A quick trip over to Cody on Tuesday didn’t result in any new state qualifiers for the Powell High School girls’ swim and dive team, but one Panther made her way onto the Wall of Fame after nearly reaching the mark at the conference meet the weekend prior.

Patricia Christensen moved to No. 3 all time for the Panthers with a swim of 1 minute, 3.17 seconds in the 100 backstroke, winning the event by more than 13 seconds.

“It was great to see Patricia swim 1:03.17 in the 100 yard backstroke at the Last Chance Meet, putting her third on our all-time list,” coach Bob Smartt said. “Now she heads to state with two more opportunities to approach our school record of 1:01.61 set by Amanda Tracy in 2014.”

The closest the Panthers came to adding a new competitor was Baylee Kraft, who was second in the 100 back with a time of 1:16.47, just under a second off the standard for state qualification in the event.

Powell also added additional top five finishes from a number of swimmers, including Sophie Erkkila, who was second in the 100 breaststroke (1:31.79); Brooke Brown took third in both the 200 IM (2:57.4) and 100 free (1:09.58); Autumn Weckler was third in the 100 fly (2:01.49); Lilly Pittman was third in the 100 breast (1:33.3) and fourth in the 100 free (1:11.05); Lynea Christensen was fourth in diving (153.25); Tempie Day took fourth in the 100 breast (1:36.72) and fifth in the 100 free (1:11.85) while Meredyth Giltner placed fifth in the 100 breast (1:38.12).

No team scores were kept in the dual between the Panthers and Fillies.

“We were pleased to have eight personal best performances at the Last Chance Meet including double personal best swims by April Weckler and Leah Sockey,” Smartt said.

STATE MEET

The Panthers who have qualified for the state meet have been preparing for the final event of the season, heading to Laramie for the 3A State Championships on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning.

Expected to lead the Panthers are a pair of seniors who finished All-State last year and made ‘A’ Finals, and are looking forward to making one last impression on the program in their final races.

“Patricia and Kaitlin [Diver] are training well heading into the state championships,” Smartt said. “They are both trying to make the championship finals in their two individual events. The state meet will be a last opportunity for them to seek personal bests and improve their positions on our school all-time list.”

Smartt said in order for the Panthers to improve their team standing from last year the team is putting a stronger emphasis on relays, hoping to have two relay teams advance to the ‘A’ finals where only one reached the top final a year ago.

While the Panthers have two top end senior talents getting in the pool one last time, Smartt said the future of the program will be impacted by a pair of freshmen.

“An important part of the future development of the team will be our two freshmen swimming in individual events: Lynea Christensen and Daisy Carpenter,” Smartt said. “Both girls have improved rapidly this season and both girls have bright futures in the sport and are potential championship finalists in future years.”

The 3A state meet is expected to begin following the conclusion of the 4A meet on Friday, with a start time of 4 p.m. Diving will be followed by swimming prelims, before the finals begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday.

While it is expected to be a competitive state meet, Smartt said there will be one additional challenge for the athletes in Laramie this weekend.

“Challenging all the athletes at the state meet will be the Laramie High School pool, which is located at 7,200 feet of elevation. The altitude factor will be especially significant for the longer races,” Smartt said.

TERRY BARTLETT LAST CHANCE

* Denotes state qualifying mark

200 IM — 3. Brooke Brown 2:57.4

50 free — 6. April Weckler 32.27, 8. Autumn Weckler 36.21

1-meter diving (six dives) — 4. Lynea Christensen 153.25*

100 fly — 3. Autumn Weckler 2:01.49

100 free — 3. Brooke Brown 1:09.58, 4. Lilly Pittman 1:11.05, 5. Tempie Day 1:11.85, 6. Claire Hultgren 1:14.7, 7. Leah Sockey 1:28.2, 8. Meredyth Giltner 1:29.73

100 back — 1. Patricia Christensen 1:03.17*, 2. Baylee Kraft 1:16.47, 6. Claire Hultgren 1:25.86, 7. Leah Sockey 1:32.73

100 breast — 2. Sophie Erkkila 1:31.79, 3. Lilly Pittman 1:33.3, 4. Tempie Day 1:36.72, 5. Meredyth Giltner 1:38.12, 6. April Weckler 1:45.71

3A STATE SWIM AND DIVE QUALIFIERS

Organized by last name alphabetically, athletes may compete in up to two individual events and two relays.

Brooke Brown — 100 back 1:15.39, 100 fly 1:12.7

Daisy Carpenter — 100 back 1:11.63

Lynea Christensen — 50 free 28.17, 100 free 1:02.94, 200 free 2:19.48, 500 free 6:30.06, 100 breast 1:20.64, 100 fly 1:16.32, 200 IM 2:42.29, 1-meter diving (six dives) 270.25

Patricia Christensen — 100 free 1:03.46, 200 free 2:05.97, 500 free 6:07.94, 100 back 1:03.17, 100 breast 1:20.64

Tempie Day — 500 free 6:41.51

Kaitlin Diver — 50 free 28.36, 100 free 59.26, 200 free 2:09.51, 500 free 5:35.21, 100 back 1:09.31, 100 breast 1:15.63, 100 fly 1:03.27, 200 IM 2:27.2