Rust from the winter break didn’t slow down the Powell High School boys’ swim and dive team, as the Panthers added one new qualifier at an invitational in Worland on Friday to kick off the new year.

That new qualification came from Gabe Buchholz, who finished just ahead of the qualifying standard in the 100 freestyle with a time of 58.29 seconds to take fifth overall.

“A big relief for him for sure,” coach Stephanie Warren said. “It’s been kind of the same thing with our other qualifiers last year that qualified late. It’s a little bit more stress on them, I think sometimes when they’re pushing it to that last meet. But having it done early gives them a chance to kind of relax and focus on other events and learn other things.”

Facing tough competition in the meet, including the top two teams in 3A the past four seasons in Lander and Buffalo, Powell swimmers were up to the task, including Hugh Carpenter, who placed second in the 200 IM with a time of 2:16.5 and third in the 100 butterfly with a time of 58.67 seconds.

“Any time we get a chance to see Lander, it’s always a good chance for them to swim against faster swimmers. Because we always know they’re going to be the ones that we’re going to swim fastest against,” Warren said. “Continuing to see Buffalo is always nice too, because they’ve got some really great swimmers, and getting to see them more than a couple of times is always really good to push the boys and just see where everyone lands.”

Those were the two highest placements for the Panthers, but the team added a number of other top five finishes, as Will Fuller placed fifth in the 200 IM (2:27.84) and the 500 free (6:24.91); Tyler Kruger took fifth in the 50 free (25.59) and Dayton Lawrence placed fifth in diving with a score of 145.55.

Powell added a new event for one Panther to compete in, as Sam Williams joined Lawrence on the board for the first time after deciding over winter break to begin diving in addition to swimming.

“He learned six dives in about five practices and he wanted to go ahead and give it a shot,” Warren said. “He’s interested in diving, he’s actually catching on pretty quickly. It’s kind of nice for Dayton to have someone to dive with once in a while.”

In the team standings Lander took the top spot with 449 points, just ahead of Buffalo which had 411. Powell finished fourth with 304 points, behind Cody with 362 but well ahead of host Worland at 190.

Powell now returns home for its marquee event of the season, hosting the Gene Dozah Invitational at 10 a.m. on Saturday.

That event is currently expected to feature a majority of conference foes for the Panthers, as they will welcome in Buffalo, Cody, Newcastle and Worland.

“We are continuing to look for the kids to keep making improvements,” Warren said. “We swam and worked hard over break … They’ve been continuing to do their best to stay in shape and to do everything that they can to keep getting those times to drop down. We hope to see some good competition and some good swims compared to the other teams that come.”

The Saturday invitational will be the second-to-last chance to see the Panthers at home — the last is a home triangular on Jan. 23.

WORLAND INVITE

* Denotes state qualifying mark

Team scores — 1. Lander 449, 2. Buffalo 411, 3. Cody 362, 4. Powell 304, 5. Worland 190

200 medley relay — 3. Will Fuller, Gabe Buchholz, Tyler Kruger and Hugh Carpenter 1:56.5; 7. Kooper Arends, Gabe Leighton, Hunter Taylor and Sam Williams 2:12.67

200 free — 6. Trystan Preator 2:11.4, 9. Kooper Arends 2:30.03

200 IM — 2. Hugh Carpenter 2:16.5*, 5. Will Fuller 2:27.84*, 11. Sam Williams 2:45.55, 14. Gabe Leighton 3:05.88

50 free — 5. Tyler Kruger 25.59*, 8. Gabe Buchholz 26.28, 11. Hunter Taylor 27.34

1-meter diving (six dives) — 5. Dayton Lawrence 145.55, 8. Sam Williams 79.25

100 fly — 3. Hugh Carpenter 58.67*, 6. Tyler Kruger 1:04*

100 free — 5. Gabe Buchholz 58.29*, 9. Kooper Arends 1:06.03, 16. Ethan Haslem 1:20.78

500 free — 5. Will Fuller 6:24.91

200 free relay — 6. Trystan Preator, Sam Williams, Tyler Kruger and Hunter Taylor 1:48.83

100 back — 10. Trystan Preator 1:13.53

100 breast — 7. Hunter Taylor 1:21.15, 14. Gabe Leighton 1:39.4

400 free relay — 3. Hugh Carpenter, Gabe Buchholz, Trystan Preator and Will Fuller 3:47.27