The final week of the regular season brought a number of fun experiences for the Powell High School boys’ swim and dive team, as the Panthers added a new qualifier on Tuesday in Cody before swimming a unique meet in Buffalo at its Pre-Invite on Friday.

Making the trip to Cody paid off for one swimmer, as Kooper Arends became the eighth Panther to qualify for the state meet, placing second in the 100 back with a time of 1 minute, 7.94 seconds.

“The highlight of the week was Kooper,” coach Stephanie Warren said. “It was great to see him finally qualify.”

Powell had two individual event wins, as Hugh Carpenter claimed the top spot in both the 200 IM (2:16.24) and the 100 fly (58.97).

He was also part of the two relay wins for the Panthers, as he, Tyler Kruger, Trystan Preator and Will Fuller all were part of the winning team for the 200 free relay (1:39.76) and the 400 free relay (3:51.69).

Additional top three finishes in the dual included Preator, who took second in the 200 free (2:04.59) and third in the 100 back (1:12.85); while Kruger placed second in the 100 free (57.29); Gabe Buchholz placed second in the 500 free (6:11.97) and third in the 200 free (2:09.09); and Gabe Leighton was third in the 200 IM (2:54.56).

Cody defeated Powell 140-117 in the dual.

On Friday the Panthers made the trip to Buffalo to take part in the Pre-Invite which featured a number of 3A North teams in addition to 4A Natrona County.

The Panthers had the opportunity to swim a number of different events not offered much of the season, allowing them to swim events such as the 200 fly and the 100 IM without the stress of reaching a qualifying time.

“It was just a fun meet for them, which was probably good for them to relax and have a little bit of fun,” Warren said. “They were excited about it.”

The Panthers had a number of individual winners, as Dayton Lawrence won diving with a score of 146.85, Carpenter won the 100 free with a time of 53.02 seconds, Fuller won the 100 back with a time of 1:04.06 and Kruger won the 200 fly with a time of 2:34.77.

Additional top three finishes included Sam Williams who took second in diving (134.6); Preator who placed second in the 100 fly (1:03.29); Kruger took second in the 500 free (6:20.56); Arends took second in the 100 back (1:09.35); Buchholz placed third in the 200 free (2:11.02) and the 100 back (1:10.15) while Hunter Taylor was third in the 100 fly (1:12.99).

There were no team scores kept for the Pre-Invite.

Powell now heads back over the mountain to Newcastle for the conference meet on Friday and Saturday.

“We’re hoping for people to stay healthy for No. 1. They’ve been working really hard this season, which is where they need to be, because we want them to be able to have a good taper coming off of conference,” Warren said. “We’re just hoping to take them there and have some good swims in Newcastle.”

She said she believes they can add one more qualifier down the stretch either at conference or at the Last Chance Qualifiers in Cody next Tuesday.

CODY 140, POWELL 117

* Denotes state qualifying mark

200 medley relay — 3. Kooper Arends, Ethan Haslem, Sam Williams and Hunter Taylor 2:11.99

200 free — 2. Trystan Preator 2:04.59*, 3. Gabe Buchholz 2:09.09, 4. Will Fuller 2:11.19, 5. Tyler Kruger 2:13.42

200 IM — 1. Hugh Carpenter 2:16.24*, 3. Gabe Leighton 2:54.56

50 free — 4. Will Fuller 25.12*, 6. Hunter Taylor 27.62, 7. Kooper Arends 29.6, 8. Ethan Haslem 35.65

1-meter diving (six dives) — 4. Dayton Lawrence 156.1, 5. Sam Williams 147.65

100 fly — 1. Hugh Carpenter 58.97*

100 free — 2. Tyler Kruger 57.29*, 5. Dayton Lawrence 1:06.95, 7. Gabe Leighton 1:10.33*

500 free — 2. Gabe Buchholz 6:11.97

200 free relay — 1. Hugh Carpenter, Tyler Kruger, Trystan Preator and Will Fuller 1:39.76; 3. Hunter Taylor, Dayton Lawrence, Gabe Leighton and Gabe Buchholz 1:55.48

100 back — 2. Kooper Arends 1:07.94*; 3. Trystan Preator 1:12.85

100 breast — 4. Ethan Haslem 1:30.89, 5. Sam Williams 1:35.2

400 free relay — 1. Will Fuller, Tyler Kruger, Trystan Preator and Hugh Carpenter 3:51.69; 4. Kooper Arends, Ethan Haslem, Gabe Leighton and Dayton Lawrence 5:08.79

BUFFALO PRE-INVITE

400 free relay — 4. Will Fuller, Hunter Taylor, Trystan Preator and Hugh Carpenter 4:19.5

200 free — 3. Gabe Buchholz 2:11.02, 8. Tyler Kruger 2:34.77, 9. Trystan Preator 2:46.92

50 free — 12. Kooper Arends 29.48, 16. Gabe Leighton 29.98

1-meter diving (six dives) — 1. Dayton Lawrence 146.85, 2. Sam Williams 134.6

100 fly — 2. Trystan Preator 1:03.29*, 3. Hunter Taylor 1:12.99

100 free — 1. Hugh Carpenter 53.02*, 13. Will Fuller 1:04.4, 26. Dayton Lawrence 1:17.57, 28. Ethan Haslem 1:19.91

500 free — 2. Tyler Kruger 6:20.56, 4. Gabe Leighton 7:06.92

200 free relay — 7. Kooper Arends, Gabe Buchholz, Sam Williams and Tyler Kruger 2:07.84

100 back — 1. Will Fuller 1:04.06*, 2. Kooper Arends 1:09.35, 3. Gabe Buchholz 1:10.15, 6. Sam Williams 1:16.23

100 breast — 4. Hunter Taylor 1:16.67, 8. Ethan Haslem 1:31.5

200 free relay — 5. Hugh Carpenter, Tyler Kruger, Trystan Preator and Will Fuller 1:50.44; 9. Gabe Leighton, Dayton Lawrence, Ethan Haslem and Sam Williams 2:05.62

200 fly — 1. Tyler Kruger 2:34.77

100 IM — 8. Will Fuller 1:04.4, 18. Dayton Lawrence 1:17.57