Powell High School [PHS] has retired nine jerseys to honor some of their most well-decorated athletes in its 110-year history.
The first sportsperson to have this outstanding achievement was running back Eddie Kawano, getting his number-20 football jersey hung in the trophy hall in 1957, one year before he graduated in 1958. He remains the only athlete to have their jersey retired before graduation.
“Eddie was just an exceptional athlete,” PHS Class of 1965 Graduate Terry Waln said. “You could see the worry in defenses whenever he stepped on the field.”
Kawano put up an astounding 360 points in his football career, including a record-breaking 186 his senior year. Those profound numbers ranked him 4th in the nation. He would accept a football scholarship from the University of Utah.
All-American Dennis Havig got his number-32 football jersey retired in 1975. After graduating in 1967, Havig would make the All-Big Eight Team at the University of Colorado.
“I remember seeing Dennis while he was playing with the pros,” Waln said. “I always thought that’s where he’d end up. He was incredibly talented and never showed any fear.”
Havig would be selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the 8th round (189 overall) during the 1971 National Football League draft. He spent a total of six years in the league with the Falcons, Houston Oilers, and Green Bay Packers.
Jesseca Cross was next in line, earning her number-54 volleyball jersey PHS retired in 1993, the same year she graduated. She achieved All-State selection in track, volleyball, and basketball.
“Jesseca being inducted was a no-brainer,” Head Track Coach and science teacher Mr. Scott Smith said. “In addition to being an Olympian in track and field, she was an award-winning starter on the University of Wyoming’s Women’s basketball team.”
Cross collected three Gatorade National Player of the Year awards during her high school track career. At the University of Wyoming [UW], she would become a three-time All-American in track. Cross fought her way into the 2000 Summer Olympics for shot-put and hammer throw.
The first boys’ basketball player to have this honor was Keith Bloom in 2009. He’s the second oldest of the group, graduating in 1945. Bloom set the standard for PHS athletes, he was an All-State recipient in three different sports, football, basketball, and track.
“I always knew Keith as Coach Bloom, one of my favorite coaches ever,” Waln said. “His athletic accomplishments are impressive, but he always had a way with teaching people things. I think coaching was his true calling.”
After Bloom graduated, he secured a basketball scholarship from UW. He had a short stint in the National Basketball League and would play in the minor league for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Bloom later returned to Powell where he would excel as a coach and teacher; the Keith Bloom Leadership Award is named after his honor.
The PHS football team would hang a third jersey in 2010. Class of 1951 standout halfback, Harold Farmer, held the school record for points scored in a single season with 134 during his senior season, prior to Eddie Kawano’s 186.
“I don’t remember a lot about Harold, but I do remember his dominance,” Waln said. “Every time he touched the ball, he ran with heart. My coaches always spoke very highly of him.”
Farmer would be a two-sport letter winner at UW. He would also receive the Admiral Land Award during his collegiate career.
2011 would be the only year where PHS tributes two jerseys. Basketball stars Lewis Roney and Dale Ann Feusner-Meeker had their fluorescent orange jerseys put up in a plaque. Roney is the only one older than Keith Bloom, completing high school in 1940.
“[Roney] was before my time, but I do remember his name being thrown around,” Waln said. “His impact must have been great if he’s still being brought up in conversations 20 years later.”
The Wyoming Cowboys’ 1943 NCAA basketball National Championship team featured Roney who started as their point guard. He was inducted into UW’s Athletics Hall-of-Fame in 1993.
Feusner-Meeker would win PHS Outstanding Senior Female Athlete of the Year in 1975, her senior year. She led the girls’ basketball team in scoring and rebounding all of her four years.
“Dale was just a really special human being,” Waln said. “She put in so much work and it made her great. I do think she was an even greater human being though.”
Women Sports Magazine’s “Women Sports Athlete of the Year” award was given to Feusner-Meeker. She became the first female to earn a basketball scholarship to UW. She would start all four years she played there, joining Lewis Roney in their Athletics Hall-of-Fame after being admitted in 2008.
Number-28 for the Panther football team is remembered after being worn by Ronnie Nay. Nay shared the backfield with Kawano, creating a nightmare duo for any defense.
“I couldn’t imagine going against that Panther team in the late 50s,” Waln said. “Once Eddie stepped out, you think you could catch a break until you see Ronnie lined up back there instead.”
Nay’s ball-carrying skills helped him become an all-conference player during the Panther’s 1957 undefeated season. He would later play three different positions at once for Westminster College. The St. Louis Cardinals drafted Nay and he played for their farm teams, the Billings Mustangs and Keokuk Cardinals. He held a 30-year career in the NFL as a scout and administrator.
The most recent jersey retirement took place in 2023. Jaci Heny-Hitz had her number-45 basketball uniform put on the wall 21 years after the conclusion of her high school career.
“To be inducted into the hall of fame and have my jersey retired was very humbling, I had so many influential people in my life,” Hitz said. “The two women inducted before me were huge on impacting my career at PHS. Coach Meeker always believed in me and made me better every single day. Jesseca Cross was the Powell Wy icon for me. I wanted to be just like her when I was a kid.”
Guidance from Coach Meeker and Cross drove Heny-Hitz to a two-time All-State selection in basketball and tennis. Her career numbers of 1,135 points and 214 steals are records yet to be broken. She’s a 5-time Frontier Conference Player of the Week and was a 2nd Team All-American for Montana State University-Northern.
