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Great Bend swimmers win eight events at Hays
swimmer matt huslig
Matt Hulsig

BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com

HAYS — Great Bend’s Matthew Huslig and Cole Pierce were double winners and the Panthers won the Hays High Swimming Invitational. Huslig and Pierce were also members of two winning relays.
The Panthers scored 606 points to outdistance runner-up Dodge City (539).
Huslig captured the 100 free (55.3) and 200 IM (2:24.48). Pierce swept the 200 free (2:02.62) and 500 free (5:30.22). Other Panther individual winners were Isaac Panzer, 50 free (23.57, SQ) and Malachi Williams, 100 breaststroke (1:15.18).
The Panthers’ 200 relay of Huslig, Williams, Pierce and Panzer placed first (1:41.32). The 200 medley relay of Allen To, Williams, Panzer and Huslig placed first (1:56.47). The 400 relay was nipped by Dodge City (4;01.49), but placed runner-up (4:09.05) with Pierce, Eduardo Prado, To and Daniel Abbott competing. Panzer was runner-up in the 100 butterfly (1:01.61).
The Panthers sswept first place in eight events although some of the times were off season bests. The Panthers found a way to beat the competition while missing practice time.
“It definitely wasn’t our best showing,” said Great Bend coach Steve Beaumont. “The weather has kept out out of the pool and we are battling some illness. We can’t control that, but we didn’t compete well. We need to fix that soon.”
The Panthers will compete at the Wichita Heights Tournament Saturday.
“It’s easily the biggest meet of the season with the toughest competition other than the state meet,” Beaumont said.

HAYS HIGH INVITATIONAL
TEAM TOTALS—1—Great Bend 606; 2—Dodge City 539; 3—Hays High 305; 4—Liberal 260
GREAT BEND RESULTS
50 free—1—Panzer, 23.57 (SQ); 3—Hutchinson, 26.66; 6—Abbott, 27.66; Popp, 27.88; Stoulil, 28.14; Jose Reyes, 31.44; Alan Reyes, 40.02; DeLeon, 40.3
100 free—1—Huslig, 55.3; 4—Prado, 1:03.57; 8—Cervantes, 1:06.99; Frizzell, 1:15.71; Jacobo, 1:19.75; DeLeon, 1:34.2
100 backstroke—1—Bunkall, Dodge City, 1:06.72; 3—Kennedy, 1:16.25; 5—Abbott, 1:19.21; Valdovinos, 1:30.1
100 butterfly—1—Smith, Hays, 57.87; 2—Panzer, 1:01.61; 5—Kaiser, 1:09.76; 7—Flores, 1:23.48
100 breaststoke—1—Williams, 1:15.18; 6—Cervantes, 1:25.83; 7—Popp, 1:30.76
200 free—1—Pierce, GB, 2:02.62; 4—To, 2;17.22; 5—Kennedy, 2:23.25; Frizzell, 2:58.21
200 IM—1—Huslig, 2:24.48; 3—Williams, 2:33.81; 7—Kaiser, 2:53.88
500 free—1—Pierce, GB, 5:30.22; 7—Linenberger, 7:00.7
200 free relay—1—GB A, 1:41.32 (Huslig, Williams, Pierce, Panzer); 5—GB B, 1:55.25 (Prado, Flores, Popp, Hutchinson); 10—GB C, 2:31.75 (Frizzell, Alan Reyes, DeLeon, Linenberger)
200 medley relay—1—GB A, 1:56.47 (To, Williams, Panzer, Huslig); 5—GB B, 2:12.63 (Stoulil, Cervantes, Kaiser, Flores); 6—GB C, 2:30.79 (Valdovinos, Jacobo, Linenberger, Jose Reyes)
400 free relay—1—Dodge City, 4:01.49; 2—GB A, 4:09.05 (Pierce, Prado, To, Abbott); 5—GB B, 4:35.2 (Hutchinson, Kaiser, Stoulil, Kennedy); 6—GB C, 4:53.5 (Frizzell, Jose Reyes, Valdovinos, Flores)