State swimming is now in the books, and state wrestling will be Feb. 28-29. But the boys and girls basketball teams and the cheerleaders are staying busy as their seasons winds down.

Cheer Team:

The Panther Cheerleaders competed against six other teams around the northwest area in the 2020 Heart Mountain Regional Spirit Competition held in Cody, Wyoming on Feb. 15 and placed first with 281 out of 300 points. 

What comes to mind right before competitions senior Luci Abarca says to “exhale self doubt and inhale self confidence.”

“In reality what was going through my head was ‘I want to win,’” Abarca added.

As the season finishes March 11 for the cheerleaders work repetitively to come as close to perfect as they can, says senior Kailey Jurado.

The seven-month season for the girls and two boys end in March with their State Spirit Competition, where they will compete in the 3A Game Day category. 

“It was a really great chance to help us prepare for State,” Jurado said. “It keeps us motivated to work hard to bring home another first place trophy.”

Panther Basketball:

The Panthers won a close game against the Thermopolis Bobcats 57-50 on Feb. 14. 

“The highlight of the game was just beating them [the Thermopolis Bobcats],” senior Aidan Jacobsen said. “Just winning on senior night is a highlight.”

As the season comes to an end Jacobsen hopes that the team will once again make it to State basketball and play on the Casper Event Center court.

On Feb. 15 the Panthers went up against the Worland Warriors in an away game and ended the falling 48-75. 

Lady Panther Basketball:

The Lady Panthers first faced the Thermopolis Lady Bobcats and experienced some pressure throughout the first half of the game. 

“I feel like [this] game was the first time our team really came together.” senior Kortny Feller said. “We all individually showed some new strengths and we all worked together.”

Although in the end the results weren’t the best (39-49), Feller believes the team was given a new sense of confidence for the rest of the season.

The following Saturday the Lady Panthers went up against the Lady Warriors with the game, falling short of a win again at 43-68. 

As the season nears its completion, Feller hopes the Lady Panthers make it to State Basketball, to continue growing as a team and to watch everyone make personal strides to become better players.

“I’m looking forward to playing Lander again and hopefully getting a better outcome than the first time,” Feller said. “I’m excited to be playing Pinedale and Big Piney in hopes of taking away some wins this weekend.”