A season full of top competition around the state will come to a close this upcoming weekend as the Panther swim team will head to the 3A state championships on Thursday and Friday in Gillette.

Standing at the top likely for title No. 26 in a row will be Lander, followed by Buffalo who has been seen as the second best team throughout the season in 3A. 

Beyond that, Panther head coach Stephanie Warren sees a handful of teams that can compete for the No. 3 through 6 positions in the team standings.

The Panthers expect to be in that mix and improve on their seventh place finish last year, as they will likely compete with Worland, Lyman and Green River for those four spots.

Warren said that while team success is important, she is hoping that the Panthers will put together their best individual performances of the season.

Standing at the top of that list is senior Nate Johnston, who is looking to win his third consecutive title in the 100 breaststroke. Johnston won the 3A North conference meet last week, setting a new conference record in the process.

In addition to Johnston, junior Rui Parker is expected to be in the mix for multiple events as he seeks his first state title.

Panther divers are expected to be competitive at the top as they take six divers to the state meet.

The Panthers are bringing their most qualifiers to state after fielding their largest team in history, taking 18 of 25 athletes to state. 

“We are hoping to get as many people into the finals on Friday as possible,” Warren said.

Two new qualifiers were added at the last chance meet in Cody on Thursday to make the final tally 18. 

Freshman Tristin Dicks shaved three seconds off his 100 free time to finish in 56.83 at the last chance meet. Joining Dicks was junior Nathan Fuller who qualified in the 100 fly, cutting nearly six seconds off his time to finish in 1:07.94.

“It was great to see those two cut so much time down, they just went out there and went for it,” Warren said.

Warren is hoping that this is a sign of things to come, as most athletes at the last chance meet cut significant time off their qualifying times due to their taper.

She is also hopeful they will have their full team for the first time in weeks as they have battled illness throughout the season.

One thing is for certain, a thrilling season of ups and downs will come to a close at the Campbell County School Aquatic Center.

CODY LAST CHANCE

* Denotes state qualifying mark

200 medley relay: 1. Aidan Cannizzaro, Tristin Dicks, Kyler Warren and Riley Schiller 2:05.86

200 IM: 5. Nathan Fuller 2:37.79, 6. Connor Mayes 2:46.08

50 free: 2. Caiden Gerhts 26.64, 3. Ashtin Prentiss 27.14, 4. Lukas Legler 30.40, 5. Caden Sherman 32.67

1-meter diving (six dives): 1. Ashtin Prentiss 176.05*, 2. Taggart Shumway 174.95*, 3. 168.05*, 5. Justin Hobbs 142.00

100 fly: 1. Nathan Fuller 1:07.94*

100 free: 1. Tristin Dicks 56.83, 2. Riley Schiller 1:00.87, 4. Taggart Shumway 1:08.87, 5. Lukas Legler 1:10.88, 6. Caden Sherman 1:12.63, 7. Wesley Hoffman 1:12.72, 8. Justin Hobbs 1:14.56, 9. Hunter Davis 1:14.68

200 free relay: 2. Ashtin Prentiss, Wesley Hoffman, Caiden Gerhts and Caden Sherman 2:03.43, 3. Lukas Legler, Justin Hobbs, Hunter Davis and Connor Mayes 2:10.93

100 back: 1. Kyler Warren 1:10.08, 2. Riley Schiller 1:13.43, 3. Hunter Davis 1:21.36

100 breast: 2. Tristin Dicks 1:20.74, 3. Kyler Warren 1:21.80, 4. Connor Mayes 1:31.70

400 free relay: 1. Aidan Cannizzaro, Nathan Fuller, Wesley Hoffman and Riley Schiller 4:38.35