The Powell High School boys’ swimming and diving team entered 2019 in fine fashion, giving defending state champion Lander some stiff competition in a dual meet on Friday before placing second at the Gene Dozah Invitational on Saturday. Both events were held at the Powell Aquatic Center.

“We had a good weekend, considering that as a team we’ve been battling some sickness issues,” said Panther head coach Stephanie Warren. “I’m hoping it’s getting better — it got pretty bad over break. But we had a pretty good weekend, considering.”

Junior Ben Cannizzaro and sophomore Mathew Hobbs were added to the state qualifying list, bringing the total number to 10 swimmers so far this season. Cannizzaro qualified in the 100 butterfly, while Hobbs punched his ticket to state in the 200 freestyle. Freshmen Francis Rogers and Nate Johnston each added another event to their state-qualifying totals — Rogers in the 500 freestyle and Johnston in the 100 freestyle.

Lander 101, Powell 84

At Friday’s dual against powerhouse Lander, the Panthers were hampered by the absence of several leading point-scorers, who were unable to compete. Junior Jay Cox missed the entire weekend of competition, and his loss was felt.

“For the most part, the guys swam really well outside of that,” Warren said. “We had to change up some relays, things like that, but they all did really well. A lot of our swimmers, because of Lander being here, had a lot of their best performances and their best times. There is that push to race at your best against [Lander], and we had some great performances.”

Junior Richard Spann swam a 4A state qualifying time of 1:00.68 in winning the 100 butterfly, while teammate Cannizzaro qualified in the same event with a time of 1:12.42. Spann also won the 500 freestyle in a 3A qualifying time of 6:15.48.

Bryce Hogen finished first in diving with a 4A qualifying score of 190.40.

“Bryce [Hogen] had a great diving meet on Friday night, and his Saturday dives were still pretty good,” Warren said. “He’s diving really, really well.”

Johnston won the 200 individual medley and the 100 breaststroke, swimming state-qualifying times in both. He also swam legs in the 200 medley and 400 freestyle relay teams, which finished second and first, respectively.

Hobbs finished third in the 200 freestyle in a state-qualifying time of 2:15.40. Francis Rogers qualified for state in the 500 freestyle with a time of 6:21.76, good for third place.

“The overall dual was great,” Warren said. “It’s always fun to see Lander and how strong they are, and see how our kids do up against them.”

Gene Dozah Invitational

Still battling illness, the Panthers swam to a second-place finish at the eight-team Gene Dozah Invitational Saturday at the Powell Aquatic Center, scoring 243 points. Lander topped the field with 333 points, Riverton was third with 183 and Sublette County rounded out the top four with 171 points.

“Even though it was about 100 points behind Lander, it was a good showing for us,” Warren said. “It was nice to see all of the teams — there are only a couple of teams [in 3A] we haven’t seen yet, and hopefully we’ll see them next weekend. It was a good way for us to get a look at what our overall competition is going to be.”

Hogen had a solid meet, qualifying for state in the 50 freestyle, and placing second in diving with a 4A state qualifying score of 182.45.

Spann had a pair of second-place finishes, swimming state-qualifying times in the 200 individual medley and the 500 freestyle. Johnston was third in the 200 freestyle with a time of 2:07.06, while Cannizzaro was fourth in the 100 butterfly. Francis Rogers finished fourth in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:17.48.

“Out of all of the swimmers that have already qualified, almost every single one of them had a personal best time in the events that they swam, whether it was Friday or Saturday,” Warren said. “Looking at our general time cuts, between Friday and Saturday, I would have to say every kid has taken off some time somewhere.”

The Panthers are on the road this weekend, traveling south for the Worland Invitational. Now just about halfway through the regular season, Warren said if she can get everyone healthy, the team will be in good shape.

“It’s going to pick up pretty quick, but I think that will help keep them going,” Warren said of the remaining schedule. “They’ll have meets every weekend ... so I think that keeps them motivated. The goal this week is to get everyone back into tip-top shape so we can go to the Worland Invite Saturday.”

