The Lady Panthers swim team is looking strong with five wins in seven meets, including defeating Cody in a dual on Thursday and claiming the Worland Invite Saturday.

However, head coach Luke Robertson is not counting wins, rather he’s tallying the number of girls qualifying for state Oct. 17 and Oct. 31.

The swim team beat Cody High School 97-76 at a dual meet in Cody.

Sophomore Meg Hanlin qualified for state in the 500 freestyle with a time of 6:40.72, slicing nearly 3 seconds off her previous best time in that race.

Hanlin went out for the team last year, but this was her first state-qualifying event.

“I was really happy with Meg,” Robertson said. “She’ll be our 14th state qualifier.”

More than half the team will swim at state with less than half the season remaining.

“That’s a good number and we’re hoping to pick up a few more,” Robertson said.

The Panthers have three more meets. Then it’s off to conference in Pinedale Oct. 17-18. The Lady Panthers can qualify more swimmers for state at the conference meet, Robertson said.

Powell dominated the dual in Cody.

“I thought we swam really well,” Robertson said.

Junior Tristan Bohlman knocked 2 seconds off her time in the 200 freestyle, Robertson said.

Tristan Bohlman took second in the 200 freestyle with a time of 2:20.76. Sophomore Aly Schneider took first with a time of 2:16.04.

Junior Amanda Tracy, senior SarahJean O’Neil, senior Stephanie Liggett and senior Tasha McKelvey grabbed first in the 200 medley relay with a time of 2:04.90

McKelvey took first in the 100 freestyle with a time of 1:02.47.

Liggett nailed first in the 100 butterfly with a time of 1:08.74.

Tracy landed first in the 50 freestyle with a time of 27.22. Tracy took first in the 500 yard freestyle too with a time of 5:56.39.

SaraJean O’Neill took first in the 100 backstroke with a time of 1:13.60.

Liggett took first in the 100 butterfly with a time of 1:08.74.

Freshman Julia Kay O’Neill took the plunge coming up first in the 1-meter diving with 133.75 points.

The Panthers traveled to Worland, where they had success earlier this year, on Saturday. PHS beat Worland handily 102-73 Sept. 18.

The invite on Saturday offered more of the same. Powell finished first, scoring 276 points. Lander was second with 225, followed by Worland with 181.5, Rawlins 154, Douglas 145, Cody 144, Newcastle 122 and Buffalo 77.5.

“Our girls swam very well,” Robertson said.

Winning boosts the girls’ confidence, but they must keep those wins in perspective and continue to focus on decreasing their times, he said.

At invites, Robertson likes to try different relay combinations to determine the best teams for conference and state.

But he also has to consider the schedule of events. If a girl just swam, say the 500 freestyle, scheduling her in the next event is too difficult for the athlete, he said.

Still relays are significant because they earn more points than individual events. At this point he has a short list of relay teams for conference and state, Robertson said.

The team of Tracy, SarahJean O’Neill, Liggett and Schneider took first in the 200 medley relay with a time of 2:06.07.

Liggett, senior Tasha McKelvey, Schneider and Tracy snatched first in the 400 freestyle relay with a time of 4:06.18. That’s 1 second less than their best time.

No new girls qualified for state at Worland, but a few Panthers previously qualified were able to qualify for other events. He likes his athletes qualifying in multiple events because it gives him more options choosing which swimmer to compete in a specific race. At state, swimmers can participate in only two events, Robertson said.

So, he can examine other teams to ascertain which competitors are best at particular events to help decide event schedules for his team. However, the main focus is improving his swimmers’ strengths, Robertson said.

Liggett hit her second fastest time in the 200 individual medley and her fastest ever in the 100 butterfly, Robertson said.

In the 200 IM, Liggett took fourth with a time of 2:29.49. In the 100 fly her time was 1:07.42 for second place.

Senior Ashley Dillon knocked off some time in the 50 freestyle and clipped 1 second off her 100 backstroke time. “She had really strong finishes,” Robertson said.

In the 50 free her time was 32.11 for 15th and in the 100 back her time was 1:19.10 for 15th.

McKelvey sliced 16 seconds off the 500 freestyle, Robertson said.

McKelvey’s time was 6:02.61 for first.

Tracy nailed first in the 200 freestyle with a time of 2:11.25.

Freshman Rylie Kannard cut 36 seconds in the 500 freestyle, Robertson said. Kannard’s time was 7:09.88 for 13th.

At this time he will encourage the girls to zero in on self-improvement, Robertson said. Taking first or second at meets during the season doesn’t mean a team is the favorite for state, he said.

The Panthers have three meets before conference. That includes one more Friday and Saturday competition.

Both conference and state are two-day meets.

The girls will compete at the Riverton quad Friday, which starts at 4 p.m. At 11 a.m. the next day the Panthers will swim at the Pinedale invite.

Upcoming meets offer more opportunities for additional Panthers to qualify for state.

Jackson Hole High School is one of the toughest competitors, according to Robertson.

“They’re probably the toughest team in the conference,” he said.

At the Sept. 5 Cody invite, Jackson was first with 499 points to Powell at third with 392 points. The next day in Lander, Jackson again took first place with 361 points with Powell grabbing second with 242 points. Then at the Gene Dozah Invite in Powell Sept. 13, Powell scored 268 points over Jackson’s 253 points.

The only meets Powell did not win this year were the Cody Invite and the Lander Invite.

At 6:30 a.m. Monday, the girls were swimming while Robertson simultaneously coached and chatted with the Tribune. He said the girls work hard in practice and at meets.

“There is definitely a lot of effort,” Robertson said.