By JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com
SALINA — Great Bend’s Dawson Clark broke the school record in the 100-yard buttefly (54.43) as the Panther swimmers captured four first-places to capture the Salina Invitational with 570 points.
Clark cut nearly three seconds off his previous best time. He broke the previous record held by his uncle Nick Phillips. Clark placed runner-up in the 100 backstroke and competed on the winning 200-yard medley relay.
“Dawson Clark has been chasing the 100 fly record since his freshman year,” said Great Bend coach Steve Beaumont. “To do it the way he did it, though, was quite remarkable. To drop nearly three seconds in one meet is pretty amazing. The previous record was set by his uncle — Nick Phillips — so for him to get that record is really special. He has worked incredibly hard and in the offseason to make that happen. It couldn’t happen to a better person.”
The Panthers outscored Newton for the first time in several years.
“It’s been several years since we beat Newton,” Beamount said. “They have been among the top 5A teams in the state for quite a while. To finally beat them is very rewarding. These kids have worked hard at practice since Christmas break, and it shows with the great time improvements.”
Phane Pedigo earned a state-qualifying time with a fifth-place finish in the 200 IM (2:18.74).
Other Panther first-place finishers were Isaac Panzer, 50 free, 23.62; and Connor Furrey, 500 free, 5:39.11.
Runner-up finishers were Dawson Clark, 100 backstroke, 1:00.39; and Isaac Panzer, 100 freestyle, 52.74.
The Panthers captured the 200-yard medley relay in 1:50.03 with Phane Pedigo, Sean Williams, Dawson Clark and Corey Harbaugh competing.
The 200-yard freestyle relay placed second in 1:39.61 with Sean Williams, Corey Harbaugh, Zach Seymour and Isaac Panzer competing.
Beaumont said most swimmers improved their previous best times.
“We have really been on a roll the last three meets,” he said. “Everyone on the team has really seen their times drop over the last two weeks, and they are competing very well. Our new swimmers have improved tremendously since the beginning of the season, and many of them had their best meet of the year as well.
“Junior Eli Hutchinson swam season-best times in both the 200 and 500 freestyle events. Cal Kaiser, Daniel Cervantes, and Anthony Molina had time improvements in every event they swam.”
The Panthers compete at the Manhattan meet Saturday.
SALINA TEAM SCORES
1—Great Bend 570
2—Newton 534
3—Salina South 449
4—Salina Central 332
5—Hutchinson 301
6—Rose Hill 191
7—Hays High 116
GREAT BEND RESULTS
50 Freestyle
1—Isaac Panzer, 23.62
4—Corey Harbaugh, 24.97
5—Zach Seymour, 25.27
Jordan Popp, 27.97
Eduardo Prado, 28.53
Daniel Abbott, 29.46
Cal Marshall, 30.23
Anthony Molina, 32.78
100 Backstroke
2—Dawson Clark, 1:00.39
3—Phane Pedigo, 1:02.67
9—Malachi Williams, 1:20.48
100 Breast
3—Sean Williams, 1:09.92
10—Cal Kaiser, 1:28.76
Zach Seymour, DQ
100 Butterfly
1—Dawson Clark, 54.43
8—Allan To, 1:09.95
10—Cal Kaiser, 1:12.28
100 Freestyle
2—Isaac Panzer, 52.74
6—Jordan Boone, 55.26
7—Corey Harbaugh, 56.2
Jordan Popp, 1:03.95
Daniel Abbott, 1:08.19
Daniel Cervantes, 1:09.09
Anthony Molina, 1:18.18
Francisco Garcia, 1:19.88
200 Freestyle
3—Connor Furrey, 2:02.29
5—Sean Williams, 2:02.87
6—Jordan Boone, 2:04.53
Eli Hutchinson, 2:28.07
Francisco Garcia, 2:57.37
200 IM
5—Phane Pedigo, 2:18.74
6—Allan To, 2:33.36
7—Malachi Williams, 2:34.17
200 Free Relay
2—Great Bend A, 1:39.61 (Sean Williams, Corey Harbaugh, Zach Seymour, Isaac Panzer)
5—Great Bend B, 1:50.07 (Cal Marshall, Jordan Popp, Eduardo Prado, Connor Furrey )
9—Great Bend C, 2:08.97 (Daniel Cervantes, Francisco Garcia, Anthony Molina, Daniel Abbott)
200 Medley Relay
1—Great Bend A, 1:50.03 (Phane Pedigo, Sean Williams, Dawson Clark, Corey Harbaugh)
5—Great Bend B, 1:58.01 (Jordan Boone, Zach Seymour, Allan To, Malachi Williams)
11—Great Bend C, 2:24.85 (Cal Kaiser, Jordan Popp, Cal Marshall, Daniel Abbott)
400 Free Relay
3—Great Bend A, 3:34.27 (Jordan Boone, Isaac Panzer, Phane Pedigo, Dawson Clark)
10—Great Bend B, 3:59.89 (Allan To, Malachi Williams, Eli Hutchinson, Connor Furrey)
Great Bend C, 4:56.11 (Cal Marshall, Daniel Cerventes, Cal Kaiser, Anthony Molina)
500 Freestyle
1—Connor Furrey, 5:39.11
5—Eli Hutchinson, 6:39.61
7—Eduardo Prado, 7:00.34
