Getting to experience one of the few meter pools in the state resulted in some strong performances for the Powell Panther girls’ swim and dive team, as the Panthers finished third in Douglas on Saturday while one Panther achieved a rare feat not seen in seven years.

Freshman Lynea Christensen earned a qualifying spot in the 1-meter diving, finishing fourth with a score of 154. That qualification meant she qualified for individual swimming events as well as diving, something a Panther girl hasn’t done since Caitlyn Miner seven years ago, according to coach Bob Smartt.

“It requires a high degree of athleticism for a person to qualify for state in both swimming and diving,” he said. “They are very different disciplines which require a very different skill set to master.”

In addition to that mark, Christensen also added a new swimming qualification in the 100 butterfly, finishing second in a time of 1 minute, 24.79 seconds.

Kaitlin Diver continued her strong run in the pool, winning both the 200 IM in 2:46.45 and the 100 freestyle in 1:05.9.

Patricia Christensen claimed a win of her own after a week out of the pool, taking the top spot in the 200 free in 2:29.67, while also taking second in the 400 free in 5:22.75.

Both the Christensen sisters and Diver along with Daisy Carpenter helped the Panther’s 400 free relay to the victory in a time of 4:47.01.

“It was great to have Patricia back in the pool, not only winning an individual event, but making a big contribution to our win in the 400 freestyle relay,” Smartt said.

The Panthers had several additional top five individual finishes, as Baylee Kraft placed fourth in the 100 fly (1:37.24); Claire Hultgren placed fifth in the 200 IM (3:41.26); Carpenter placed fifth in the 100 back (1:21.93) and Sophie Erkkila placed fifth in the 100 breaststroke (1:47.34).

Overall in the team standings the Panthers finished with 282 points, just behind host Douglas in second with 310 while Buffalo took the top spot with 396 points.

Rawlins finished fourth with 108 points and Newcastle earned 98.

After a difficult weekend in a meter pool as opposed to a yard pool, Smartt is hopeful the Panthers will be able to get some additional qualifiers this upcoming weekend in Buffalo’s yard pool.

“We are hoping to pick up at least one new qualifier at the meet on Saturday in Buffalo. The Douglas High School pool is the only natatorium that we visit during the year with a 25 meter pool,” Smartt said. “The conversion protocols make it more difficult for athletes to make state in a 25 meter facility. It will be nice to get back to a 25-yard pool in Buffalo where the girls are more familiar with the state standards.”

In addition to competing in a yard pool, Smartt is hopeful the Buffalo Invitational on Saturday will feature a number of conference opponents to give the Panthers a good look ahead to the postseason which starts in just a couple of weeks.

“The Buffalo Invitational should feature almost all the teams in our conference, so it will be an indicator of the strength of our competitors headed into the conference meet which we will host two weeks later,” Smartt said.

DOUGLAS INVITE

*Denotes state qualifying mark, all races in meters not yards

Team scores — 1. Buffalo 396, 2. Douglas 310, 3. Powell 282, 4. Rawlins 108, 5. Newcastle 98

200 meter medley relay — 3. Daisy Carpenter, Kaitlin Diver, Brooke Brown and Lynea Christensen 2:27.52

200 free — 1. Patricia Christensen 2:29.67*, 9. Lilly Pittman 3:13.26

200 IM — 1. Kaitlin Diver 2:46.45*, 5. Claire Hultgren 3:41.26

50 free — 10. Brooke Brown 35.74, 14. Autumn Weckler 42.3, 15. Sophie Erkkila 43.29, 19. Leah Sockey 47.98

1-meter diving (six dives) — 4. Lynea Christensen 154*

100 fly — 2. Lynea Christensen 1:24.79*, 4. Baylee Kraft 1:37.24

100 free — 1. Kaitlin Diver 1:05.9*, 10. April Weckler 1:33.43, 12. Meredyth Giltner 1:48.21

400 free — 2. Patricia Christensen 5:22.75*, 7. Brooke Brown 6:21.68, 10. Leah Sockey 7:33.45, 11. Autumn Weckler 7:52.75

200 free relay — 6. Claire Hultgren, Autumn Weckler, Leah Sockey and Meredyth Giltner 3:00.46

100 back — 5. Daisy Carpenter 1:21.93*, 8. Baylee Kraft 1:29.89, 13. April Weckler 1:39.25

100 breast — 5. Sophie Erkkila 1:47.34, 7. Lilly Pittman 1:49.61, 8. Meredyth Giltner 1:52.04, 9. Claire Hultgren 2:04.97

400 free relay — 1. Lynea Christensen, Kaitlin Diver, Daisy Carpenter and Patricia Christensen 4:47.01; 5. Brooke Brown, Baylee Kraft, Claire Hultgren and Lilly Pittman 6:16.97; 6. Autumn Weckler, April Weckler, Leah Sockey and Meredyth Giltner 7:34.28