Ending the regular season on the road the Powell Panther swim team made a trip to Cody last Tuesday where the Panthers added their eighth qualifier of the season before competing in the Buffalo Invitational on Friday.

Starting with the dual on Tuesday, the Panthers were unable to win any events but added a new qualifier to the mix, as sophomore Gabe Buchholtz qualified for the state meet in the 100 fly with a time of 1 minute, 8.1 seconds.

“That was really exciting for Gabe to qualify. He’s been working so hard, and even last year as a freshman he was working really hard and was kind of frustrated at the end of the season,” coach Stephanie Warren said. “So it was really exciting for him to qualify, and we were hoping maybe it’ll kind of open the door for him to maybe feel even more confident to qualify in a couple other events over the next week or so.”

In the dual the Panthers had several athletes finish in the top three, as Trystan Preator placed second in the 200 free (2:11.12) and third in the 100 fly (1:03.28); Will Fuller placed second in the 100 back (1:01.88) and third in the 50 free (24.18); Hugh Carpenter placed second in the 200 IM (2:17.94) and third in the 500 free (6:05.82); Sam Williams placed third in the 200 free (2:13.93) and Tyler Kruger took third in the 100 breaststroke (1:25.59).

Cody ended up winning the dual with 194 points to Powell’s 102.

On Friday the Panthers made the trip over to Buffalo, taking part in an invitational against three other teams from their conference.

Powell had one victor in the meet, as Mayes won the 500 free in 6:04.33.

Buchholtz was second in the event with a time of 6:39.53.

Mayes also earned a third place finish in the 200 IM (2:24.91) while Carpenter finished third in both the 200 IM (2:24.91) and the 100 fly (1:00.54).

The Panthers finished third with 217 points while Buffalo finished in first with 399.

“I think it gave us a pretty good idea just to kind of feel where we’re at,” Warren said.

CONFERENCE MEET

The Panthers now head into postseason action, starting with the conference meet in Cody on Friday and Saturday.

Powell will be competing against Buffalo, Cody, Worland, Newcastle and Douglas at the meet, with the Panthers eyeing a top three finish.

“Cody and Buffalo are very strong, they’ve got a lot of really good swimmers,” Warren said. “It’d be great if we could kind of keep an eye on third place there.”

The meet is set to start with diving at noon on Friday before concluding on Saturday.

CODY 194, POWELL 102

* Denotes state qualifying mark

200 medley relay — 2. Will Fuller, Conner Mayes, Tyler Kruger and Hugh Carpenter 1:56

200 free — 2. Trystan Preator 2:11.12, 3. Sam Williams 2:13.93, 5. Jim Black 2:56.45

200 IM — 2. Hugh Carpenter 2:17.94*, 4. Lukas Legler 3:00.33

50 free — 3. Will Fuller 24.18*, 8. Gabe Buchholtz 26.53, 13. Onyx Miller 32.91

100 fly — 3. Trystan Preator 1:03.28*, 4. Conner Mayes 1:06.14*, 5. Gabe Buchholtz 1:08.1*

100 free — 4 Tyler Kruger 1:02.86, 6. Jacob Gardner 1:10.07

500 free — 3. Hugh Carpenter 6:05.82*, 4. Sam Williams 6:27.36, 6. Jim Black 8:06.37

200 free relay — 2. Gabe Buchholtz, Tyler Kruger, Trystan Preator and Sam Williams 1:48.73; 5. Lukas Legler, Jim Black, Onyx Miller and Jacob Gardner 2:10.71

100 back — 2. Will Fuller 1:01.88, 4. Lukas Legler 1:20.71, 6. Onyx Miller 1:33.66

100 breast — 2. Conner Mayes 1:17.24, 3. Tyler Kruger 1:25.59, 5. Jacob Gardner 1:34.08

400 free relay — 2. Gabe Buchholtz, Hugh Carpenter, Will Fuller and Conner Mayes 3:56.26; 4. Sam Williams, Lukas Legler, Jim Black and Jacob Gardner 4:55.55

BUFFALO INVITE

Team scores — 1. Buffalo 399, 2. Cody 337, 3. Powell 217, 4. Worland 168

200 medley relay — 5. Gabe Buchholtz, Hugh Carpenter, Tyler Kruger and Conner Mayes 2:05.35; 7. Onyx Miller, Jacob Gardner, Lukas Legler and Sam Williams 2:23.56

200 free — 4. Will Fuller 2:10.48, 5. Trystan Preator 2:10.7, 7. Sam Williams 2:19.68

200 IM — 3. Conner Mayes 2:24.91*, 7. Tyler Kruger 2:44.03

50 free — 3. Hugh Carpenter 24.38*, 9. Gabe Buchholtz 27.38, 14. Jacob Gardner 31.86, 17. Jim Black 36.03

100 fly — 3. Hugh Carpenter 1:00.54*, 4. Trystan Preator 1:04.06*, 13. Sam Williams 1:17.19

100 free — 5. Will Fuller 57.39*, 10. Jacob Gardner 1:12.49, 13. Onyx Miller 1:15.16, 14. Jim Black 1:21.89

500 free — 1. Conner Mayes 6:04.33*, 2. Gabe Buchholtz 6:39.53, 7. Lukas Legler 7:05.58

200 free relay — 5. Trystan Preator, Tyler Kruger, Sam Williams and Will Fuller 1:50.46; 8. Jacob Gardner, Jim Black, Onyx Miller and Lukas Legler 2:14.84

100 back — 10. Lukas Legler 1:22.91

100 breast — 9. Tyler Kruger 1:26.14, 11. Onyx Miller 1:37.42

400 free relay — 3. Hugh Carpenter, Gabe Buchholtz, Conner Mayes and Will Fuller 3:56.91