Panther swimming provides new state qualifier

Rust from the winter break didn’t decelerate the Powell High School boys’ swim and dive workforce, because the Panthers added one new qualifier at an invitational in Worland on Friday to kick off the brand new yr.

That new qualification got here from Gabe Buchholz, who completed simply forward of the qualifying normal within the 100 freestyle with a time of 58.29 seconds to take fifth general.

“A big relief for him for sure,” coach Stephanie Warren stated. “It’s been kind of the same thing with our other qualifiers last year that qualified late. It’s a little bit more stress on them, I think sometimes when they’re pushing it to that last meet. But having it done early gives them a chance to kind of relax and focus on other events and learn other things.”

Facing powerful competitors within the meet, together with the highest two groups in 3A the previous 4 seasons in Lander and Buffalo, Powell swimmers had been as much as the duty, together with Hugh Carpenter, who positioned second within the 200 IM with a time of two:16.5 and third within the 100 butterfly with a time of 58.67 seconds.

“Any time we get a chance to see Lander, it’s always a good chance for them to swim against faster swimmers. Because we always know they’re going to be the ones that we’re going to swim fastest against,” Warren stated. “Continuing to see Buffalo is always nice too, because they’ve got some really great swimmers, and getting to see them more than a couple of times is always really good to push the boys and just see where everyone lands.”

Those had been the 2 highest placements for the Panthers, however the workforce added numerous different prime 5 finishes, as Will Fuller positioned fifth within the 200 IM (2:27.84) and the five hundred free (6:24.91); Tyler Kruger took fifth within the 50 free (25.59) and Dayton Lawrence positioned fifth in diving with a rating of 145.55.

Powell added a brand new occasion for one Panther to compete in, as Sam Williams joined Lawrence on the board for the primary time after deciding over winter break to start diving along with swimming.

“He learned six dives in about five practices and he wanted to go ahead and give it a shot,” Warren stated. “He’s interested in diving, he’s actually catching on pretty quickly. It’s kind of nice for Dayton to have someone to dive with once in a while.”

In the workforce standings Lander took the highest spot with 449 factors, simply forward of Buffalo which had 411. Powell completed fourth with 304 factors, behind Cody with 362 however properly forward of host Worland at 190.

Powell now returns house for its marquee occasion of the season, internet hosting the Gene Dozah Invitational at 10 a.m. on Saturday.

That occasion is presently anticipated to characteristic a majority of convention foes for the Panthers, as they are going to welcome in Buffalo, Cody, Newcastle and Worland.

“We are continuing to look for the kids to keep making improvements,” Warren stated. “We swam and worked hard over break … They’ve been continuing to do their best to stay in shape and to do everything that they can to keep getting those times to drop down. We hope to see some good competition and some good swims compared to the other teams that come.”

The Saturday invitational would be the second-to-last likelihood to see the Panthers at house — the final is a house triangular on Jan. 23.

WORLAND INVITE

* Denotes state qualifying mark

Team scores — 1. Lander 449, 2. Buffalo 411, 3. Cody 362, 4. Powell 304, 5. Worland 190

200 medley relay — 3. Will Fuller, Gabe Buchholz, Tyler Kruger and Hugh Carpenter 1:56.5; 7. Kooper Arends, Gabe Leighton, Hunter Taylor and Sam Williams 2:12.67

200 free — 6. Trystan Preator 2:11.4, 9. Kooper Arends 2:30.03

200 IM — 2. Hugh Carpenter 2:16.5*, 5. Will Fuller 2:27.84*, 11. Sam Williams 2:45.55, 14. Gabe Leighton 3:05.88

50 free — 5. Tyler Kruger 25.59*, 8. Gabe Buchholz 26.28, 11. Hunter Taylor 27.34

1-meter diving (six dives) — 5. Dayton Lawrence 145.55, 8. Sam Williams 79.25

100 fly — 3. Hugh Carpenter 58.67*, 6. Tyler Kruger 1:04*

100 free — 5. Gabe Buchholz 58.29*, 9. Kooper Arends 1:06.03, 16. Ethan Haslem 1:20.78

500 free — 5. Will Fuller 6:24.91

200 free relay — 6. Trystan Preator, Sam Williams, Tyler Kruger and Hunter Taylor 1:48.83

100 again — 10. Trystan Preator 1:13.53

100 breast — 7. Hunter Taylor 1:21.15, 14. Gabe Leighton 1:39.4

400 free relay — 3. Hugh Carpenter, Gabe Buchholz, Trystan Preator and Will Fuller 3:47.27