The Panthers obtained a great finishing touch to end the season, and it took a team to get there. The girls had two second-place finishes, while the boys had a heavyweight champion and numerous other placers. The boys beat out Pinedale for the state title to cap it off.
Girls Regionals Performance
The Powell girls’ team traveled to Evanston to participate in the Girls 4A West regional, finishing 9th out of 24 teams. Altogether, they scored a total of 63 points.
Boys Regionals Performance
The Powell Panther boys’ wrestling team competed in Pinedale. They won regionals and finished with 220 points, 24.5 points ahead of the hosting Pinedale Wranglers, the nearest competitor.
“We qualified the most boys [for state] in the 3A division,” Head Coach Nick Fulton said. “To win a team title, you have to be able to do that. With 16 teams in the division, you’ve got to have a complete squad, and we had the most complete one there.”
The team qualified 20 wrestlers at 14 different weights for the state tournament. Four regional champions were also named.
The champions were junior Talon Nuss (106 lbs), and seniors Wyatt Nicholson (113 lbs), Chevy Hill (120 lbs), and Doug Bettger (285 lbs).
Coach Fulton mentioned that the team mindset was to take care of business. Taking it one match at a time, even one point at a time, was crucial in keeping the wrestlers focused.
“I think one thing this team did well was that they understood the big picture, but then they focused on the small things needed to get there,” Coach Fulton said. “That’s something I’m grateful to those kids for. They saw the potential, but then they did the day-to-day stuff. I think that’s something that whether it be in wrestling in the future, or outside of wrestling, I think that’s a good lesson for them. Just to focus on what they can control.”
Challenges
In a high-contact sport like wrestling, injuries are unfortunate but likely to occur. Powell suffered some minor injuries and some more intense ones.
Senior Patrick Haney was having a successful season but tore his ACL and was unable to compete at the state tournament.
“I think that [Patrick’s injury] was hard on the guys, and hard on Patrick,” Coach Fulton said. “He’s a kid that shows up every day, still supporting his team, still doing the little things. It probably did more for the team just motivationally than you could have seen. It always makes you sad with seniors like that, but I’m proud of him for his efforts.”
On the girls’ team, sophomores Joriana Hine and Addison Farnsworth also had season-ending injuries. Hine got surgery on her ulnar nerve mid-season, and Farnsworth faced a broken wrist.
“This is always unfortunate, but at the same time they both are underclassmen, so they will have the chance to heal up and come back ready to go next year,” Girls’ Head Coach David Holland said. “Getting them in for open mats, camps, and lifting will be a great start to preparing them for next season.”
Girls State Performance
On Wednesday the 26th, both Panther teams drove down to Casper. They stopped at the Casper Kids Club to practice. The building is a large steel shed equipped with a couple of mats on the industrial side of town. It’s nothing fancy, but the Panthers can work hard anywhere.
The girls brought five athletes to state and had three placers. Against the field of 45 teams, the small team placed 9th, with a total of 63 points.
“I feel like they went out there and left it all on the mat,” Coach Holland said. “For having a smaller team and finishing in the top 10, and it being only one division for women’s wrestling was an excellent end to the season.”
Allison LeBlanc (110 lbs) and Eleasah Horsely (115 lbs) both placed second, while Nalani Jordan (135 lbs) secured a fifth-place finish.
“I love our group of ladies,” Coach Holland said, “They are tough and determined to go out there and be a pain in everyone’s side.”
Boys State Performance
For the first time in a decade, the boys emerged as state champions. Featuring eleven placers, they racked up 227 team points. Remarkably, roughly 42% of the matches were won by pin.
“Titles don’t come easy,” Coach Fulton said. “Teamwork over a long period of time, hours over the summer, and then obviously hours during the season. It certainly has paid off for them.”
One key to the boy’s success was spreading athletes throughout different weight classes. Early in the season, many guys dieted some weight off, while some wrestled light for their weight class. The team mentality paid off later in the season.
“Powell has a really great wrestling tradition, and it’s nice to be part of that,” Coach Fulton said. “I think it will benefit our program down the road. Kids know what it takes to do that, to bring home a title, and they don’t come easy. They don’t come without sacrifice by everybody, work by everybody, and a little bit of luck.”
This team was the definition of hard work and dedication and set a great example to younger wrestlers who are working their way through Powell’s program.
“I couldn’t be more proud of my team and the way they performed,” Coach Fulton said. “I couldn’t be more proud of my assistants Justin Carter and Cody Kalberer. Hands down, they are the best assistant coaches in the state of Wyoming.”
Doug Bettger was the only individual champion, placing first at 285 lbs.
“Doug’s been dominant at heavyweight all year long,” Coach Fulton said. “We kind of knew going into the year that he might be favored to win a title, but I don’t know if I comprehended how dominant he would be.”
Bettger capped his season off with four pins in the state tournament. He was also the Ron Thon champion and ended the season with a 42-4 record.
“[Doug has] a very business-like approach,” Coach Fulton said. “I’m just really proud of his performance and his efforts to get there.”
Wyatt Nicholson (113 lbs), McKale Foley (165 lbs), Mitchel Wainscott (175 lbs), and Jacob Eaton (215 lbs) all placed second.
Talon Nuss (106 lbs), Chevy Hill (120 lbs), and Dusty Carter (190 lbs) placed third.
Denton Wainscott (215 lbs) placed fourth, while Tyler Wenzel (132 lbs) and Cody Seifert (157 lbs) placed fifth.
“I’m super proud of the guys,” Coach Fulton said. “A lot of them showed a ton of grit. State can be a bit of a roller coaster and some of them had to win matches in the wrestlebacks to get on the podium and I think that shows a lot of determination for them and for their team.”
