference squad. In addition, Cedar Ridge freshman Sophia Stinnett made the All-Conference team. After leading the Orange men’s team to its first Central Carolina Conference championship, Ron Geib was…

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is sophomore Katie Belle Sikes, the 2022 3A State Women’s Swimming Champion in the 50 yard freestyle. Sikes is the first female swimming state champion in Orange High School history. Last Saturday at the Triangle Aquatic Center in Cary, Sikes won the 50 yard freestyle with a time…

When Katie Belle Sikes earned the right to choose her own walkout music for the 50-yard freestyle finals, she could only think of “Enemy” by Imagine Dragons. The fact that the Las Vegas-based band had actually performed at PNC Arena in Raleigh just hours before Friday’s NCHSAA State Swimming Championships at the Triangle Aquatic Center…

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is senior diver Stanislav “Stasz” Zitko. On Thursday, Zitko completed his Orange career with a 2nd place finish in the 3A State Diving Championships at the Pullen Aquatic Center. It was the third time in his career that Zitko medaled in the state championships. Last year, Zitko finished…

The path to success for senior diver Stanislav “Stasz” Zitko is quite different from his fellow athletes at Orange High. Swimmers typically work out in the morning because it’s the best hours available to train together at the Orange County Sportsplex, which makes them unusual in their own right since most other sports hold practices…

Katie Belle Sikes has spent a significant portion of her life under water. From the time she was in third grade, Sikes has been a daily fixture in the pools of the Orange County Sportsplex. Day after day of practice with the Orange Panthers swim team and the Hillsborough Aquatic Club has lead to her…