To continue their dominant march through the season, the Panther girls’ swimming and diving team needed to do something it had done only once since 1998: win the conference title.

The Panthers answered the call, winning the eastern/Absaroka conference title in Worland over the weekend. It was their second victory, after winning the western conference title in 2019.

The Panthers finished the Friday-Saturday meet with a total of 302 points, followed by Douglas in second with 241, Cody in third with 207, Worland with 195, Buffalo with 139, Riverton with 74 and Newcastle with 60.

A total of 19 athletes scored individual points for the Panthers, as they continued their undefeated season heading into state.

“Our win was powered by a team depth that the other six schools can not match,” Panther swim coach Bob Smartt said.

Individual event winners for the Panthers included Kami Jensen in diving, with a final score of 345.45 in 11 dives, and Grace Sapp in the 100 back with a time of 1:04.57; Sapp earned a tie for fifth on the PHS Wall of Fame thanks to her preliminary time of 1:03.96 in the same event.

Emma Mitchell placed second in the 50 free and improved her fifth place Wall of Fame time with a 25.96 — breaking the 26 second mark for the first time.

Diving propelled the Panthers once again, as Taycee Walker posted a personal record (PR) of 297.90 to finish third and Aramonie Brinkerhoff finished with a PR of 280.10 to take fourth. Diving accounted for 39 points, which moved the Panthers into first — a lead that was grown by strong showings in subsequent swimming events.

Diving coach Heather Christensen was named the 3A East Assistant Coach of the Year.

Azurdey Burton and Abigail Casey joined the large group of Panthers who have qualified for next week’s 3A state meet, bringing the total number of PHS qualifiers to 20.

Burton made the qualifying mark in the 100 butterfly with a time of 1:13.10 in the preliminary round.

“We decided around six weeks ago to reformulate Azurdey away from distance free and the backstroke toward the butterfly,” Smartt said. “She responded with a strong work ethic on our butterfly training sets which empowered her state cut.”

Abigail Casey achieved her mark in a more dramatic fashion, as she swam the 100 breast in 1:22.49 — just 0.01 seconds below the state mark. It’s the senior’s first year of high school swimming.

“It is gratifying to see effort rewarded. Abi [Casey] has a long drive from Burlington each day to attend our practices with her sister Brinly,” Smartt said.

The 500 free was the top scoring swimming event for the Panthers, as they scored 35 points. Sydney Legler earned third with a time of 6:02.74, after swimming a PR 5:55.11 in the prelims; Charlee Brence took fifth place with a PR of 6:15.22; Baylee Brence took sixth in 6:15.40, swimming a 6:09.42 in the prelims; Dakota Hansen finished ninth with a time of 6:42.68.

In the 100 back, Paige Thomas came in third with a 1:08.72 and Kylie Kahl seventh with a 1:12.37, followed by Burton with her 1:14.90.

In the 100 breaststroke, the Panthers advanced five of the 12 finalists, with scoring only going to the top four swimmers for the team. Mitchell placed second with a 1:11.71 (her prelim time of 1:11.58 moved her to third on the Wall of Fame); Aubree Fisher placed fourth with a PR of 1:16.76; Kathryn Brence finished eighth with a PR of 1:18.18; Colette Sanders 10th with a PR of 1:20.65 and Casey 11th with a 1:22.53, just behind her PR and state qualifying mark.

Legler finished fourth in the 200 free with a PR of 2:11.43 and Gabby Paterson took fifth with a PR of 2:11.46;

Bailey Brence won the consolation final with a time of 2:16.83.

Kik Hayano finished fourth in the 200 IM with a time of 2:31.65, Hansen was 10th in the consolation final with a 2:39.26.

Croix Tryon earned her second state qualifying time with a PR of 2:40.96 as first alternate.

The Panthers’ 400 free relay team of Kik Hayano, Legler, Paterson and Sapp placed third in 4:01.74. The Panther 200 medley relay team posted the best time, but were disqualified due to a relay jump.

Overall, the Panthers had 32 PR performances at the meet, which Smartt attributed to higher tech knee suits.

“Our challenge is to make winning the conference meet a habit,” Smartt said.

The Panthers will be attending a last chance meet at 5 p.m. today (Tuesday) in Cody. There will be no team scores for the event.

Team scores: 1. Powell 302, 2. Douglas 241, 3. Cody 207, 4. Worland 195, 5. Buffalo 139, 6. Riverton 74, 7. Newcastle 60

200 medley relay: 1. Grace Sapp, Emma Mitchell, Paige Thomas and Lily Halter 2:00.68^

200 free: 4. Sydney Legler 2:11.43*, 5. Gabby Paterson 2:11.46*, 7. Baylee Brence 2:16.83, 15. Kate Miller 2:39.01^, 18. Rebekah Hendershot 3:09.27^

200 IM: 4. Kik Hayano 2:31.65*, 10. Dakota Hansen 2:39.26* 13. Croix Tryon 2:40.96^

50 free: 2. Emma Mitchell 25.94*, 11. Grace Sapp 27.86*, 12. Lily Halter 28.04, 16. Aubree Fisher 29.76^, 24. Sarah Hampton 33.13^, 30. Yessenia Teague 39.50^

1-meter diving (11 dives): 1. Kami Jensen 345.45*, 3. Taycee Walker 297.90*, 4. Aramoni Brinkerhoff 280.10*

100 fly: 3. Paige Thomas 1:08.92*, 5. Charlee Brence 1:10.59*, 9. Croix Tryon 1:12.66*, 10. Azurdey Burton 1:14.82*

100 free: 3. Kik Hayano 59.13*, 6. Gabby Paterson 1:00.73*, 14. Lily Halter 1:03.61^, 22. Brinly Casey 1:13.92^, 25. Augustina Lembke 1:21.25^, 26. Rebekah Hendershot 1:22.88^, 29. Yessenia Teague 1:39.87^

500 free: 3. Sydney Legler 6:02.74*, 5. Charlee Brence 6:15.22*, 6. Baylee Brence 6:15.40*, 9. Dakota Hansen 6:42.68

200 free relay: 3. Emma Mitchell, Kik Hayano, Gabby Paterson and Sydney Legler 1:48.73

100 back: 1. Grace Sapp 1:04.57*, 3. Paige Thomas 1:08.72, 7. Kylie Kahl 1:12.37*, 8. Azurdey Burton 1:14.90, 13. Emma Brence 1:20.55^, 14. Cassidy Reimer 1:21.25^, 16. Sarah Hampton 1:21.94

100 breast: 2. Emma Mitchell 1:11.71*, 4. Aubree Fisher 1:16.76*, 8. Kathryn Brence 1:18.18*, 10. Colette Sanders 1:20.65*, 11. Abigail Casey 1:22.53, 15. Brinly Casey 1:28.92^

400 free relay: 3. Kik Hayano, Sydney Legler, Gabby Paterson and Grace Sapp 4:01.74

* Denotes state qualifying time, ^ is a preliminary time