The PHS Lady Panthers headed to state for the second consecutive year straight since 2018, and their name was in the conversation. The state tournament was held from November 2nd through the 4th. 

The girls had a great season with a record of 27-7 before State but came up a little short in the state championship game after battling through 4 sets with the Mountain View Buffaloes. They ended up being the Wyoming 3A state runner-up. 

The starting 6 consisted of Waycee Harvey, Stevee Walsh, Addy Thorington, Saige Kidd, Catelynn Floy, and Alexa Richardson. Addy led the state in kills with 602 and was also WyoPreps Athlete of the Week at one point. Stevee and Addy also received All-State honors. This would be Addy’s third consecutive year making All-State. 

“At regionals, we played like we had nothing to lose,” Walsh said. “At state, it felt like we had a lot more on the line.” 

The Lady Panthers had a 1-1 record going into state with Mountain View, as they lost to them at home during the conference duals in 5 sets (2-3). They then proceeded to beat them in 5 sets during regionals (3-2).  

“I felt really good; I was really confident,” Thorington said. “Winning regionals really helped set us up for a good way to lead us into the championship because we got to play teams that we were really familiar with and that we knew we could beat.” 

The girls made their way through the state tournament bracket by beating Torrington in 4 sets (3-1) on Thursday, November 2nd. Then on Friday, they kept their streak going by beating the #2 seed from East Douglas in 4 (3-1), solidifying their spot in the championship game on Saturday against Mountain View. 

“I just felt really good,” Harvey said. “We had played at state the year before, so it is not like a very new thing.” 

Thorington, Walsh, and Harvey all said something about how the team had an extremely close bond. They had grown close together from last year to this year. Their team chemistry is what really sets them apart from previous seasons.