The Powell Panthers qualified 52 event slots for this week’s state track and field championships as the Panther boys finished as the 3A West regional runner-up on Saturday in Lander. Powell’s girls placed third overall.

Garrett Lynch set a new school record in the discus to open the 3A West regional meet in stellar fashion. Lynch flirted with the 170-foot mark before winning the competition with a distance of 169-9. Teammate Vince Sleep was runner-up with a throw of 149-2 as the Panthers qualified four for state in the discus with Riley Stringer fifth and Garrett Michael eighth.

“If he throws like he did today in Casper, he’ll go over 170 feet,” Powell High School throws coach Nevin Jacobs said of Lynch, who has owned the discus record since setting it last season.

Lynch didn’t fare as well in the shot put, an event where he was the state indoor champion and entered competition with the top outdoor throw in the state this season. The Panther junior fouled on all three of his preliminary distances, the last coming on a toss that teased the 55-foot stripe in the landing area, and took a no distance.

Lynch will still compete in Casper by virtue of having surpassed the qualifying standard in the shot put multiple times this season.

Lynch’s misfortune opened the door for Sleep to step up and claim the regional title for a second straight season with a throw of 53-7. Sleep’s winning toss came on his final throw of the finals, moving him up from second place in the standings. Once again, the Panthers dominated the event as Michael ended up with third place and Stringer fifth.

Elsewhere in the boys’ competition, Hayden Cragoe finished as the regional runner-up in the pole vault, one of four events he’ll compete in at state. Cragoe also qualified in the 110-meter hurdles and the triple jump by placing fifth in both events. He was sixth in the long jump and will compete in that at state as well.

Also qualifying in four events was Kalei Smith. Smith was fifth in the long jump, third in the high jump, runner-up in the 110m hurdles and fifth in the 300m hurdles.

Two-event qualifiers include Brendon Phister in the 300m hurdles and the pole vault, and Zander Andreasen in the 1600 and 3200 races. Both boys will also appear as part of Panther relay lineups as Powell advances all three relays to Casper.

On the girls’ side, KaDee Harrison was a regional runner-up in the 200 meters, clocking a time of 26.93 seconds in the finals. Harrison also qualified in the 400 meters and will run legs on both the 4x100 and 4x400 relays for Powell at state. Also due for a busy weekend at state is Anissa Warner, third place in both the high jump and long jump and fourth in the triple jump in Lander.

Gretchen Moretti added a third-place finish in the 3200 and was also sixth in the 1600 meters. Moretti will also be on the 4x800 relay as the Panther girls matched the boys’ feat of placing all three relay teams in the top four over the weekend.

Tori Sleep was a regional runner-up with a season-best discus toss of 125-1. Sleep also placed third in the shot put. Placing right behind her in both events was teammate Shawnea Harrington. Lex Brady also earned a spot in Casper for the Panthers’ throwing unit in both the shot and the discus.

Hurdler Danna Hanks placed fourth in the 100m hurdles and sixth in the 300m hurdles to advance to state in both races. Lexee Craig was also a double qualifier in the pole vault and long jump.

As a team, the Panther boys lost a narrow title chase with Star Valley atop the 3A West standings. The Panthers finished with 136 points, 11 in back of regional champion Star Valley. Cody (112) and Jackson (110) also had strong showings as there was a significant gap between the region’s top four and lower four programs.

On the girls’ side, Cody finished with 183 points to earn the regional title most predicted for the Fillies. The race was closer than anticipated, however, as Star Valley amassed 142 points. Powell was the only other school to reach triple figures as the Panther girls ended the weekend with an even 100 points.

The state track and field championships start Thursday at Casper’s Kelly Walsh High School.

Girls team standings: Cody 183, Star Valley 142, Powell 100, Lyman 67, Jackson 55.5, Mountain View 50.5, Pinedale 29, Lander 25

200 — 2. KaDee Harrison 28.44 in prelims, 26.93 in finals, SarahJean O’Neill 29.42

400 — 5. KaDee Harrison 1:04.14 in prelims, 1:02.15 in finals, 8. Brooke Lensegrav 1:02.75 in prelims, 1:08.99 in finals, SarahJean O’Neill 1:05.62

800 — 8. Bailey Sanders 2:30.50, Gretchen Moretti 2:36.66, Sierra Morrow 2:50.95

3200 — 3. Gretchen Moretti 12:45.60

4x400 relay — 2. KaDee Harrison, SarahJean O’Neill, Brooke Lensegrav, Bailey Sanders 4:16.54

4x800 relay — 4. Sierra Morrow, Breanna Donarski, Bailey Sanders, Gretchen Moretti 11:02.33

High jump — 3. Anissa Warner 5-1, Cassidy Lynn 4-7, Jace Sharp 4-5

Triple jump — 4. Anissa Warner 33-8, 6. Jada Swires 31-11, Brooke Lensegrav 29-8 3/4, Lexee Craig 29-1

Boys team standings: Star Valley 147, Powell 136, Cody 112, Jackson 110, Lyman 46, Lander 40, Mountain View 32, Pinedale 30.

100 — 5. Chris England 11.93 in prelims, 11.82 in finals, 6. Jakob Bowers 1.93 in prelims, 11.83 in finals, Garrett Lynch 12.10, Ty Herd 12.13

400 — 4. Mat Abraham 53.25 in prelims, 53.64 in finals, 7. Marshall McArthur 53.04 in prelims, 55.67 in finals, Blaise Gann 55.05, Brendon Phister 55.20

800 — Mat Abraham 2:04.24, Zander Andreasen 2:11.17, Andrew Feller 2:13.26, Nic Urbach 2:19.11

1600 — 7. Zander Andreasen 4:52.33, Andrew Feller 4:56.87, Nic Urbach 5:23.02, Teagan Cordes 5:28.28

110m hurdles — 2. Kalei Smith 15.88 in prelims, 15.64 in finals, 5. Hayden Cragoe 16.00 in prelims, 16.25 in finals, Kye Catlin 18.15, Zac Shuler 20.26

300m hurdles — 4. Brendon Phister 42.86 in prelims, 43.09 in finals, 5. Kalei Smith 43.95 in prelims, 44.39 in finals, Zac Shuler 45.73, Kye Catlin 45.79

Long jump — 5. Kalei Smith 20-4 3/4, 6. Hayden Cragoe 20-3 1/4, Ty Herd 18-2 1/2