Hosting its biggest meet of the season, the Powell Panther girls’ swim and dive team took on nearly all of its conference rivals and finished third at the Gene Dozah Invitational on Saturday.

Two Powell swimmers won events, as Kaitlin Diver won the 100 butterfly in 1 minute, 4.87 seconds, and Patricia Christensen took first in the 100 backstroke with a time of 1:07.99.

“Kaitlin had a resounding victory in the 100 butterfly and her time of 1:04.87 is less than a second away from the Powell Wall of Fame,” coach Bob Smartt said. “It was nice for Patricia to get a victory in the 100 backstroke in her last Gene Dozah meet.”

Both athletes also had a second place finish, as Christensen took second in the 200 freestyle in 2:12.71 and Diver took second in the 200 IM with a time of 2:27.87.

Smartt noted that Christensen’s 200 free time was a good time for early in the season after she had just raced the backstroke portion of the Panther’s 200 medley relay.

Patricia’s younger sister Lynea added another qualifying time to her freshman resume, qualifying in the 200 IM with a time of 2:42.29.

Powell placed in the top three in each of the relays, taking third in both the 200 medley and 400 freestyle while placing second in the 200 free relay.

“Our three ‘A’ relay teams showed substantial improvement,” Smartt said. “They will continue to be an important focus moving forward.”

While the Panthers have four qualifiers for the state meet, Smartt said they are continuing to build a base for the younger competitors, while also diversifying their events to try getting them qualified for state.

“The key for many of our newer swimmers is developing an aerobic base that will permit them to swim longer races and to be able to do four good swims in a meet,” Smartt said. “We also will be targeting improvement in nonfreestyle for many of our athletes.”

Powell finished third as a team with 215 points, just ahead of Worland at 211.

Cody just edged out Buffalo for the team title by two points, accumulating 337 at the meet.

Powell heads back out on the road for the rest of September, starting with an invitational in Worland on Saturday morning.

GENE DOZAH INVITATIONAL

* Denotes state qualifying mark

Team scores — 1. Cody 337, 2. Buffalo 335, 3. Powell 215, 4. Worland 211, 5. Newcastle 68

200 medley relay — 3. Patricia Christensen, Kaitlin Diver, Brooke Brown and Tempie Day 2:12.92

200 free — 2. Patricia Christensen 2:12.71*, 7. Charlotte Beeton 2:39.86

200 IM — 2. Kaitlin Diver 2:27.87*, 3. Lynea Christensen 2:42.29*, 9. Lilly Pittman 3:11.09

50 free — 12. Claire Hultgren 33.11, 16. April Weckler 36.96, 20. Meredyth Giltner 42.42, 21. Autumn Weckler 42.79

1-meter diving (six dives) — 12. Lynea Christensen 133.15

100 fly — 1. Kaitlin Diver 1:04.87*, 5. Brooke Brown 1:18.34

100 free — 7. Charlotte Beeton 1:11.73, 12. Sophie Erkkila 1:29.82, 14. Leah Sockey 1:33.52, 16. Autumn Weckler 1:39.22

500 free — 6. Tempie Day 7:01.13, 9. Claire Hultgren 7:13.98

200 free relay — 2. Kaitlin Diver, Charlotte Beeton, Lynea Christensen and Tempie Day 2:02.99

100 back — 1. Patricia Christensen 1:07.99*, 7. Brooke Brown 1:18.04, 15. Leah Sockey 1:33.87, 16. April Weckler 1:34.77

100 breast — 7. Sophie Erkkila 1:36.46, 8. Lilly Pittman 1:36.61, 10. Meredyth Giltner 1:43.09

400 free relay — 3. Lynea Christensen, Patricia Christensen, Tempie Day and Brooke Brown 4:34.7; 6. Charlotte Beeton, Claire Hultgren, Lilly Pittman and Sophie Erkkila 5:29.53; 8. April Weckler, Leah Sockey, Autumn Weckler and Meredyth Giltner 6:19.24