Panthers battle to third at state

Take bronze for second consecutive year

Posted 11/9/21

Coming into the 2021 season, the Panther girls’ swim team had lost all five of their championship finalists and seven of their 12 relay swimmers from their third-place state team a year ago. …

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Panthers battle to third at state

Take bronze for second consecutive year

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Coming into the 2021 season, the Panther girls’ swim team had lost all five of their championship finalists and seven of their 12 relay swimmers from their third-place state team a year ago. However, the Powell High School squad stepped up to the challenge, winning every single competition through regionals and then repeating their bronze performance at the Class 3A State Meet last week.

Panther swim coach Bob Smartt was pleased with his team’s effort at the Thursday-Friday event in Gillette, as they finished comfortably in third with 165 points. 

“This year was a big challenge for our younger athletes to ‘step up,’ and step up they did,” Smartt said.

The team finished behind Lander and Green River who were the first teams to ever tie for the team championship with a score of 245, and 21 points ahead of Douglas, which finished in fourth.

Powell also had a state champion, as junior Kami Jensen secured her first diving title with a final score of 343.2, just 15 points off the Panther Wall of Fame.

Leading the team in scoring was senior Sydney Legler, who improved on her score of four points at last year’s meet to put up 20 points for the team this year. Legler placed fourth in the 500 free with a time of 5:50 and sixth in the 200 free with a time of 2:08.

“Sydney [Legler] had never been in a championship final but placed in two this year,” Smartt said.

Just behind Legler was junior Emma Mitchell, who scored 19 points for the Panthers, finishing fifth in the 50 free with a time of 26.15, and sixth in the 100 breast with a time of 1:12.39.

Paige Thomas improved from her freshman campaign, scoring 10 points this year as a sophomore. Thomas placed sixth in the 100 fly with a time of 1:07.07 and 12th in the 100 back with a time of 1:09.94 — just 0.08 seconds out of 10th place.

Junior Grace Sapp added 10 points to the Panther’s cause, as she placed fifth in the 100 back with a time of 1:03.74, also landing in fifth on the Panther Wall of Fame. Sapp finished just 0.6 seconds behind second place.

Other athletes who had not previously scored contributed to the team in different fashions this year. Senior Taycee Walker finished fourth in diving with a score of 302; Gabby Paterson placed seventh in the 200 free with a time of 2:10.50 and 10th in the 100 free with a time of 59.26; sophomore Charlee Brence placed ninth in the 100 fly with a time of 1:08.45 after not qualifying for the state meet last year; Baylee Brence improved her 500 free time by 34 seconds from state last year to finish 10th with a time of 6:00.

“Last year Charlee [Brence] was not even a state qualifier,” Smartt said. “This year she qualified in four events, but her butterfly is becoming one of the top in the state.”

The relay teams advanced to the finals in each event.

The 200 medley team of Sapp, Mitchell, Thomas and senior Lily Halter finished third in 1:59.04. The 400 free relay team — composed of sophomore Kik Hayano, Paterson, Legler and Sapp — came in fifth with a time of 3:57.08. The 200 free relay of Mitchell, Hayano, Paterson and Legler came in sixth place in 1:47.90.

Overall, the relay teams were able to garner 62 points, just four points behind the total of 66 from last year’s relay teams.

“I am just really proud of where we were at a year ago and what we have been able to achieve this year,” Smartt said.

    

Jensen earns state title on final dive

Pressure can bring out the best performances in athletes, and with the state championship on the line, Panther diver Kami Jensen answered the call on her final dive. The Powell High School junior put together her highest scoring dive of the season to secure her first Class 3A diving title.

Heading into the second day of competition, Jensen held a 10-point lead over her competitors with only three dives remaining.

Jensen maintained that lead after nine dives, but dive No. 10 nearly cost her the competition altogether.

Coming off the board, Jensen did not complete her rotation and hit the pool at a horizontal angle, leading to a score of 16 for her second-to-last dive.

