Wrestling consists of countless hours of hard work to improve, but for Panther wrestlers, there is one thing that sets a dedicated wrestler apart from everyone else… Seal Day. 

Seal Day is a tradition started over twenty years ago where the team mimics a day of Navy seal training. It occurs once a year, usually between the Ron-Thon tournament in Riverton and State Regionals.

“It’s really intense and unexpected,” history teacher and Wrestling Coach Mr. Nathan Urbach said. “You don’t know what’s coming next, you just know it’s going to be hard and that you just have to keep pushing through.” 

Mr. Urbach started the Seal Day activity for the Powell wrestling team after his best friend from college joined the Navy Seals. Mr. Urbach asked him to mimic the Navy Seal ‘hell week.’ The first seal day was held in 2000 and it’s been a tradition ever since.

“Seal Day is one of those things that nobody else in the state does,” junior Lannon Brazelton said. “I take pride in it, I enjoy seal day because it just proves that you are tougher than anyone else, and that you can go through all that pain and come out alive and still kicking.”

Brazelton has now experienced three seal days in his high school career and uses it as a motive to not only improve and get in better physical shape, but also to get in the right mindset for the coming weeks.

“I thought it was going to be horrible,” freshman Mckale Foley said. “All the upperclassmen were hyping it up and I thought it was going to be crazy and the worst day of my life.”

This is Foley’s first year participating in a competitive wrestling season, and although he only started wrestling last year, he has improved greatly because of this rigorous season.

A big aspect of seal day that is often overlooked and not expected is the logs. Urbach brings in big, muddy logs that are by no means light. 

“I just don’t really think anyone really does that,” Urbach said. “As far as bringing in logs, a lot of what we do is specific to seal training.”

The logs are a seal day staple with the biggest of them being named misery. Every group gets a log and you are required to do whatever coach tells you. If you drop the log, expect big consequences.

“Seal Day is not for the faint of heart,” Brazelton said. “You have to be willing to give it your all and if you don’t then it’s going to come back and hurt you.”