Starting out the new year with a small meet on the road the Powell Panther swim and dive team picked up one new qualifier in a dual with Worland on Friday, defeating the Warriors 98.5 to 57.5. It was a chance for the Panthers to tune up their skills before a big upcoming home weekend.

“It was nice to kind of get them back into the routine a little bit just because of Christmas break,” coach Stephanie Warren said. “We still didn’t quite have everyone there because of break and everything, but it was a good way to ease them back in and get them ready to rock and roll for the next month.”

The new qualifier for the Panthers was Hugh Carpenter, who returned to the pool for the first time after sitting out the first few weeks of the season injured.

He earned his qualifying marks through two victories in the shorter freestyle races, winning the 50 free in 24.31 seconds and the 100 free in 55.03 seconds.

“He wanted to kind of ease back into it, so that’s what we did. He did well coming off his clearance from the doctor. We were excited to see him and now he is even more excited to get back in shape and get that going in the pool,” Warren said.

The Panthers won two of three relays in addition to winning seven individual events against the Warriors.

Conner Mayes earned a pair of first place finishes, winning the 100 fly in 1:09.24 and the 100 breaststroke in 1:19.18.

Trystan Preator won the 200 IM in 2:34.92, Will Fuller won the 100 back in 1:03.06 and Taggart Shumway claimed the top spot in diving with a score of 151.2.

In the relays the Panthers won the 200 medley, as the team of Fuller, Mayes, Tyler Kruger and Carpenter won in 1:57.29, while the team of Preator, Gabe Buchholtz, Kruger and Shumway won in 1:50.75.

With the return of Carpenter to the lineup Warren said she is glad the Panthers are starting to get a good look at their relay teams as they head into the busiest time of the season as they try  finding the right combinations.

“It was good for us to see what we’ll be working with and what we can move here and there,” Warren said. “There’s still a lot of possibilities for changes over the season, but it’s kind of a good idea to see who’s going to be at the forefront for those relays.”

Powell added a handful of second place finishes on top of the victories, as Kruger finished second in the 200 IM (2:39.54) and the 100 breast (1:24.61); Jacob Gardner finished second in the 200 free (2:35.56); Fuller finished second in the 50 free (24.53); Dayton Lawrence finished second in diving (136.8) and Gabe Buchholtz placed second in the 100 free (1:01.48).

Now that the Panthers have the winter break in their rear view mirror their focus this week will remain at home, as they will host a pair of meets on Friday and Saturday.

Powell will host what is scheduled to be a triangular between them, Worland and Newcastle at 4 p.m., but Warren believes that Newcastle will be in Cody on Friday.

That meet will be a precursor to the biggest meet of the season for the Panthers as they will host the Gene Dozah Invitational starting at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Powell Aquatic Center.

In that meet the Panthers are expecting Worland, Cody, Newcastle, Buffalo and 4A Riverton to be in attendance, with Warren hoping to gain a better understanding of the Panther’s positioning just under a month before the conference meet in Cody.

“Most of them will be there so it’ll be great to see,” Warren said. “Hopefully we’ll have everyone that’s going to be swimming with us and kind of get a gauge of where we’re at compared to the other teams of our conference.”

Those will be two of the final three home meets for the Panthers, with the final home meet on Friday, Jan. 24.

POWELL 98.5, WORLAND 57.5

* Denotes state qualifying mark

200 medley relay — 1. Will Fuller, Conner Mayes, Tyler Kruger and Hugh Carpenter 1:57.29

200 free — 2. Jacob Gardner 2:35.56, 4. Onyx Miller 2:51.77, 5. Lukas Legler 2:55.63

200 IM — 1. Trystan Preator 2:34.92, 2. Tyler Kruger 2:39.54, 3. Sam Williams 2:39.75

50 free — 1. Hugh Carpenter 24.31*, 2. Will Fuller 24.53*, 4. Taggart Shumway 27.23, T5. Trystan Preator 28.48, 7. Lukas Legler 32.05, 8. Dayton Lawrence 32.15

1-meter diving (six dives) — 1. Taggart Shumway 151.2, 2. Dayton Lawrence 136.8

100 fly — 1. Conner Mayes 1:09.24

100 free — 1. Hugh Carpenter 55.03*, 2. Gabe Buchholtz 1:01.48, 6. Sam Williams 1:04.05, 7. Hunter Taylor 1:10.05, 9. Jim Black 1:26.03

200 free relay — 1. Trystan Preator, Gabe Buchholtz, Tyler Kruger and Taggart Shumway 1:50.75

100 back — 1. Will Fuller 1:03.06*, 5. Gabe Buchholtz 1:16.92, 6. Jim Black 1:46.68, 7. Hunter Taylor 1:46.87

100 breast — 1. Conner Mayes 1:19.18, 2. Tyler Kruger 1:24.61, 4. Jacob Gardner 1:32.98, 5. Onyx Miller 1:37.36

400 free relay — 2. Lukas Legler, Hunter Taylor, Jacob Gardner and Sam Williams 2:19.39