Panthers v. Lander Dual

Lander 101, Powell 84

200 Medley Relay

2. Nate Johnston, Bryce Hogen, Richard Spann, Joe Rogers 1:58.98, 3. Mathew Hobbs, Kyler Warren, Ben Cannizzaro, Tarren Blackmore 2:11.91, 4. Josh Wright, Francis  Rogers, Pedro Teixeira, Ben Hawley 2:18.93

200 Freestyle

3. Mathew Hobbs 2:15.40, 4. Josh Wright 2:31.11, 5. Riley Schiller 2:35.39, 6. Dallin Allred 2:37.21

200 IM

1. Nate Johnston 2:21.09, 3. Tarren Blackmore 2:51.17, 5. Joe Rogers 2:55.08

50 Freestyle

6. Trenton Wilson 26.75, 7. Bryce Hogen 27.74, 8. Ben Cannizzaro 28.94, 9. Kyler Warren 29.33, 11. Pedro Teixeira 32.04, 14. Caiden Gerhts 32.41, 15. Cole Howard 36.53 

1 Mtr Diving

1. Bryce Hogen 190.40, 3. Cole Frank 143.80, 5. Ben Hawley 123.45, 6. Caiden Gerhts 82.80

100 Butterfly

1. Richard Spann 1:00.68, 2. Ben Cannizzaro 1:12.42

100 Freestyle

6. Trenton Wilson 1:00.23, 7. Tarren Blackmore 1:03.01, 8. Dallin Allred 1:07.64, 9. Riley Schiller 1:10.53, 10. Ben Hawley 1:13.70 

500 Freestyle

1. Richard Spann 6:15.48, 3. Francis Rogers 6:21.76

200 Freestyle Relay

3. Joe Rogers, Mathew Hobbs, Trenton Wilson, Bryce Hogen 1:50.78, 5. Cole Frank Pedro Teixeira, Riley Schiller, Dallin Allred 1:59.38

100 Backstroke

2. Josh Wright 1:09.69, 4. Mathew Hobbs 1:12.93, 5. Kyler Warren 1:24.20

100 Breaststroke

1. Nate Johnston 1:08.39, 3. Francis Rogers 1:19.31, 5. Cole Frank 1:25.27

400 Freestyle Relay

1. Joe Rogers, Trenton Wilson, Richard Spann, Nate Johnston 3:57.71, 4. Tarren Blackmore, Cole Frank, Riley Schiller, Dallin Allred 4:35.13

Gene Dozah Invite Results

1. Lander 333, 2. Powell 243, 3. Riverton 183, 4. Sublette County 171, 5. Worland 140, 6. Douglas 110, 7. Newcastle 86, 8. Cody 56

200 Medley Relay

4. Nate Johnston, Francis Rogers, Richard Spann, Trenton Wilson 2:00.41, 8. Josh Wright, Pedro Teixeira, Bryce Hogen, Ben Cannizzaro 2:10.16, 12. Dallin Allred, Kyler Warren, Riley Schiller, Cole Frank 2:22.28

200 Freestyle

3. Nate Johnston 2:07.06, 9. Josh Wright 2:24.26, 13. Tarren Blackmore 2:29.96, 15. Riley Schiller 2:40.34

200 IM

2. Richard Spann 2:16.04, 4. Mathew Hobbs 2:34.10, 5. Francis Rogers 2:34.39

50 Freestyle

7. Bryce Hogen 25.45, 15. Joe Rogers 27.41, 18. Cole Frank 29.57, 19. Dallin Allred 29.60, 22. Pedro Teixeira 30.65, 29. Cole Howard 35.74

1 Mtr Diving

2. Bryce Hogen 182.45, 7. Ben Hawley 122.90, 8. Cole Frank 117.90, 10. Caiden Gerhts 87.85

100 Butterfly

4. Ben Cannizzaro 1:11.47 

100 Freestyle

7. Nate Johnston 58.48, 10. Joe Rogers 1:00.94, 12. Tarren Blackmore 1:03.20, 18. Kyler Warren 1:06.63, 25. Ben Hawley 1:08.66

500 Freestyle

2. Richard Spann 6:00.95, 3. Trenton Wilson 6:05.13, 6. Josh Wright 6:34.50, 7. Ben Cannizzaro 6:36.40, 11. Dallin Allred 7:06.09

200 Freestyle Relay

4. Joe Rogers, Mathew Hobbs, Bryce Hogen, Tarren Blackmore 1:47.41, 6. Dallin Allred, Josh Wright, Riley Schiller, Cole Frank 1:56.99

100 Backstroke

6. Mathew Hobbs 1:12.17, 7. Trenton Wilson 1:12.88

100 Breaststroke

4. Francis Rogers 1:17.48, 16. Kyler Warren 1:28.27, 17. Pedro Teixeira 1:29.01, 19. Cole Howard 1:40.61, 20. Riley Schiller 1:46.26

400 Freestyle Relay

4. Richard Spann, Trenton Wilson, Nate Johnston, Mathew Hobbs 3:54.44, 6. Joe Rogers, Tarren Blackmore, Francis Rogers, Ben Cannizzaro 4:19.60, 7. Ben Hawley, Kyler Warren, Pedro Teixeira, Caiden Gerhts 4:21.64