A clearer picture of the Class 3A swimming standings is starting to form — and the Powell High School boys are near the top. Last weekend, the Panthers made their first trip to Douglas in over a decade for the conference meet, and they came home with a second place finish in 3A North.

This year was an entirely new experience for the Powell boys, as the conferences in 3A swimming shifted to north and south, and the Panthers competed against mostly new teams.

The Panthers took second with 254 points, behind Buffalo’s 305 points and just ahead of Worland and Riverton, who finished with 225 points and 209, respectively.

Leading the Panthers was senior Nate Johnston, who swam away with two individual championships in the 200 meter IM (2:15.18) and the 100 meter breaststroke (1:05.77) amid a record breaking weekend.

Johnston broke the conference’s meter records in both events and on both days of competition, initially breaking them on Friday, then breaking his own records on Saturday in the finals.

“Nate [Johnston] just put everything into both races,” Panther assistant coach Jerry Rodriguez said. “His technique is very, very good and he has been training hard but not competing in those events.”

Rodriguez added that it is harder for meter records to be broken, as the conference meet is rarely held in 25-meter long pools. 

The conference records Johnston broke had been held since 1993 and 2014, and were also records for the Douglas pool.

In addition to Johnston, the Panthers also had a majority of their swimmers competing in finals on Saturday — something that thrilled head coach Stephanie Warren.

“We had nearly everybody competing in finals on Saturday in at least one event,” Warren said. “That is not something that happens often.”

Other top finishers for the Panthers included:

• junior Rui Parker, who finished runner-up in the 100 back and third in the 100 fly; 

• senior Francis Rogers, who placed fourth in the 200 free and fifth in the 400 free;

• junior Kobus Diver, who finished fourth in the 400 free and fifth in the 200 free;

• junior Ashtin Prentiss, who finished fourth in diving;

• senior Cole Frank, who took fifth in diving; and

• junior Aidan Cannizzaro, who won the consolation final in the 100 back and qualified for the state meet with a time of 1:12.18.

A majority of the Panthers will have the upcoming week off as they prepare for the state meet in Gillette on Feb. 17-18.

Those who have not yet qualified or are planning to try and qualify for more events will have one last chance, as there will be a last chance qualifying meet on Thursday in Cody at 4 p.m.

3A NORTH CONFERENCE MEET

ALL TIMES ARE IN METERS

^ Denotes preliminary time

Team scores: 1. Buffalo 305, 2. Powell 254, 3. Worland 225, 4. Riverton 209, 5. Cody 146, 6. Douglas 87, 7. Newcastle 75

200 medley relay: 3. Rui Parker, Nate Johnston, Francis Rogers and Kyler Warren 1:59.50, 8. Aidan Cannizzaro, Cole Frank, Kobus Diver and Tristin Dicks 2:12.26^

200 free: 4. Francis Rogers 2:16.52, 5. Kobus Diver 2:17.20, 10. Kyler Warren 2:25.87, 11. David Polson 2:27.42, 17. 2:48.41^, 21. Hunter Davis 3:19.51^

200 IM: 1. Nate Johnston 2:15.18, 9. Ben Hawley 2:59.27, 10. Connor Mayes 3:06.89

50 free: 11. Cole Frank 29.76, 16. Ashtin Prentiss 29.61^, 19. Jon Hawley 31.20^, 24. Lukas Legler 33.96^, 27. Eremon Brinkerhoff 40.27^

1-meter diving (11 dives): 4. Ashtin Prentiss 290.30, 5. Cole Frank 286.75, 7. Jon Hawley 281.45, 9. Taggart Shumway 261.55, 11. Ben Hawley 255.80, 12. Caiden Gerhts 250.20, 15. Justin Hobbs 123.35^

100 fly: 3. Rui Parker 1:04.17, 9. Nathan Fuller 1:20.33, 10. Riley Schiller 1:20.45, 12. Cole Fauskee 1:22.64, 13. Aidan Cannizzaro 1:22.23^, 20. Eremon Brinkerhoff 2:28.25^, 

100 free: 6. Kyler Warren 1:06.00, 10. Tristin Dicks 1:07.05, 16. Caiden Gerhts 1:10.87^, 21. Taggart Shumway 1:21.59^, 22. Lukas Legler 1:22.28^, 23. Wesley Hoffman 1:23.53^, 24. Caden Sherman 1:27.91^

400 free: 4. Kobus Diver 4:50.68, 5. Francis Rogers 5:02.41, 9. David Polson 5:17.12, 12. Riley Schiller 5:40.44

200 free relay: 4. Kyler Warren, Cole Fauskee, Kobus Diver and Cole Frank 1:57.80, 9. Ben Hawley, Caiden Gerhts, Riley Schiller and David Polson 2:04.45^

100 back: 2. Rui Parker 1:03.37, 7. Aidan Cannizzaro 1:12.18, 14. Nathan Fuller 1:23.53^, 16. Hunter Davis 1:26.76^, 18. Justin Hobbs 1:32.58^, 19. Wesley Hoffman 1:41.62^

100 breast: 1. Nate Johnston 1:05.77, 8. Cole Fauskee 1:25.42, 15. Tristin Dicks 1:30.04^, 20. Caden Sherman 2:03.49^

400 free relay: 2. Rui Parker, Ben Hawley, Francis Rogers and Nate Johnston 4:04.77, 8. Caiden Gerhts, Riley Schiller, Jon Hawley and Cole Fauskee 4:44.11^