Get two more state qualifiers

Another week of competition brought two more state qualifiers and a slew of improved times for the Powell High School girls swim team.

PHS finished runner-up at a Friday quad in Worland — posting 595 points to their host’s 619 — and took fourth among eight teams in the Saturday Gene Dozah Invitational at the Powell Aquatic Center.

“Our girls looked really good in Worland. Lots of time cuts ... we just looked good,” said PHS head coach Luke Robertson.

Swimming at home the next day, “I thought the energy level was really good again; the girls were excited, cheering for each other,” Robertson said.

Powell posted 150 points at the Gene Dozah, trailing Lander (314.5) and Class 4A Jackson (290.5).

On Saturday, juniors Aspen Aguirre and Kendyl Bohlman became the fifth and sixth members of the PHS team to qualify for the 3A state meet. An error in the timing initially indicated Aguirre had come up a fraction of a second too slow in the 50-yard freestyle, but she was later determined to have actually swam the event in 28.34 seconds — just beating the 28.50 qualifying time.

Bohlman also cut it close in the 500-yard freestyle, coming in about a half-second before the 6:41.50 threshold.

“I told her she almost gave me a heart attack in that race,” Robertson said.

Prior state qualifier Julia Kay O’Neill also added a qualifying time the 200-yard individual medley (IM) in Worland.

Robertson said they’re entering the part of the season where many girls will set personal bests — and the PHS squad didn’t disappoint over the two competitions.

Claire Miner beat her record by nearly a full second in the 50-free, prompting Robertson to joke that “seniors aren’t supposed to be cutting a full second” in that short event.

“That was awesome,” the coach said.

Rylie Kannard cut a second off her record in the 100-yard butterfly (putting her less than a half-second from a state qualifying time), came 0.06 seconds away from qualifying in the 100-back and shaved seven seconds off her best 500-free time.

In the 200-yard freestyle, Beth McCaslin cut four seconds. In the 200-IM, Eliana Karhu shaved 10 seconds off her best, while Sydney Horton cut two seconds there and six in the 500-free.

Gracie McLain knocked off 24 seconds off her best in the 200-IM, plus six seconds in the 100-yard backstroke and two in the 100-yard breast stroke.

O’Neill similarly slashed 1.5 seconds in the 100-back and Anna Fuller trimmed two seconds in the 100-breast.

Freshman Sidney O’Brien cut a second off her record in the 50-yard freestyle and did the same thing to her record in the 100-free.

“Seems like every time I put her in an event, she cuts time,” Robertson said of O’Brien.

Anamia Padilla also finished four seconds better in the 100-free.

He also praised two relay teams — O’Neill, Claire Miner, Katrina Twitchell and Aspen Aguirre in the 200 free and Rylie Kannard, Emily McCaslin, Bohlman and Twitchell in the 200-medley — for strong performances in Worland and Powell, respectively.

Many other Powell swimmers were just a second or so off their bests.

Ashlyn Aguirre and Padilla each earned honorary “Pink Panther” caps from Robertson for the sportsmanship they showed in Worland and Powell, respectively. Aguirre cheered for both her teammates and her competitors while Padilla stayed in the water until a competitor finished her race — then gave her a hug, Robertson said.

The coach is still trying to get a feel for where his team sits in relation to the rest of the 3A competition.

He said Lander — which has “lots of depth” and a dozen-and-a-half state qualifiers — appears to be the early favorite.

200 Medley Relay

2. Kannard, Emily McCaslin, Bohlman and Twitchell 2:15.89, 5. O’Brien, Rachel Kuntz, Fuller and Horton 2:25.86

200 Free

4. Aspen Aguirre 2:26.78, 6. Fuller 2:34.36, 7. Beth McCaslin 2:37.15

200 IM

2. O’Neill 2:40.83 (3A), 5. Kannard 2:47.60, 6. Karhu 3:00.26, 7. Horton 3:00.29, 8. McLain 3:02.38, 10. Twitchell 3:23.48

50 Free

4. Claire Miner 28.79, 5. Aspen Aguirre 29.03, 6. O’Brien 30.83

Diving

5. O’Neill 125.90

100 Fly

3. Bohlman 1:20.15, 7. Kuntz 1:46.07

100 Free

3. Claire Miner 1:04.51, 7. Beth McCaslin 1:11.02, 10. Padilla 1:18.11

500 Free

4. Fuller 6:51.09, 5. Emily McCaslin 6:58.15, 7. Kannard 7:02.69, 8. Ashlyn Aguirre 7:48.15

200 Free Relay

2. O’Neill, Claire Miner, Twitchell and Aspen Aguirre 1:56.64, 5. Karhu, Beth McCaslin, Kuntz and Padilla 2:14.66

100 Back

3. Horton 1:19.38, 5. Bohlman 1.19.73, 6. Karhu 1:20.94, 7. Twitchell 1:24.65, 8. McLain 1:26.38

100 Breast

6. Emily McCaslin 1:27.67, 10. Kuntz 1:33.42, 12. O’Brien 1:36.21, 13. Ashlyn Aguirre 1:38.08, 15. Padilla 1:46.66

400 Free Relay

2. Claire Miner, Bohlman, O’Neill and Aspen Aguirre 4:26.05, 5. Fuller, Karhu, Horton and Beth McCaslin 4:48.80, 7. Kannard, O’Brien, McLain and Ashlyn Aguirre 5:03.34

200 Medley Relay

4. Claire Miner, Caitlyn Miner, Kannard and Aspen Aguirre 2:07.63, 12. Beth McCaslin, Emily McCaslin, Fuller and O’Brien 2:24.80, 14. Ashlyn Aguirre, Bohlman, Kuntz and Padilla 2:40.07

200 Free

14. Bohlman, 2:27.55, 15. Horton 2:31.93, 19. Karhu 2:37.44, 20. O’Brien 2:42.86

200 IM

10. Katie Brown 2:43.70, 12. Claire Miner 2:45.68, 14. Emily McCaslin 2:47.13, 17. Fuller 2:54.43, 18. Ashlyn Aguirre 3:00.70, 19. Kuntz 3:03.37

50 Free

7. Aspen Aguirre 28.34 (3A), 13. Twitchell 29.63, 16. Beth McCaslin 31.43, 20. McLain 32.34, 29. Padilla 34.39

Diving

8. O’Neill 130.80, 11. Caitlyn Miner 119.55

100 Fly

5. Claire Miner 1:14.04, 8. Rylie Kannard 1:16.54, 9. Katie Brown 1:20.2112. Emily McCaslin 1:25.06

100 Free

7. Aspen Aguirre 1:05.04, 8. Twitchell 1:06.20, 11. O’Brien 1:08.37

500 Free

10. Bohlman 6:40.99, 12. Horton 6:47.14, 13. Karhu 7:01.98, 18. Kuntz 7:34.94

200 Free Relay

5. Brown, O’Neill, Twitchell and Aspen Aguirre 1:57.78, 13. Beth McCaslin, Rylee Ramsey, McLain and Emily McCaslin 2:11.06

100 Back

5. O’Neill 1:09.77, 9. Kannard 1:12.64, 18. Beth McCaslin 1:17.97, 29. Padilla 1:38.80

100 Breast

3. Caitlyn Miner 1:16.16, 13. Fuller 1:27.74, 23. McLain 1:43.42

400 Free Relay

4. Claire Miner, Brown, O’Neill and Caitlyn Miner 4:5.81, 9. Horton, O’Brien, Kannard and Fuller 4:44.62, 12. Ramsey, Karhu, Ashlyn Aguirre and Kuntz 4:55.55