“In diving, there are definitely setbacks,” Jensen said. “”I gotta give a lot of my success to my coach Heather [Christensen], she was right there after and telling me to just focus on the next one. Like I said, there will always be setbacks; you just have to get up from those.”

With her score at 297, Jensen held only a one-point lead over Olivia Maertens of Buffalo, and a five-point lead over Zella Maez of Green River with a single dive remaining.

Heading into that 11th dive, Jensen knew she would just have to shake off her 10th, and come out and nail her final attempt to secure her title.

She came through with a final dive score of 46, separating her from the competition to secure the state championship.

“That last dive I felt like was redemption,” Jensen said.

She finished the year with only one loss in all diving competitions she participated in, that coming to Maertens early in the season.

Jensen made the jump from her sophomore year in 2020, where she finished in fourth at state. She improved her total score from 324 up to 343 to take the title.

“It feels so amazing, I can’t even describe it,” Jensen said.

Jensen does not plan to slow down as she said she plans to continue to improve, and attempt to defend her title next year heading into her senior season.

    

DIVING SUCCESS

Jensen was not the only Panther to make the podium, as fellow diver Taycee Walker made her way into fourth place with a score of 302.

Walker received high praise from coach Christensen, who called Walker probably the most improved diver from her freshman year all the way through her senior year.

Walker’s final score of 302 was a large improvement over her final score from last year, when she put up 173 points and missed out on the second day of competition by less than two points.

PHS sophomore Aramonie Brinkerhoff just missed the cut for this year’s finals, as finishing with a score of 174 through her first eight dives to miss finals by just four points, in 13th place.

    

Team scores: 

T1. Lander and Green River 245, 3. Powell 165, 4. Douglas 144, 5. Buffalo 118, 6. Cody 116, 7. Rawlins 97, 8. Kemmerer 66, T9. Sublette County and Lyman 64, 11. Worland 42, 12. Newcastle 16, 13. Riverton 13

    

Individual scores: 

200 medley relay: 3. Grace Sapp, Emma Mitchell, Paige Thomas and Lily Halter 1:59.04

200 free: 6. Sydney Legler 2:08.24, 17. Baylee Brence 2:16.82*

200 IM: 15. Kik Hayano 2:32.22*, 21. Dakota Hansen 2:37.98*, 25. Croix Tryon 2:42.90*

50 free: 5. Emma Mitchell 26.15, 19. Lily Halter 28.25*

1-meter diving (11 dives): 1. Kami Jensen 343.20, 4. Taycee Walker 302.45, 13. Aramonie Brinkerhoff 174.55*

100 fly: 6. Paige Thomas 1:07.07, 9. Charlee Brence 1:08.45, 14. Croix Tryon 1:10.87*, 20. Azurdey Burton 1:14.85*, 22. Dakota Hansen 1:15.39

100 free: 10. Gabby Paterson 59.26, 13. Grace Sapp 59.41*, 15. Kik Hayano 59.48

500 free: 4. Sydney Legler 5:50.83, 10. Baylee Brence 6:00.45, Charlee Brence 6:13.19*

200 free relay: 6. Emma Mitchell, Kik Hayano, Gabby Paterson and Sydney Legler 1:47.90

100 back: 5. Grace Sapp 1:03.74, 12. Paige Thomas 1:09.94, 13. Kylie Kahl 1:10.47*, 17. Lily Halter 1:13.46*

100 breast: 6. Emma Mitchell 1:12.39, 15. Kathryn Brence 1:17.47*, 17. Aubree Fisher 1:17.86*, 20. Colette Sanders 1:20.43*, 21. Abigail Casey 1:21.92*

400 free relay: 5. Kik Hayano, Gabby Paterson, Sydney Legler and Grace Sapp 3:57.08

* Denotes preliminary time/score, with the rest representing final and consolation final times

 

Powell High School, Panther Swimming

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