Along with warmer weather and longer days, the spring sports season has arrived. All Powell sports programs are looking to build off of the very successful seasons from the previous year. 

The girls’ track and field team is looking to defend their state title – something that the Lady Panther track and field team has never done in school history.

“Coming off of last season I know that we are going to make a good push this year,” sophomore Lauryn Bennett said. 

Not to be out shadowed, the boy’s track team is returning with most of its key contributors from last season. They are looking to improve upon their 6th place finish in the 2021 State Meet

“We have most of our main guys coming back which will be great in terms of experience,” senior Sam Whitlock said. “I can see this team improving during the whole course of the year.”

With a limited number of practices, the PHS track and field teams traveled to Burlington for a pre-season meet. The Panthers looked forward to competing against other athletes. 

“It’s always good to see where you rank at the beginning of the season,” sophomore Marshall Lewis said. “After my events, I could see what I needed to work on and it gave me more motivation to keep getting better.”

As the first meet of the season came to a close, the Panthers sat at the top of the leaderboard. The girls took the top spot by a difference of 90 points.

The boy’s team barely beat out Worland winning by just one point with a total of 185.08 points.

State qualifiers for the girls include senior Jenna Hillman and sophomore Waycee Harvy for the 100m dash. The girls’ 4X400m relay team also qualified for state. On the team are Hillman, Harvy, junior Megan Jacobson, and Anna Bartholomew. 

Qualifiers from the boy’s team include seniors Toran Graham, Sheldon Shoopman for shot put, and Eli Weimer for the high jump.

Although summer seems bipolar, the boys on the diamond have started their practices. The Legion baseball team has been practicing indoors since January. But due to the warmer weather, they have been able to move outside. 

“I personally prefer going outside because all of the drills are exactly how it’ll look during the games,” sophomore Ethan Welch said. “With our first game coming soon we need the most game-like reps we can get.”

On April 9, the Pioneers will face Miles City, for the start of their 2022 campaign. This will be a good test for the young team. After last season the Pioneers only have 5 returning players that have A-team experience.

“We’ll be a different looking team but I feel that during the peak of our season we can compete with anyone,” Welch said. “The sky’s the limit for this team not only this year but for years to come.”