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Luke Robertson, the PHS girls head swim coach, points out that several of his returning swimmers finished in the top six or top 12 or qualified for state last year.
Ten of the Lady Panthers who qualified for state in 2013 are back on the roster …
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Powell girls claimed second at state last year; 10 from that team return
Although the head coach can’t predict the team’s prospects this early in the season, the Powell High School girls swimming and diving team’s future looks bright.
The girls commence the season at 4 p.m. Friday in Lander. The next meet will be 2 p.m. the following Friday in Cody.
Luke Robertson, the PHS girls head swim coach, points out that several of his returning swimmers finished in the top six or top 12 or qualified for state last year.
Ten of the Lady Panthers who qualified for state in 2013 are back on the roster in 2014. They are junior Taryn Bohlman, junior Tristan Bohlman, sophomore Katie Brown, sophomore Emily Doughty, sophomore Katie Doughty, senior Stephanie Liggett, senior SarahJean O’Neill, senior Natalie Quillen, sophomore Aly Schneider and junior Amanda Tracy.
Jackson won the 3A girls title last year and Powell was second, followed by Buffalo and Lander, respectively.
“Jackson is a very solid team,” Robertson said.
It was the PHS girls’ best state finish since 1997, Robertson said.
Jackson had 351.5 points and PHS, 163 points. Buffalo came in with 134 and Lander, 132.5.
This year the PHS roster contains 26 athletes including eight freshmen, nine sophomores, four juniors and five seniors. From year to year, the team averages 25 to 30 swimmers, Robertson said.
Two of the seniors are home-schooled. Two sophomores are from Cowley and one sophomore is from Lovell, Robertson said.
Many of the girls are USA swimmers so they train year-round and are experienced in all swimming events.
“To have that flexibility is nice,” Robertson said.
He can’t predict this early how the season will evolve, but Robertson said he expects Jackson, Lander, Buffalo and Worland to have strong teams.
The focus now is simply training for the upcoming season. “You just do what you can do to get your girls as prepared as you can,” Robertson said.
To kick things off, the girls will be swimming lots of drills and flutter kicks. For breaststrokes the girls will practice whip kicks, Robertson said.
Robertson teaches physical education at Westside Elementary. He was the assistant girls swim coach for one year and has been the head coach for six years.
Bonner is the Powell Aquatics Center co-director. This is her sixth season coaching the Lady Panthers with Robertson.
