Panthers swim to third at state

Posted 2/28/17

The top three teams were Lander (331), Lyman (231) and Powell (175).

“Overall we had a great weekend,” PHS head coach Stephanie Warren said. “We had a third place finish, which is wonderful, we were very excited about that. We knew that …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

E-mail
Password
Log in

Panthers swim to third at state

Posted

Creed, Spann, Wilkerson earn 2017 WCA All-State honors

The Powell High School boy’s swim team held off a hard-charging Worland squad to bring home the third place trophy from last weekend’s 3A State Swim Meet.

The top three teams were Lander (331), Lyman (231) and Powell (175).

“Overall we had a great weekend,” PHS head coach Stephanie Warren said. “We had a third place finish, which is wonderful, we were very excited about that. We knew that getting second place was going to be tough; we knew Lyman was going to be tough. Worland was creeping up on us, and we were able to hold them off.”

Though Powell was without a state champion in an individual event, several swimmers finished in the top three, led by junior Kacey Creed and freshman Richard Spann. For the meet, Creed finished second in the 100 Butterfly and third in the 100 breaststroke. His time of 55.14 in the 100 butterfly moved him to second place on the PHS Hall of Fame board, while his time of 1:01.76 in the 100 breaststroke moved him to the top of the board in that event, breaking John Arross’ time of 1:03.73 set in 1984.

Spann finished second in the 200 individual medley and third in the 100 backstroke. His time of 56.70 in the 100 backstroke placed him fifth on the Hall of Fame board. He called his first state meet “definitely a memorable experience.”

“When I swam the 200 IM and saw my time, I felt proud of the hard work I put in throughout the season,” Spann said. “I cut almost eight seconds overall between prelims and finals. This was a great experience, and I can’t wait to get back here next year and do it all over again.”

The Panthers claimed two of the top three spots in 1 meter dives, with junior Hudson Wilkerson placing second (399.05) and senior Nate MaGill placing third (335.45). Wilkerson’s score earned him NISCA All-American consideration for diving.

“Hudson will turn in some papers, and if he is considered, he will be awarded an All-American certificate,” Warren said. “That would place him with the best divers in the United States, which is a huge accomplishment.”

Bryce Hogen dove to a ninth place finish with a score of 238.95, while Alex Hansen finished 12th (228.95).

MaGill was able to fulfill his goal of a top-three finish, a goal he’d set at the end of the 3A West Conference Championships two weeks ago. After finishing eighth in this same event last year, his third place finish is a testament to how hard he’s worked this season.

“I got my wish,” MaGill said. “It was a bit stressful, having a lot of down time leading up to a big event, but I had a blast. Competing and getting to hang out with all my friends, it was a great way to end my final state meet.”

Because of weather concerns, the team traveled to Gillette a day earlier than planned. That meant more time out of the pool for the Panthers, and more than a little concern from the coaches.

“That’s not the way we like to do it, if at all possible,” said PHS assistant coach Jerry Rodriguez. “I’m pretty sure that affected some of the guys. Some people adjust to that, some people don’t, and that kind of showed in the results.”

Powell’s relay teams made the necessary adjustments, posting their best times of the season and scoring valuable points to help lift the team to the bronze. The 400 freestyle relay team of Garret Henderson, Joe Rogers, Spann and Creed finished second overall with a time of 3:33.75.

“The 400 free relay was a great race against Lyman for second place,” Warren said. “It was a strong showing, and really gave us a boost at the end.”

The 200 medley relay team of Spann, Creed, Joe Kuntz and Henderson swam to a fourth place finish with a time of 1:47.32, while the 200 freestyle relay team of Henderson, Hudson Wilkerson, Dillinger Wilkerson and Kuntz finished seventh with a time of 1:40.65.

In other individual events, Joe Rogers placed 11th in the 200 freestyle (2:05.80), shaving three seconds off his prelim time, while Henderson swam to a ninth place finish in the 50 freestyle (24.31). Trenton Wilson and Kuntz finished 14th and 15th in the 200 freestyle. Hudson Wilkerson and Chris Lopez finished 20th and 22nd in the 50 freestyle.

Dillinger Wilkerson finished ninth in the 200 IM (2:21.51) and Jared Fuller finished 12th (2:23.71).

Gavin Asay and Joe Kuntz finished seventh (1:02.46) and ninth (1:03.65) respectively in the 100 butterfly, while Jared Fuller took 10th in the 100 backstroke (1:03.30).

In the 100 breaststroke, Dillinger Wilkerson placed eighth (1:09.34), with MaGill finishing 10th (1:10.56). Jay Cox swam to a 16th place finish in the 100 breaststroke (1:16.85).

In the 500 freestyle, Asay finished 13th (6:04.68), and Braden Schiller 15th (6:13.74).

With the state meet in the books, Warren took a moment to reflect on the season and her team. With six new records on the Hall of Fame board for the season and another third place showing at state, she’s proud of what was accomplished this year.

“We’re very proud of all of them,” Warren said. “We had a small group of seniors this year, but they brought great personality and leadership to the team. Hopefully our juniors and the younger guys step it up and pick up where they left off. We’re excited to see what they’re going to bring to the team next year.”

Rodriguez agreed, saying the adversity the team fought back from this season in the form of weather and illness showed the athletes’ character.

“In the 10 years I’ve been here, we’ve never had to miss meets because of weather; this year, we had three meets canceled. It definitely makes it a bit more challenging,” Rodriguez said. “Despite all of that, the team accomplished some great things, including beating Lander at an invitational meet, which doesn’t happen very often. That was a great highlight for us. We’re looking forward to a strong team next season.”

Comments